Summer

It is officially summer on the calendar and in the temperatures. It will be in the 90’s all weekend and our governor warned us to use caution with this heat wave. 

Delaney played at Ellie’s yesterday and the rest of us ran errands, including the credit union where we spent over an hour opening accounts for adi and Frankie. Adi deposited over $1000 that she’d had in her piggy bank, so it was definitely time. We had a good time shopping together, but it took so long that we skipped the river concert. Whomp whomp. 

It was so hot that we got home and headed straight for the pool. It’s finally warm enough that it’s not shocking at all to get in, my favorite. 

Homey

I had my annual old lady dermatologist skin check yesterday and other than that it was an at home day. We laid out all our clothes and packed our backpacks and suitcase for our big trip.  

I got a project done that has been on the back burner of things to do for 15 years and in earnest on my list of things to do for weeks - I got my two teacher retirements rolled over into an IRA. Well, almost. I submitted a name change request for my Washington teacher retirement since I wasn’t married when I worked there, so after they approve that I can officially get that rolled over. It took hours and was frustrating and confusing and I’m so glad it’s off my list. 

Another long project is getting the 26,000 pictures and videos off my phone. We bought a solid state hard drive, then realized we needed an attachment, then we realized we needed an additional attachment, then after we downloaded 1000 we hit a roadblock and the pictures wouldn’t download. When Alli came down she helped us, and really it’s “us” as in “we” are pregnant, meaning “us” is really Matt, and now “we’re” finally able to download 10,000-20,000 pics a day. I’m doing my part by going through them all and deleting duplicates and dumb pictures I’ve taken that I don’t need to save. It’s been a fun walk down memory lane and I’m happy to report I’m down to 12,000 on my phone, so yay. Memory lane 👇🏻 

We got a special delivery yesterday in the form of a dirty old trampoline and the girls and Matt and Dan got it almost all set up and they had fun cleaning it with the hose and jumping on it. I made stuffed shells for dinner and we finished the night at the pool. We’re enjoying our at home days. 

Summertime

Monday morning I had a presidency meeting. Since I’m leaving Monday it will be our last one for awhile. Alli stayed the night so we hung out. Then at 11 we went to the high school for some free food. We ❤️ free food. One of my neighbors had posted about the schools giving it out so we went to see what they had. 

That afternoon Adi drove all of us in the jolly green giant up to see Inside Out 2. Alli’s first time driving with her. 😂

We met up with Darrow’s and ate our weight in popcorn and it was a fun and cute movie. I’m an easy movie watcher though, I just enjoy the experience.  

Alli did haircuts when we got home and then we hit our pool for an evening swim. 

On Tuesday we met up with Darrows for some Wildwood pool time. D missed the pool youth activity because of dance, so I had promised her we’d try to go. Alecia and I swam and chatted and didn’t think to take a single picture. Adi’s been chauffeuring me around all summer, so I was able to grab a shot on our way home. 

We made homemade chickfila nuggets - teaching the girls about cooking chicken - and they are deep into Stranger Things, so they watched that. They’ve been staying up after we go to bed to watch together. Our time at home this summer is short, so we’re rolling with it and saying yes as much as we can. 

Yesterday was a mostly stay at home day. They cleaned their rooms, which honestly it feels like they do every day and every day it feels like it’s messy again. But whatever. We also packed for girls camp and with 4 of us going that is not as easy as you might thing. 4 sunblocks, 4 mini shampoos, 4 flashlights, etc. We left at 11 to run errands, then I dropped the girls at the store for their sister shopping trip. They each had $20 and are buying one sister something fun to do on our flights. They agreed no one would be mad and they’re so excited about it and I think it’s adorable. Amy H. had set up a blood drive at our church building so I went and donated a pint. I hadn’t donated blood since before my year’s’ surgeries in 2022, so I was a little nervous, but I ate spinach salads everyday for a week and ate red meat the day before and I drank so.much.water. I always drink a lot, but I drank even more than usual. And I was the 2nd donor hooked up and the first one out. I even sat my 15 minutes with my snack and I was still the only one done, so my water intake paid off. Amy took a picture of me being so brave. 😂

Delaney got promoted to ballet 3! She was saying she didn’t want to continue next year because she didn’t think she’d be moved up, but we got the email yesterday and she’s not fully committed yet but she’s very intrigue. She thinks she’ll like contemporary and she knows she’ll like being with older girls. Delaney is on the far left in the very back row here. 👇🏻 

We are eating all of our open dry goods and fresh food, so I made homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner and then after youth activities Delaney made a s’mores rice crispy treat. She made a huge mess and I’d just mopped the floors and done the dishes, but it’s all a learning experience. 

Since we’re going straight from girls camp to our trip we’re working hard to get all our stuff done. It feels never ending and I had a few moments of frustrated irritation yesterday with all my tasks, but we’re getting it done and still finding time to enjoy these sweet summer days. 

Dancey weekend

We cleaned the church Saturday morning. The girls talked Matt into going at 10 instead of 9 so they could sleep in. 😂 we had a busy evening, so as soon as we got home I made a pan of enchiladas for lunch/dinner and we headed to the pool. Kloe was there so Matt and I played colors with the girls and when your old sometimes you get a Charley horse as your swim chasing 12-year-olds. 😂😂 The girls were very sweet about him. 

Delaney and I headed down to St. Mary’s City at 4 so I could usher for her dance performance. It was so good! Delaney loves to be on stage! She wishes she had more dances so she could be up there longer. Leisa took a few pictures for us and I had to laugh at this one as we clearly weren’t ready. 

Matt made her candy bouquet this year. Thankfully she reminded me that she’d like one because I had forgotten. 

So many friends came and it was fun to chat with them after. 

Delaney loves those glasses but they drive me crazy because they’re crooked so I finally got rid of them and have her an old pair I had. 

All the girls did so great! Lily danced in so many of the numbers and made it look so effortless. Matt was saying how fun it is to see little Lily all grown up and doing something all on her own. It’s been a beautiful experience watching all these kids grow up. Josh’s sister told me when Delaney came out she was like “there’s Adi! But wait, she doesn’t look Lily’s age…” haha, our twins. 

Sunday was Father’s Day and our healthy dad requested a yogurt bar. I bought a variety of fancy yogurts and served strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, almonds, coconut, granola, and mini chocolate chips. 

It was *so* good! Simple and yummy! Matt and I went for a long walk before church. 

Church was lovely and then it was present time. He’s terrible to shop for, but I had a few good ideas of things I knew he wanted/needed, so it went well. 

We love this guy!

Alli came down for the show and she and D and I headed back down for the last night of American Heirlooms. 

Alli loved it too, it’s fun to show what D’s been working on. 

She was a Barnum and Bailey dancer, which is why her outfit is so much. Matt made her a candy lei necklace for this night. 

And some awesome post dance hair!

We found out yesterday she got moved up to ballet 3, so for now at least she’s excited about that. I hope she stays excited!

Funday Friday

I offered Alecia to use our kayaks so Friday morning Frankie and I went out to pull them around to the front. There were a few wasps flying around, but nothing too concerning. We struggled to pull the kayak out and when we flipped it over I spotted a wasp nest in the back storage compartment. I yelled for Frankie to run and she took off towards the door of the shed and I ran smack into the nearest garden bed. I was *this* close to falling into it, I totally bent back one of the poles. I seriously thought 40 angry wasps were going to come swarming out at us. I had to drop adi off to babysit then and when we got back, after donning a jacket with hood I bravely went back and found 2 wasp nests, one with a few wasps still on it. Listen, I’m no beekeeper, and I didn’t know what we’d uncover with the other kayak either, so I told Alecia I couldn’t handle it. Josh ended up coming over with wasp spray and killed *1* wasp. 😂😂😂 It was quite an eventful morning. Pictured below - our aborted mission. 

We picked up the Fraziers and headed to Gilbert Run Park for an adventure. 

We hiked the trails first and the kids went off ahead and we got to chat. 

Then it was time for paddle boats, so fun!

And also so hot! Those yellow boats are major heat reflectors!

We came back and got these pink cheeked kiddos some ice creams for all their hard work. 

We were trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our afternoon and Frankie suggested SkyZone. We didn’t have our socks and weren’t planning on it, but we said let’s be spontaneous and headed there. 

It ended up being glow jump, so not only did we have to buy new socks all around, but new shirts too. Whomp whomp. The kids had fun and Nola and I lucked out when someone left 30 minutes paid for on one of their massage chairs! It was a really lovely day and we’re going to miss these friends sooooo much when they move!

We hit the pool that evening and Delaney tried to get a picture of herself with her goggles filled with water, but you can’t really tell. 

Errands and ballet and curry

We spent yesterday morning at home cleaning out backpacks and bedrooms and prepping for camp and vacay. At 2:00 we all loaded up and went to delaneys dentist appt. One of her tasks this month is to blow this ball up and keep it hovering as long as she can. 

We popped over to Marshall’s and Famous Footwear and I mailed some Father’s Day cards at the post office, and then headed to Panera for an early dinner. They gave Delaney onion soup by mistake (we were in the bathroom doing her ballet hair) and they were so kind, they offered us to keep the soup and I asked if I could get it to go and then they gave me a whole new onion soup. A++customer service. 

We dropped Delaney off at ballet, hit up Aldi, dropped big girls at the Wildewood pool, and then I met with Manuela to talk JustServe. *Adi flips

Aaannnd Adi drove us to all our errands. She’s getting pretty comfortable and racking up those hours. *Frankie flips

It was chilly chilly but they had fun. 

I picked D up and Sarah brought the girls home and we finally finished The Ickabog. We started this in 2020 (?) and then forgot about it and I’ve been reading it while they get ready for bed and it’s been a sweet time with them. Reading together is one of our favorite pastimes. 

I’ve been waking up at 6 (why!!!!!) and this morning Matt and I made a quick decision to go on base and get my new ID. Like a real dumb dumb I lost my id flying home from Orlando. I haven’t lost something important like that in a hot minute. Anyway, I didn’t even worry about the fact that I haven’t washed my hair in a few days or what I would wear. Meh. 🤷‍♀️ We were able to get it done fairly easily and ran a few errands and made it home by 9:30. Today’s been an at home day. Some of my girls *cough, cough Frankie and Delaney* are very slow workers. They all decided to clean out drawers too, so that’s slowed down progress. 

Anyways, they helped me vacuum out Matt’s car and clean my bathroom so I was pretty happy. Adi made a yummy curry recipe she got from Sarah Cox because they have a shared love of Indian food, and I took this little ballerina to her last mega practice before their performance. It’s been a ballet heavy week and we’re excited to see the show and excited to be done with all these rehearsals. Aaaand she did her own hair and makeup today. 

Beach day

We hit Newtowne Neck beach yesterday so we could get a beach day without jellies. It wasn’t the warmest day, but the kids didn’t really care and it made it nicer for the moms. 

Alecia, the Sarah’s (Reed, Cox, and Aina), and I had a nice day. I didn’t even look at my phone while we were there, so thankfully other people took pictures. 

Adi and Lily played with the babies and Adi had fun giving rides on our surfboard. 

We stayed till 2 and when we got home the girls went to the pool to rinse off and I vacuumed the jolly green because it was gross. 

Delaney had ballet from 4:15-7:30 and Josh picked her up so Alecia and I could go to RS. We talked all about Summer and it was a sweet little gathering. Mercury was in retrograde or something and I was sooooo tired, so we went to bed early’ish but then I irresponsibly scrolled for a long time. 

And current memes to keep my camera roll clean. It’s pretty corny, but…

❤️

The first weekend of Summer 2024

Saturday was a fun one. The Kinneys had a going away party at Dorsey Park so we went early and stayed and visited with friends till noon. I got to catch up with several people I haven’t seen in a long time, so that was nice. 

Delaney has ballet at 12:15, so I took her there and Matt, Adi, and Frankie headed to Solomon’s for his work picnic. 

D and I got there at the very end so while they enjoyed the last of the bounce house, Matt and I packed a 9x13 full of leftovers and went for a walk. 

Then we hit the pool! We jumped off the diving board, slid down the slide, and swam swam swam. It’s so fun to play with these big kids! We swam for 3 hours and then adi, Delaney and I stayed just a few more minutes after Frankie and Matt left. 

Sunday was a nice day too. I went to LP and then Pax and then had a quick mission meeting. We walked, ate bbq leftovers for dinner, and watched The Saratov Approach. We also watched to Elder Bowen’s conference talk for family night tonight and he shared the story of being arrested as missionary and now our girls are convinced being a missionary is pret-ty dangerous. 

We’ve got a fun first week of summer planned and first up was the mall! Adi drove us to Waldorf and she did.a great job! The girls have been pushing back on clothes. They want shorter shorts and dresses and shirts and to dress more like everyone else. Modesty is tricky, but I’d been praying and we had a good chat on our way and the spirit helped me know what to say and it went really well. We all compromised and it was such a good day. 

Delaney found her shoes all shiny and new and compared them to her old busted ones and we all laughed. 

These girls never go to the mall, so we did the whole darn thing and stopped in at the food court for snacks. 

D loves to pick things that are too big for her and she found some cargo pants she loved but that were way too long and she was a little upset that I said no to them. So she was super happy to find her size at H&M. She tried on both pairs to see which she liked better. 

She went with the green. 

We walked the whole mall and found all but 3 things on our list. We left home at 11 and got back home at 6 and it was super fab. 

We grabbed 30 minutes at the pool but it was pretty chilly so we didn’t last long. We came home for family night and played some fun games for our activity. 

The flour cutting game first,

Which I lost because I made it collapse. 

Then we took turns pouring water till Frankie finally made it overflow. 

I had seen these games awhile ago and grabbed screenshots and as I’ve been cleaning out my pics I found them again and finally remembered to play them. 

They were fun a silly and everyone enjoy them. 

So far summer 2024 has been A+.