A summer week

June 26, 2022

Father's day was pretty low key. It was so nice to have Josh around in the morning and we made him German pancakes and gave him cards and a tie. Turns out that almost all the men at church were receiving the same tie and it was pretty funny when they all showed up to church and realized they were wearing all matching. Kellyn had seen a video of another church who did it with shirts but since our guys all wear white shirts anyway, we did ties. It was fun and unifying and made everyone smile. That afternoon we talked to our dads and went for a walk and had BBQ ribs for dinner. I am so grateful for Josh and he really is such a patient, loving dad. I truly feel like we are equal partners in our parenting and it is a blessing for our children to have a dad so committed to serving the Lord, working hard every day for our family and our country and who loves me and them so much. He provides for us and takes care of our cars and computers and gives piggy back rides and plays catch. We're so blessed.

Monday we did work around the house and then Lily went to a birthday party and we had the Wiests over for dinner. Josh was experimenting with pizza and they are willing guinea pigs. We played a game and talked and ate and it was really nice. Then we all went to Katie Frazier's missionary farewell dessert party and that was also nice. She used to babysit for us and is a super sweet girl and we're excited for her to serve as a missionary.

Tuesday the kids did their stuff (piano, cleaning job, exercise, make bed) and it was a chill day. I think I underestimated how worn out my kids were from the past few months so we have taken a slow start into summer. Curtis did have practice that night and so the other kids came and played at the park. Josh met us there and took them home so I could go to book club. I didn't like the book much but we had a good discussion about it.

Wednesday was a lot like Tuesday. Emma, Brandon and I rode our bikes to the school and the played on the park while I walked the track. There was a lot of litter so Emma asked the secretary for a bag and we spent half an hour picking up trash. I had really wanted to go to Six Flags on Wednesday but no one wanted to go and I was kind of feeling like our days were wasting away, but that experience was so unplanned and good that I decided to not stress anymore. We'll have a fun summer because we'll be together and having shared moments that are meaningful and that was one of them for me. Just playing at the park and serving our community in a simple way brought me joy that day. Thursday was just like Tuesday, except we went to the library and then I took Emma and Brandon to the pool but then a thunderstorm came so we weren't there 15 minutes. I also went to a baby shower that was nice. Josh had a lot going on that night and we didn't get to talk until 11 and there are times when I just wish I could make his life easier. He carries so much responsibility at work and church and even just by being a good guy. He has been tutoring a college student that he is buddies with and has spent hours trying to help him with his coding class. Always so much to do!

Friday we invited friends to the beach with us and it was a fun day. We spent all day at Newtowne Neck and everyone had fun with their friends. It waa a gorgeous day and with the rain and cooler temps there weren't any jellyfish so it was all wonderful. I love me a good beach day.

Yesterday was Curtis's baseball tournament. Two of the teams dropped out so it ended up being just us and Waldorf so they made it the best 2/3 games. The first game started at 10am and it was great. Our pitcher is awesome and the game was 12-1 and ended early because we were more than 10 runs up at the fourth inning. They took a short break and then started the second game, which went much longer. It got so hot and there wasn't shade but we just kept cheering. It was kind of annoying that Curtis played in the outfield every single inning and not once touched the ball. He had some good hits though, a couple pop flys that were caught but he scored a few runs too. It was a lot and I decided I am not a tournament person and that is just one more good reason to never do travel teams. I can sense Curtis's frustration that he isn't better but most of the other kids on the team play a lot more baseball than he does because that is all they do. But he works hard and is good enough to be an all-star. They won the second game 26-12 and we were all happy when it was done and they were declared district champions. Now they can go to the state competition but it is the week we are in NC so he will miss it. I know he is disappointed but family is more important than baseball so he'll get over it. We came home, went to the pool to cool off and got everyone to bed early because we were all super tired.