It would be impossible to beat all of the fun from last week when my sister and brother-in-law were here, but we are trying to keep up the excitement.
On Monday, Adaline and Matthew started swim lessons, which was met with mixed emotions from both of them. I think they've both settled in and we can finish up lessons next week without too much complaint and hopefully a couple improved swimmers.
On Tuesday, we told the kids that we were going to see Aladdin at the drive-in. Andrew and I had talked about this a couple weeks prior and I spent the day getting things ready. We made caramel popcorn, moved car seats, loaded up blankets and pillows into the van. We put Alex to bed at 7 because he was exhausted and then transferred him to the van when we were ready to leave at 8, though he promptly woke up. While loading up the van, Matthew exclaimed that, "this was the best night ever!" On the way over, I suddenly remembered that I hadn't checked that Aladdin was still playing. I quickly discovered that it had been replaced by Secret Life of Pets 2-which I had no desire to see-and we headed back home with all of our kids awake and most of them crying. It was an epic fail on my part and I felt sorry for my kids and myself.
Wednesday was much better with swim lessons and fun events at the library. The kids asked to go by the library after swim so they could get some new books since we hadn't been in a while. We lucked out and they were having a "Touch-A-Truck" event with a firetruck, street sweeper, city bus, armored truck, excavator/backhoe, and trash truck out in the park lot for kids to climb in/on, learn about, etc. My kiddos loved it and we ran into a few friends there as well.
On Thursday, we kept up the adventures by heading to the splash pad as soon as swim lessons ended. That night, Andrew won husband of the year by going into the crawl space and cutting the pipe under the shower so that we could remove the shower pan-the last major piece of demolition in the bathroom.
Friday was even more fun, and I feel like I deserve a big pat on the back for going through with our plans that day. We spent basically the entire day at the Oakland Zoo with some friends-letting the kids lead us wherever they wanted to go. After that exhausting outing, and a quick post-dinner nap for me, we redid the drive-in shenanigans. This time we ventured out to see Toy Story 4. I have to admit, the scenario would have been hilarious to watch from the outside. It was packed when we got there, but we managed to find a good spot without too much looking. Michael pooped just before the movie started and when Andrew went to change his diaper (while I was in the bathroom with the big kids) the poop shot out of his diaper. Andrew spent the first 15 minutes of the movie changing Michael and cleaning things up in the dark while I corralled the kids in the back of the van and kept Alex from jumping out. Andrew and I spent most of the movie passing Alex back and forth, trying to keep him entertained and out of the big kids' views, though they were quick to let us know when we failed. By the end of the movie, Alex had had it and Andrew took him out to try to put him to sleep. Meanwhile, I didn't realize the movie was almost over and thought it was a good time for a bathroom trip and missed the whole ending. BUT hopefully the kids will remember it as that time mom and dad did something fun, and they were all asleep by the time we got home, so I guess it was worth it. At the very least, it made me laugh. It'll be a while before we go again though.
We spent Saturday in kind of an unusual way. I went about my regular chores-made breakfast and fed everyone, baked muffins, started making yogurt, cleaned up, reading tons of books to the kids, etc. while Andrew worked on leveling the bathroom floor and removing the broken toilet flange. This is the slowest moving project, but hopefully we'll start to see some progress soon.
Today was a good Sunday, I bribed Matthew with "matching brothers' shirts" and candy so he was quick about getting dressed and happy to go to primary. We were just a little bit late due to Adaline dragging her feet getting out of bed. After church, everyone who wanted a nap was able to catch one, and most people stayed in the living room during family home evening. I'm going to mark it as a win.
On Monday, Adaline and Matthew started swim lessons, which was met with mixed emotions from both of them. I think they've both settled in and we can finish up lessons next week without too much complaint and hopefully a couple improved swimmers.
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| Entertaining ourselves during the big kids' lesson |
On Tuesday, we told the kids that we were going to see Aladdin at the drive-in. Andrew and I had talked about this a couple weeks prior and I spent the day getting things ready. We made caramel popcorn, moved car seats, loaded up blankets and pillows into the van. We put Alex to bed at 7 because he was exhausted and then transferred him to the van when we were ready to leave at 8, though he promptly woke up. While loading up the van, Matthew exclaimed that, "this was the best night ever!" On the way over, I suddenly remembered that I hadn't checked that Aladdin was still playing. I quickly discovered that it had been replaced by Secret Life of Pets 2-which I had no desire to see-and we headed back home with all of our kids awake and most of them crying. It was an epic fail on my part and I felt sorry for my kids and myself.
Wednesday was much better with swim lessons and fun events at the library. The kids asked to go by the library after swim so they could get some new books since we hadn't been in a while. We lucked out and they were having a "Touch-A-Truck" event with a firetruck, street sweeper, city bus, armored truck, excavator/backhoe, and trash truck out in the park lot for kids to climb in/on, learn about, etc. My kiddos loved it and we ran into a few friends there as well.
On Thursday, we kept up the adventures by heading to the splash pad as soon as swim lessons ended. That night, Andrew won husband of the year by going into the crawl space and cutting the pipe under the shower so that we could remove the shower pan-the last major piece of demolition in the bathroom.
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| They randomly asked me to take their picture. How could I say no when they were being this cute?? |
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| Sometimes I think to myself that I should start making dinner but then I don't want to and so I play with my kids instead. I kind of like it when that happens and this is what we made together one day. |
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| When I came back later, this is how I found the princesses |
Friday was even more fun, and I feel like I deserve a big pat on the back for going through with our plans that day. We spent basically the entire day at the Oakland Zoo with some friends-letting the kids lead us wherever they wanted to go. After that exhausting outing, and a quick post-dinner nap for me, we redid the drive-in shenanigans. This time we ventured out to see Toy Story 4. I have to admit, the scenario would have been hilarious to watch from the outside. It was packed when we got there, but we managed to find a good spot without too much looking. Michael pooped just before the movie started and when Andrew went to change his diaper (while I was in the bathroom with the big kids) the poop shot out of his diaper. Andrew spent the first 15 minutes of the movie changing Michael and cleaning things up in the dark while I corralled the kids in the back of the van and kept Alex from jumping out. Andrew and I spent most of the movie passing Alex back and forth, trying to keep him entertained and out of the big kids' views, though they were quick to let us know when we failed. By the end of the movie, Alex had had it and Andrew took him out to try to put him to sleep. Meanwhile, I didn't realize the movie was almost over and thought it was a good time for a bathroom trip and missed the whole ending. BUT hopefully the kids will remember it as that time mom and dad did something fun, and they were all asleep by the time we got home, so I guess it was worth it. At the very least, it made me laugh. It'll be a while before we go again though.
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| I could seriously eat him. He's so cute I can't handle it. |
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| Everyone had a map and needed to lead the way. |
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| The one-year-olds couldn't hang and fell asleep within seconds of each other. |
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| She insists that he isn't her friend because he's a boy, but she seems to like him okay. |
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| Everyone but Alex conked out on the scenic drive home |
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| photo credit: Adaline |
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| PC: Adaline |
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| Ahh his smile brings me so much joy |
We spent Saturday in kind of an unusual way. I went about my regular chores-made breakfast and fed everyone, baked muffins, started making yogurt, cleaned up, reading tons of books to the kids, etc. while Andrew worked on leveling the bathroom floor and removing the broken toilet flange. This is the slowest moving project, but hopefully we'll start to see some progress soon.
Today was a good Sunday, I bribed Matthew with "matching brothers' shirts" and candy so he was quick about getting dressed and happy to go to primary. We were just a little bit late due to Adaline dragging her feet getting out of bed. After church, everyone who wanted a nap was able to catch one, and most people stayed in the living room during family home evening. I'm going to mark it as a win.
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| I took this picture from my kitchen window after the smoke had subsided quite a bit. A roofing company just down the road and behind the apartments that we used to live in caught fire. Andrew noticed it while watering the garden and was alarmed by the giant pillar of dark black smoke coming from the direction of his work. A picture from a friend's backyard shows it even more. Summer/fire season in CA is such a sad, sometimes scary time. |
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