Triathlon. G's party, canoe, corn

Last full week before school starts. The kids went to Lansford but came back just in time for Kevie to come for Grady's birthday festivities! Matt and I love that Kevie plans a trip up each year to celebrate him and reconnect with us and we know we are difficult!

There was a lot happening this weekend too - We kicked off Saturday with the Triathlon. Grady was the youngest competitor - they let him compete because he was a week away from 6 and we did inform him that it was his 6yo birthday party that day. I was so proud of how they both did. It's not easy and although we've had swim lessons this past year, it's still a skill that takes a lot of learning and practice. The course has some nasty hills which is a beast for the bike but running was all good. They both did well. G came in under at 28:40 - comparable to Eleanor's first time and Eleanor shaved 4 minutes off her time last year to be 24:10ish. She also did more solo swimming this time. I'm hoping next year, they'll have the confidence to be alone and no lifevest... let's see. 

That afternoon, we did G's party. I felt bad that I didn't let him pick his theme, like I have when E hit that age but given what we got him - an inflatable canoe. I felt he would be okay with it. We opened presents, had tacos in a bag, and then I presented him with the first clue for a scavenger hunt... which led him to our present. We typically don't give our present at the party, we do it at our personal family party but given some circumstances - thought it was best. 

He loved the hunt - he had previously almost busted me hiding clues but I was so happy to see them rush around. He did want to keep it himself and not have his sisters in the fray but I'm not sure how to avoid that. There were 11 clues total and it took them all around the house with some levels of familiarity to things - where the feline eats (laundry room), unpack your lunch box (freezer), where your shoes are supposed-keyword to sleep at night, think purple (Ainsley's shoe bin). There were a few times that they got offtrack on a clue but when they got it they went off running... To the Bathroom! To the Grill! To the Travy!

The last clue took them to Matt's boat and G's Boat was still boxed in there. From there we had to blow it up and go on a ride right away. I'm hoping we can get a few in before the freeze happens. We ended the evening with cake. It was a long day but G seemed so happy with how it all went down. 

The following day, we kissed Kevie goodbye and took off to the farm. Dad donated sweet corn to preschool. It was good corn and we were excited to pick and sell this year again. I was surprised at how tall it got - some stalks taller than Matt. 

Was a good weekend...a busy weekend but all good. 

MJR and GRR getting into canoe.
ALR: Aren't you going to give him a paddle?

MJR: I'm tired of him smoking me in the head with it. 
ALR looks at GRR sitting in the canoe. GRR sees her looking, gives cheesiest grin possible: I'm ready to go!

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Back into routine, 2nd 4th, lessons

 Won't lie... it took a bit to get back in the swing after a week of off routine. The kids had trouble at school, our emails were backed up, the house was a mess, laundry was mounting... but what made me chuckle was I asked Eleanor if it felt weird to be back.. and she said, it feels good to be back. I agreed - something about sleeping in your own bed and puttering around your own home that makes a trip feel like you came home just in time.

We did celebrate the 4th of July again on Friday night tho - we spent some time with my family and lit fireworks off at my parents house. It was nice, slow, and quiet. We had some hold overs from last year and Mom picked up some too - the kids love the parachuters. I think I'm a fountain fan... less boom, more pretty. The kids stayed a couple nights at the farm - they played in the corn, hit up the local one room school and played with the kitties between side by side rides. 

Matt and I got some stuff knocked off around home include working on the landscaping and even got a round of golf in .. it was horrible and we both played like schit until we quit talking to each other. Fun times!

This week has been busy. G started his golf lessons and he's excited about it. We are piling that on with baseball lessons - I'm not sure if we are into skill mastery yet but we are still liking. Eleanor also started tennis this week - something totally new for her. 

Overall, it's hard to believe that it's July and summer is swinging into the back half - we have a lot of things on our list that we haven't even thought about or started planning for!

G comes out.
G: Eleanor is (insert petty behavior that we don't want to hear about).
MJR: Grady, I'm sick of hearing about the things your sister does wrong. What does she do that's right?
G: Nothing
G walks off.

Labor Day Routine and Relaxation

 It was a nice weekend. Sure, everyone says that about holiday weekends but it was nice. We got so much done around the house - organizing, cleaning, sorting, AND also the kids played well and played together. Don't get me wrong. There was squabbling but it's getting to a place of harmony with little intervention. 

Let's breakdown the week....

G was kid of the day on Monday - for his birthday. Part of me was very glad that he got to celebrate his birthday with classmates. When daycare closed up, my heart broke a bit as he wasn't able to bring snacks in for his friends and was stuck with celebrating just with us. We brought spiderman colored donuts (red, blue, and black). 

E is blossoming in school. She's bringing home work that she is proud of and is putting her heart and abilities into. I haven't seen her color this well in a long time. Matt says dropoff with her is a DREAM... she can't wait to get out of the car. She gets to school a bit early and goes into the gym where she sits with her classmates or can have breakfast. We are encouraging her to have breakfast but she rarely does. She comes home chattering and talking about the things she's learned. It's exciting to see her exciting and retaining info. 

Ains - well Ains is officially in her second week of daycare. I don't drop her off and I'm glad. Matt says it's a bit horrible. You wouldn't guess it when you pick her up, she's chatty and likes to play with her friends. She talks well of her daycare, until you pull into the parking lot. 

We stayed busy over the weekend.... Matt took E golfing on Friday night. We had smores on Saturday and he and the bigs slept outside in the tent. Sunday we did some running around, took care of some outstanding projects and cleaning. Monday, we went out to celebrate Mom and Dad mostly being done with their silage pile. The kids like hanging out with the kitties, which is not mutual. 

That night after golf...
MJR: Eleanor said she wants to it way up in the air.
ALR: What did you say?
MJR: I told her it took me a long time to be able to do it.
ALR: It's still taking mama years to get it in the air.
MJR: I didn't bring that up. I almost got a hole in one.
ALR: I don't want to hear it. I just want to get my ball in the air.
MJR: It took me a long time to be able to do that.

MJR: It's really nice to get into a routine.
ALR: What?? I feel like we are all over the place - family pics, I have that conference.
MJR: Well, yeah, but that's normal unnormal. We have places to go each day and I know where people are going, unlike August when each day was different.
ALR: Oh, well, yeah, I guess BUT they don't seem to know we are in a routine.
MJR: But I know. 

Farm, Side by Side, Swimming, Leg Session

 A bit of odds and ends now with Ains's birthday and butchering over. I finally got my bench seat in this past week. After a good year-end review at work last year, Matt and I decided that I would have a little work done on the house to reward myself. The entry way coming in from the garage is a cluster and as the kids get bigger, so do their shoes, and coats, and that room doesn't. So we put a bench in to put on shoes and store shoes underneath. I had our construction guy put in a shoe rack and Matt also had him put in attic access. It wasn't the best experience with the contractor BUT it's finished, it's functional, and it's amazing how the space opens up. 

Saturday and Sunday were catch-up days. Saturday we cleaned house and calmed down from the week and Sunday we headed out to the Farm. The kids were excited to see the baby calves and the weather has been so nice that I know they were bucking and moving around. I am fully aware that I am and have city children upon arriving. Eleanor smelled the farm smell and wasn't impressed by it and when I asked Grady if he wanted to see the cows, he said, no. BUT did ask if the side by side was there for rides! Ainsey didn't care much when the side by side picked up speed....she pulled her stocking cap over her face! E and G did like the haybales though! As they get older I'll be curious to watch them get more involved or vested in things, ask questions and what not. We even watched them play a bit outside... they thought they were so funny trying to move one of Grandpa's haybales!

Swimming lessons are ongoing. Depending on the day, they are doing really well. E had a rough session last year but has really gotten comfortable with her teacher and the water. G is an overzealous kicker but he was awful cute the first time that we went swimming. He and I got into the changing room and he kind of made this squeel giggle... "Mama, I'm so excited!" He has often gotten shafted or shifted out of things and for him to really enjoy and be proud of his ability to go, that made me happy. His class has a lot of boys and he and another tend to splash on the side pretty regularly. Nights after swimming tend to be good sleeping nights. 

Work has been crazy. I've been up to the capitol a few times. I've stumbled a bit on my testifying. I've had softball bills and work more on the membership information, champion pieces, and writing testimony but it's good for me to speak. Matt has got the cadence down so well... name, organization, testimony and then when the time for addressing comes, he always remembers the cadence. Dumb me forgets. I've watched hours of hearings but can't seem to remember all the pieces at play. 

EER: Grandma! I got you a Flower for your birthday!!

Butchering, Haircuts, Potty Charts, and Dress Up

Depending on who you were... it was a big week. 

For Matt - he got to sharpen his knives again and it was his favorite time of year - pig butchering. Don't get me wrong he liked cow butchering earlier but pig butchering is not just cutting up or breaking down. It's about the bacons, the ribs, the sausage, the brats - it's a culmination of dreams and wonderfulness and Matt's been planning on it since he did the last pig. I was just there to sample things as we went. Wes was there this year - he appears to be angling for Matt's apprenticeship position and I'm not sure who is more excited about it. 

If you were Ainsley... it was a big week because she got her first haircut. Candy said she sat really well. It wasn't too much past a trim but it was her very first. I've always had a hard time with the first cut because that's the hair that they came with. Call me silly, like Matt does, but it's the last thing that connects them to the womb in my mind. E had this bright red hair, G's was so soft, and Ains's was this dark tuff. 

For Grady - we filled out all of our potty chart! All of it! He's done so well and I'm proud of him - there have been so few accidents. Maybe 1 or 2, not enough to remember. Because he got the chart all filled up, he got his very own Woody - which matches his Buzz. We will work now on no accidents at night - he's in undies full time and pull ups at night but he's doing amazing there too - I hate to jinx it. 

Past testifying at the capitol again, this time for a tax bill the rest of the week was lowkey. We've had some snow so we invited Wes and Kristi over to sled down our hill - unfortunately it wasn't enough snow and they ended up playing more in the ice. Ainsey wasn't not impressed. 

So, a little cleaning, a little fun, a little dress up - which always brings a smile to my face. 

The two meat dresses and the sugar donuts

 First full week in. It's been a busy week. Session is on so I'm reading and working more moving parts - nothing too strenuous yet but trying to find my place in the world. 

Matt had a big week as he had butchering. He's been preparing for-e-ver. He has watched approximately 728 butchering videos. This week is a bull - next week is pigs. He gets goofy about this stuff. We have to watch the videos, sharpen the knives, examine the spices, discuss the options, get mad when I don't agree with all the options, get irritated when I put kinks in the plans, and then fully examine the Tetris of the freezer situations. We determined that E is getting old enough to participate. There are a lot of moving parts for butchering but it's better to start slow than bring all three out and drown. Matt said she didn't do too bad. She was excited to be part of the fun and talked about it the night before quite a bit. I'm not sure if she understood the pieces but I was glad that she got to share in something that is important to her dad. She even had a matching meat dress to go with her Dad. 

Grady and Ainsey had to stay home with Mom. G had a harder time with it. He was a bit bummed but seemed to handle it better when I told him that I got donuts just for us... not for Dad and E, just him and I and Ainsey. I got the worst sugary ones I could find in the store. He was elated. I tried to also do fun things that we don't normally do - we built a fort with couch cushions, we raced cars in the kitchen, and we took a late nap. The fort may have been the day's highlight. 

There were a few times when the two of them would play - either alone or separately. I've also noticed this with the three as a whole. One will go off and play and the other two will play parallel or together and it's moments of bliss. You can hear them pretending and working together and you aren't having to keep anyone alive or entertain and it's nice. They are happening more and more. The worst is when they are interrupted by a wrestle mania moment and you want to box their ears but I guess it's a part of life. The amount of dress up that they play makes me smile - G loves the firefighter but it's starting to get a little small so he swaps out superheros and E typically goes for Frozen!

EER in the tub: Mom, take my picture, I have a beard like Grandpa!