38 For Real!

I am 38, for real!  I turned 38 exactly two months ago actually.  Interestingly, I thought I was 38 for about half of the year I was 37.  That fact alone made this Birthday a pretty easy transition.  

This year my Birthday was on a Tuesday.  The kids were done with summer school, though they still had Park and Rec in the afternoon.  While somewhat stressful, I decided to start the day with running some errands to farther away places.  We went to the tasty grain free bakery to get Birthday treats and to Trader Joes so stock up on lots of things including sweet potatoes, which are one of my favorite things!  

Once I dropped the kids off at Park I had the afternoon to relax and take my time eating lunch.  Sadly, while I was slicing my sweet potato (for sweet potato fries, the perfect Birthday lunch) I sliced my finger.  Before I knew how bad it was I almost fainted in fear that I had somehow cut off my finger.  Thankfully it wasn't a horrible wound.  At first I put two bandaids on it. 

The double bandaid stopped the bleeding... and possibly my circulation! 

A different bandaid later that day. 

The cut was bad enough to bleed off and on for several days whenever I bumped it on something. 

When Brandon came home for dinner he fired up the grill to make fajitas, my absolutely favorite food in the world!!  While Brandon was grilling M insisted that he could lift me.  I was nervous at first, but when he proved that he could totally lift me we decided to do it a second time for a photo.  As I look at this photo it looks like I am breaking his back, but I assure you, he wanted to try this.

M: I can lift a 38 year old mom!

Yummy Birthday dinner!

Tasty fajitas!

Cinnamon roll for dessert and Birthday flowers in the background.  I am a blessed woman. 

The kids answered questions about me.  I LOVED hearing their answers.  It was so heart warming.  What a treasure. One of them was more excited to share the answers than the other.

T: I love it when you... 

My kids on my Birthday!

She loves to celebrate with others!

Just in case you needed to see the amazingness one more time.  

Summer School 2019

The kids had a great summer at summer school!  They had so many fun classes this summer!  None of them has performances, so I don't have any pictures of the groups, but I have some pics of some of the awesome artwork that T made in "Art."

Each year I feel like I have to explain our summer school because it is so different than what I grew up knowing of summer school.  It is in incredible 5 week 1/2 day program.  My children do all fun classes and we pay almost nothing, like I think our total this year was $13!  It is incredible.  

This year T took:  Art, LEGO, Origami, Fun in the Sun, Wrestling, A-Z Animals to Zoo, Zoom into Games, and Writing on the Computer.

This year M took: Flag Football, Sports and Cooperative Games, Tennis, Guitar, Origami, Zoom Into Games, and Fishing. 

T: Do you love my mask? 

More art favorites!

See you later

It is hard to believe it was exactly two months ago that we had to say "see you later" to our dear friends.  We will miss the play dates and the conversations.  We look forward to the next time we can be together.  

T: I can't believe that R moved away!

Erin, I am so very very thankful for your friendship! 

Another Festival!

After a morning at Get Outdoors Day and a quick lunch we headed north to another parade and festival.  This time it was mom on duty.  I think the morning shift is the easier shift haha. The kids did well at first, but we were barely hanging on by the time we got home.  

We are so thankful that good friends joined us for the parade.  Our kids love them! 

T:  Kara and Joseph are the best!

M: Joseph tells the best stories.

M and T:  There is no such thing as personal space when it comes to parade candy. 

M and T: We got to see the llama again!

Llama fan club. 

South Shore Drill Team. 

T: I liked wearing the snake. 

Things got pretty touch and go after the parade.  We were about to leave when we realized the performances were starting.  We saw the 5th quarter band perform and then watched the drill team as well.  They were fantastic and really boosted morale!

On the way to the car someone flagged us over and told us to check out the museum.  We were so spent, but it was free so we popped in for a minute.

T: I played school and the books were really old! 

We were very tired by the time we got home!

Get Outdoors Day

Each summer the kids look forward to Get Outdoors Day.  It is a special event where they get to try lots of outdoor things they wouldn't normally get to do.  I went the first year, but Brandon has managed alone the last two years.  I think this was their best year yet! They got there early this year and the lines were much shorter. 

Ready to ride!  

M: Archery is difficult. 

T: I got some extra help. 

M: I was getting ready to shoot a real gun. 

M: I worker stays with you the whole time. 

T: He helped me line everything up. 

M: I can't believe I did this!

What focus!

T: There is a lot to remember. 

Impressive!

M: Then it was time for BB guns!

It is pretty cool!

T: I know they are not real, but I still like to pet them. 

M: I did some practice casts.  Everyone liked myBass Pro hat!

T: I learned how to drive an all terrain wheelchair. 

M: This thing is really cool! 

F!sh Day 2019

F!sh Day 2019 is one we won't quickly forget.  The day started warm and sticky with darkness in the west.  I was up super early worried about the rain. I ran to Walmart and bought 5 umbrellas.  I realized the rain was holding off so I took a morning walk.  

When I returned M was awake and excited for the parade. 

M: This is one of the best days of the year!

My day was made extra special because my little llama came for a visit!  

The weather was nice during the entire parade!  We had a great viewing party and lots of fun and smiles!  One notable highlight was "3 Kims."  We had three women named Kim watching in our group!  A fun record I think!

Part of our group!

Little E loved everything!

T: I loved petting the llama!

Getting to see Jamie twice in one day, it really was like Christmas!

We were not at our friend's party long when we noticed the rain clouds were getting closer.  We managed to get inside before the rain began.  Eventually it let up and we were able to make it home.  The afternoon was quiet with both kids napping.  M's friend D came over and we woke M up.  The rain ended and Brandon took all three kids downtown for fish and chips.  Brandon didn't realize that our kids only get the chips so we made a large donation to a civic organization!!

M: Anything is fun with D!

Sadly all the rain meant low attendance.  This area is usually packed. 

Brushing the cat while we waited for fireworks. 

I not so secretly hoped it would rain during the fireworks and we could put the kids to bed early.  This didn't happen and we ended up going.  It was a great light show and I am thankful it didn't rain.

The viewing party!  Right at the end of our block so we could get home and to bed quickly! 

Cat Love

T: When Buttercup is on the floor, I just plop down next to him. 

This is Buttercup's "roadkill" pose.  He apparently finds it comfortable and sleeps this way often. 

This is the one time that M fell asleep with a cat!