*waves arms in the air*

I could not for the life of me get the blog to work last night! I tried and tried! Please forgive me, enjoy YESTERDAYS blog now, and keep an eye out for a much more special blog later TODAY!!!

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It has been a truly beautiful day. We were able to get ourselves out the door to the lake this morning. It’s the long weekend, as you likely know, so we had plans to make it the longest weekend possible. But with some added challenges on our plate lately, we decided to go a bit later and just start with one night. See how it goes! 

We arrived late morning, unloaded, and joined our Dahlsjos at the beach. It was HOT out today!! Very hot. Hot enough to send all of us back to our respective campers to get out of the heat finally. Thankfully, I had taken some time over the last day or two to organize the school supplies and gather up some art supplies to bring to camp for days just like this one. It was worth it. 

We lurked in the AC for a while until it was supper time. Our Dahlsjos had invited us to join them for supper, so we headed their way and feasted on a big burger and hot dog feed, with cheesy bacon potatoes and watermelon. It was crazy delicious! 

Once the day wound down, we split off for the night. It was too hot to be outside anymore. Brady and I took the golf cart and rounded up the kids who had migrated to the park. Then we drove the loops to see who was all here this weekend. Finally, we called it a night and went back to the camper to tuck in. 

And out of absolutely nowhere, the storm started! We heard wind. LOUD wind. And then the power cut. That was that. The thunder and lightening. Rain and more rain. It sounded like it was hailing, but when I went out in the deck, it was more like branches and pinecones falling. A quick golf cart rip down to get the paddle boat out of the water proved a beautiful stormy scene. I haven’t seen waves crash like that in a long time. It was gorgeous. And freezing. And WET. It was wild. I loved it so much! 

The power is still out, and I’m not mad at it. Temperature is good. White noise works on a fully charged phone for the one who needs it. The other kids are chatting away and enjoying the storm sounds. 

I am SO happy it’s raining and storming like this!! Thank you Lord for a beautiful storm!! 

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Apparently the storm was a little too good and internet signal was nowhere to be found. With trees coming down around the campground, I was in no position to venture out to search for one. So. Here you have it. Yesterdays blog, late, thanks to the beautiful storm last night. No regrets!!

All the fun families are going out to do summer activities today! Pools, ice cream, etc. At least thats the vibe I get. But my kids got put to work today, hahaha! But there was good reason for it!

Our life has been pretty chaotic for the last week or so, and the house is kind of a mess because of it, haha! No big issues there, just some upkeep needed.

And then the kids brought home ALL their school stuff. Which, I’ll admit, it a bit of a nightmare I was quite determined to deal with as fast as possible rather than letting it linger all summer in a giant pile in my room.

Also, we want to go camping. So thats another thing to be busy with.

So today the jobs began! The kids got to sleep in and move slowly to get breakfast going, but after that, they got it with the full understanding of the goals we were working towards!

Rowan went through all the school markers to pitch all the dried up ones. Solly sharpened all the pencils and pencil crayons.

Once those things were done, they loaded them into a nice little shelf I got to bring to camp! Its nice to finally have a plan for ALL that extra craft stuff!

Dekker and Laela got into dishes, and then packing, and a few other jobs they had.

Wavy put away the kids laundry that my mom did this week 💜 Such an amazing gift you gave us, mom. Thank you!

Beyond these things, they all started packing. Taking apart old duotangs to reuse next year. Buzzing heads. Baths. Its not over yet, but we took a good bite out of the job list!

I hope you all have a beautiful long weekend 💜

So much wraps up today. School is out. Dekker is done at elementary school. Wavy is done not being in school. Laela is done being second in command in the group who walks to school. Solly is done being the baby of the group. So. Much. Change.

This morning as I prepared the kids for their last day, I told them I would come walk to pick them up from school so I could help carry things home. We’ve been sending reusable bags with each kid each day, and the teachers have been awesome at sending things home gradually. But we had some sickies so I knew there would still be more to bring. When I presented this idea, every kid piped up and asked if I would walk them to school, also! I loved this, and happily went along.

I managed to get there for pickup as well. It was beautiful and hot out, and it was fun to see everyone so happy, heading home for the summer. It really felt like summer. And now we can really just coast in it. Sleep in. Take it easy. In between all the appointments, lake stuff, foster stuff, etc. No shortage, friends. Not ONE! But I wouldn’t trade it 💜

Happy summer, friends! If your kid is in my kids grade, which class are they in??

I think its not a terribly big secret that I’ve been a bit busy the last week or so. Its true. I haven’t been home, but it was for good reason, and we are praising the Lord that I am officially home today!!! 💜 Woohoo! Its been a long week! I sure missed my people.

With that, as I sat on my own toilet this evening, and took a minute to actually scroll my phone, I saw on my Facebook memories that yesterday marked the yearly anniversary of my blog! I MISSED IT!!! Hahahahaha! That should show you how busy I’ve been!! Because yesterday officially marked eleven years!!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

Eleven years have been full of things to share – trips, milestones, babies, friends, crisis, loss, grief, cancer, surgeries, learning and growing. And now, let’s add a new career and foster care to that list! The last year has been yet another large one! But one I am endlessly grateful for.

I love where we are in our life right now. It is not perfect. Its not all popular. But we love the directions we’ve chosen to run (or roll) in.

Thank you to those who have stuck it out with us 💜 And to those who have followed this silly blog project! Its been a riot! Every blog anniversary, I toy with the idea of wrapping it up. But I missed this anniversary altogether, so I guess we’ll revisit that next year, haha!

Why stop now??

Eleven years 🥂

Brady’s been feeling a tad under the weather for a couple of days, but last night he knew he wasn’t going to make it to work. And conveniently, some of the kids felt about the same 😬

Well, first, I guess you can know the weirdos that did make it to school.

Aaaaand then the sickos.

Once the big kids were off, Brady settled in for a movie with the kids 💜 Storks. If you haven’t watched it, do it. Its SO cute, and underrated.

Look at those eyes! Ack! Brady rolled out the morning (ha!) and then the kids both went down for naps. He had a soak and a boost in an effort to feel better. I don’t think it worked 😬

Post-naps, Wavy had a pretty decent fever and was feeling pretty floppy and icky.

But Laela came home bearing presents from her teacher, who was giving away from of her supplies in lieu of her retirement. She brought home a gift for each sickie 💜

She is terribly thoughtful 💜

In the midst of the sickness, my mom did a whole Costco shop for us! Thank you, mom! 💜

Here’s hoping for a smoother day tomorrow!! 💪

Today has been YUGE. So I’m going to pop on here, show you a joke, and go to bed!

This 🙌 is my kind of humour. I hope you got a giggle out of it, also.

Only

Yesterday I posted about Rowan partying it up at the spray park. Well today the fun continued, as Tom and Rae took all five kids to the spray park in the afternoon! I believe its safe to say they had an absolutely riot, but I also believe the real party went down in their hot tub. Because that was a FIRST!!! Lucky little kids, they are!!

Ok so the first run, Solly wasn’t feeling it. Probably nervous. I wasn’t there. But he’s somewhat less inclined to try new things. Rae and Tom know this, and don’t let it cramp anyones style. Safety first, Sol!

He got in on round two, however!

His little wrinkly belly 😍

I was proud of him for trying it out, and really happy the kids all got a chance to try something new and fancy!

I feel so overwhelmed with gratefulness these days. Our people just keep showing up to love on our children and our family, and I am humbled over and over again. Tom and Rae have had our kids from morning to night. Fed them. Taken them to water THREE TIMES. Played and partied with them. Gave them a day to remember in the midst of some change and stress.

I’m just grateful. So grateful. Its bonkers.

Doesn’t that sound like a great childrens book??

Last week, Rowan asked me if he could meet up with some friends at the spray park after school. I said yes, and gave him a time to be home by. He grabbed a towel and took off. Shortly after that, Cher left my house, and called me from the road. She told me Rowan was sitting out on his bike, alone. Apparently his friends hadn’t shown up, but he still really wanted to go. But not alone. So the loving auntie that she is, Cher confirmed with me that she was going to take him! And off they went!

I can’t really tell you all the stories, but I’ll show you some of the pictures. He. Just. Went for it.

He had an absolute riot, and he played hard! Until it was time to pack up, which he did willingly, and came home at our agreed upon time 💜

Thank you, Cher, for putting into our children and our family the way you do 💜 Every single thing like this is a gift for which I am SO grateful. I love you!!!

My dearest Dekker Thomas graduated out of grade six today 🥺 My first baby is hitting up high school! 

Yes. In our town, high school starts in grade seven. I know it’s not real. But it’s how it goes here. 

I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend, but I had a little lovely team there to take pictures, and videos, and celebrate with him 💜 

Every student gave a short speech about their time in elementary school, including Dekker, whose speech was fairly neutral, but ended with a zinger advising the upcoming grade sizes to always finish their work on time. He got a laugh. While he spoke, a slide he had designed showed up on the projector. Pictures of our family. Our Dahlsjos. Our camp spot. His newest little sib. And a really handsome picture of himself. He did a beautiful job. I am so proud of Dekker. 

I cannot believe my first baby is moving on up. He is less than enthused at the idea of being, as he said, in the kindergarten of high school. But I could honestly tell him that grade seven was my favorite year of school! I hope he feels the same! 

Happy grad, Dekker. I’m sorry I couldn’t watch, but I’m no less proud of you this way 🥰 My beautiful boy, I love you! 

Stuff changes pretty rapidly in our life, as you may have noticed over the past few years, lol! So as the theme goes, we’ve had a bit of a change of plans over here, and I’m going to be away from home for a few days. I slept VERY little the last few nights, and am only remembering now that I have a blog to write! Ack!

You may have to give me a day or two to get my ducks in a row, but I’ll be back with more intentional posts as soon as I have some rest and a clearer brain.
For today , I’ll leave you with this picture.

I hope you all sleep as hard as a tuckered out four year old who has spent her day in the sun ☀️