Two Fun Weeks

What number are we on now? Four and five? Five and Six? I don't know. And I'm not capturing these last two day by day. This whole experience reminds me why it's been so hard for me to blog this past year. My new phone (it's a year old now) doesn't update my pictures frequently enough. I can't figure it out and I don't know how to fix it. And it's totally irrelevant to anything, but here I am complaining about it anyway.

We've been up to a lot of fun things lately. Last Tuesday I took the kids to Building for Kids. Reid's old enough to just wonder around on his own and find all the things he enjoys. Coraline and Mara are still young enough to be totally captivated by it all. Nell, well Nell's never been super into playing with things. I can't figure that out. But we did spend a good bit of time in the art area per her request.

After BFK we headed to Costco for lunch and super awesome samples. The kids were really well behaved and it was a fun day out.

We also had our 4th of July festivities that week. The Ward had our regular BBQ at Winneconne park.

I can't believe that photo of Reid and Wyatt playing Jenga is all I got, but apparently it is. Nell had a blast playing in the water with Elsie. When we went down to the lake Reid actually saw one of his school buddies there and the two of them spent most their time looking for creatures and other cool things in the water. Coraline and Mara were running around the beach and water and playing with anyone and everyone. 

That night we went out to Omro to watch the fireworks. A big group from the ward got together to watch them just a few blocks from the park where we watch them, but it was kind of nice to just watch them as a family and enjoy the evening together. It's actually the first time we have ever all gone as a family. Ever! It was a lowkey 4th, but also a perfect way to celebrate this summer. 

Coraline and Mara have been such good buddies this summer. I love watching their friendship continue to bloom. 

Reid and Nell are super close too. After Reid spent a full day at Scout Camp Nell complained "Reid's been gone all day, so I've been soooooo bored!" I think she even stomped her foot a little at the end to make sure I knew how angry it made her. 

The week after the 4th we swung ourselves back into all sorts of activities. The three big kids started swim again and Reid joined a basketball league too. Nell loved going to playground group each day. Reid was actually knocked out by an upset stomach one Sunday, and that foiled our plans to have dinner with friends. It also put him on the couch all day Monday.

In addition to racing to programs we also finally got our basement floor completed. I was so excited I lost myself in the work of putting everything back to normal and completely spaced Reid's orthodontist appointment. Have I ever even mentioned he has braces now? They are the cutest thing. I love his smile with that pop of color and metal. 

The end of the week took some juggling. I had to drop the girls off at swim lessons with a babysitter so I could go to a school board committee meeting while Ben took Reid to scout camp. Here's some photos of their fun day. 

Ben loved this shot of him with his tongue out.

I love this genuine smile. 

Kwik Trip dinner after a long day at camp and before a long drive home. 

Reid's BB-gun aim was pretty impressive. He loved trying out archery. Swimming, slime making, and ??? were his other favorite parts. All in all it was a good day, and he was excited to see his old friend from the Fond du Lac ward (their ward came to our ward building and did a combined primary for about six months at the end of last year -- the photos are with an Oshkosh buddy). 

Then on Friday I went to an all day training on Equity in Education. It was my jam. I'm so thankful Ben took a couple hours off in the morning so all the kids could end up where they needed to be. Reid and Nell had a fieldtrip to a waterpark in Green Bay and Mara and Coraline spent the day at my friend Molly's house.

Preiously, on Wednesday night, I had a 4 hour school board meeting, and then on Saturday I spent a few hours at the Church service project I had organized. By the end of those four days -- with me having serious adult time each day -- I was feeling fabulous. Momma loves you kiddos, but momma is ready to stretch her wings back out into the real world. These are all just warm up stretches really, but I need them.

PS: going back and looking at this post I realize I have no pictures of my Nelly Belly, so I need to add one little tidbit. One of her very favorite BFFs from school is in her swim class and it couldn't make her any happier! We even got to have her (and her sister) over after class one afternoon. It was when Reid was at scout camp, so I had five little girls running around my house for a couple hours and they all loved it!