RE week

 

This week, Harper and Saige are attending summer RE (like Bible school for Catholics).  They really do enjoy this, and Father Jo was very happy that they are coming over for it.  The only problem I have with this is that it is in Baldwin.  And they need to be dropped off in the morning while I’m at work.  So I “hired” them a chauffeur, Quincy.   I have said many times that I have a love/hate with the kids learning to drive.  On one hand, it helps so much to have people who can drive.  On the other hand, having them go isn’t my favorite and I have worried about sending them every day!   Construction has made it where Quincy has been taking the back roads.  I do not  know of this makes me feel better or worse!  I do appreciate her help though!   This week is dedicated to Saint Joseph.  I have always loved Saint Joseph.  His willingness to listen, to sacrifice to keep his family safe, and he is sort of a mystery.  I mean, he had a pretty big job, and yet there isn’t that much written about him.  I think it speaks to his nature.  I sort of wish I had time to sit in on the classes!   

Unfortunately, summer is my busy time at work, and taking off right now would be difficult at best.   Luckily for me, I have an amazing office assistant!   She works for snacks, and pool time!  

This week has been a little crazy.  The girls have had multiple ball games, Jim has some vacation time he is trying to use, and throwing in RE has been time consuming.  We also took our chickens to be processed.   We were happy that we could go back to Garnett, but we weren’t expecting the pretty big price increase there.  I am happy to have the meat in the freezer, but I’m not sure it saved us any money this year!   I need to do some looking at the store.  What I will say is that I have become a meat snob as I’ve gotten older, and this chicken is just so much better!   It’s not injected full of sodium, and it actually tastes like chicken!  

One more (quasi hilarious) story from this week.  Quincy dropped off the girls yesterday morning and texted me - she thought it was hilarious that  Father Jo was riding a crotch rocket!   She is such a hot mess.  She cracks me up.  

A lot

This weekend was a lot of....well just a lot.  The kids know how to pack activities in.  

Friday night it rained.  That created a night off of the ballpark, but then a bunch of games to make up. Games that they stuffed on Sundays. 

Sunday is my day to catch up.  Selfishly, I do not  like giving them up.  Unfortunately, sometimes it happens that way.  Preston and Quincy’s CWF group has to do some community service and our 4-H club was supposed to put on a community event. We covered both things by presenting a flag ceremony at the Appanoose Cemetery during their historical thing.  Preston and Quincy both do an excellent job with public speaking.   There were not that many people who showed up, but more than I expected.  It was a good presentation.  

Saturday night, Saige had a softball game.  When it was over, I realized I sat there and didn’t take a single photo.  Luckily, there are plenty more games to photograph! 

Harper had her make up game Sunday evening. She had quite a fan club to watch her play. I missed some of her game due to taking Saige to her team photo time.  I didn’t realize they hired an actual photographer and it took a very long time!   I can’t wait to see these pictures!  

I did get to see Harper pitch.  She does a good job!  Saige and Evie may have paid more attention to their stash from the concession stand than they did to the game!  

Back to the grind.  

My fav

Last night, despite being exhausted from camp, Saige played amazing!   She was great at 3rd and short, and got a nice hit to knock in the tying run.  Although they ended up losing by 1, I have to say how proud I am of her.  A lot of the girls were complaining and whining about the heat.  Saige went out and got the job done.  She rocks!  In fairness, it was really hot.  My problem is that I hate to cold so much, I would just never complain about the heat.   Instead, I drink a lot, ice out my drinks, and spend time swimming!   Summer is my fav!  

Quincy’s first game

Quincy is playing softball at Carbondale this summer.  It was a hard decision for her.  She loves to play, but she was finishing her high school season at the time she had to decide whether to sign up, and she was feeling pretty done.  The high school season, with daily practices and 2 double headers a week was pretty long.   She had decided not to play summer ball.  Then on the day of her last game, she came home and announced she had signed up to play with a couple friends.  Not going to lie, it made us happy.  She is a good player and we really enjoy watching her.  She had her first game last night, actually 2 games since they play double headers.   They beat Lyndon in both games.  I think this little team has some real potential to be fun to watch this summer.   

We finally have pool weather!  Evelyn has decided she likes the water.  Pool side with a beverage, some popsicles, and the sun on your face. Life doesn’t get better than that!   

I picked the girls up from camp this afternoon.  They had happy chatter all the way home.   I’m so thankful they got to go!   We ran a couple of errands, shoveled in dinner, and jumped right back into the game schedule.  Saige must have been sleepy! 

Bunk up

 

Harper and Saige are off to 4-H camp.  The excitement was palpable here!   Due to Covid, they didn’t take a bus this year.  The parents had to drive them out.  I truly don’t mind, but I’m not going to tell you that I understand it.  Anyway, after the camp was cancelled last year, we would have followed any rule for them just to have the opportunity.   

Quincy was so excited to ride along and drop the girls off!  She must have said she was jealous 100 times!   Quincy seems to know her way around the camp and lead me right to their cabins!  Harper and Saige are in the same cabin,  but different rooms.  They didn’t really seem to care when we left!   They were excited to get started!   I hope they have fun!   

Since the camp is outside of Junction City, we were not far from Cameron.  We texted to see what he was doing, and as it turned out he was just getting off work. Quincy and I drove over and had dinner with him.  We had a nice visit.  That meant we got to see all of the kids this weekend except Lauren. Colin and Spencer stopped by for dinner on their way home from their vacation. It sounded like they had a great trip!   

And what is the theme of my life?   Weekends are great and they never last long enough!  

Carlos’ birthday

Yesterday was Carlos’ first birthday.  We celebrated by having a swim party while he slept in the sunshine on the pool deck (one of his favorite things).  The younger girls and I went grocery shopping and picked up all their supplies for summer camp.  Of course, we also picked up new dog toys for Carlos!  Saige baked him a cake!  We could not sing to him while  Evie was here, because she has developed some aversion to the birthday song, and it literally makes her cry!  

Carlos didn’t seem to mind waiting for his cake! Carlos is a funny little dog.  I never envisioned having a little dog around.  Honestly, I laughed when Andrew brought home Maxine (the mother dog).  This week, Maxine passed away and we all found ourselves very sad.  It is weird how our views change.   I can’t imagine our lives without Carlos having been a part of it.  He is a mess, still has accidents, loves killing things like little snakes, lizards and moles, usually has terrible breath, and we are still all crazy about him.   Little stinky dog, we love you!   

These kids....

Keep me on my toes all the time!  Cameron is living in Manhattan this summer.  He is doing an internship (paid??? not entirely sure) with the city of Manhattan.  He is also working nights at Texas Roadhouse.  Lauren is home for the summer in Kansas City.  Cameron drove to KC and spent the day with Lauren.  She was amazing as ever, and sent me some pictures.  Monday was the lazy day we needed.  Around 9:30 we were sitting around in our pajamas discussing going to bed, when Cameron drove in!   We were all happy to see him!  He spent the night and then part of Tuesday with us.  He was entertaining us with his new spreadsheets to track his grocery expenses, as well as the price for each item, and how much each meal costs.  He set a goal of eating for $4 or less a day.  Personally, I think he is crazy, and that budget is not nearly enough.  It set off my mom radar system, and I promptly loaded him up with bags of food.  :)  Frugal is one thing, but $4 a day?  That is possible starvation!  It definitely doesn't allow for fruits or vegetables in that lean budget.  I guess for Cameron, that won't make any difference, the only vegetable he has ever eaten were ones I ground up and hid inside of other food!  

Colin and Spencer are on vacation in Colorado. They will be home for a few days, then close on their new house.  I am excited for them. 

It has been fun to get back into the swing of a more traditional summer around here.  Early dinner, ballpark evenings, weird schedules, kids learning to balance work and fun, swimming, and getting geared up for camp.  I am happy to feel like we are back to normal, but I did get out of practice on all this summer craziness!  I have tons of pictures of Harper, since Saige loves taking pictures!  

Actually, my phone seems to be littered with pictures I didn't take!  That's ok!  I love it!