Summer in full swing!

This is the first full week of summer and it kind of felt like it.  The boys attended their day camp, Anna volunteered at the barn, we visited family and we did some fun stuff with the kids.  Nothing too crazy but it was a good start to summer!  Next weekend we are going to go watch the fireworks show on Saturday night after the local baseball game, but this time we will have bug spray!  And in the mean time, we look forward to closing out June with fairly normal June weather and keeping it along that same temperature to start July.  Enjoy!

20 years ago!

20 years ago I said "are you serious" and I think I waited for an answer before saying "YES!"  Thank you Matt for asking me to marry you and for the last 22 years we have shared.  I love you!

 

Today we celebrate Father's Day!  We are very thankful for our fathers who made us who we are today, and the role they have taken on as grandpa to our kids.  

A fun flashback to Matt on our wedding day and our dads, and to the day our kids were born!  So very thankful!

Happy Father's Day!

First full week of summer...with a nasty heat wave!

This week we knew the hot weather would be hitting...and boy did it.  On Wednesday the temperature reached 100 degrees starting at 10:30 a.m. and stayed over 100 degrees until 6 p.m., reaching a high of 110 degrees.  Matt took the kids to the beach to try and escape a bit of the heat and although it was a bit cooler, it was still roughly 100 degrees for a good part of the day.  One of the few times to be thankful for cold water!  

This week Anna has also started helping someone who lives close to our house that has a horse that needs some extra attention.  Anna has been doing volunteer work to help out and got to do a bit of a ride on Thursday and Friday after doing the chores.  The heat made her thankful she was going in the morning before the heat really baked everything, but it was still rather warm making her glasses slide down often.  

On Friday night we went to our usual spot to watch the first fireworks show after a local baseball game.  It was a warm evening and we only ended up putting on our sweatshirts because there were so many mosquitos!  Yikes!

And today we headed to a local park for a picnic lunch and a bit of a hike.  The kids had fun seeing which rocks would break apart when they tossed them on a cement block.  

Anna sitting in the tree where we took family photos in November of 2013.  A lot has changed since then!  

A rock tower we made before leaving.  

Then we went on our hike.  Olivier had to climb the rock wall...and I was glad when he jumped down he didn't break himself!  

And in a silly side note, the boys are side by side this year in their school yearbook for the first time.  Normally they are under their teacher, which has always been different.  This year, since there was such a mix of which teacher they had with remote learning, in person learning, etc, all the kids were just listed by grade.  I took this photos and when I sent them in it didn't seem like they looked alike, but seeing them side by side...wow, they sure are related!  

Today it was a warm day but thankfully it was cool this morning and it has cooled down tonight.  

School is done!

Wednesday was the last day of school!  It is hard to believe we made it with all the uncertainty along the way but somehow it happened and now the kids are on summer break!  We are proud of the hard work, on their part and by all the teachers and support staff.  Whew!

On Saturday we had a hot day that kind of came out of no where.  Thankfully there was a nice breeze all day that kept us from feeling crazy hot and allowed the temperature to cool down quickly.  It ended up being the perfect today to be at the park, which is just what we did.  We had a late lunch with Matt's parents and his brothers families.  It was much needed after the emotional last few weeks.  We just missed one who was getting much needed sleep before the night shift.  It is amazing to see how much the kids have grown and, although they have changed, they still enjoy being around each other as much as always.  

We missed you April!  And yes, we see you Joe!

Second shot done! Three days of school left!

 This week the weather has been warm and sunny, a sign that summer is coming.  On Friday Anna got her second vaccine and has been fortunate to have no side effects.  The kids made it through another week of school and now only have three days left.  As much as we are happy about that, the ability to have a bit of a routine will be missed, with the hopes that once the next school year starts in late August that it will be more of a "normal" school year.  

Not much going on besides that.  Working on stuff around the house and focusing on getting the school year done.  

Thankful

Today we were saddened to learn that the kids Great Grandma passed away.  It is harder as they get older to share news like this with the kids.  When another Great Grandma passed away in January 2019 it was only a few months after we visited and it was unexpected the kids were saddened.  And today we are all saddened that another piece of the family is not longer with us.  Although we weren't able to visit for long, I am always thankful that the kids did spend time with their great grandparents that were with us for enough time after they were born.