In order to not spend hours writing this update, I'm going to bullet point the month's highlights:
- Luke took swim lessons and did pretty well. I feel like sometimes he pushed back on what the coach was asking him to do and the coach let him off the hook too easily. Still, he got more comfortable in the water and learned some good basics and survival skills, which is great.
- Audrey started soccer through a local program called i9 Sports. I love their template of one game a week with practice right before the game. They also have a short season of only six weeks. It's a great way to introduce kids to organized sports and the subsequent lessons without overcommitting your entire family for months on end. I'll do a lengthier update on how she did in next month's recap.
- Our church campus hosted a small group leader cookout for us. It was great to catch up and meet others as well as hear the support and excitement from our campus's leadership. As one of them said, "Take a minute and look around you. In a few years, we'll look back on these humble beginnings as the 'good ol' days.'"
- We took our annual trip to New Smyrna Beach with David's mom's side of the family the third week of the month. We did it all: David played golf, he and I had a date, we had a date with each kid separately, we attempted a crab hunt (it was way too buggy to stay out long!), I read and blogged, we ate flitters galore (and just food in general galore, too), the kids got to reel in some fish that David's cousin and uncle caught, we played cards, and we did Go Karts with the kids for the first time. Of course, we also swam swam swam and the kids even "rode waves" a couple of times (it was super calm.) I managed to get in all my tri workouts thanks to a local gym and a great YMCA I found, which let me chill the heck out about my fear of losing ground. We also celebrated Audrey turning seven a little early with a pizza party, craft time that she led for the girls, and a walk on the beach. Unfortunately, as is par for the course for our trips down there, someone ended up sick. AJ got terrible heat rash towards the end of the week and we kept her indoors for a full day to let it recede a little. It looked awful, but we kept hydrocortisone on it and Benadryl in her as needed and it slowly went away. Other than that, it was a fantastic week that went by too fast...more so than any previous trip down there that I can remember!
- David had a good, quiet Father's Day. We had just gotten in from NSB the night before, so they all slept in while I did my brick workout and then we went on a hike by the Chattahoochee River. We gave him some golf accessories and took him out to dinner that night. He sort of gets robbed with AJ's birthday falling right around the same time, but he's a good sport about it.
- AJ's 7th birthday was great. She wanted to eat from her favorite deli for lunch, so we got a picnic to go and went down to our neighborhood pool to swim and play. That afternoon David came home early and we sent her on a scavenger hunt to find her present from us: a Barbie Dream House! In a "she's getting too old too fast and the window is closing" panic, we decided to splurge this year. She was ecstatic! When I took her to Toys R Us a few weeks early to get some ideas for presents, she walked past the dream house in a box, looked at me, and said "Well. I know there's NO WAY." I kept catching her sneaking back and checking it out. It was a total full circle moment for me when she saw it, as that was by far one of my favorite childhood toys. I even cleaned up a few of my old Barbies to give her with it, though I made sure she knew there was no pressure to keep any of them. We played with it for the rest of the afternoon, setting up everything just so. We ate her dinner choice of nachos and then had cupcakes from Jilly's on the back deck and sang to her right at 7:29 (the time she was born.) It was a great day celebrating our amazing girl!
- AJ's "Mermaid Splash Birthday Bash" was the following Sunday evening at Bogan Aquatic Center. That's right...her very first not at home. (Well, her first birthday was at her grandparents' house, but this was the first that I didn't put on from scratch at a home.) She had SO much fun swimming and playing with her friends and cousins. She went around and around the lazy river and played on the little water playground they have. They giggled and squealed for an hour and a half before we pulled them out to do cake and ice cream. She told me on the way home that it "exceeded all of her dreams." Score! Plus, it was a breeze to put on since I did very minimal decorations (foam mermaid centerpieces she put together, balloons, pics of her at the beach/pool through the years, a GF mermaid cake from Sally's Bakery, and a paper banner) and didn't have to plan a meal, craft, or game. I also didn't spend days cleaning and setting up before and after. I could get used to that!
- As I mentioned, we finally got the carpet replaced. I say finally because I originally got some quotes at the end of spring 2015. After realizing how much it would cost to do it, we waited until the spring of this year. But March/April was all about the deck and May is no time to deal with anything extra...hence June 2016. It was a TON of work to get everything cleared off the furniture and packed away. China cabinet, bookcases, dresser tops, underneath the beds...everything had to be put away. And of course I couldn't miss the opportunity to do a little purging and organizing as I was doing it, which just took longer. Since we had the entire upstairs and main level carpet replaced, that pretty much left the sunroom, basement, and bathrooms to pile stuff in. The crew arrived early on the 30th and worked like crazy. As they would finish a room, I would go in a vacuum so they could put the furniture back. The new carpet was so much thicker that I actually hurt my shoulder pushing the vacuum on it! (I think David doubted me until I made him try it out in the hall. We ordered a new vacuum on Amazon the very next day.) It was a long, exhausting day, but the new stuff looks great and I'm very pleased with the color and how soft it is. I completely underestimated the dust and post-installation clean-up required over the next week. It took forever to get it out of every nook, cranny, and blind. So to sum it up: Lot of work. Love the result. But basically we're moving before we need carpet replaced again.
I realize I did not give a resolution update in May, so here's a doubled-up version: I'm staying on top of social stuff with at least two dates with David and a dinner with a girlfriend a month. We also had two small group gatherings this month - one with our co-leaders at the cookout and one with the ladies for a girls' night. I got to see my brother and niece twice this month when they stayed with us. We also visited with David's grandmother and aunt while she was in town. And obviously there was a full week with David's extended family in New Smyrna. So, outside of blogging, I'm doing pretty well on the social goals. BUT, I have completely dropped the ball on the service projects as we did not do birthday boxes or the neighborhood clean-up. Ugg. Realizing that as I write this will hopefully help to get my rear in gear. For organization goals, I've done pretty well. I did the dining room, garage, and most of the craft room and kitchen this quarter. I still need to tackle the office, but in my defense, I also did both kids' rooms again this past month in preparation for the carpet. (It is a CONSTANT battle to not drown in toys and art projects around here.) As usual, doing well in some areas, need improvement in others.
To close, some good quotes from the kids:
- AJ, after David told her that "they say" most everyone dreams every night but that they don't always remember it: "Daddy. You should trust the person that experienced it and not what you read on the internet." TRUTH, girl.
- Luke: "Did that fire truck turn his 'whee-ers' off?" (He meant sirens!)
- AJ, after telling her she probably wouldn't get any wisdom teeth: "Oh no! Does that mean I won't have any wisdom in my mouth?!
I know I squeezed a lot into this one update and I'm sorry it wasn't more detailed (or maybe "you're welcome" is more apt!) I just knew I needed to get it done or I'd lapse into a procrastinating absence for several months. Hope your summer is going well and here's to a few lazy days in the latter half!
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