Father's Day to the Fourth...

The summer has gone surprisingly fast so far! As much as I hate the summers here because of the intense heat and constant sweating, even that hasn't seemed so bad. Maybe after four years I'm finally acclimating. Who knows. We've only had a handful of 100+ degree days and 4th of July weekend was actually quite cool! We're also gearing up for a big family reunion in Las Vegas next week. We'll be flying and it will be the first time as a family. We've already pulled out ten pieces of luggage and there will probably be more! Should be crazy. My point is that time seems to be moving quickly as we look forward to our big trip.

 Let's rewind back to Father's Day though. Like I mentioned before, Clark really made me feel special on Mother's Day and I wanted to make his weekend great as well. However, I STINK at giving gifts. I overthink, overanalyze, return what I bought, or talk myself out of buying at all. Father's Day weekend approached and I was still empty handed. Although in my defense I told him he needed to take a long morning and go golfing with a friend. Timing was bad though and that didn't work out. Instead, we headed to the outlet malls (huge mistake on a Saturday) and Clark got a new work bag that he has desperately needed and wanted for a while. He said his torn up college backpack just didn't look too professional anymore. His new 'messenger bag' is pretty awesome and certainly makes him look more legit so I was happy that he got something for himself that wasn't a new dress shirt or slacks. His most important request of the weekend though was that we all went swimming. We made that happen at a neighbor's pool and had a great time! The kids are getting so good and kicking around on their little noodles and had a great time. I guess their swim lessons had SOME impact.  Later that night we hired a babysitter and had a night out with friends.  We enjoyed good conversation, chips and salsa, and frog legs (not me!)!

Beyond that, the kids made a special craft and had some good wrestling/hugging matches on the couch after church. Clark was totally bummed he didn't get a chocolate bar but instead was given a flower. Poor guy. Luckily I made him some peanut butter balls that morning so he got his chocolate fix. Overall, a great weekend for a great guy.

 

We acquired some superman capes from our good friends and the kids have LOVED wearing them.  Especially because Clark has started watching animated superman and batman episodes with the kids so now they really get into character.  These pictures were taken post-pajamas and pre-getting dressed.  I couldn't reign them in from their intense rescue missions so it was all done in their underwear and diapers.  Then they all started pretending that they were falling and they each rescued and helped each other up.
 

Caleb's preferred method of helping up didn't always work out...

I recently found out about some special kids summer movies showing at the big Cinemark theater.  Admission is only a dollar so I packed up the kids and gave them their 'first' movie theater experience.  The movie was Ice Age: Continental Drift which wasn't terribly exciting and we only stayed an hour but they all LOVED it.  From getting their own tickets, handing it to the theater employee, getting their own seats, watching a HUGE screen, to eating snacks in a dark room, they felt super special and excited.  They are still too small for the chairs which kept folding up on them so we all ran out and got some boosters which solved that problem.  I enjoyed the morning just as much as them and loved seeing their reactions.  I mean, the movie theater is a pretty exciting place even for adults so it was quite the experience all around.

I actually had a weekend away this past month because I was invited to be a part of a special friend's wedding (next post).  It was held in Idaho so Clark and his mom (the stars aligned and she happened to be flying our way on that particular weekend) were on their own for a few days.  They went to Kid Mania, Eisenhower State Park, swimming, walking, crafting, etc...  Sounds like they were busy and had fun.  I got to spend a few days with Gram when I returned from Idaho and even got to eat her Taco Soup!  YUM!  Still need to get the recipe.  We're so grateful she was able to come and help.  Leah is holding a craft that Gram did with the kids while Clark was working one morning.  I told her to smile and this is what I got...

The only bummer of the weekend was that they weren't always open to letting Gram help with things or assist them in certain ways.  Had to be on their terms.  They weren't shy about vocalizing it either.  The 'independence' thing is fine to an extent but it is extremely magnified when three kids are doing it at the same time, all saying the same things.  Their behavior is totally a product of their situation and I'm convinced that one or two of them wouldn't act the way they do if they didn't have siblings who made a fuss over everything.  So of course they all copy each other and it seems a little over the top.  They do it with us (Mom and Dad) but when someone else enters the picture it just seems all the more crazy and inappropriate.  So Clark and I started some manners training and are calling the kids out on everything they say that isn't kind or polite.  We're also working on teaching them how to talk to other kids and each other.  We feel like we're correcting all day but we know it'll be worth it and will impact both friend and family relationships.

Enough about the woes of two-year-olds, let's talk about our awesome 4th of July weekend!  The Sunday before the holiday, Clark and I had a conversation about what we were even going to do.  We had no plans, not even anything tentative.  But then the 4th rolled around and it was a busy busy day.  Our friends, who we love and who love our kids, invited us to come out on their boat so the kids had another 'first' out on the water.  They were all super excited and loved "going fast."  Once we got out on the lake, we all took a dive in the water and the kids floated on the tube.  Although they weren't thrilled, each of them took a turn with Dad to get pulled on the tube.  Zachary cried the whole time but claimed he "loved it" when he got back.  Leah was actually pretty brave and happily got on the tube, and Caleb had to be convinced.  They were all smiles once they were done and talked about it in the days to follow.

Then I convinced Clark to get on the tube with me and we had fun for about five minutes getting pulled behind the boat.  Five minutes of fun for a few days of soreness.  Definitely worth it.  Being on the tube took me right back to elementary and middle school when I often went out on the lake with my friends and we would tube for hours.  With the water splashing in my face, I felt young and carefree.  I like those moments. They energize me.

Clark also got up on skis for a bit as well as our friend driving the boat.  By that time everyone was getting tired so we headed for the dock and went home for a nap.

We finished the day with more swimming, a pool side BBQ and another 'first' for the kids with corn on the cob (which they loved), buckets of water in the backyard, pizza dinner with the missionaries, and fireworks in the backyard.  The trio were crazy about their pop its and sparklers.  Clark bought some cool-looking tank fireworks that ended up being totally lame.  We'll stay away from those next year.   We didn't go out for the big fireworks and were happy to put the kids down at 7pm.  We were all exhausted.

The rest of the weekend got filled up with yardwork, going to World War Z, Yoga, grocery shopping, and all the little stuff in between.  I should know better than to think that we will have boring holidays.  They always get filled up and we end up sprawled on the couch from exhaustion.  I just wish Clark could get paid for staying home all day, everyday.  We all sure love him around the house.

Now life is back to normal (besides being sunburned and sore from all our festivities) and Clark is actually really busy at work so we can't wait to head to Las Vegas.  More time with Dad around and more time with family!