Like I mentioned, most of our June was full with baseball games between the four boys. It was an unusual season for the first part of June as I think I went to more games in jeans than I did shorts. And that may have been because most of Jackson's games were the late games that didn't get over until around 10pm. The twins improved each game and enjoyed getting out in the backyard with Andrew and practicing. I didn't get to see as many of Lincoln's game as I wanted because he had some the same time as the twins and Andrew helped coach Lincoln's team, so I stayed with the twins. He did struggle a bit with the switch to kid-pitch ball and going from a coach trying to throw you a pitch right in there to some kid throwing at you fast and you don't know where it is going to go. He did get hit his first few at bats, so he was pretty intimidated after that. He did finally get some great hits, including a triple during his last game. And then Jackson was fun to watch, but his team really struggled and ended the season without a win. It was kind of sad to see his last and final game after 12 years of baseball. He said he will miss it, but is already setting goals for his high school track season.
The second week of June, Ellie had the Truman basketball camp which she always really likes. They get some great instruction and she loves getting to eat at the cafeteria. The last day they went to the lake for the afternoon. It had been cool, but she said they still had fun. We also fit in a few other activities throughout the month. I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting, but I'm just going off of what was in the calendar and what I have pictures of. I took advantage of the cooler weather and sealed our patio. I got the powerwasher out and sprayed everything down and then Jackson helped me scrub it with soap and I powerwashed again before rolling on the sealer. The younger boys enjoyed our trip to the concrete plant to get the sealer :-). I ended up having to do it a couple times and it probably could have taken a third, but I ran out of time.
Molly came into town and we went up to Shawn's for her to try on some dresses. She tried on some pretty ones but none that she felt were quite the one.
And speaking of weddings, we also attended Brett Marek's wedding out at White Oaks. Lincoln was pretty lucky that several of his friends were there and they were the first to hit the dance floor.
We celebrated Father's Day by giving Andrew a subscription to Freshly so he could have some different meals to try. We went with Andrew's family out to the lake for lunch and then had my parents over for dinner.
I also spent quite a bit of time getting ready for vacation. We went on vacation earlier this year and I thought it was nice to not be planning for vacation and kamp at the same time. This year, we decided to do a Cousin Olympics. I came up with the idea while trying to find some way to keep the kids entertained and out of trouble. My mom and I were in charge of opening ceremonies and then we paired up families to take a day of games and closing ceremonies.
The night before we left for vacation, we also had to work the K-Life Fireworks tent. They were still setting up, so we helped mark items, ran over the the Dollar Tree and bought some baskets to put some of the stuff in, and helped kill flies. I had loaded up most of what I could into the car before we went and then Andrew worked on loading the top when we got home.
Our trip down to Florida was different this year as my parents, Lissy and Molly flew since my mom's knee was bothering her too much to be in the car that long. And it was a long trip as construction and accidents added to our trip time. So, we drove by ourselves and met up with the Bobziens, Sedlaks and Taylors at our hotel in Alabama. Amanda and Todd were on top of ordering all of us food and we ate pizza and chicken strips out by the pool while the kids swam some energy off before going to bed. Andrew got up early the next morning and did a bike (hard) bike ride before we made our way down to Florida. We did stop at Durbin Farm's Market and got some peaches and nectarines. And as we were getting closer to Florida, I had the realization that I didn't think anyone did a Sam's order. Amanda was in charge of the grocery order this year and I guess I just didn't think about it anymore and didn't even realize Amanda doesn't even have a Sam's membership. So, I quickly put together an order while our service cut in and out and placed it only to realize after-the-fact that it was set to pick up the next afternoon, not the same day. So, I had to call and cancel it and Andrew and I went that evening after we got unpacked and loaded up the car with paper products and snacks.
Overall, we had a wonderful vacation. I hate to think that we are growing out of this house as it has worked so well for us the past couple vacations. We had pretty perfect weather. It was hot, but not totally miserable and there was generally a breeze down at the beach. The first few days the water was rough, which made for some boogie boarding with life jackets and a good time to build sand castles or the like. Then the last few days were calm with beautiful water and sand bars. We rented a couple paddle boards and took turns taking them out. Our first full day there was busy for me as we did dinner that night and the opening ceremonies. I did tacos and taquitos. I already had the taco meat and taquitos made and made mexicorn casserole to go with it along with chips with salsa and queso and salad. I was running a bit behind and had some great help from Brad's mom (his parents came for the first few days of vacation and it was nice getting to meet them) and a few others. It thankfully all came together and then it was time for opening ceremonies. Molly did a great playlist and was able to play it throughout the house. The kids all eventually knew that it was time to start something when the Olympic theme song would come on. So, she had that playing and we brought out the score card and announced the teams and their colors. Each kid got a buff with their color that they were supposed to wear during the games coming up during the week. My mom made flags that they got to decorate as a team and they were hung up on one of the balconies over the pool. We also had poster paper and they made team signs that were hung up around the house. It turned out pretty well and it was fun for all of them. Then we had three days of games that ranged for a water balloon toss to a banana-eating contest to corn hold to Mind Your Manners where good behavior and good attitudes got your points. We put the score board away for the last games so that the winner would be somewhat of a surprise during closing ceremonies. Lissy and Brad were in charge of those and they ended up adding extra points for final awards for Best Attitude, Best Effort and the like. The green team won and there were some tears from the others. Someday they will have better attitudes, someday. Lissy made a trophy out of sand buckets and sand toys that was fun and the other prizes were bags of candy. It was a fun addition to our vacation. A good time was had by the adults and the kids and there weren't any big disasters, so that is a plus. The cousins had so much fun playing and hanging out with each other. Andrew rode everyday and I joined him a couple times. Brad and his dad went once with him and Andy borrowed my bike and went with him too. I ran a few days and even ran a second time when Bennett wanted to go out for a run. Then my sisters wanted to do something, so we did a couple HIIT workouts together. We ended it on a fun note with the kids having a dance party around the island until we had to call it a night. We had an early morning the next morning when Andrew woke us up before 4 and we were out of there by 4:20. We made good time and were home by 7.
We were back at it when we got home and had dentist appointments that Monday. We also finished up the baseball season over the next week. Fourth of July was the week after we got back too, which meant working the fireworks tent again. Ellie went with me the day before the 4th and we worked for about 3 hours before we had to head to Jackson's last ball game. We went back the next day to buy some more and it was fun to see Heidi and her whole family there. Heidi and I have many memories that involved fireworks. Andy and his family and Kaitlin and her family came back and my parents had a smaller party that night that was nice.
That Friday afternoon, Andrew and Jackson decided last minute to head down to Bentonville and do some mountain biking. They had talked about doing it for a while and we had a free weekend. Andrew had planned on dozing, but his dozer broker down, so they quickly packed up and started the trek down to Arkansas. I got them a hotel room and it ended up having a door for the adjoining room. Jackson joked it made him nervous, so he put up the ironing board to secure the door :-). They didn't get there until after 10 and were up the next morning hitting the trails. They rode for several hours and then did a tour of campus before heading back home. It was so great for them.
While we were on vacation, I got a notification that there was going to be a Des Moines 70.3 and I mostly convinced Andy, Zane and Brad to do it with me. The registration didn't open until July 9th, but I started seeing people talking about registering early with a tri club and it started filling up quickly. Andy ended up joining a tri club and got the code and got registered. He was kind enough to share it with us and we all ended up signing up. By the time general registration opened, it was already at Tier 3 pricing. It has now totally sold out, individual and relay registrations both. Crazy. I'm excited to have people joining me this time and it is nice that it is so close. Training starts officially the beginning of March.
Ellie has been in some sort of training of her own and has been biking more...and running a little. Andrew, Ellie and I did a trail run one evening. The first one for all of us and it is definitely harder than running on the road. She has gone out to the lake to ride a couple times, once with Andrew and I and we just drove out there. A couple days later, she and Andrew biked out there together. On the way back, she rode over a big pothole and popped both tires. Thankfully she didn't go off or it could have been bad. Andrew only had one tube, so he fixed the other by tying a knot in it and it got her home.
Then things started to slow down for us a little bit since baseball was over. Lincoln started up some soccer practices a couple nights a week and a scrimmage under the lights, but he was excited to get back to it. Jackson and Ellie continued weights through July. Since we had some down time, I followed up on promises to have friends over to swim. We had our neighborhood friends over one time, then Ellie got to have a day with some of her friends and the twins got to invite a couple of their friends the next day. When the twins invited their friends, we ended up with Alex and Josh coming too, so we had a car full of boys. One afternoon, Ellie taught the younger boys how to do back dives and back flips. They were quick learners and did a great job. Until Bennett hesitated and didn't jump out far enough, hitting his head and shoulder. Thankfully, it wasn't too bad, but that ended the flips for several days.
And then my mom had her partial knee replacement last Friday. It went really well and she was happy to be able to come home that afternoon. I went by the evening to check on her and brought her and my dad some shakes. She took a few sips, but didn't have much of an appetite for a few days. My dad took a few days off work and took great care of her. I brought them dinner a couple nights and then Molly and Bella came into town and helped take care of her while my dad went back to work. Ellie stayed one night and helped out some too. Although painful, her recovery is going pretty wel which is great. I think we are all excited for her to not have to deal with that knee pain anymore...at least in that knee.
Now it is time to focus on getting ready for Kanakuk. We have already pulled out the trunks and started gathering most of what we need including picking out clothes. Now it is time to pack it all up and also prep their packages. We've been talking about favorite things at kamp and fun stories to et the twins excited about going. Ellie has challenged them to do the Polar Bear Challenge, so they have prepped a little bit by getting into the tub with cold water and ice cubes. We'll see if they do the real thing. I'm excited for them all to go, but know it will be weird and sad not having them home.
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