Although we'e been working on our summer bucket list since early May, today is officially the first day of summer. Yesterday after church we headed to a state park for their annual Summerfest event. Highlights included examining skulls and pelts of various mammals, tasting three jellies made from wild edible plants, searching in a stream for crayfish and other "creek critters," making a butterfly feeder, hearing a story about the longest day of the year, doing a sun print craft activity, watching a show put on by several falcons and owls, playing in the sand, and kayaking. Nadia went in her own kayak for the first time this year. Ian said next year he wants to do the same. We got home an just had enough time to get the kids washed up (ie get all the sand off of them) and fed before it was time for me to take them to their first night of VBS for the year. I am so glad the Summerfest took place on a Sunday because Paul works long hours at the plant Monday through Saturday. His hours at the plant (including 12 hours of time commuting back and forth) have been averaging 88 hours a week, which means the kids don't see much of him at all except on Sundays. He was able to join us in these activities yesterday, and it meant we had two meals with him (lunch in the van on the way there and dinner at home). Sometimes he comes home early enough on a Saturday to have dinner with us, but usually we only eat together on Sundays (and usually he eats lunch by himself at home while we're at church).
This morning I took the kids to the children's museum for an art class (10:00-1:00). Nadia and Ian will be in that class every day through Friday. Today Oliver and I went elsewhere (playground, post office, bank, etc.) because the museum is always closed on Sundays and Mondays, but the rest of the week I plan on letting him play in the museum during their class. After their class was over we drove to the swimming pool and swam for 2.5 hours. Ian has come a long way. He actually was going in to the deeper section (5 ft) on his own initiative. After swimming we came home to put dry clothes on, eat dinner, and again head to VBS. Yesterday I ran 3 miles during part of the time they were at VBS, but today I decided to stay home and get some other things done. I ran as slow as molasses yesterday, but I don't run as well at night to begin with and on top of that it was almost 90 degrees. Last summer I ran from 6-7am when it was much cooler out, but that isn't possible this year because Paul usually leaves for work before 4am. Slow running at 7pm is better than no running at all. I was only able to run once the entire month of May so I am thankful that VBS will enable me to run more this week. I am hoping to run again Tuesday and Thursday nights. Last week I broke the 39 day drought of running and ran on Wednesday afternoon because Oliver was at Grandma's house while Nadia and Ian were at horseback riding camp.
I continue to be amazed at what a great eater Oliver is. Paul would object to that statement since Oliver prefers for me to feed him, but I mean that he truly eats just about everything. On Friday at the Oppenheimer playground where the kids get a free lunch (thanks to funding from Walmart), Oliver had celery dipped in peanut butter for the first time. I am not a fan of celery, but he ate all he was given. He also is my chili eating partner. I made chili last week and typically I have to eat the WHOLE thing myself. I like chili, but I don't want to keep eating it for days on end. Oliver joined me in eating a bowl of chili with a corn muffin a couple of days which cut down how many days I was eating chili. I am so glad I am no longer the only person who will eat chili in the family. Paul doesn't like tomatoes for one thing. Oliver, Nadia, and I went crazy eating green grapes last week because they were on sale for 79 cents a pound at Aldi's. Yum!
One of the upsides to spending very little time at home is the fact the kids have spent very little time the past couple of weeks watching tv or playing the iPad or Wii. Another upside is we have had a lot of time to listen to books on cd in the car while we travel (we recently finished Shiloh and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in the van and are currently listening to Little House on the Prairie). One downside is I am buying gas a LOT more often than usual (and the van doesn't get good gas mileage). Paul wisely spent the night at his parents tonight. He would have seen the kids for less than 10 minutes total (time it took to brush their teeth, put pjs on and tuck them into bed after coming home from VBS), and this way he can get a little more sleep tonight. All the extra driving is tiring for me so I am looking forward to going to bed early myself. I also am pleased that I checked two more things off my to do list this evening - finishing the spring photo book (March-June) and my list of objectives for the year for Nadia to send the school district (wrote about 50 objectives).
Although we'e been working on our summer bucket list since early May, today is officially the first day of summer. Yesterday after church we headed to a state park for their annual Summerfest event. Highlights included examining skulls and pelts of various mammals, tasting three jellies made from wild edible plants, searching in a stream for crayfish and other "creek critters," making a butterfly feeder, hearing a story about the longest day of the year, doing a sun print craft activity, watching a show put on by several falcons and owls, playing in the sand, and kayaking. Nadia went in her own kayak for the first time this year. Ian said next year he wants to do the same. We got home an just had enough time to get the kids washed up (ie get all the sand off of them) and fed before it was time for me to take them to their first night of VBS for the year. I am so glad the Summerfest took place on a Sunday because Paul works long hours at the plant Monday through Saturday. His hours at the plant (including 12 hours of time commuting back and forth) have been averaging 88 hours a week, which means the kids don't see much of him at all except on Sundays. He was able to join us in these activities yesterday, and it meant we had two meals with him (lunch in the van on the way there and dinner at home). Sometimes he comes home early enough on a Saturday to have dinner with us, but usually we only eat together on Sundays (and usually he eats lunch by himself at home while we're at church).
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