Porch Redo

Our porch has been looking pretty rough for awhile now (for about 14 years...) but it served our purposes so we didn't do much about it. We just needed a table to eat at and play games. I think being home so much made us rethink how we wanted to use the room though. We still wanted a table but also wanted to be able to lounge out there with a book or take a nap. So we repainted the green floor grey and put a new coat of white paint on everything else. Our porch isn't very big but we managed to find a sectional that juuuuuust fits. It even came with a table and a cushioned bench for more seating. We also added some lights and a plant, yet to be named. We're really happy with the change and have been making good use of the space. Griffin spends 90% of his day out there but we're out there fairly often too:)

Before

Paige helped with the floor and everyone helped with the white paint

Griffin and plant

Game night

Griffin had the honor of the inaugural porch nap but Owen had the honor of being the first human porch napper after his weekend of camping.

Father's Day!

We let Pat sleep in to start off his Father's Day and then we presented him with cards and an activity for the day! The kids made him a book that gave him choices he would have to make throughout the day. It started simple with breakfast-cereal or waffles and moved on from there. We had intended to play footgolf in the morning but hit a snag when they told us we should have booked a tee time. I called a week earlier and tried to do that and they told me I didn't need one...but we rallied and went home to have lunch and waited for our 2pm tee time at another footgolf location. We had planned to do 9 holes (another choice!) but decided at the last minute to go for 18. It was a bit long but 9 holes didn't feel like enough so we powered through and rewarded ourselves with some Mitchell's ice cream! They still weren't letting people in the store so we ordered from our car and took it to a park. Later we had ravioli lasagna for dinner and watched a movie that Pat has been wanting to show the kids, Apollo 13!

Outdoor Fun

Remember how I took Owen and his friend for a bike ride when the road in the park was closed? We managed to get Paige there too and she loved having all the space to work on riding with no hands! It's open now so we can't do our races down the big hill anymore but it was fun while it lasted!

We got out to another part of the park we hadn't been to in awhile. We had to contend with some poison ivy on the way down to the water, but once we reached our destination we discovered lots and lots of tadpoles! And weirdly, a shopping cart??

Just so you don't think it's all outdoor adventures here is a picture of Owen doing something he does every single day. He's playing or watching something on his phone while he waits for his Fortnite game to load:)

Bubble Tea

Owen is getting his braces off next month!! It's been about two years since he got them on and he's ready! We stopped to pick up some bubble tea on the way home from his last appointment and I can say we all had different feelings about it. I was expecting actual tea with tapioca balls in it and we we were given fruity slushies with tapioca balls. Apparently it's not wrong but it wasn't anything like the first time I had bubble tea! I got coconut and it was good, the kids had strawberry. Owen liked the drink but not the tapioca and Paige enjoyed it all!

Etc

Paige and her friend were doing photo shoots and I love this picture she got!

Griffin exhausted himself while playing with this paper bag

We went back to this spot to swim but this time got ushered out by a kid who said the cops were on their way to kick everyone out! Oops, we found out you aren't actually allowed to go in the water here so we won't be going back:(

This road in the park is closed to keep down the number of visitors to park areas so we were free to ride in the street!

The boys were good sports and posed for me once we reached our destination

A boy and his cat

Ledges

There is a memories feature on Facebook that allows you to see anything you've posted on that day in past years. When I checked the other day the memory happened to be a post about Ledges Park from three years ago! Here is the blog post I did about it too. I thought it would be a great place to revisit so we packed up some lunch and headed out while Pat was busy working. It's a really beautiful place with lots of spots to climb and squeeze through. You do have to watch out for spiderwebs and bugs though! Just like last time we got a little lost...there are so many twists and turns that it's hard to stay on the same path. We ended up consulting my phone to navigate our way back to the car and kept clicking the car lock horn to see if we could hear the car. We all cheered when we finally heard it beep! 

Not the exact same sign but Paige recreated this picture from three years ago

Kayaking!

We decided to try kayaking and it was both super fun and a little stressful. We had such beautiful weather but that also meant the river was very crowded. There were other kayakers, large boats, paddleboarders, people fishing...and as inexperienced kayakers, it was a lot to watch out for! We started out in a less congested area working to get the hang of paddling before we headed toward the choppier waters of the lake. Owen spent some of our time collecting sticks and leaves and tipping the boat back and forth:) At the end of our journey we saw a turtle! Afterwards, we headed to the Blackbird Baking Company for some cookies and I had what may be the best chocolate chip cookie I've ever had!

Last Day of School!

The kids basically missed out on the last 3 months of school because of quarantine so the "last day of school" was pretty anti-climactic. They had already collected their things from the school, there was no yearbook signing or parties. Both kids were just happy to be done with online learning and ready to move on so there weren't any tears from them about wrapping things up.  Paige's last year of elementary school should have ended with a farewell party where the entire grade would get a day of school to celebrate, a clap-out where they would walk the halls and every grade cheered them on, and an awards ceremony where their accomplishments would be applauded by family and teachers. Instead, we decorated the car and headed to Paige's school for a farewell drive through where some of the staff and fourth grade teachers were lined up to say goodbye. They handed the kids a bag with a a couple gifts and the awards they earned. Paige participated in a lot of groups and and worked hard this year so she had a lot of awards! The two she was proudest of was her award for academic excellence and her citizenship award which she received for " outstanding leadership, school spirit, respectful behavior towards others and volunteer work in the school and community." We're so proud of her and we're going to miss elementary school!! 

Happenings

Paige is back at dance! That's her in the top left corner of the room

Owen was very very sore!

Some friends showed us a new trail!

Another Day, Another Park:)