As Summer Began

Because we are attending a school that follows a year-round calendar, my kids don't get done with academics until the middle of June. Like, two weeks after the rest of West Ada has been released into the world of summer activities.

But first - kindergarten graduation! With the best songs.

I love that she wants to be a Mom. Her future children are already lucky.

BFF Macie

The weather was finally heating up and we quickly jumped into lazy mornings, late nights, and playing outside!

Swimming lessons at the Nampa Y are always great - the kids have lessons at the same time, it's indoors which keeps us warmer in the mid-June mornings, and they love it. Both girls graduated from their respective levels and Spencer made good headway to mastering the list of checks required to move up.

Chadwick "won" a paddleboard from a work holiday party and we were able to find a weekend to head up to Lucky Peak with the Wards for the day. We parked, canoed across the reservoir and spent the day eating, paddleboarding, and enjoying time away from the daily grind. Turns out, successfully working a paddleboard isn't super easy when standing on one's feet. I declined learning something new as I didn't want to end up in the water. I'm a wuss when it comes to being cold! Chadwick and the girls all loved it, and Darwin loved the idea of being with Chadwick, even if he didn't love the rest of the experience....

Chadwick stayed the night as the young men were heading up to work on their water safety badges. That water was cold and I didn't envy the youth having to swim a mile Saturday morning....though it didn't stop the kids or dogs from jumping in! Darwin, of course, found a tree trunk to haul around for the afternoon and the Ward's Golden, Paisley, entertained herself by splashing water into the air and then trying to eat it. I think she's part fish. We love these friends and have made so many fun memories together with them over the last few years.

The girls were invited to a neighbor's house for crafts the first week they were off school. They loved the activities and the pie they brought home was delightful!

And, of course, the barn. I can't get enough of this view. Turns out, the people right behind us bought their house partly because they love their view of our red barn.

My family out toiling in the garden, led by our fearless Master Gardner, Dad.

...and I'm Four

This little man of ours has really blossomed into a full-fledged preschooler. He is gregarious, especially with men, and will happily tell them his name, how old he is, and that he now has his own room complete with dinosaur comforter. To those he knows and those he doesn't, he repeats this information proudly and without hesitation.

Bubs still has the best belly laugh, a full smile complete with underbite, and loves to show off when people come to the house.  Quick to apologize, he makes up for his mistakes with a snuggle and head hung low. And he doesn't hesitate to ask me if I'm sorry for getting upset with him, if I haven't apologized on my own at that time.

He is a delightful mix of all boy - launching off furniture, high places, and creating guns out of sticks to shoot bad guys - and is comfortable with a sensitive side I'm attributing to the influence of his sisters. The other morning, he was playing in his room as I got ready for the day. It was a little quiet so I peeked in through the door and found him meticulously lining the My Little Ponies side-by-side in his white bookshelf. He loves to look at books (bugs, dinosaurs, and Star Wars are favorites from the library), watch movies, and play with his sisters. "When I'm five, I'll get to ride the bus and go to Chaparral Cougars, just like my sisters," he likes to inform me.

First sunny day above 55 degrees. Why not swim?

His imagination is constantly going and he still has his friend, Later Gator, who can be counted upon to make his presence in the midst of any and all conversations. "Oh! Later Gator...." or "Later Gator's baby does/has/is...." I have to admit that there are days I am tired of hearing what Later Gator thinks, says, or knows. This is the longest imaginary friend any of the kids have had. I think this character has been with us for at least a year, maybe longer.

For his birthday - back in May, I should add - he was all over the place for a theme for the cake. Batman won and the cake turned out well. It poured buckets the afternoon of his party!

Pretty sure he spit all over the cake....

One of my favorite traditions....the decorated chair. My hubs has talent!

I can't imagine our family without this charismatic little man. He makes me a better Mama.

A Moment

Several days ago, Mallorie came into the bathroom I was attempting to clean with dirt on her nose and giant alligator tears. She'd fallen, face-first, onto the grass from her little bar hanging in the willow tree and was feeling sad about the whole experience. (Spencer, I might add, solemnly followed her up the stairs and proclaimed that he had nothing to do with this fall. He's been in trouble recently for his part in tears shed by this older sister.)

We got the dirt off her nose, dried her tears, and as I sat snuggling her for a moment, I had this feeling of peace. Confirmation that I made the right decision April 2018 to walk away from practicing as a veterinarian to stay home full time with my little circus. I want to be the one kissing boo-boos and wiping dirt off faces. I want to be the one providing snuggles for tears and snuggles for joy. And thankfully, I can.

It was a lovely moment.

Look Mom - I'm a librarian!

Hard Things

For about two years, I've been trying to manage some extreme muscle tightness in my shoulders, neck, and chest. Tension headaches are the worst symptom! My functional medicine practitioner recommended an elimination diet to see what foods, if any, were causing inflammation in my gut and thus lending to the pain in my neck/shoulders. Man, am I addicted to food and the buffering provided by putting something in my mouth!! It was the hardest 2.5 weeks I've had in a l o n g  t i m e.  No beef, dairy, eggs, peanuts, soy, gluten, or sugar. Gone were my go-to items for breakfast and snacks. I was having so much anxiety about what I would eat! Seemed silly, even at the time. Luckily, a dear friend had been through something similar and provided ideas for substitutes. She probably saved me from a major meltdown (thank you, Megan!). 

I tried enchiladas with zucchini in place of tortillas (bigger zucchini would have been ideal), making bread with almond flour (it was nasty, but the chickens enjoyed it), oat and pumpkin pancakes (not bad), and having the most delicious salads at lunch (feeling so grown up not eating peanut butter and banana every day). 

I was obsessed with food - what I could eat or couldn't. At the end of said diet, you are supposed to introduce one new food item back for three days and keep track of how your body feels. Well, I had just driven ~900 miles to Albuquerque with my kiddos and Mom and planned to stay a week before driving back to Boise. The willpower to stay on the diet was wearing thin (I cried the first night back home when my parents and children ate pizza and I had dry salad with chicken) and I didn't do so well introducing one thing at a time. But the bowl o'papas with green chili from Weck's had never tasted so amazing! 

No, I didn't feel any amazing changes in my shoulders and neck but I did learn that I could do hard things. That having to feel my feelings instead of eating or drinking something was possible. It's a baby step in the right direction. Now to keep stepping......

Life in Pictures

Photo dump. Two legs or four, someone is always doing something goofy. Unfiltered, unedited bits of my life over the last two months.