Jonny & Megan: July 2015

Friday, July 24, 2015

Yay for Family

Before the annual Blood family beach trip, we were lucky to get some visitors. First up, Aaron & Ashley, making the trip all the way from Tucson. Here, Aaron watches Aaron climb on Seth's head.

Great minds dress alike:

Next up: Daniel, Wendy & family.

Catherine was THRILLED to meet her cousin Katherine:

Cousin love:

We made the crazy decision to try our first night drive. After the beach trip with Aaron, we knew he would scream most of the 7.5 hours. We were hoping the late drive would force him to sleep. There was still some screaming, but he did eventually fall asleep. Unfortunately, the late night was hard on me & Jon. Those last couple of hours were a fight to stay awake. But we made it to the beach house just before 4 am!

Church was at 9 am. Since our rotten children decided to wake up at 7 am, we decided we might as well go! Of course, about 30 minutes into the first meeting, Aaron had a huge poo-splosion. It was not salvageable, so off we headed.

I thought it was kind of funny, and a huge waste of time. Later, Mom Blood told me how happy she'd been to see her sons and their families all at church despite their late night drives (Daniel and Wendy got in around midnight). Not a waste, apparently! Someone raised those Blood kids right.

Rocks

With Seth at camp, the little ones and I met some friends at Rocks for a little water fun. Unfortunately, thanks to all the rain, the river was really swollen. The kids still had fun, but it wasn't quite as enjoyable as it is when the water is slower and the shore is bigger.

Aaron loved dumping cups of river water into other cups.

He didn't enjoy getting splashed by the other kids.

Catherine loved the water and playing with friends.

And her new Elsa swimsuit.

Cub Scout Camp

I didn't realize that Cub Scouts was an option before age 8, but I'm grateful someone let me know that Seth could attend Day Camp! After being a bit disappointed that there would be no hiking, campfires or tents, Seth adjusted happily to his days at camp. He had a HUGE den (14 boys) with one of my good friends as a leader. And bless her for her efforts--those were long, hot days!

Den Sherlock Holmes

A stunning picture of Seth

Tying knots

A Seth knot

(I am SO grateful for those hats!)

Serious concentration

He's actually pretty good. Clearly not my son.

Seth's favorite: shooting guns

His target.

He was so pleased with his almost-bullseye

We stopped for a little $.99 Sonic kids meal after camp one day and dragged Gabe with us.

Seth has loved having his buddy at camp with him.

I'm so glad Seth was able to go to camp. It was a perfect start to summer and a nice break from Minecraft. Looking forward to next year!

Summertime

Our water heater can't fill the tub enough for adult use, but the kids sure enjoy it!

Seth getting himself a moustache at the end-of-year party:

Happy boy and mommy:

A class tug-of-war:

Aaron is loving having a backyard to play in:

When Aldi had a water table on sale (ours died after six years of summers), we knew it would make a perfect present for Aaron. Rather than saving it for his birthday, which would have been at the end of the summer, we busted it out right away. He was in water heaven:

And, finally, after a stupidly long school year (Maryland and snow days...I don't even want to talk about it), school was out for summer! Seth LOVED school, but a summer full of Minecraft was pretty exciting, too. He wasn't thrilled to hear that he would be required to to daily schoolwork over the summer. Former homeschool moms are so lame.

Sometimes, I try to play the piano. It always ends up a duet, or a trio. Sometimes it's frustrating, but I know that these days are fleeting. One day those sticky fingers will have better things to do and I will miss them.

Beach Trip!

When we found out our awesome friends were about to move away (and put an end to our almost-annual beach trips), we knew we needed to make the drive for one last visit. And, of course, I didn't get a single picture with them. But it was so nice to chat with Scott & Kellie and see their amazing kids. We wish you all the best luck in your new home!

Aaron is not sure about this beach thing.

Clinging to Daddy's leg

Catherine managed to find "caterpillars" in the sand (???)

The water was frigid, but Seth actually went for a dip

My baby sister came to live with us for the summer while she worked at KYA. So, of course, we dragged her to the beach. Beth LOVES it when I take pictures of her.

Daddy does super fun things at the beach.

Mom just takes pictures.

Lots of pictures.

Bubba loves me.

Seth is more inclined to playing in the water this year,

but digging in the sand is still his love.

Sometimes princesses need to be carried by their fathers

Catherine and the precious caterpillar.

Leaving it behind was traumatic.

Aaron was quite happy to dig in the sand.

Not so happy to faceplant in it.

Aaron has a special bond with Aunt Bubba.

After a stop for some delicious burgers, we said our goodbyes (boo!) and started the 2.5 hour drive home. Aaron hadn't napped all day, so we were hopeful there would be some sleeping on the way home. Ha. Ha.

First, we did whiny:

Then, hysterical:

He was on the edge of a knife for the entire drive.

It was a VERY LONG drive.

At least someone got a nap:

iPhone Life

Helping Dad assemble yet another piece of Ikea furniture

Catherine's turn

My favorite new diet: Aaron Eats All Your Food

"New fad diet that's sure to melt away the pounds! It's called "Aaron Eats All Your Food." Think you can get away with eating your own breakfast just because you already fed Aaron his? Think you will get to enjoy that delicious smoothie since Aaron already had dessert? Foolish mortal. The Aaron has a mysterious sixth sense which brings him running at the first inkling of food. Try it today! The Aaron is available from 7 am to 8 pm daily, with a short break for nap time around 1:30 pm. We recommend not trying to eat during nap time as the Aaron has an uncanny tendency to wake up while you're snacking."

Had a bit of a scary day with Seth at school near the end of the year. Apparently some jerk called in a threat, putting the school on lockdown. Not only was it scary for everyone, but it ruined the kids' field day (which was probably the intent). I've never had to deal with any of this before and homeschooling suddenly looked very appealing again. Thankfully it wasn't a viable threat and nothing came of it. But I was still very happy to see him get off that bus.

He might be my son

Definitely.

Another piece of Ikea furniture to assemble. We thought it was a game shelf, but apparently it's for storing children. Only 22 more kids to go before we fill it up!

After at least two people called Aaron a little girl, Jon insisted I had to cut his curls. It was heartbreaking to see all those little curls on the table:

Gymnastics Show

Both Seth and Catherine were able to take gymnastics classes this spring. Seth LOVED being in the boys' only class and Catherine was so happy to be in gymnastics (not ballet). The kids got to perform in the end-of-year show.