 |
| School's out for summer! |
 |
| Last day of school: Kai with his buddies, Benny, Liam, and Darren |
 |
| Last day of school: Madelyn with her friends, Adelina and Maya |
The kids know that at this point in the game, with me being a stay-at-home mom and Eric making less than he deserves, I am pretty creative and thrifty with summer activities and have learned to say "no" without self-imposed mom-guilt. I can thoroughly entertain them for the whole summer on a shoestring budget. So, for the last two years, the kids and I have created a Summer Bucket List. These are things we want to do, and commit to doing, during the summer to combat boredom and routine. This year's activities included:
- learning about constellations (thank you for your knowledge, Kylie Carroll)
- playing tennis
- go to an outdoor concert
- teach kids to do laundry (guess who put that on the list?)
- go fishing (Oh, do I have a story for this...)
- visit Northside friends (from our old neighborhood, when we first moved to RVA)
- bike to Bruster's Ice Cream
- go to the beach
- outdoor rock climbing
- play in the sprinklers
- go to the pool
- eat s'mores
- camp out in the backyard
- go to Midlothian Mines Park
Mission accomplished!
We spent a week in Charlotte during 4th of July/Rylie's 12th birthday. She had a blast celebrating her bday with old friends at the local Fort Mill cupcake shop. It was so fun to sit back and compare their current tween conversations with their former 5-year-old conversations! We also visited a tiger rescue center, met Brian and Sandi's new pup, played corn hole and bocce ball, swam, tossed candy in Jan and Leon's neighborhood golf cart parade while everyone yelled, "Happy Birthday, Rylie" due to our sign. Madelyn even got to have a sleepover with her BFF and I enjoyed dinner with my old friends.
 |
| Tiger World |
 |
| Kai showed Mama no mercy |
 |
| Bocce winners! |
 |
| Such cuties! Happy Birthday, Rylie! |
 |
| Rylie and Stella |
 |
| Boppa and Kai working on a Pinewood Derby car together |
Once we got back from CLT, we spent the next weekend camping with Rylie's BFF, Emma, and her family in Pennsylvania. This is where the fishing story begins...beautiful lake, Saturday morning, children wielding fishing poles, wormy hooks...all of a sudden, Kai is screaming and, to my utter dumbfoundedness, has a hook stuck in his chin. It is attached to 9-year-old Miles's recently cast fishing line. Off to the nearest urgent care 45 mins. away. They assure us, they handle this sort of thing all the time. Another stick to numb him, and a few minutes later the fish hook is cut and removed from his precious little chin. Hence the ice cream treat as big as his head...
Other than that, we had a lovely time.
Then, my friend, Kylie and her 4 kids came to stay for a few days...our 7 children held a lemonade stand and raised $100 toward childhood cancer research, spent hours playing at Maymont's waterfall in the Japanese Garden, splashed in the James River, and got along great the whole time. I adore those Carroll kids and their mama!
Now, speaking of a shoestring budget, Eric had to go to Philadelphia for a business trip, so with gas and hotel already paid for, the kids and I decided to explore Philly!! We ran in the rain to The Mint to see coins being made. We visited Independence Hall where the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were signed (we saw the actual documents in May in DC), saw the Liberty Bell, and played in this cool "summer pop up park" full of oversized games and lounging hammocks. Their favorite activity was the "Once Upon A Nation" storytelling series which featured professional storytellers at 10 benches placed throughout historic Philadelphia. My favorite thing was visiting Betsy Ross's house; she was an extremely interesting female entrepreneur, much more than simply the one to sew the first flag. We had so much fun and Philly is such a great place for kids.
 |
| We got to meet Ben Franklin! |
 |
| Independence Hall |
 |
| Room where all the magic happened |
 |
| Someone needed a moment to suck his thumb |
 |
| My pretty girl |
 |
| Sculpture of the actual footprint of Ben Franklin's house. His printshop is in the background. |
 |
| Listening intently to a Once Upon a Nation story |
 |
| Betsy Ross's house (upstairs) and upholstery shop (downstairs). Likely the flag was sewn secretly in her bedroom since her shop was a British business |
 |
| Because they listened to all 10 stories, they earned a free carousel ride at Franklin Square |
We ended the summer with major pool lounging. The neighborhood pool is behind our house so we spent most afternoons there; the kids played Sharks and Minnows and some game called Fisherman, dove and backflipped off the side, and generally ruled the pool. I found a spot in the shade, doled out snacks, read, and played cards with Kai. I wish I were there right now. (Kai learned to dive this year)
Finally, Eric got a new job doing exactly what he wants to do and he loves it. That is a huge answer to a 6 year long prayer! Atlantic Constructors handles large commercial and industrial mechanical (HVAC, electrical, plumbing) renovations. I intentionally took the summer off from doula work, but at the end of summer, I took on a client with twin girls who were born 7 weeks early. I am still working with them and premature twins has been a really interested experience!
