June was a blur of multiple trips (we were out of town every weekend but one,) which meant that we spent a lot of time packing, unpacking, re-packing and driving. And somehow we managed to squeeze in even more fun between the trips.
Also, as I look at all of these pictures, I feel incredibly validated in the fact that I am exhausted.
I am so, so lucky that I get so much time off during the summer, but there are still a few days that I have to go in, so Anderson has hit up quite a few random camps. First, he did a few days of KidTime Camp and on one day they had a farm visit! The animals were still there when I stopped to pick him up so I was able to get a picture. The baby pigs and goats were SO cute. Also, the ice cream truck had just visited, hence the blue mouth. Summer is so rough.
He also did a basketball camp which is so well run that it has re-energized his love of basketball. To be fair, he did not LOVE going, but he went and he survived and I think he even enjoyed it. They played games and the winners got a candy bar, so I think that the Snickers bar he brought home every day contributed to the overall enjoyment.
Also, he spent 6 hours playing basketball and another 2 hours swimming or jump jamming at night and was STILL NEVER TIRED. How is this even possible? Send all of the coffee.
We had an awesome time swimming/hanging out with the Brimers one night! We always love our play times that last hours, especially when it includes dinner!
Max on a giant shark.
Anderson participated in exactly 1 track meet where he ran 1 race (the 400) and won 1st place! We enjoyed cheering him on, but were also so hot because we sat in the sun for almost 5 hours to watch that 90 seconds of running.
Of course overpriced snow cones were purchased.
There was a little drama at the end of the race (who are these crazy parents??) so I am glad I got this picture to capture his track experience.
Max summed up how we all felt once we finally left.
Anderson & Brandon tried to teach Max how to play checkers. It did not go well.
A moment of nobody fighting...I was afraid to even go in the room in case it ended.
Gabs had to move back to "Will Bite" at the vet based on a little incident that we had during our yearly checkup.
Let's just say that I feel pretty confident she is the best security we could have at our house.
Jump Jam birthday party. I am always so, so grateful for the parents who pay for these parties so that my kids can participate. We hit up 3 parties in June so far and BOTH of my kids were able to go to all of them, which is a huge win.
I love, love seeing these 2 together at parties. Is it because they are not fighting? Because they are both eating a meal I do not have to prepare? Because they are having fun together? Yes to all of this.
Brandon redid all of our flower beds and now we are the envy of the entire neighborhood.
Let us all have a moment of silence and pray that I do not kill all of these plants.
Also, the boys are very happy that we might help with the bee situation. I am always talking about "bringing back the bees." Max is especially concerned and he asked me, "Who took all of the bees??"
Nobody prepared me for how much my kids would LOVE/WORSHIP food coloring. These little boxes of goodness have filled so, so many hours in our lives.
Super fun sleepover with Jack! I love that he and Anderson are best friends because he is such an awesome kid and, of course, his mom is pretty awesome, too.
Anderson participated in a STEM camp one week and had a blast. Since I am an educator, he was able to go for free....if I volunteered all week. His favorite days were the Science, Math and Health Science days. I mean, I spent an entire day learning about "Math Around Us," which really, really speaks to my overwhelming desire to save money.
It was really so much fun because it was so HANDS ON! Every day included 4 "projects" and even a content themed snack. They made actual robots, straw robots, learned about aerodynamics by making airplanes, created boats to learn about buoyancy, made slime to measure volume, dissected worms, talked about genetics, did some math stuff that I couldn't keep up with , etc......
I mean, I might be the actual definition of helicopter parent here, but whatever. He had fun for FREE and one day he will not actually want me to be near him, so I will take this time.
Anderson built this entire Lego structure by himself. He spent an entire afternoon on it and was SO proud of himself when he finished it. Max did not contribute but did jump in the picture.
Random Science experiment in the front yard because we are all about keeping our neighborhood classy.
Also, photo cred to Noni!
Max really loves to "do Science," which usually just means make giant messes.
Max did get to visit on the last day of STEM camp where he actually acted like a grown up and then lost his mind with excitement when they set the desk on fire (on purpose...it was an experiment.) Also, I have no idea why Anderson was wearing sunglasses inside.
Speaking of glasses, Anderson has broken SO many pairs of glasses. He wears RecSpecs whenever he plays any kind of sport or physical activity, so I just do not understand. But, the intensity of a 7 year old boy is a real thing, so I guess that is the logic.
We went to "Tots & Teens Optical" AGAIN and were told it will be at least another week until the frames are in EVEN THOUGH I called twice and he assured me they had arrived.
No bitterness here, though.
Since we were downtown, we decided to take advantage of our $2 parking in the hospital garage and walked to Market Square. It ended up being a little farther away than I realized (over 3 miles round trip) but it was SO much fun. Anderson calls the times that we spend just the 2 of us "free days" and this was probably my favorite one so far.
No bitterness here, though.
Since we were downtown, we decided to take advantage of our $2 parking in the hospital garage and walked to Market Square. It ended up being a little farther away than I realized (over 3 miles round trip) but it was SO much fun. Anderson calls the times that we spend just the 2 of us "free days" and this was probably my favorite one so far.
Max went to daycare on the days that Anderson & I were at STEM camp, so he was not with us, which probably contributed to why we had such a great time.
But seriously, we had so much fun that we decided we need to do it again with Max.
We went to Rita's, a book store that had a puppy worker, hit up the Farmer's Market, crossed a bridge where we were fascinated by the size of the traffic light and did some shopping for GG's birthday.
We are so grateful that McFee park is so close to us and we spend a lot of time there playing, riding bikes (Max), playing in the splash pad and wandering off into the fields trying to find lizards.
Also, we have spent some time at Watt Rd Park.
By "some time" I clearly mean hours on multiple days. These boys are never satisfied with just a playground and want to explore everything within a 5 mile radius.
I am so tired, so tan (despite my multiple layers of sunscreen) and so grateful for this time with these boys.
