What a crazy 2 weeks. After returning from Grandview last weekend, we had a pretty normal week- Grandma Debbie’s house for the boys on Monday, Shyanna at our house with them Tuesday-Thursday. Tuesday was soccer and the boys were both pretty tired. They were dragging, but Augustus scored a goal, despite not really being into it.
On Wednesday night, Xander had tee ball, but the highlight was after the game when him, Sam and Harvey (X’s buddies who are on both soccer and tee ball teams with him) got to trade pokemon cards. I think we could have skipped tee ball altogether and just let them focus on Pokemon (we’re planning a pokemon play date soon). After tee ball and getting the boys to bed, Nate and I went down to Kelly and Silas’s porch for a special Wednesday happy hour. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time- it was so fun! We stayed out there until midnight (for reference, I like to be in bed by 9pm!). We have the best best neighbors.
Monday-Thursday this week, Xander went to half day art classes at his school. He made some clay sculptures, painted, and made a diorama of his room- he really enjoyed it and I love to see the things he creates. Thursday afternoon, we went to a nearby park for a going away party for one of the teachers at Kinderberry. Maggie was both Xander and Augustus’s teacher when they were 2&3 years old. We all LOVED her- she is so wonderful and one of my favorite teachers of all time. It was nice to be able to honor her as she moves onto her next adventure. Augustus was thrilled because ALL of his buddies were there. He is such an extrovert and I think he’s really missed being in a big group of friends. We were there for over 2 hours and could have stayed all night if it was up to Gussie. Friday morning was playtime at the Y childcare while I worked out and then swim lessons. Swim lessons are intense and she’s working them really hard. But they are making a lot of progress and I’m proud of them!
After swim lessons, we loaded up the car and drove 5 hours to Denison, Iowa for the Jones Family reunion. This was Nate’s mom’s family’s side. I always get nervous about long car rides because both Xander and I get carsick quickly. Also, as an introvert, these intense 4 day visits are super overwhelming to me, so my anxiety is always high going into visits. But Nate’s family is truly the best and we had such a wonderful time. We got into town and went over to his aunt and uncle’s house to see everyone. The boys were so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa, and SO happy to see their baby cousin.
Saturday was the reunion, which was over 40 people- all of Nate’s aunts and uncles, cousins, cousins’ kids, as well as other relatives as well. There was SO much good food (a true midwest potluck with all sorts of whipped cream based “salads”), kids for the boys to run around with, and the weather was amazing. Our sister-in-law Angela is a photographer and so we had planned a red, white and blue themed photo shoot. She did an AMAZING job and got so many great pictures!
On Sunday, we headed to the Denison aquatic center, which, despite being such a small town, was a fabulous waterpark! We swam for hours, racing down the waterslides a million times. The boys jumped off the diving board about 100 times. Xander practiced diving (with some guidance from Grandma Renee). It was SO fun!! We went to a few different parks. Grandma Renee had some craft projects for the boys. We hung out, relaxed. It was such a wonderful weekend!
Our drive home flew by and we got home around 2. I like to unpack immediately and get the laundry done before anything else. I ran to get groceries and 45 minutes after getting home, the boys and I were in the pool. I am convinced that they could be in the water 24/7 and it wouldn’t be enough. Shyanna took good care of the puppies, but after 2 weekends away, they were very needy for some snuggles. We have a normal week and weekend ahead, so it will be good for everyone to get back on schedule (as much as we can call it that this summer!).
Some of the awesome family photos-
