Day 1679 | Father’s Day

Since Chris and I were out of town last weekend, today was his Father’s Day celebration. We surprised him with a pretty great present scavenger hunt (Chase even contributed his first clue—usually I’m the one who writes them) and then the rest of the day was filled with some of his favorite things: a walk to the farmer’s market, some productive time spent working on the fort, a bike ride to get ice cream, a [fruitless] trip to play Kubb at a local establishment, and grilling out + low-key family time with just the four of us. 

It was a good day. I’m not sure we did enough to express the total and complete love and appreciation we feel for this guy, but we tried our best! 

Day 1678 | No Longer a Baby

That moment when you realize your baby is no longer a baby. It took me seeing a photo of myself holding this “little guy” (during a Kubb game, obviously) to realize how big he is.  

Day 1677 | Nature Camp

We’ve made it through day four of the craziest week of the summer (officially). One more day of the two-camp shuffle and we’re home free. At this point, both boys are looking forward to the “low key” weekend (their words). It seems like they’ve been sleeping well, at least. 

Day 1676 | Foot Race

There was an epic foot race at our house tonight. Robbe, Chris, and Dr. Tim took to the backyard to test their skills. 

Even though the experience was a bit lopsided, Robbe won. He was pretty pumped, as you might have guessed.  

Day 1675 | Soccer

Chris and I made it home after a wonderful weekend away. We’re tired and behind on life but that’s what you have to do sometimes. :) 

This week also happens to be the busiest week of the summer for us—perfect timing. The boys are in two camps every day this week and soccer started today as well (it’s a Monday/Wednesday thing for most of the summer). It’s going to be *a bit* intense but super fun. 

If the blog is a tad quiet this week, it’s because we’re all running around like maniacs.  

Day 1674 | Taking a Break

Chris and I are off on a [solo!] adventure and I’m going to unplug from the blog for the weekend. I’ll be back on Monday with a full report. 

Day 1673 | Smiles with a Gap

Aren’t these two the cutest with their missing-tooth smiles? Also, Chase likes wearing giant t-shirts these days. That is all. 

Day 1672 | Summer 2019 Bucket List

I wouldn’t say we had the best first day of summer around here. I thought maybe a low-key day with nothing on the agenda would be the right way to ease into our months of freedom. As it turns out, the boys were not interested in being bored all day (on the first day!). Fingers crossed we get into a better routine around here or it’s going to be a long few months. Don’t worry, though, I’m hopeful tomorrow will be much better.

We’ve decided to put together a bucket list again this year (like we did in 2016) as a way of making sure we motivate ourselves to get out there and seize these beautiful and fleeting days. Without further ado, and in no particular order…

The Summer 2019 Bucket List

• Go fishing — done!

• Go mini golfing

• Go swimming — done!

• Catch frogs

• Look for new animals

• Playdate with Malcolm

• Attend a baseball game

• Go bowling

• Make a movie

• Make homemade ice cream

• Lots of playdates with Edwin

• A Fairfax Pool trip

• Go camping

• Bike to get ice cream

• Go to a family wedding

• Sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa’s

• Attend Harry Potter’s Birthday at the public library

• Go tubing down the river by our house

• Attend Chalkfest

• Walk/bike the sculpture tour

• Attend a summer concert (at least one)

• Practice stand up paddle boarding

• Read three new chapter books

• Take a Mississippi River day trip

• Visit the Upper Peninsula

• Go strawberry picking

• Go blueberry picking

There you have it! We’re going to be busy, that’s for sure. I’ll keep you posted as we make progress.

Day 1671 | Ga-ga Ball Action

The adults and kids got in on the ga-ga ball action today—in a real ga-ga ball ring and everything. It was epic to say the least.  

Now I get why the boys like it so much. 

Day 1670 | Summer Begins

Today might have been the perfect summer day. A morning bike ride (with donuts), fishing and swimming at the lake, lunch over a bonfire, dining al fresco, and a rowdy game of gaga ball to round out the night. 

Seriously, such a good day. If this is any indication of the type of summer in store for us, it’s going to be an epic one. 

Day 1669 | Last Day of School

Ready or not...summer is here! I’m super excited about hanging out with these two crazy guys all day every day.  

Day 1668 | Kubb

Chase and I are the family Kubb champions. Look it up, it’s a really fun yard game.  

Day 1667 | Blossom

He’s still around, in case you were worried. And Robbe is still very interested in becoming best friends (I am, too, for the record). We’re working through a bit of a nibbling stage at the moment, but I’m confident he’ll turn the corner soon. 

Day 1666 | Bikers

This was the other big accomplishment of the weekend: new bikes!  

And not only that, but Robbe is *this close* to officially riding a two-wheeler. We’ve had two good days of practice and I think after one more session of Chris chasing after him, he’ll be good to go. Can you imagine no more training wheels?!?

I see lots of family bike rides in the future.  

Day 1665 | Broiler Fest

We weren’t planning on making a trip to the Eleva Broiler Fest (the festival in the town right next to mine growing up), but when all three nieces are in the parade (and one of them is celebrating her 16th birthday!!), you load up the car and fight your way through the chaos. 

It was a beautiful day for a town festival. In the two hours we were there, corn dogs were consumed, the boys played a couple of carnival games (and won some sweet snakes), and we scored an impressive haul of candy during the parade. 

Our little family had a really lovely day overall. More details on today’s other adventures tomorrow—I can only fit so many photos in one collage.  

Day 1664 | Summer Has Arrived

What do you do on the first 90 degree day of the year? Go swimming, of course! Thanks to Uncle Jim and Aunt Lynn, we had quite the pool party. 

It’s going to be a great summer. I have a good feeling about it.  

Day 1663 | Making Friends

Today was a good day for our relationship with Blossom. I think he’s starting to realize how awesome we are. We played with him several times and he even climbed right onto our hands when we tried to get him out of the cage. Definitely making progress!

Day 1662 | A Hamster

That’s right. We have a new member in our family. Meet Blossom Dandelion. He’s a Winter White hamster and he’s adorable. 

Robbe has been lobbying for quite some time to bring a hamster into this house. We’ve done tons of deliberating, and researching, and budgeting surrounding the new little guy and finally we just had to go for it. 

The transition has been a bit tough so far. Turns out you need to leave new hamsters alone for a couple of days when you first bring them home. Even though we were well aware of this (thanks library books!), it’s still hard to do. We all want to be your best friend, Blossom! LOVE US!!! 

We’re trying to keep our enthusiasm in check. Really trying. And I think it’s working. We brought him home yesterday afternoon and already he’s more interested in us and doesn’t seem to be scared to death. That’s good, right?!?

I’ll keep you posted on our best friend status. Fingers crossed!

Day 1661 | Hitting Pitches

No more tees for these two. One practice session of hitting pitches this afternoon and they’re practically experts. Too bad no one wanted to take baseball this summer—looks like we’ll just have to keep practicing in grandpa’s backyard. 

Day 1660 | My View After Dinner

It’s hard to beat this.