Running Behind

The kids are nearing the end of their second week back in school and I’m still struggling to find my new groove. It’s like someone flipped some switch and suddenly life is crazy busy and I’m running around like a wild woman. Which doesn’t quite make sense because shouldn’t I feel less busy with only 2 kids at home instead of 4? I’ve even been late to several things lately and I’m never late (unless it’s “fashionably” acceptable and expected). Seriously, I have a reputation for being very punctual. It makes me NUTS to run behind schedule.

SUMMER HAS ARRIVED!! Yes, it’s a few months late and unfortunate that the girls have already gone back to school, but we have had the most beautiful weather the past week or so. Thankfully it coincided with a holiday weekend so we could spend some time enjoying it as a family.

We spent lots of time in our backyard. There’s nothing pretty about our backyard (unless you include Justin’s thick green grass), but it’s a good size and we’ve spent lots of time enjoying it this summer. One of our favorite things to do is play “volleyball”. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture, but basically we set up our badminton net between two chairs (so only about 3-4 feet high) and we play volleyball with a huge beach ball. Usually it’s boys against girls and 9 out of 10 times the girls win (though I’m told winning isn’t everything). It’s lots of fun, surprisingly good exercise, and we laugh a lot.

Below is the kids hitting the ball around with Justin without the net set-up.

Katie enjoys sitting in this little beach chair we bought several years ago. She is quite the little daddy’s girl - every time Justin moved somewhere else in the yard she would pick up her chair and move it closer to him.

We also enjoyed a few BBQ’d meals from Justin over the weekend. I’m not at all into eating hamburgers and steak, but I did find a new pleasure in relaxing on a blanket on a nice sunny evening. Next summer I’m thinking a hammock would be a great addition to the backyard.

Saturday morning Justin took the three big kids on a hike. Without a hiking pack for Katie, she and I stayed home. Justin will post some pictures soon of some of the fun things he and the kids have done this summer sans baby and baby-mama. There are times it’s just easier for us to split up. Stay tuned for summer-a-la-daddy.