The Daily Hailey

I prepped for camp today, among other things. Much was already done. Four of the kids had packed their things already. One needed a bit of help, and one is entirely dependent on me 😂 So we got the last of the kiddos packed up, and started to tie up the loose ends. 

I’ve begun over preparing with the food. Really, I think I’m actually just preparing for every meal really well, but we’ve started sharing many meals with the Dahlsjos, so we share food, and the amounts fluctuate depending on which kid from which family prefers what food. Lately, they have invited us to have Saturday supper with them, and it’s grown into a really lovely tradition! In turn, we have all the kids at our camper the next morning for s’mores for breakfast 😅 It hardly compares, but it’s a really lovely system and we are so grateful for the routine we’ve struck. 

Todays prep held a mountain of chopping. It’s a very veggie heavy weekend!! 

I prepared for chunky chicken salads, potato packs in the fire, and broccoli salad. And cold veggies at lunch like always. So much food!! I’m excited to eat it ALL. Outside. With friends and family. 

Thank you Lord for all You provide for us, your children. We are endlessly grateful 💜 

A few of our kids are invested in Minecraft. Not at home. They don’t have things for that at home, haha! But they play it at school, and they really enjoy it. Dekker more than everyone, and Laela is a solid second. So there is LOTS of Minecraft talk in our house, mostly about what to put in houses Dekker builds, and projects like that. It’s fun, and creative, so I don’t mind it. But I also don’t understand most of it.

Part of why I’m cool with all the Minecraft talk is the art that its brought into the house! The kids draw on graph paper now! I used to do that, too, and I LOVED it! I still use it to draw out crochet patterns and there is just something different about it. It thrills my heart at a totally nerdy level. The kids art started by making cool blocky characters modelled after Minecraft characters. Then, Dekker began planning buildings, counting blocks and making rooms. He spent a LOT of time building an accessible house on Minecraft, considering the widths of the doorways and hallways. It was ADORABLE. Dekker still works on houses and structures, but the whole thing has developed into pixel art, and its so fun! Dekker will draw out food, characters, animals, etc. He’ll copy them off of a google image and color them in for his wall of fame.

I’m telling you a lot about their art, and I don’t have a ton of pictures of it at the moment, sorry to say. But what prompted this post was Laela’s art from yesterday. What I LOVED about it was that it was completely from her brain!!! No looking at other pictures or snagging ideas. She just went for it. And it is AWESOME.

So is this or is this not SO COOL?! The hardest part to figure out is the words. It says “Its McDonald!” Hahaha! She told me she ran out of room and didn’t want the last “s” to be on its own row, so she just went with it. I like that about her. It didn’t have to be perfect. But its pretty stinking close, if you ask me!

I love the drink, with the m’s. I love the burger, because she is most proud of that, and how the lettuce and tomato came together. And the fries are so great, too, even though she chuckled at her weird “m” on the side of the container.

Her sign off even had hearts with arrows 💘 She is SO stinking cute.

Anyway. Minecraft. I’ve enjoyed some of the fun developmental stuff thats come with it. Does anyone know if there is some kind of handheld Minecraft game? Like. A gameboy. I know, I’m dating myself here. But, does that exist? Help a mom out here, guys.

Yesterday evening, after an incredibly busy and draining day, Brady and I took the kids to Walmart to buy school shoes. I’m bad for procrastinating until the end of summer to get school stuff, but then there is virtually nothing left on the shelves! So I’m trying to nail it all down earlier this summer, and shoes are a big part of that! The rest can be ordered online, but I prefer to do shoes in person.

We shoed everyone appropriately, and now today, I’m making up the lists of what’s left to acquire before September. Its not too much, but its for five children, so it is more than average, I’m sure 😅 But I’ve already gone through what we already have here, so I’m eager to fill in the gaps and be 100% ready ahead of time!

I’ve built a big Staples list, and I’m going to try to nail down the other things on Amazon before the end of the morning. And then I’ll lunch everyone. And then I have to run to the city, and linger there for a little bit. Cher is going to join, and she tends to bring the party, so that’ll be a win 🙂

And we’ll see what the evening holds. There is no shortage of things over here. Prepping for camp. Separate camp for different kids. Getting organized for three appointments tomorrow. And ALL the other things swirling around over here 😅

Thank God for God. I’m not sure what we’d do without Him. His mercy is boundless.

I use the term “date” loosely. Brady had an early morning appointment today that we went to together, and as life goes, that feels like a date! So I’ll take it! As we drove out of town around 7am, I was flabbergasted to see how many kids are already out, biking around town with their friends. I was NEVER out this early as a kid unless I absolutely had to be! It was so strange for me to see, as I was curled up in the passengers seat in my leggings, chatting quietly with Brady and not ready to talk to anyone else.

He had his appointment, and then we hit Walmart for a few things. Laela and Solly both broke their flip flops over the weekend, so we bought some cheapies. Some photo paper. Gum. A couple of small things, but nothing thrilling. It was nice to just peruse. We grabbed some coffee and breakfast on the way home, and took our time 💜 It was really, really nice.

We got home to an empty house, as my mom had taken the kids for a walk. Brady changed for work and headed back out the door, and I got to blogging and unpacking our few items. The kids surfaced very shortly after we got home, with fresh shells from the pond to rinse in the sink. It was a happy group of some of my favorite people 💜 Very very nice for me to witness.

Now that I’m home, its lunch time. People will eat. Some small people will bathe. Laundry will happen. And a few other jobs will either get finished up, or just started. Either way, I’m aiming for a productive day, but not too terribly productive, haha! Just comfortably productive enough.

Have a lovely, semi-productive day, friends 💜

Mondays are the days to get the week organized. I mean, theoretically its already fairly set up, but its still a big day of organizing for me.

It almost always includes getting things unpacked from camp. Laundry. Making sure we eat up the leftovers from the weekend.

Meanwhile, I need to find windows of time to pack up for the next weekend away, and I need to make them in time to have a grocery list put together to pimp out on Brady so he can pick things up at coop after work. So, Monday is for meal planning also.

Our life has become quite a bit fuller with appointments, so this week as a whole holds five appointments overall. One is for Brady during his workday, so I don’t have to manage that one. And two of them are at the same time. So three time slots, I suppose. But I had childcare worked out ahead of time (thank you in advance, mom!) so that should work out smoothly.

Somewhere in here, I’d REALLY like to get the kids school supplies organized. Thats just something I don’t want to wait on. But I have fewer hands-free hours than I used to have, so that may not be feasible at this point. But its still on the list.

I think that about concludes this meeting. Thank you for being part of the team. Let’s crush this week, guys.

Our weekend at the lake was quite a cute one, and it was fairly smooth, for which I was incredibly grateful! We had some really positive moments on that first Saturday.

Laela got WAY braver this weekend and started running and jumping of the dock 💜

Brady build a rack for our kayaks, the Dahlsjos paddle boards, and the paddle boat that we share 💜

And we made a HUGE feed of perogies, sausage, and broccoli 💜 We put the buttery steakhouse rub on the broccoli and it was positively deadly. Deadly like that guy on YouTube. THAT kind of deadly.

Our kids got a bit weird after that, but it made for fun pictures.

The sunset was beautiful, as it always is. Its impossible to capture it on my phone, but you’ll just have to take my word for it.

And the very next morning gave us an incredible fire and a slow moving smorning with the kids 💜

Sunday was warmer earlier in the morning, so we loaded up to hit the beach. Not all the kids fit on the cart every time. It’s a bit more dependent on what we’re all bringing down with us. So some of the kids walked today, and Laela offered to carry the coffees, which was SO sweet of her.

Can’t take a picture without being photobombed, though.

Or just being a weirdo.

We ate good food and spent good time with good people. Our Dahlsjos came for the last couple of hours of the afternoon, which makes it feel all the more homey 💜

Packing up was fairly smooth, and we hit the road with a quiet van load of kids. We hit PA for supper and indulged fully, feeding ourselves italian cheesy bread and milkshakes for supper. It, like Saturdays supper, was deadly. Our van was even quieter after we ate, and the end of the drive was a mix of loud singing in the van and dead silence. I loved it.

We are home, and cozy, in our own beds. But camp is never far from our minds.

These are such precious days. So many more pictures I wish I could share of dearly loved family members 💜 But you’ll just have to take my word for it. The lake life is GOOD for ALL of us. We are so unbelievably blessed with this lake spot, and then summer gifts it has given my family.

We’ll be back soon 💜

The day began crispy, positively begging for a morning fire. I happily obliged. No fanning or effort needed. It lit immediately. Easily. Smokey the bear is right to say risks are up there, as things are dry and easy to burn. Only YOU can prevent forest fires! 🔥 

It hasn’t been the sunshiniest day but it’s been just absolutely comfortable and lovely. No one is sweating but we’re all in shortsighted. We can keep the fire going. The breeze is keeping the bugs away. It feels effortless in some ways. Less effortless in others 😅 Effortful, perhaps. Is that a word? 🤷🏼‍♀️ 

The afternoon will be spent on the beach, swimming and sanding, but also building a boat rack for our few things, as well as the Dahlsjos items. I’ll show you when it’s done. If that’s this weekend. I’m not committing to anything because my hands are fuller than they were a month ago, so I’m significantly less helpful with projects such as this. 

The “project” I’m “working on” trumps any construction of any type anyway 💜 No regrets there! 

Happy weekend, friends! ☀️ I hope you’re enjoying some breathing room and relaxation. 

What started as a full day of appointments in the city turned into a relaxing drive to the lake. Sometimes it feels like the lake is home, and that our house is our home away from home 💜 It’s hard to say which is which, but we are so grateful for our beautiful spot here, and our beautiful spot there. 

But for now, we’re here 💜

It is a beautiful “here” to be. Thank you Lord for this place, and that we get to share in it. 

My counsellor would laugh at me when we’re discuss balance. I’d tell her I was pretty sure it was a myth, and she would laugh and then promptly assure that it was, in fact, a real thing. I’m still not so sure, because I feel like everyone and their dog is on the hunt for balance in so may different facets. There are some areas where I think I can safely say I’ve achieved some minimal appropriate balance, but I think I have learned that there isn’t exactly a perfect balance. There is wiggle room in balance. A window of balance, perhaps. You know what I mean. A “from here to here” balance situation.

Anyway. The balance I find myself searching for that feels the most rewarding is the balance between relaxation and productivity. If I can have both of those things in the same day, I usually feel pretty bomb. Yesterday, I hit it! And it felt really really good!!

Cher came for breakfast and coffee, and everyone just hung out and enjoyed the morning. In the late morning, Cher headed off to her thing, and I got to some of mine. A BIG part of that was phone calls! I had a handful of places to call, either with inquiries or to book things. I got a couple of answers, and a really lovely contact person at another place! I got in touch with Dr. Guselle about some stuff, and recruited for some babysitting over the coming week or so.

Then the kids lunched, and once the nappers were napping, I sat on the back deck and orchestrated some work for some kids who needed the extra work 😉 You get it. I sat and supervised, and Cher popped by to sit with me for a little 💜 She made me some iced tea and we chatted. I took an important phone call at the same time. Once jobs were done, we took a load off until 2pm when more things needed doing. Cher headed on her way shortly thereafter, and naps ended not long after that. Around 3pm, the kids and I headed out for a walk. A couple stayed at the spray park while the rest of us went to the drugstore for s prescription. We walked back and picked up the wet kids on our way.

Home held air conditioning and the promise of Brady being home soon 💜 Supper was planned and easy, and the kids were happy about it. I could plan for camp a bit while the kids played lego and listened to music.

It was a beautiful balance. One I hope to achieve again someday 😅

Our backyard has been an absolute disaster for a while now. Once the front yard was getting established, it felt like we had finally jumped a big hurdle. Unfortunately, the backyard was a MUCH bigger hurdle, and with everything on the go over here, that sucker has been neglected! Not to mention, the kids have been playing at the park more often these days anyway, because of the spray park. So the backyard hasn’t been missed. But WOW its bad. BAD.

A few days ago, I noted that some of the weeds had positively exploded and were as tall as the fence! We absolutely canNOT have that! So we did some brainstorming, thought about hiring it out, and finally settled on me getting frustrated and just going out there and starting to pull them all out.

For a fairly small yard, there were a LOT of weeds. My first attempt was feeble at best. Dekker came out to help me without any prompting, and he grabbed us both some gloves and brought me the empty rain barrel to load up with weeds. We worked for a while until our cute neighbour poked her head up over the fence and offered to bring her trimmer over! I told her I was worried the big weeds might take her trimmer down, but she insisted she come and try. So she ate supper, and showed up with her whipper and her safety glasses, game for anything!

We worked for a solid two hours. Me and her, Dekker and Laela. And got the entire thing mowed down!!!! I am SO relieved! It still needs help. 100% it needs help. But we could actually be back there now! And we can actually think about trenching for sprinklers at some point, eventually resulting in grass! Though I believe that has to wait for fall now. Right? Help…

It was a lot of work, but it was cute 💜

Dekker and Laela kept gushing about how much fun they were having, and they were working. It was such a pleasant time. I love when we can be super productive while also being happy. Thank you Lord for the gifts you give!