July

During cousin camp, I ended up explaining “happy n sads” to one of the favorite aunties.  She loved the idea and we talked about how great it is even for adults to have that time to reflect and evaluate.  That, combined with feeling like blogging has become more a recitation of our schedule and includes less of the emotional side, led to a recommitment.  Thus, more frequent posts of my own “happy n sads”.  (We stole this ritual from some friends that are amazing parents.  They do it with their kids and then when we were all vacationing together, included us.  We’ve done it ever since.  We try to call Daddy to include him when he’s on the road and even my Ragnar family knows and participates in the tradition.)

But here’s some stuff I think I missed…

We’ve had lots of neighborhood playdates, usually involving water play in the backyard.  I was so excited to live in the kind of neighborhood where kids show up on my front door begging to play.  Now that it happens daily, I wish my doorbell didn’t ring quite so much but am still grateful for the enthusiasm. 

We had a blast at the annual swim party with my Dad’s extended family.  The girls are fish and always eager to swim.  But it’s way more fun with cousins to play with.  Even baby Z went swimming in the water, very still and wide eyed, as if taking it all in.  As always I loved getting to catch up with cousins and especially liked getting to know my brother’s girlfriend more.

The girls participated in a soccer camp.  They went for 1½ hours every morning for a week, starting with drills and technique and moved into more and more playing time.  They all ran non stop and had a great time.  They’ve asked to do fall soccer but I’m not sure if it works with our crazy schedule.

We went to a neighborhood ice cream party and had SUCH a blast.  I love this neighborhood exactly for this kind of thing.  It was like a big block party.  The kids ran around with friends, the adults mingled and relaxed and we had a great time.  I love how social our neighborhood is, how friendly and eager to include we try to be.  The huge downside of the night was when A got in trouble.  She always launches herself into play, making friends with everyone and having a great time.  Unfortunately she doesn’t always think it through and got in trouble for standing on the host’s car.  No idea why she would do that! I’m sure it was a logical part of their energetic play but she’s already gotten in trouble once this summer for that.  Some of the other kids accused her of scratching the car so we apologized to the host, found out the scratch was not her fault but preexisting and then returned the next day to wash their car as service/apology.  I was so grateful for my neighbor being so understanding and glad it all worked out okay.  This crazy kid.  Love her to pieces.  Hope she learns to think before she leaps a little more.  On the other hand, her big sister L, is so hesitant and self conscious that she often puts herself on the sidelines.  If I could somehow mix A’s reckless eagerness and L’s shyness, it’d probably be a pretty perfect combination.

Husband’s brother came to visit and their girls were thrilled to see their cousins.  We spent the first evening fishing.  We met for a quick dinner at a burger joint and then found a peaceful spot on the river.  The kids tried a few casts but lost interest quickly.  Husband hooked L on accident and Grandpa snagged himself, but other than that, we didn’t catch much.  But the girls had a great time acting out various fairy tale stories.  The next day, the men went fishing without us while the girls all played at our house.  They got out the dress ups, had a dance party, played the wii and we made our own pizzas.

Husband took E out on a date.  She picked bowling and reported that she picked a special orange ball and Daddy’s was green.  It sounds like she only made it through five frames but apparently she was so adorable that the owner gave them the game for free plus the girls at the snack bar gave her free ice cream too. 

Later that night, the girls got to check another item off their summer bucket list and slept on the trampoline.  They made a huge bed with pillows and blankets and all piled onto Daddy to cuddle.  I went out to check on them after a short time and found them all sound asleep.  A woke up first the next morning and was delighted to find the cat curled up on her!

Last night husband and I invited a few couples from the neighborhood over for dinner.  It was so fun to hang out with friends without being distracted by the kids and get to know neighbors better.  I absolutely love this neighborhood.

My happy today was spending a lazy Sunday afternoon with my family.  The girls curled up with Daddy to watch a quiet time movie after church, Z took a great nap and I got to lounge and read for awhile.  We went on a popsicle walk after dinner and the evening weather was perfect.

My sad today is that A was especially disruptive during our Sunday School class and it makes me question if her being in my class really is a good idea or not.  I’m sure she would be better behaved for someone else but have mostly enjoyed having that extra time with her.  Today didn’t go as well though.