The End of Summer--Weeks 10, 11, and 12

The last few weeks of summer have been more of the same--lessons, playing with friends, pretending to keep the house clean, and really just slow days, enjoying our time together and hoping the kids get bored enough to want to go back to school!

This is Bree on the homemade wood swing that is at Kai's piano teacher's house.  Yes, it scares me!

And this is Finn on the swing next to it!  Bree can't handle this swing, but Finn likes the regular swing, too, so we have to take turns.

We pulled out the slip 'n slide one day and I had three kids staring out and not sure how to make it work.  They never really got the hang of it.

Monument is growing!  We are getting all kinds of new stores including Horseshoe donuts.  I found a coupon for half-off and the week they opened so we went to try it out.  This donuts are delicious and heavy.  Most of them are cake donuts which are my favorite, but not Reid's.

We've also been doing the last minute doctor appointments.   Here Finn is at the eye doctor.  He was making the funniest faces and cracking me up.  He even cheated if he couldn't see what he needed to.  His eyes are doing just fine.

On August 2nd, our friends Sawyer and Jude came to play for a good part of the day.  Their dad was having surgery and so we get them entertained.  Their mom brought some water balloons with them so we blew them all up.  The kids had a blast, except Finn, who doesn't like it when you throw one at him.  We also got out the slip n' slide again that day but unfortunately with so many kids it met it's demise that day.  

Bree had an ice skating lesson that day, so this is what my car looked like.  Poor Kai, we couldn't fit a booster back there for him so he had to ride like that.  I know...it's not safe.  We don't do it often but there was no way around it this day.

After ice skating, the boys had swim lessons.  So, I had 4 kids on the sidelines while one kid was in the water.  Yes, it was madness.

At least Jude and Bree played well together and weren't totally loud and crazy!

Finn had his quarterly CF clinic on August 1st (LONG day!) and he was put on a round of antibiotics for a sinus infection.  His culture came back with Staph (again) so this should do the trick.  Actually, it only took one dose and he has been clear ever since!  You gotta love it when the medication actually works.  Now the hard part is continuing it for three weeks when he is doing so great!

Can you guess whose head this is?  Did you guess Finn?  If so, you are right!  On Thursday the 4th he was doing cartwheels at Walmart while I was checking out.  I had told him to stop and to come stand by the cart but I was also at the self-checkout and needed to keep the checking going so I couldn't enforce it.  Well, he cartwheeled his head right into the shopping cart.  It bleed a bit but didn't seem bad.  I took him home to clean it up and was torn as to what to do.

After cleaning it up, it looked like this.  (The finger is to give an idea on size.)  I had the kids sit still and watch ET while I called the pediatrician for recommendations.  It wasn't deep at all and I didn't think he needed stitches, but I also didn't know how I was going to keep it clean on his head, or keep it from getting re-injured.  After ET and lunch we headed to Urgent Care at the advice of the nurse.  Urgent care glued it up which is what I was hoping for.  Now he has a glue stuck in his hair and I have no idea what to do.  Good thing his hair will comb over the spot and no one will know when he goes back to school.  But i have no idea how long it's going to take for this glue to come out.  And I'm not ready to cut it out....yet.

Bree's final ice skating lesson was on Tuesday the 9th with Ms. Stephanie.  She was the only kid in her class so she had a private lesson!  It was so cute to watch her with her teacher and to see how much better she was doing.  It kills me that she won't skate or do any of the skills she learns in her classes outside of class.  She wants more classes but we are going to take a break for now. She's still way too young to invest any money in lessons of any type (in my opinion).  But during this last lesson she was able to practice skills from three different levels, which was great.  In this picture she is working on walking on the toe picks.

While Bree did her lesson, Finn and I skated in the open skate.  We held hands and just went around and around.  Kai sat in the stands and read a book.  

Catching bubbles at the end of her class

The view from the Air Force Academy (where Bree takes lessons) is beautiful.  This shot was taken as I was driving away from the field house and it really doesn't do it justice.  I love where we live!  

To celebrate national S'mores day on the 10th, we made s'mores!  The kids were very excited to roast the marshmallows, but none of them wanted to actually eat it.  The only kid who enjoyed eating his s'more was Kai.  And then Reid and I got to eat a lot of leftovers.

Doesn't it look like she likes it?!  It's an act!

On Thursday the 11th, we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with Sawyer and Jude.  It was Sawyer's birthday and so it was fun to spend a few hours with them there.  We bought ourselves an annual pass there this year (instead of the zoo) so we are excited to spend more time there and explore it again.  We haven't been there in more than a year.

Finn was soaking, dripping wet after playing here.  So much so that we had to cut our day short and head home.  Which was good because Bree needed a nap.

On Friday the 12th, we had Kai's friend Nathan spend a good part of the day with us.  His mom had taken his two older siblings to the temple so he got to hang out with us.  After playing at the house for nearly two hours, we headed to Fountain Creek Nature Center.  The last time I had been there was years ago with my friend, Laurel, who I thought about and missed while we were there.  We explored the visitor center (where we met up with Sawyer and Jude again) and then had lunch before walking the loop around the lake.  We were a crazy sight with 5 boys and little Bree.

Sawyer (and his mom actually) are much braver than me and my boys, as they had fun in this field of grasshoppers and even caught one.

And of course the boys had to take a turn climbing this cottonwood tree.  That is, all of the boys climbed it except for Kai.

While eating our picnic lunch, Kai came up to me and told me he had a loose tooth.  I told him that was fine and just to keep eating.  Two minutes later he came back and said the tooth was coming out.  Umm....buddy, next time you have a loose give mom more than 2 minutes notice.  He was chewing a bite of food and spit his tooth out in his hand.  Yuck!  It's hard to see which of the missing teeth in this picture is the one that just came out, but it was an upper left lateral incisor (yes, I did just have to look it up).

Finally, on Saturday the 13th we had friends come to dinner.  I was desperately to make my house clean and presentable and so I headed to Michael's to commit to buying something for this nook.  After nearly 9 years in this house it was time to bite the bullet and put something here.  This is what I found.  I told the cashier it was just too early for fall in my opinion but she didn't agree.  They didn't have any other arrangements that I liked that would fit this space, so I guess our house is now starting to get ready for fall.  Which, with school starting tomorrow, would make sense I guess.  I'm just not sure I'm ready for this new season.  It's the last day of summer vacation today, so now I'm getting off of this computer and I'm going to be with my kids.  Heaven knows I will miss them tomorrow!

Weeks 8 and 9

After getting back from Chicago we jumped right back into lessons.  Admittedly, it wore me out.  We haven't done much of anything since getting back except our weekly schedule of lessons (tennis, ice skating, piano, and swimming), doctor appointments, cleaning the house, and play dates.  And honestly, I don't feel about it.  The kids have had a less structured summer than I would have liked, but it was been more busy.  The summer snuck up on me and I wasn't ready.  This summer was a good learning experience for me.  Between last summer and this summer, I think I've really found what I prefer for our rhythm.  And it doesn't involve lessons every single day!

Bree was helping me cook an asian dish and she was really enjoying this bok choy.  I had to get a picture of my little vegetable eater.  Her favorite veggie is green beans.  She can clear a plate of green beans faster than anything I've ever seen.  But she also loves some of these other veggies that are good not cooked.  Her all time favorite raw veggie is green peppers, but I think this bok choy was rivaling that!

On Wednesday the 18th, we went with friends to America the Beautiful Park.  The kids spent some time on the playground and then a good hour or so splashing around in the fountain.  Our friends went home for lunch, but we decided to cash in on our library reading program coupons for a kid's lunch at Louie's.  We got three (large!) slices of pizza and 3 drinks for free.  I always feel bad not paying for anything so I ordered some cheesy bread.  It's so yummy!  And we got all of that for only $5.  

The kids seemed more interested in watching the cartoon network than they were in eating the pizza.

On Friday July 15th we had the opportunity to head to the Olympic Training Center to watch the US Men's Olympic Gymnastics Team in a mock meet.  We got there about 20 minutes early only to find that the parking lot was packed.  We had to search the streets for a spot and ended up several blocks away.  We walked as fast as we could and made it there just at the start time.  BUT....it was overflowing with people.  And the weren't allowing any more people in.  They clearly did not expect so many people to come to the event.  In exchange for turning us away, they offered us a free tour with Olympian Nic Taylor  and told us to check back in an hour or so to see if they could let any more people in.  We headed off on our tour.  We started with a short film about the OTC and then started on our tour.  Nic was such a fun guy and was very patient.  I was very impressed with him.  We went through our first building and on our way to tour the dorms we passed the gym.  As we passed, I noticed they were gathering a group together and giving them instructions on how to go into the gym.  So, we ditched the tour (I felt bad about leaving Nic) and got in with the group.  We were ushered into the gym and told to sit on the floor....the competition floor.  We were able to watch the last three events of the mock meet, while sitting 50 feet or so away from the men the whole time.  It was such an amazing experience. At the end of the meet there was a brief question/answer session and then the men turned to the floor and walked over to mingle with us, take pictures, and sign autographs.  So, the people who showed up early and got to sit in the stands didn't get as close to the men as we did.  It was amazing!  And my phone had died back during the tour.  Reception was not good on OTC grounds.  Bummer.  But it was a great afternoon.  Just don't ask Bree or Finn what they thought of it because they weren't impressed.  Kai, on the other hand, understood the significance of what we had seen and had a much better appreciation for it.

Nic Taylor (our tour guide)

The boys have had pretty much weekly swim lessons.  They are private lessons but this day they had lessons at the same time with two sisters.  They didn't work together at all but I thought it was fun to see the sisters teaching the brothers.

On Tuesday July 19th we had a free morning and so the kids and I headed to the track at the elementary school so I could get in my morning run.  I jogged while Kai rode his bike, Finn rode his scooter, and Bree tried to ride her tricycle.  She wasn't as self-sufficient as I would have liked, but the boys had a good time.  And I enjoyed coming around the track to see my boys circling as well.  Kai ended up riding his bike 3 miles, which impressed me because he had not ridden all summer except once, and that time was HARD because he was scared after having not practiced all winter.

That same afternoon was a skating class for Bree and she was the only one in her class.  Her teacher, Ms. Stephanie, was so good with her.  Ms. Stephanie teaches some advanced skaters, but does great with my little peanut, too.

And later that day I tried to finish painting Bree's bed.  I opted for an enamel paint, but didn't know what I was getting into.  By golly I had to scrub to that off of me.  I was getting frustrated with it, but I really like the finish on the bed.  And it was worth it, I think!

Finn's tennis lessons are on Fridays and it is him, Stevie (in front of him) our neighbor, and Keene (Finn's "BFF" from school)

After tennis on Friday the 22nd, these boys did not want to separate.  They posed themselves so I got out my camera.  Keene and Finn have been in school together for the last two years.  I have no idea what I will do if they aren't together again this year.  For the first trimester last year Keene was in a different class and Finn asked me nearly daily if he could transfer into that class where his friend was.  Heaven help me next week if they get different teachers!

Also during week 9 we went with friends to the Miller Athletic Center in Castle Rock.  We played outside on the playground, and in the splash pad, and then we went in to swim and play on the indoor playground.  It was a tiring day but it was fun to be with friends from the ward.  I didn't take any pictures (I have no idea how that happened--maybe I was enjoying the social scene!) but we did have a great time and we did do something other than going to lessons!

Week 7

We left for Chicago on Friday July 1st.  I woke up at 3:45 and started getting out last minute things together and the car loaded.  As soon as we were ready with all of that, we woke up the kids, took them to the potty, and then put them in the car in their jammies with a pillow.  And we were off.  We left just slightly after 4:30am. I was hoping the kids would go back to sleep, but I wasn't as lucky.  I drove first, Reid slept a bit, and for most the part all three kids were awake until about 6:30am.  Our goal was to get as far as we could before we needed to stop for breakfast.  And it worked, mostly.  We had to make a stop in Denver for gas and a bathroom trip for Finn (we didn't really need the gas but I didn't want to stop later since we were stopping for the bathroom).  And then we were able to get all the way to North Platte, Nebraska before our breakfast stop.  We had breakfast at a gas station/McDonald's combo and the kids were doing so good.  We were able to order a big breakfast and few other side items and split them among everyone and they all loved their breakfast.  From there we headed over to Fort Cody.  Reid grew up driving to Utah every summer and Fort Cody was a family tradition.  So, we made sure to stop.

In our jammies, heading into Fort Cody.

After our stop in North Platte, we kept on going with as few stops as possible.  We skipped lunch, since breakfast was so late.  We had lots of snacks in the car as well as lots of activities.  Everyone did really well with the trip.  Dinner came at a Wendy's in Iowa City right before we crossed into Illinois.  We ate in the car so that we didn't lose anytime.  We finally arrived in Elgin around 10:30pm.  We went right to work getting the kids to bed and then visited with Reid's mom before calling it a night.

The next day we went to lunch with Reid's parents.  We ate at Portillo's for the first time and then when we got home, we beat the other car so I had the kids pose for this last picture of them at Grammy and Papa's house.

As you can imagine, we were all tired and "car-lagged".  Is that a thing?  

One of the best parts of Grammy and Papa's house is the backyard.  There are two apple and two pear trees in the back and lots of room to run and play.  I sent the kids out there frequently.

We did not make it to church on Sunday morning.  The ward meets at 9am and my kids had not yet made the transition to Illinois time.  They didn't even get out of bed until 9am.  We spent the day lounging around for the most part.  In the afternoon we decided to take a walk.  We ended up walking over to Reid's elementary school where we let the kids play for a bit on the playground and then we took the nature trail back to the outskirts of the neighborhood and then back to the house.  I was still so tired from our trip that it all wore me out!

For the 4th of July we spent the day at the house, again.

For the 4th of July I made this yummy watermelon fruit pizzas for an afternoon treat.

Kai drew this on the sliding door with our window crayons that I brought to use in the car.

Reid got smoke bombs, poppers, and sparklers to play with that night.

The next day, Tuesday the 5th, we headed into Chicago.  We didn't have a real plan, which was unfortunate, and our time was limited (the kids were still sleeping in and it takes us a while to get through our morning routine, especially when there is cable television available!), but we parked in an underground lot and headed straight to the "Bean".  First off, the underground area of Chicago is so interesting.  There are "upper" and "lower" roads and it really is the same road (and I'm talking full-on road) underneath the road above it.  Our phones weren't getting reception underground and so we were having a hard time finding the lot we were looking for.  We eventually just decided to park in the next lot we saw and it was for a hotel.  So we entered the parking lot through a very narrow tunnel.  And by narrow I mean, NARROW.  The tunnel was barely wide enough for our mini-van and only had a 6 ft 6 inch clearance.  The kids were crying and I didn't blame them.  It was very unnerving.  It eventually opened up into a larger parking area, but gosh it was disturbing.  We got into the hotel and then out to the street and walked our way to the "bean".  I have to say, emerging from that parking garage to the business of this street was such a contrast. And it's been so long since I've been to be a big city that I felt very out of my element.

Street view

Bree and Kai holding up one side of the bean.

I tried to get all of my kids to actually stand still and pose for a picture but that proved futile.

See us in the middle of that reflection of the bean?  Reid is holding up his phone to take a picture.

More of the street view

My kids so desperately wanted to play in this water and I forgot a change of clothes so they had to stand and watch.

We grabbed lunch at Panera before heading out to Willis Tower.  That was the only thing Kai wanted to see and since we didn't have a plan, we decided to go for it.  It was not quite a mile walk from where we were.

When we got to Willis Tower the line was about 2 1/2 hours of a wait to go up and see the observation deck.  So, we passed on that and took a picture with this Lego model of it instead.  We also went to the gift shop and got Kai an ornament for his Christmas tree.

After that we decided to grab some cupcakes on the walk back.  I looked up cupcake shop recommendations and we found this hole in the wall location.  I was very disappointed by the small selection of flavors (about 6) but we made do and gave it a try.  To tell you how small this shop was, this was the only sitting and that green on the right of the picture is the other wall.  It was a tiny place, but the cupcakes were good.

After that we headed back to our car and decided to head back to Elgin.  We had gotten a good feel of the city and if we ever go back I have some ideas of how to better use and organize our time.  But the point of the trip was to say goodbye to Chicago, so who knows if we will ever get that chance.

The next day, Wednesday the 6th, I took the kids over to visit my mission trainer.  She lives in the area and I hadn't seen her in 12 years.  It was so fun to see her family and talk about the mission.  She even bought some Italian cookies for us to have cookies and milk while we were visiting.  I'm so grateful for my mission and for getting to serve with Nadia!

Finally it was time to go home.  We tried to use the same schedule going home that we did on the way out.  We got the kids up and out at the same time, which was 5:30am Chicago time (4:30 Colorado time).  We actually ended up leaving around 5:50am, but that was still good time.  Reid drove first this time and I tried to rest.  Bree had no trouble sleeping this time.  We were all very tired.

We stopped at a rest stop in Iowa mid-morning for Finn to use the potty and they had a fun area for the kids to climb on so I let them have about 5 minutes to get out some wiggles.

The kids were excited to see a toad hopping around in the grass.

He was little!

That day we skipped stopping for dinner and just headed straight home.  We did all of our eating in the car and tried to minimize stops.  We got home around 8:45 and were exhausted.  It seriously took me the whole next week to recover from the trip!  As much as we were glad to visit Elgin one more time, we were just as glad to be home in Monument.