Happy Father's Day

I started off last week with a bike ride. I tried to get out early since the heat and humidity were high. Before I went out, Andrew informed me he couldn’t find Buddy. He let him out earlier and then he never came back. Andrew even made a quick trip around the neighborhood and the street out behind our neighborhood but didn’t see him. So I kept an eye out on my bike ride. Thankfully he was home when I got back. Ellie started back to SOAR but she was tired. That afternoon we went to my parents’ house to swim with Bella and Brady. It was hot and stayed hot all week. Thankfully we had a good breeze the first couple of days of the week. After some swim time, we went back home to get dinner ready and get ready for Ellie’s game. It was our first game of the season to bring the Frog Toggs and they were appreciated.

That night all the kids wanted to have a sleepover at my parents so I dropped them off and then went home to get their clothes, etc. When I got back they were watching a movie out by the pool.

I took advantage of not having any kids at home the next morning and went out for a run early before it got too hot. It was very humid though and I was soaked. I did some dinner prep and laundry and then met Andrew at the dealership at 8:30 to drop my car off to have a couple things looked at. Our passenger door handle was coming off and there was a notification to service an air bag. Andrew dropped me off at my parents and the kids were getting ready to swim. My dad had already taken Ellie to SOAR. It was a great morning to swim since it was going to get pretty hot in the afternoon. My mom gave them the idea to set up the rafts aka Angry Birds and try to knock them down. It entertained them for a little bit.

My car didn’t take too long as they had a handle in stock to replace the broken one and there was a wire disconnected under the seat that caused the air bag notification. So Andrew picked me up to get my car and then I picked Ellie up at SOAR and we picked up some lunch for the kids at Sonic. After lunch we went back home so the twins could nap and I could get some stuff done around the house. Ellie went over to visit Faith. She had someone slide into her at a softball tournament over the weekend and ended up with her lower leg fractured in three spots. We ate an early dinner and then headed out to Lincoln’s ballgame. My parents brought Bella and Brady and they got to see Lincoln get some good hits. He played second base one time and I don’t think he had a clue that he was actually supposed to cover second base J. After the game it was time to head home and get ready for our trip to St. Louis the next day.

I took Ellie to SOAR in the morning and then went for a swim, filled up the car and went by the ATM. Molly ended up picking Ellie up when she was done and Ellie rode with them. Since we didn’t have to pick up Ellie we left a little earlier than planned, picked up Lissy and then made a quick stop at Ikea. Andrew and Jackson immediately hit up the restaurant while the rest of the boys, Lissy and I made our way through the store. I was able to pick up a few odds and ends for our upcoming remodel and the boys entertained themselves…maybe a little too much. Andrew and Jackson found their way to us and Jackson lamented that Andrew made him try salmon. Our timing was great as we got to our parking spot at Ballpark Village at almost the same time as my parents. My parents and Molly hung out there while the rest of us made the hike over to the Arch with the sun beating down. It seemed to take a little longer that what I thought it would. Then when we finally got to the Arch we still had to walk to the other side of it. There was quite a bit of waiting in line (it was much busier than I thought it would be on a Wednesday afternoon) but the kids were pretty good about it. We could only fit 5 people in each tram so Lissy took Ellie, Lincoln, Bella and Brady while Andrew and I had Jackson and the twins. None of my family had ever been up in the Arch so we didn’t realize how little the trams were. We did get a pretty good selfie though J.

Once we made it up to the top the kids loved looking out over everything. But then it was kind of like the scene from Vacation where Clark Griswold takes a quick look at the Grand Canyon. So we let the kids look for a bit and then we headed back down and made our way back to the stadium. The twins were done with walking at this point so Andrew and I put them on our shoulders. Andrew and Lissy offered to take the backpack for me but I said it would just be my strength training. I was tired by the time we got to the stadium though.

My parents were waiting for us on the street in front of the Stadium where there was a firetruck spraying water. The kids couldn’t resist and ran through it a couple times. Ellie, Lincoln and the twins were soaked. They were a little uncomfortable with it at first but then didn’t complain too much about it. I’m sure it cooled them off as the heat index was around 103. It was so easy getting into the ballpark and to our seats. There was food and tables right by where our seats were so we ate first and then got to our seats. Molly’s boyfriend, John, was able to meet up with us.  He had a bleacher seat but there were open seats by us so they were able to stay with us. I think the heat kept some people home. It was definitely hot and there was not a breeze to be found. Sara, Ryan and Charlotte made it right before the game started but the heat sent them home after several innings. Andrew thought that was the cue for us to go too but I wanted to stick it out a bit longer. We got to see several good hits but there was no score until the Cardinals’ finally scored in the 7^th. We left at the beginning of the 8^th and finished listening to the game on the radio. I guess we were good luck because the Astros started scoring after we left and ended up winning the game 4-1. So it was a very hot game and the Cardinals lost but I’m still glad we got to go. Jackson really enjoyed watching the game this time. Ellie kept on eye on her favorite player, Matt Carpenter, with the new binoculars Andrew got before we left. He decided he would need some for the kids and hunting anyways. And besides a few pretty minor bouts of complaining, Lincoln and the twins did well and had fun too. They were all appreciative of everything we got to do and I was thankful for a fun family outing.

We made the trek back to Kirksville that night and got home around midnight. The kids actually stayed up for quite a while in the car when I thought they would fall asleep quickly because of the hot busy day. Andrew had to carry the twins in and I had to pretty much dress Bennett in his pjs because he was so tired. We all enjoyed sleeping in the next morning. I had already told Ellie’s teacher that she wouldn’t be at SOAR since I thought we were staying the night in St. Louis, so she got to sleep in too. And we had a pretty low key day. I went through the stuff I got at Ikea to see how it would all work with the remodel and I think it will all be great. My new stools even came in while we were gone and I unpacked those in the garage before it got too hot. The kids dusted and vacuumed their rooms, played with Legos and their friends. It was another very hot day so we opted to stay inside. I did my big weekly house cleaning while Ellie and Grace made cookies for Faith. They made her a card that said, “You’re One Tough Cookie” so they wanted some cookies to go with it. I intervened a couple times (that is powdered sugar, not flour) but they mainly did by themselves and told me to just not even look in the kitchen because of their messes. But the cookies turned out, they got them delivered to Faith and generally cleaned up the kitchen. The only problem was I went to make pancakes that evening before Lincoln’s game and they used my last two eggs so we didn’t have anything for dinner. I really needed to go to the store, so we really didn’t have anything to eat. I quickly ordered Jimmy Johns, but Andrew and I were the only ones that wanted anything. Lincoln got the last two pieces of bread, Jackson and Ellie had popcorn and the twins just snacked. It was another hot game, so I took Lincoln and Ellie while Andrew brought the twins and Jackson a little later. They switched up the play to three strikes and you’re out so the game moved along quickly. Lincoln got two hits and struck out once. I left a little before the game was over so I could get to Aldi before they closed and then to Wal-Mart. I picked up some pool snacks so I ran those by my parents and then headed home.

Ellie headed back to SOAR the next morning. While I was working on stuff around the house, I had some superheroes show up. Lincoln told me I was Super Mom.

That afternoon Lincoln got to go with Benson out to the lake to swim. He was a tad worried at first because he thought there may be sharks. He had a fun time though and was impressed that Matt caught a fish with his hands.

We went to my parents to swim and Jackson and Ellie decided to work with Miles and Bennett and teach them how to swim. They actually did pretty well. Bennett could swim with his head under water but had trouble when he tried to lift his head. They worked for quite a while and the twins really liked it but then it was time to put the puddle jumpers back on. That evening we had dinner at my parents. Lissy was in town for the weekend for some photo shoots so she joined us. After dinner we went home and the superheroes came out again. At one point, Miles, aka Batman, got pretty upset and when I asked him what was wrong he said that Lincoln stole one of his powers-lava. He was very serious about it. But they had to take it all off and get haircuts. Andrew did all the boys out front and there was quite a bit of hair in the driveway, even after the wind blew some away.

The twins and Lincoln slept in my room that night and Miles woke up several times in the night crying but I couldn’t quite figure out why. The next morning, they all went out to the ranch. I picked up around the house, started laundry and then did a 30 mile bike ride and finished up just a bit before they got home. I had stubbed my toe earlier that morning so it was throbbing a bit on the ride. It was on my left foot that I also have trouble with my toes cramping up when I ride so I kind of felt like my foot went kind of numb for a bit then the throbbing picked back up again. When I got home, I looked at my toe and it was black and blue. Andrew went to the office for a bit while I worked on prepping taco filling and chicken taquitos to freeze to take with us for a dinner when we go on vacation with Andrew’s family in a couple weeks. Ellie and Grace were texting Faith and she said it would be okay for them to come over. She is still in pain after her surgery so they weren’t sure when they could go over. Ellie wanted me to get something for her so the night before I picked up on the adult coloring books and some colored pencils at Dollar General and she took those over to her. She said she was excited about it and started coloring. After I got all the food cooked and the kitchen cleaned up we went to my parents’ house to go swimming. Jackson and Ellie worked with the twins again and then Andrew and Buddy showed up and joined in on the fun.

That evening we had dinner at home and then the kids got in on a water balloon fight. 

The next morning was Father’s Day and Andrew went out for a bike ride around 6:30. I got up, got ready and then ran to the Donut Palace to pick him up a bacon, egg and cheese croissant and some donuts for the kids. Since we had already given Andrew his Father’s Day gift earlier, he just got the sandwich and a card J.  Ellie was very anxious to give Andrew his present she had been working on for a couple weeks. She made a Google slide presentation and then a photo slide show for him.

We went to church and then I went to Aldi. Andrew spent a lot of the weekend trying to water our yard since it has been so dry. So he worked on that and then went to the office while I did laundry and made cookies to freeze for vacation. Then we headed to my parents’ to swim. They were all gone working at my dad’s office but came home to make dinner. Lissy headed back to St. Louis after dinner and we went home a little after. Andrew and Jackson worked on some pitching and then we got out the wiffle balls so they could all bat. Andrew insisted I bat and they were all surprised, but impressed J.