the end

Our summer revved up quite a bit at the end, leaving this 6/7+ month pregnant body a bit tired but oh so glad I could still participate.  And now we're in the full swing of school, of fall, and of soccer. Here's a little bit about the final days of summer.

We went to this fun amusement park and did the $11 unlimited-ride wristband for the 3 kids. I think the big kids did about 30 rides each, and Tanner about 15. Considering that each ride is on average $4 if you pay individually...we saved hundreds! I'm grateful I had friends help with my kids at different points during the night, and I'm glad I had a friend to drive home with at 10:30 at night to keep me awake - I was pretty dead on my feet.

(They had big/scary-ish rides too, but I couldn't get pics of my big kids on those ones...)

Another friend organized a last-minute camping trip at a beautiful place only 30 miles from home. It's almost harder to camp for just one night as opposed to 2 or more because you're either unpacking/setting up or loading/packing to go home. But 6 families made the little trip and it was fabulous. One highlight was all the men cooking breakfast - enough for an army - and another was staying up late talking about kids and parenting and other things we all have in common. Good times.

We managed to squeeze in a 1.5+ mile (steep steep steep) hike with all the kids. Even saw a tarantula! I had no idea they lived here...

We had lots of swimming/water time...

Spencer and my friends organized a fun surprise bday for me. Perhaps the biggest surprise was getting there and seeing my kids there...I didn't know it was possible for Tyler to even be awake at 9 pm! The treats were great, and Ashley was a perfect hostess as usual. I was at YW before, so lots of the girls came too. Crazy, fun day.

Emma hiding before I got there... And I can't find any of the other pictures.

We finally got to go to Les Mis! It took a lot of planning, and a lot of money in order to get last-minute tickets, but I'm glad we went. We're missing two of our group here. My kids had the best baby-sitter in the world; they may have had a better night than we did.

Definitely one of our most fun summers ever. Add in our two weeks in Utah and the excitement of Spencer's dislocated/torn ligament shoulder and it will be hard to top this in the future!

Now for a bit of a slower pace...well, probably not.

my normal

I have been thinking a lot about this post lately.  I truly don't know why, as I wrote it 3 1/2 years ago, other than the fact that I once again find our normal changing. Don't get me wrong; I still have train tracks running all over my house. In fact, I find my house just getting more and more cluttered, with toys spilling out of the "toy room" every second of the day. I really do remember writing it though...sitting on the corner of my bed, feeling the change that we anticipated while we waited the 4 long months to close on our first house and send our oldest to school for the first time.

I think back fondly (or not so fondly) to when I had one, or two, little babies. How getting out was a chore, how everything was so far away (in Massachusetts), how I was so physically tired, how Spencer worked all the time... Hmm, maybe things really aren't that different now, except that Costco is a whopping 6 miles away and everything else is within 2 miles. But now we have no choice but to get out, to be busy. Now I have at least one thing to take the kids to every single day of the week, besides school, lots of games/practices, busier callings, homework, piano, a house to maintain, and barely any free time. It's just a new season of life.

School started today. Remember this, from June?

I miss that feeling we all had. Especially as one of my kids was in tears with anxiety last night.

I have been thinking about how to make this school year even better. I want all of us to be our best selves when we are actually together. The kids get wiped out at school and when they get home it's often a mad dash. I am really hoping to not be the crazy, busy, nagging mom when they get home...to have things under control--including dinner--so that our few hours together each day are as chaos-free as possible. I think if I am happy and am not a stress case, they will be the same. They feed off me more than I care to admit.

Here we go. I'd better not get too comfortable here, as THIS normal is quite temporary.

old

I know I'm not really that old, but hitting a new decade is kind of a big deal...

Spencer was quite mortified as he heard me talk to his mom last week. She had asked me how I magnify sound on my phone when I play music. I told her that I don't really use my phone to play music but that when I do, I put it in a glass cup or bowl and that makes the sound a little bit louder. Spencer picked his jaw up off the floor and looked at me like I was a complete embarrassment.

So no, I am not surprised with what he got me for my birthday. You can welcome me to the century/decade/whatever else. I am still behind the times in a lot of ways, but now we can rock out to Kidz Bop in style. Kitchens are the best place for dancing anyway.

tradition?

Spencer wants a boat. He grew up with one, and loved having that time when even though his dad was busy and worked a lot, he was out on the lake with the family and there were no other distractions. Spencer works a lot, and he finally had a Saturday off. {I'm hoping we are done with 80-hour weeks for a few months.} Tyler was having a birthday and it's been a while since we took the motorhome out, so we put it all together for a fun little expedition.

I think a lot about traditions, and especially having some in our family that are our very own. I haven't been good at keeping them up so far but I have a feeling that will change as the kids grow up a little and remember them, and remind me constantly.

We don't have any lakes or bodies of water close enough to be worth it (according to me), but maybe it will be a fun tradition to camp and rent a boat for a few hours once a year. My kids sure loved it (minus the life jackets).

Spencer was a natural behind the wheel. Even though it was a "slow fishing boat."

Tanner really was having fun...but was mad I was taking his picture.

Mom, can you edit out my life jacket?

This easy child of mine was so satisfied with just being on a boat that after 30 minutes he told us we could be done and go back if we wanted, and that he had had such a fun time. Easy to please, this one.

Ahhh, my cute, happy birthday boy. I'm kinda sad he has teeth growing into those huge gaps.

If this fun activity turns into a tradition, I'm definitely ok with that. Especially if that means we never have to actually buy a boat.

swimming

In 6 years we haven't missed a summer of swimming lessons. I don't need my kids to be fantastic swimmers, but I do need for them to be water-safe. All my kids start off very cautious of anything more than the bathtub, but once they get that confidence they are like fish and it's pretty much See ya later mom when we are anywhere near water.

This summer they both whined and complained when I told them they were signed up for a 2-week session. Tyler didn't want to, and Emma felt that she was so above swim lessons, as she is a pretty good swimmer. But on the last day they begged me to sign them up for one more session. I was especially surprised by Tyler, as he is the one that was needing the most help.

So, we spent 4 mornings a week, for 4 weeks, at the local pool. Tanner watched, and brought Mack with him every single day.

I chatted with friends and took pictures. I loved watching especially Tyler evolve this year, as he finally has the confidence and determination that I have been wanting him to have for so long. He can swim across the pool. Introducing...the next Michael Phelps.

Emma learned the butterfly. And she did her first flip off the diving board - what is more fun than that?

I love that I can feel a little less nervous now when we're at the pool. Or maybe more nervous with all the tricks they are doing.

Next year it will be Tanner's turn (gasp!).

mother hen

I am feeling like it was a bit too soon for me to have my first Mother Hen experience this week. One of the chicks was away and it drove me absolutely crazy. I'm so grateful for the "gathering" that happened today. I like everyone under my wings where they belong.

Emma has wanted to go on a plane trip by herself since she turned 8 and knew she was now "allowed" to. I always put it off because, well, I don't want her gone. And it's really expensive. But it's selfish reasons mostly. Her grandma invited her and it was quite last minute, which must have been a good thing for Emma because I didn't have a lot of time to talk myself out of buying her a ticket.  And I didn't have a lot of time to back out. The next thing I knew she was with her dad at the airport, and the next thing I knew after that, she was calling me on Facetime to tell me what fun she was having.

I am thrilled she got to have a trip all her own, that she got to get away from her little brothers and get some girl time with her grandma (they are so similar!). But me having to deal with bored, whiny little boys who just wanted their big sister home got a little old. Tanner asked anyone who would listen to him "where Emma go." He called her all the time asking if she could come back.

I was so glad she made it home with relatively little damage (on our end).

I guess this was good practice for science camp in 3 years and girls camp in 4 (!!!what?!!), but I may think twice before all those things actually come up...

I am so lucky to have a neighbor who always has her camera when it matters most.

Here they see our car...

Tyler chased our car around the corner...

And...reunited at last! These were some happy little boys, let me tell you.