Summer, Weeks 1 and 2

For about 17 years of my life, summer was the golden light at the end of the tunnel, the long-anticipated relief after nine months of reading, writing, and 'rithmetic. And then college came to an end, and for the next seven years of my life my teaching career afforded that same golden light, following nine-plus months of planning, preparations, grading, etc. Now my children are in school. 2/3 of them anyway. And life has come to a screeching halt. I won't lie, there was more fear and trepidation this year than excitement and anticipation as the calendar approached June. I wasn't totally confident I would know what to do with three children 24/7 anymore. It was a strange new phenomenon to almost DREAD summer's arrival.
I am relieved to report that after two weeks of summer break we are all still alive and kicking (for the boys, often, literally).  It's definitely meant some adjustment.  Not only am I not used to my first grader being home all day everyday, he's not used to it either. We've had a few moments where lack of structure has thrown us into a bit of a tailspin.  More often than not, though, we've just been joyfully drinking in summertime.

We kicked off summer with a splash at the local splash pad. I'm so glad my children are still at an age when they love these glorified sprinklers.

Also in week 1, we spent time with some friends in the neighborhood, had some good buddies over to play around in the backyard pool and sprinkler, and attempted a swim session in the pool at our gym.  I LOVE water. Love to be around it, in it, seeing it, hearing it. And so it's always my dream to go and lounge around a pool with my boys for the day.  I tried this limited times last year with no great success - the boys were just too little for me to handle effectively watching all three of them on my own.  Our first attempt this year went pretty smoothly, so I'm hoping we can enjoy more pool days to come! The boys are all taking swimming lessons currently and doing great, so hopefully their growing independence in this area will only further my time-at-the-pool cause.

Week 1 ended with our attendance at a West Michigan Whitecaps (minor league ball team) game with the Berghoef clan. Only the boys and I were able to make this one as James had big plans for golfing with his fellow Trinity alums.  Being realistic, I knew I couldn't successfully wrangle all three boys on my own, so Grayson got to hang out with his aunt Rachel on this particular evening. The fam was set up very comfortably in our own box at the game, complete with unlimited food and drink.  I made sure that Jeran and Ben were VERY clear on the fact that not all ball games get to be attended this way. Don't want them ruined for life for the traditional baseball experience.(ie: bleachers and hot dogs)



I can't say I totally understand this Pig Wearing an Inner Tube mascot, but the boys were sure excited to meet him!





Benj and "my cousin, Meal". :)  That would be Neal, my cousin's son, who we were lucky enough to get to hang out with the following day too!



Another first for the boys during our extended Michigan stay was to see their first in-theater movie. Aunt Rachel was a big help in making this possible.  Have I mentioned how overwhelmed I get by three rambunctious boys? 

Probably one of the most exciting parts of Summer, Week 2 was the fact that we got to welcome home a few people we've been missing like C-R-A-Z-Y the last two years.  My sister-in-law, Jeni, and my nieces and nephew. During their one-year stint as Michiganders a few years back we all grew very close, and it was SO tough to say good-bye, particularly as I'd seen the kids get so tight. Well, long story short, they are back for good (we think. We hope!), and we had the chance to reunite last week.



James' mom got the 8 of us tickets for a train ride - a fun and unique way to catch up.





Cousins!




There are two party poopers missing from this photo!



It was SO GOOD to see these guys laughing together again. (Ah, fart jokes - the universal language of togetherness.)

It's been a fun-filled couple of summertime weeks around here.  Week three, unfortunately, is starting off with some illness and long sleepless, nights.  We're hoping to rally for our big family camping trip at the end of the week.  Stay tuned!