Summer time fun time
The first week Lily taught at a princess ballet camp for 3-5 year olds from 9-12 and then had her dance class from 3:30-6. That meant a lot of going back and forth to the dance studio but luckily it is close. The second week she did an intensive so she was there from 9-3 and that was a bit easier. We would come back from the pool between 1-2 and take showers and then if Emma and Brandon had practiced the piano and finished their job for the day, then they would watch a movie in the afternoon, which would be nice down time for everyone. We did also go to the library and I took Lily to get her ears pierced; she finally wanted it done so off to Ink Wizard we went and she didn't even flinch when they stuck that needle through her ear. Nobody has noticed or said anything to her but maybe it will be more noticeable when she is wearing something other than studs.
Curtis did a lot of reading and running and some piano practicing. He went to a friend’s house one afternoon and one night our friend helped Curtis with his pitching. Josh also took Curtis to a high school baseball workout and he was nervous to go but went and I was proud of him. He wants to do cross country in the fall along with rec baseball and then is hoping to make the school team in the spring.
On Saturday, July 13, we miraculously had a Saturday with absolutely no commitments. That never happens! I got so excited and looked at my list of things I want to do with the kids and picked one. We ended up going to the Annapolis mall for an hour because Josh was on a mission to find flip flops (spoiler; he ended up buying them online) and then we went to Fort McHenry in Baltimore. It was a beautiful and hot day and we looked around the gift shop and the museum part and then headed out to walk around the fort. We could have spent longer but we got the idea and learned some cool things. Josh and I had been there soon after we moved here but I wanted the kids to appreciate the Star Spangled banner and even though they have seen it in the Smithsonian museum, now they know why it was so important. The fort is cool to walk around and we could see the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge just down the way a bit and that was strange and sad. I love history and really want my kids to understand our history and appreciate our country. It is so easy to complain about politics or the health system or the lack of gun laws or whatever but I have been in a few other countries, namely one that suffered under communism for decades, and I am so grateful to be an American. I am thankful for those poor soldiers who were being bombed all night and their stamina to keep the British out of Baltimore. I am grateful for the pride I feel when I sing our national anthem and I am excited to hear it a lot during the Olympics the next few weeks. It was a fun outing and my kids were surprisingly positive about it.
Then we met up with our friend, John, and his wife, Sue. Josh and I were independently friends with him in high school before we started dating and the three of us hung out quite a bit together senior year. He works for UA and I asked him to give us a tour since it is right there by the fort. He's a nice guy so he said yes and we got to look all around the UA facilities. They have a cool stadium and we saw all these awesome sewing and stitching machines that they use to make prototypes and he talked to us all about the design process. He did basketball shoes for a long time and is now on an innovation team so he's a cool guy and shared a lot with us and it was awesome.
We were pulling out when we realized we had a tire issue but we made it to the Cheesecake Factory where we had dinner with John and Sue (which was delicious and made everyone happy) then John and Josh used our repair kit to get the tire inflated enough for us to drive the 90 minutes home. Turns out there was a nail in the tire but the pressure held and I was able to drive it to church the next day, then on Monday we got four new tires (yikes!) but I'm so grateful that it all happened before I drove up to my parents' house when I could have had a real problem being alone and in the middle of nowhere PA with a blown tire. The Lord was definitely looking out for me.
The next Friday evening we had a pizza picnic at the pool and stayed until 9pm and it was fun. Lily was babysitting, though she doesn't like the pool anymore anyway, but the rest of us had fun. Then we showered and got the little kids in bed and went to see a 10pm showing of Fly me to the Moon. It was super cute; we both really enjoyed it and we were the only ones in the theater so that was fun. Saturday Lily and I helped out at a baptism while Josh took the younger kids to see a movie, then later he took the bigger kids to see a movie, so he saw three in a matter of 24 hours. We also ate four buckets of popcorn that day. Then all of us, except Curtis, went to see the summerstock production of Cinderella. I had thought it would be fun to take Emma and Brandon since they are my musical buddies but then Lily and Josh decided to come too. It was well done for a high school level production and I enjoyed seeing a new musical. The music was pretty good and it was just nice to do something different.
Sunday was busy with church responsibilities and Lily had a meeting and I had invited the Rays over for dinner since I didn't think they would have any food after getting back late from their trip and we needed to catch up. It was fun to chat and see them again.
Monday morning I drove Adi, Frankie, Lily and Curtis up to UMD for their FSY youth conference. It was fun to help them find their rooms and see all the kids on campus and feel some of the FSY excitement. I went to EFY once when I was about to turn 16 and had such an amazing experience so I was excited for them. Curtis was a bit nervous and grumpy about it because he didn't know his roommate but Lily has since let me know that he is doing well and having a great time, which I knew he would as long as his roommate was a normal enough kid. They come home Saturday morning and I am super excited to hear all about their week.
After we dropped them off Emma and Brandon and I drove the rest of the way up to Rochester where we have been hanging out with my parents all week. My sister from Michigan also drove over so I've gotten to see two of my four sisters and will see a third one tomorrow on our way home. It has been fun to talk and play games and eat my favorite foods. I love being in Rochester and just feeling at home. We went to the mall, got my favorite bagels, got Emma fitted for a new pair of pointe shoes, I went shopping at Wegmans (best grocery store in the world), we've been watching Jeopardy with my parents and we also watched My Fair Lady (I suggested a musical and that was the one my sisters picked but man, that guy is so annoying so my kids liked the music but not the story so much). We've played Five Crowns, Hearts, Golf, Bank, Racko, and Emma and Brandon played all sorts of imagination games in the basement, like hotel and school and all that good stuff. We went on a picnic to the park we always went to when I was a kid and we went down to Lake Ontario and got my favorite custard. I love my sisters and parents and even though it has been a quick visit, it has been a good one.
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