Egg Games

We've been having lots of fun this week. Some things are errands and must do items, especially as we get ready for our trip. But mostly we squeeze in fun things. I'm also intentional with our summers, doing and working on areas the girls can grow, learn, play and rest. This year, I included them in on the convo about what things they wanted to be intentional with this summer. Some of these things include working on math on a regular basis, reading, playing on our Duolingo App to learn Spanish, practicing and learning more about mindfulness, cooking dinner together, etc. 

This week Paige and Anna both chose a night to make dinner for the family. They get to search for ideas, tell me what ingredients I need to get, prepare and make the meal. I am available for assistance as needed. Paige made a carrot ginger soup with asian salad and potstickers. Anna made Hawaiian chicken kabobs and pineapple salsa in the pineapple. Both meals turned out delicious!

We also squeezed in some swimming! It's been super fun "babysitting" our friend's pool while they have been away. 

I was able to help a friend figure out what was wrong with their dryer. I had a feeling it was the heating element and sure enough it was broken. So they are ordering the part and I am hopeful they can put it together without me!

Finally, Paige hosted an "Egg Games" for the family. She had grand ideas of an egg drop, egg race and egg rollercoaster. We nixed the last one, but had fun putting together our contraptions to see if the eggs would break when dropped. We thought Anna's was most inventive so she won even though everybody's eggs stayed in tact. Then we had a spoon race and Patrick and I some how lost which meant we got eggs on our heads! It was a fun time and Paige was very proud of all her planning. Why does Anna look like a thug in all of these pictures?!

And now we are packing up to leave for UT! So you won't hear from me for a little while, but I'll have tons to post when we return.

Summer things

I feel like the girls packed in an entire summer on the very first day! We decided to use this Saturday as a Father's Day make up. We'll be traveling during the real Father's Day so this allowed us to celebrate Patrick in our own way before we leave for UT. 

We treated him to a big breakfast and allowed him to open up gifts. I think we were most excited about the bacon bag we found! Next, the girls took him kayaking and Teddy even joined in. He was so whiny when he saw them launch that he gladly joined Patrick in his boat when given the opportunity. He did well on the boat ride, but did not like seeing the girls when they went in front of Patrick. I think he was anxious to get to them, but couldn't. Problem solved by making sure they stayed behind him. 

When they finished kayaking, the girls found a blackberry busy and picked enough to make their own desserts later. They were quite productive in the kitchen whipping up their own creations and then presenting them to us later after dinner. Very delicious!

Patrick and Anna enjoyed a run together although Anna says she's now out of shape. She still managed to run 7:30 miles so I am not sure how out of shape that is! Her summer conditioning will start soon although we will be away so I guess hiking will have to count. 

Other fun things of the day included popsicles on the back porch, BLTs on the front porch (don't ask why the porch shifting), fort building, movie night and swimming at a friend's day. They ended the day with a sleepover in Anna's room. It was sweet of Anna to suggest this as Paige's sleepover with Sally was canceled earlier in the day. Turns out Sally got the same cold we did. Bummer! Paige and I took her over her gift and some items to help her feel better including our medicine ball tea ingredients. 

So that was just the first day!

Sunday was filled with church and then more swimming. We're spending this week preparing for our trip which we are SO excited about! 

Last day of school

Well, we finally made it! With much anticipation the last day of school arrived. I turned on some dance music, pretty loudly, at 7:15AM to make sure everybody was in a festive mood. I'm not sure Teddy agreed or knew what was happening, but we started the day with celebration. I also managed to snag the last day of school pics before sending everybody on their way. It's funny, I use the same frame every year (it's falling apart now!) and all of the first day of school pictures are stored there. So when Anna got it ready with her first day pic, we got to pull out several years worth of pictures. It was so fun to see how they have grown over the years!

The girls had a half day. Paige was particularly excited about the talent show in her class and she got to announce it. Anna was just glad to go and come back. It's a good thing it was only a half day as the district internet decided to quit at 10:30. That's just so 2020-2021. I made sure the girls had a fun message on the driveway in chalk and I snuck the water gun into the car to squirt Paige as I picked her up. She and I also made the donut run while Anna had lunch bunch with her friends. 

Of course, we couldn't let the last day of school go by without a silly string fight. It's the funnest 5 minutes until you have to pick it all up. Ha!

We spent the afternoon doing chores (I know, I know!) because we were getting ready for our backyard cookout with friends. It was fun to have the Powells, Currys and Soongs over to celebrate. The thunderstorms held off until almost 9pm and the kids had a blast playing capture the flag with the dads. Because we will also be gone for Father's Day, I thought this would be a fun way to celebrate the end of the year and the dads. 

Madison and Patrick twinning. :) 

Summer plans are lined up and we're ready to travel to see new places, friends and family. The girls are over half way done with their summer reading bingo and I am sure many trips to the library will be made. I've talked to them both about some intentional things they want to do/accomplish this summer (i.e. areas the want to grow, learn, play and rest) so that we don't let those summer days slip by without a little bit of focus. These include things like learning a new song on the viola, playing volleyball, doing a Bible study together. I have a feeling the days will fly by! For now, welcome back summer. We're so very glad to see you.

Finally, here are some other awesome things to happen this week...Surprise cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes in DC sent by Grandma to celebrate the end of the year! The girls were so surprised and thrilled. 

A run in the rain because jogging must be better when it's raining. 

And Anna got her second vaccination. Yay!! She did great and even told me she looked at the needle before she was given the shot. Progress in terms of her fear of shots.

LAST WEEK!

We've been laying low over the past week to recover from our colds. Patrick, fortunately, never got it and the girls and I are starting to feel better. We've had a ton of Starbucks copy cat medicine ball tea which is quite yummy, but overall we're just ready for the snot to end. This was pretty much our Sunday afternoon....

The rest was good because it's our LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL! I can't believe we finally made it here. This year has been long and challenging. It feels like the beginning was so long ago and there were so many unknowns. For much of the year, we were piecing together what the girls would be doing for school. It was an endless wave of decision after decision as thing got better and worse and better. We struggled through technology issues which were frustrating and discouraging. Many days felt the same.

BUT, there was so much good too. Anna got to run cross country and track. She became a crucial member of a team and made new friends. Paige played soccer and showed her tenacious skills on the field. We did school at home with Sally and Grant, celebrating fun days, playing outside and taking advantage of free time when we could. Anna had lunch bunch every week and even made a new best friend. The girls persevered and learned patience through the challenges. They excelled in their classes and learned new things. I also have two kiddos who now prepare and pack their own lunches! 

I've only had two full weeks this school year where the girls were both in school. Some mamas might pull their hair out. I realized early on what a blessing it was to have this time with them. We all grew together as we took one day at at time. I helped with homework and new lessons that normally would have been covered at school. Let's just say my 7th grade math and Spanish have both improved this year! I can also see how the girls have grown together as they were often the only other child they would see in a day. 

So we're celebrating this week, knowing what a milestone it is to finish the school year and to be able to do that in person. There were certainly things to grieve, but we are walking across this finish line with our heads held high and so grateful for all the opportunities to grow and learn. God has been so faithful!