Summer is coming to a close, and I’m feeling the panic of getting the last few activities in. In reality I need to relax, it stays warm and delightful for a long time yet. Just because school starts doesn’t mean the fun has to end. The kids will be in shorts for months still, and camping is actually more enjoyable because of the cooler temperatures.
This week we had a pretty full schedule. We did Nature Buddies on Monday which is a free program put on by the state parks dept. and the state park is just a few miles away which makes this an easy activity for me. We picked up Makayla, Emma’s friend and spent our morning playing in nature. They did an activity on birds and showed the kids lots of different nests. Then they had all sorts of activities for them to participate in. Aubrey loves the rock painting she runs straight there and spends probably 45 minutes just painting the rocks, I need to remember this for future activities at home. I’m not sure what it is about rock painting that holds her attention, but I can hardly get her to move to any of the other activities.
They had some popcorn and small sticks for the kids to try and eat like they were eating with beaks, they made bird feeders, and they always dig a trench and fill it with water for the kids to play in. Tanner caught a frog, and put it in a paper boat and floated it on the small lake that they had dug. BOYS!
On Wednesday we went up to Lake Tahoe. It’s really pretty easy to go up there, a few snacks some shovels and buckets and a few floaties and you have entertainment for hours. We arrived at the lake around 10am and didn’t leave until almost 5pm. The day couldn’t have been more beautiful I would describe it for you, but you wouldn’t believe me, it was a day beyond description. I went for a nice swim, I took all four kids with me all the way out to the bouy, Alyssa in a floaty and the other kids in their life jackets. Lisa took Aubrey and her son Nicholas in a small boat. The water is so clear and refreshing. Tanner spent a lot of his time trying to catch Crawdads, or Crayfish, he got pinched a couple of times, I chock it up to a learning experience. He was explaining to me today how you can’t grab them by the tail or they flip up and pinch you… not that I’ll be trying anytime soon, not my cup of tea. I have found that coming home from Lake Tahoe is a challenge. The kids are tired, and sand is stuck everywhere, they don’t want to shower or bathe because they are so tired, but the sand and sunscreen needs to come off, but it’s worth it.
Today we spent the day cleaning up. Running around takes it toll on the house. I think I had to pry a fork off the counter that was stuck down with honey, and the laundry requires me to stay home at least one day a week and do nothing but laundry. We got everything put back together this morning and as a reward went to the library.
Tomorrow is Friday and Danny and I have the opportunity to go to the temple, meaning that we found a babysitter desperate enough for money to watch the kids for 6 hours while we make the drive to Reno and back and catch some dinner along the way. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow, I really feel like I could use some time away. Danny has been gone a lot lately. Yesterday he didn’t make it home unitl 11pm and got a phone call at 6am something along the lines of “my spell checker isn’t working” my thought was buy h
im a dictionary but I’m sure it was more serious then what I picked up on, but Danny was out the door before I could roll over and see what was up. He’s home now and out working on the yard. He says he needs the physical labor of yard work to rest his brain, so he’s running some new drip and trying to secure the fences better to keep the neighbors dog out of our yard. I’m having him move some plants from the front yard to the back yard, the contractors special on the landscaping meant that they just huck the plants in the yard with not rhyme or reason and they are really in a bad spots. I guess that sums up our week, we have nothing planned for the weekend. Hopefully we’ll get some rest and relaxation.