Lunch boxes

Although I do pack lunches for the kids and I to eat in the van or at other destinations (such as amusement parks), I am always packing all our lunches in one large bag. Today was the first time I ever packed lunch for a child who wasn't going to eat the meal in my presence. Ian and Nadia started their horseback riding camp today, which lasts for six hours a day for five days. I found a Disney princess bag that Nadia had craft supplies in which was the size of a traditional lunch box, but I didn't find anything for Ian. I sent his lunch in a very strange bag today, but while they were at camp I bought him a Spiderman lunch bag at a surplus store. I'll be packing Ian's lunch for a total of four weeks this summer and Nadia's lunch for a total of three weeks this summer. I was unsure how much to pack Ian given I had no idea how much time they would give for lunch (since he's a slow eater). Nadia said he was the last one done eating, which meant he was the last one in the swimming pool. There are ten kids in the camp this week, and two of the other eight children are also homeschooled.


Usually we miss Paul at meals and when we go on special outings (like Penn's Cave) as in the past he would have joined us at these in the summer, but this week I am really missing his help with driving the kids. We used to split the chauffeuring duties last summer also when the destination was 30+ minutes away from home. Today Oliver and I never come home but rather stayed within 15 minutes of their camp. I did some pricing of things at Lowe's, grocery shopping at Aldi's, and did a little other shopping at a few places like Goodwill. Then I took Oliver to a playground that has outdoor equipment, a splash pad, and also things to do indoors.

The swimming pool we joined did open on Saturday. I learned that on Sunday evening. I had brought my swim suit and planned to go swimming there this afternoon with Oliver, but it was only in the high 60's when I checked the temperature around noon. Much too cold for me to get in a pool! That was why I opted for the splash pad instead. Tomorrow I am coming home because someone is coming for an estimate on replacing our kitchen flooring. We received one estimate on Saturday. I figured it didn't hurt to get free estimates from two different carpet stores. Oliver fell asleep on our drive to pick Nadia and Ian up, and he slept for almost two hours total in the van. That was his longest nap in quite awhile. Nadia and Ian had a great time. In addition to riding horses (Ian opted to ride the pony "Clyde" again whom he had ridden two years ago), they also did some grooming on the horses, swam, did a craft, wrote in a journal, played frisbee, and ate lunch. They both said they had a great time! Ian's cowboy boots are WAY too big for him, but he doesn't care.

Speaking of shoes, I bought the two pair pictured above for Oliver today at Goodwill. Aren't they so cute? I don't buy him very much because 90% of his clothes and shoes are hand-me-downs from Ian, but every once in a while I get him something new. He asked for those cleats, and I had to agree they were super cute. Soon he will be past the age where things are still "cute" so I am soaking it up while I can. I loved the loafers for him to wear on Sundays in the fall and winter. I also got Nadia a pair of sparkly purple sneakers for the future, the boys some neckties (47 cents each!), and Ian some water shoes at Goodwill as I discovered at Sesame Place the ones I had for him to wear this year are too big. At the Dollar Tree I got Nadia some Minion cups for her birthday party (only 11 days away!). We were home for 2 1/2 hours, and then we got back in the van to take Nadia to swim lessons (6:30-7:00 M-F this week). Whew. I hope she makes a lot of progress this week!

P.S. The pics above are of Ian's room. He wanted a picture with the curtains pulled closed to show more of them. I didn't take a photo of the sheets, ha ha!