The End of Summer

 This was one of those months where I really wondered where the time went, and how we crammed so much activity into 31 days. With both kids signed up for in-person school this fall, I had a hard time finding a balance between feeling like I still needed to quarantine and socially distance but also knowing at the end of the month they would be exposed no matter what. I still don't feel like I have a firm grasp on what I feel comfortable with, so I am just doing my best! Just like I did with this chalk art of the kids....

We kicked this month off by celebrating Colin turning 5 years old! Talk about where does the time go...he got lots of Legos and books and had such fun playing with all the new toys. We aren't big on birthday parties, but I was a little upset he couldn't have a get together with friends. I told him that and he said "Yeah, I know what you mean, but at least I have Saucy!" then choke slammed her onto the couch. Sibling love.

Wow! Our first big adventure of the month was to a Jellystone campground. If you have never been, they are amazing, and so geared towards family friendly activities. We wanted to test again how Blair would do camping, but this time we went with Chris' coworker who has a pop-up. So Blair and Chris slept in the camper and Camper Colin slept in the tent with me. The kids had an absolute BLAST and it wasn't without some struggle, but Blair slept through the night!! It was a great weekend and we are looking forward to many more. 

This summer we were lucky enough to find two monarch caterpillars. We brought them home and set them up with food and watched the process. One didn't end up making it - I don't think he was able to latch anywhere to make a chrysalis. The second one completed his process and turned into a butterfly! It was a cool experience for the kids to watch. 

We finally won the war with Blair and her pacifier!! But the casualty of that war is that she stopped taking naps...and man that makes for a long day. So, now that we didn't have naps to rush home for, I took them on two day trips  to small, neighboring towns this month. They were so much fun and the kids had a blast! 

This trip was to see a free sunflower field and a awesome splash pad situated right along the Kalamazoo River. The kids made out with some McDonalds AND a Wendy's frosty!

Our second day trip was to a cool barn playground then to an old mill. This wasn't as fun but I enjoy taking the kids to see and experience new things, and to learn! 

Seeing how much fun the kids had at Jellystone finally opened Chris' eyes to the joys of camping. Somehow he managed to score us a free camper (1992 barely used, family's kids were all grown) and it was possibly one of the best days of my whole life. We worked to get her cleaned up and some easy fixes (new tires, taillight, license plate) but she is in excellent shape and ready to rock and roll! 

I had the kids make thank you cards for the people who gave us the camper, and Colin had to sneak in his favorite sight word! 

We got to sneak in some much needed friend time too this month. Anything outside I was comfortable with, so we had beach days and playground days and it did wonders for everyone's mood. It has been harder than we realize having to stay so sequestered. We are ready for coronavirus to go away!! 

To fill up the rest of our days, we went on hikes and to beaches. Anything outside, I am a fan of. 

This beach day was the last one before school started. I expected to have a nice relaxing day but then we got there and holy waves! They probably weren't any bigger than ones in the ocean but comparing them against a normal Lake Michigan they were huge. Colin had a blast body surfing which had me on edge the whole time. Luckily Blair was not into it at all and stayed onshore. 

This summer has been the hottest and driest that I can ever remember having east of the Mississippi. I am sad to admit that after awhile I lost the battle to drag the hose out every other night to water the plants. Somehow, we still managed to get a few harvests in from our garden, and our flower garden looks excellent. 

Side note. Colin's secret sunflowers got HUGE and so top heavy I had to tie them to the flag holder so I could get into the driveway! We get so many compliments on them and Colin is so proud telling people he planted them.

I tried to do some inside crafts - the best one was towards the end of the month when we made a dino diorama! I remember making these in school as a kid, and we had so many boxes from all the school supply deliveries. Two birds one stone! The kids really enjoyed it, especially when we got to fill the volcano up with baking soda and vinegar and watch it destroy the world as they knew it!

The relationship these two kids have is really amazing. Blair definitely gets tired of Colin's in-your-face approach to life, and Colin wishes Blair would follow along with his imaginative style play a little better. But when she is sad, he works so hard to cheer her up. And when he gets hurt or is in trouble, she always says "You okay Colin?" and gives him a hug. My greatest achievement will be for them to maintain their close friendship throughout their lives. 

Colin - sometimes I can't find the words to describe that kid. Kind, funny, thoughtful. Smart, patient, curious. And ready for school! I had my own doubts about sending him to in-person, but this is one kid that needs to be around his peers. This was a hard summer for him too, because if we met kids out in public they weren't always so willing to play with him (but truth be told he'll encounter little shitheads like that his whole life).

Fav Colin story this month: when we picked up the camper, Colin was being loud (duh) and Chris' boss jokingly said "Hey Colin why don't you be a little louder so the neighbors Matt & James can hear you!" So the rest of the night Colin would say something and go "Ya hear that James?" or "Matt can you hear me buddy?" Then Colin told him he'd give him a new $20 bill for his Nintendo Switch. Hilarious. 

Blair - wooo! She is a wild ride for sure - and she's is one end of the spectrum or the other, no in between. Either she's being super calm and quiet or she's screaming and hitting. One minute she is nicely petting the cat, the next she's trying to choke him or sit on him (yes we are working on this)! And you look at her and she's just so beautiful but then she does the grossest things, like picking up the urinal pad in a port-a-potty. But she sure is ready for school too! 

Cute story - when we were parting with paci, we were going through the list of people who didn't use a paci and for some reason she really focused on Uncle Kyle. The night times were pretty tough, and then we got this picture from Uncle Kyle that made Blair feel pretty special.