roller blades

*Took the quads to Oak Glen last week. I can't believe this is right in our backyard.

*Due to Cam's height increasing by the minute, we finally bought him a new bed. He loves having a bigger place to sleep. Being my neat and organized kid, I'm not surprised that every morning he makes that bed like it's going to be in a catalog. ;)

*Since Cam and I have cycling, I've wanted an activity to share with Kendall, so I bought myself a pair of roller blades recently. I've really enjoyed it, however I have had to press pause until I get a certain Amazon purchase in the mail: wrist guards. I'm horrible at stopping and a recent fall made me realize I could really do some damage if I'm not more careful. :)

*My sister's family arrived last week and we had our first outing a few days ago. We took them to Thermon Flats, which was so fun! We had the place to ourselves and they all loved it. Tomorrow we are introducing them to our hikes! Woohoo!

*I gave blood for the first time this past week. Our church hosted the American Red Cross and the whole process was super easy. The worst part, as weird as it sounds, was having to clench my fist over and over before being poked. I HATE having to do this. It grosses me out and always has whenever I've had to get my blood drawn. Ugh. 

*I'll be flying solo today at Costco. With the Covid numbers as high as they are, there really isn't a good reason to have more people than need to go. And for the kids, without samples, reading the books and perusing the tech stuff (I don't let them because of all the touching involved), it just isn't as enjoyable for them. "Not enjoyable" and "Costco" should never be in the same sentence... :(

going to a real restaurant

*We had a cousin sleepover this past week. It included lots of video games, movie watching, making movies, and enjoying hanging out together.

*Chris took Kendall to get her stitches out on Friday. She was quite brave. ;)

*We went out to dinner last night!! We had to make reservations and there were obviously some tweaks to the experience (using your phone for the menu, masks worn except when seated at your table, etc.), but it was such a fun night and made us feel quite normal.

*My reading has sadly really slowed down since I started working again. I have been able to squeeze in, Full Circle. I'm not really an avid Full House fan, but for some reason I read a few things about the book and thought it sounded interesting. She talks a lot about her battle with depression/anxiety, which I find very interesting. She writes in a way that helps you truly understand what people go through when battling the illness. She also talks about how therapeutic running has been in her healing. While I don't run, I have been doing a ton of walking during this quarantine and feel like I can relate to magic that is being outside, walking or running.

*Another book/study I just finished was one of my old Beth Moore studies. I went through this years ago but it was just as good a second time. I've done a few of her studies and have loved each one. Some of my favorite times during the quarantine have been in the morning, when I'm the only one up and I sit on the back patio reading.

*Before dinner last night, we stopped at Costco. On our list:

-Greek Yogurt

-Kirkland Protein Bars-all four of us are ADDICTED to these.

-Swimsuit for Kendall

-Almond Butter-Cameron goes through more nut butter than anyone I know

-Butter

-Sandwich bread/Hawaiian rolls

-Work out shirts for Cameron

-Bananas

-Watermelon-they are so cheap and good here

*Today's agenda includes church, a Walmart grocery pick-up, and a bike ride with my dad and Cameron. I then have one more week of work and I'm officially done till August. And MOST exciting for the week is the arrival of my sister's family on Friday! While they have to quarantine for two weeks once here, we are all still super happy to have them for an entire year. :)

feeling normal

*Kendall's official birthday celebration came in the form of a slumber with our quarantine "family", the quads. The boys came over for  pizza  and the girls remained and stayed the night in a fort downstairs.

*So far, we've been pretty strict with the quarantine and not getting together with others. The last few weeks we've loosened a little. This included a get together with Chris' brother and his family. The kids had a blast.

*After a lot of thought, we also decided to head up for a visit with Chris' parents. It was SOO nice and great to feel normal again. We all had a super relaxing and fun weekend. 

*Debbie had bought Kendall a Diamond Dot kit, which occupied her for hours. She loved it!

*In addition to Hallmark movies (I think Kendall and I watched five!), golf for Chris, and outside time for the kids, we also ate extremely well, as always. Here are the kids making homemade lemonade.

*A couple of days ago, we got together with some friends at a park. As Kendall was roller skating by a leashed dog, he lunged forward and bit her hard in the back of her thigh. Luckily my friend, Jessica, had her first aid kit already out and she helped me clean Kendall up. Poor thing was in a lot of pain and just in shock at what had happened (as we all were!). She is doing much better, thanks to two visits to the doctor (three stiches at one and a tetnus shot at the other). I'm so thankful Jessica was there to guide me in getting the woman's information. I don't think in the chaos of the moment I would have remembered. 

*My work has picked up tenfold so I'm going to sign off simply because I need a break from staring at a screen. Plus Cam and I are off to a training session with his running coach. His school cross country coach has a side company which provides individual coaching for runners. So far Cam has LOVED the daily workouts and reporting in on his progress. :)