July 31

Clay and Elliott went to a jiu jitsu seminar out of town today because it was led by Chad, Elliott’s former coach. 

July 30

Lucy learned about Japan and did some crafts/activities related to the Olympics. Did you know there are vending machines at the top of Mt FUJi? Fun fact! I ordered the 2020 Olympic kit from the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. 

Becca came over to play with Lucy. Becca is 10 months younger than Lucy. Becca is off-the-charts tall.  We breed them little. 

They had fun playing movie theatre.

When the heat index is 105+, you find a pool.

July 29

Lucy and Abbie spent hours making a movie theatre, complete with an ATM, menu, etc.

As you can see, Julia is enjoying the freedom that comes with a driver’s license. 

I spent those hours cleaning the table and chairs in the dining room. I used a razor to scrape food off the bottom edge of the table. The picture is the amount of food I scraped off a one foot section. It. Was. Disgusting. In 15 years, this is the first time I had ever done this job. I think next time I will just tell Clay we need a new table! 

The inside of our house has been thoroughly cleaned. Checklist complete! Now if I can just get the family to keep it clean…

July 28

I started on the dining room yesterday. Every drawer in those cabinets looked like the bottom right. All junk drawers. I managed to get them organized, but ran out of steam before I got the whole room cleaned.

During cross country practice, Lucy and I had a dinner date.

July 27

This dude is killing it at cross country. So is Kat, but I am not “allowed” to take her picture. 

Poor kid already has homework for science and history classes. We are trying to get it done this week so he can enjoy the lake next week-our last week of summer. 😭

Julia and Kat got their first dose yesterday.

Julia 26

Julia and I worked in the nursery yesterday morning at church. 

I was trying to type something and the space bar on our keyboard kept sticking. Clay pried the space bar off. GROSS! 

Elliott wiped out on his bike Saturday. Dr daddy to the rescue.

I got my first covid vaccine yesterday. I am still not overly worried about covid. This new Delta variant is slightly concerning just because younger people are getting sick. I talked to a college friend that has a PhD in immunology and she answered my questions/concerns. Julia’s doctor this last week also relieved some of my hesitations. But mostly, Julia and Kat wanted to get the vaccine and I felt like I should get it first. They have their first doses today. 

July 25

Yesterday morning while Clay was with Kat and Elliott at cross country practice, I made all of my copies for co-op. I am teaching 2 science classes: Anatomy & Physical Science. 4,200 copies was $680 before our co-op’s discount brought it down to $111. Gulp! I almost had a heart attack when he gave me the first price. 

July 24

Happy Birthday Bapaw! We hope you enjoy your pie!

July 23

Elliott and Lucy came home from the lake. Julia and Raymond spent the day there with Mamaw and Bapaw. 

I primed and painted the pantry.

Clay got home from Montana!


While Kat, Clay, and Elliott were running at cross country practice, Lucy enjoyed the playground.

July 22

I spent about 10 hours deep cleaning the kitchen. Pulling things out of cabinets, wiping them down, inside and out, cleaning out the fridge, dishwasher, oven, etc.

I found this coupons that expired in 1998 at the base of one of our cabinets that is all drawers. I guess it’s been awhile since the cabinets have been thoroughly cleaned. Ha!

Things were going along pretty smoothly. Then this…

Mold is growing inside our trash closet. Ironically, it was growing on and behind the shelf that holds our cleaning supplies. I removed the shelf and bleached the walls and then I sprayed the walls with vinegar.

Around 3:30am I woke up (not on purpose, but I was up and couldn’t sleep) and got the kitchen somewhat put back together. 

July 21

Elliott and Lucy went to the lake with Mamaw and Bapaw yesterday. 



During Kat’s cross country practice last night, I took Gus on a 2 mile walk around the park. As you can see, I wore the old man out (I was worn out too, I had also cut our grass yesterday which kicks my butt).

July 20

These two drew matching tattoos on their index fingers.

Yesterday was a blur of a day. I would have stayed in bed all day had I known… it started with the first cross country practice of the season. Kat is on the team again and we encouraged Elliott to try the first practice and see what he thought. I mean, if we’re going to drive across town four days of the week for practice for one kid, why not do it for two kids? He comfortably runs a mile around our neighborhood. At practice yesterday, they ran three miles. He handled it pretty well! The moms were surprised when he finished with the high school girls, considering he’s considerably smaller than they are.

 

The rest of the day included:

• Dropping a meal off for a friend who had surgery
• going to our co-op to see the room changes and get supplies
• having Shannon jump my van because the battery was drained (from a child using the a/c and radio without turning on the engine)
• Met with a gutter guy who came by to give us estimates on fixing/replacing gutters.
• Dentist appointments for the kids and myself 
• Grocery shopping
• Picking Elliott up from jiu jitsu (Julia drove him to jiu jitsu from the dentist). Have I mentioned how awesome it is to have a teen driver?
• Fixing dinner/cleaning up 

Also, have I mentioned that I have a rash from poison sumac for the THIRD consecutive summer. Ugh! 

I had planned to start spring cleaning the kitchen, but I was tired and itchy and decided to watch Hallmark Christmas movies instead.

July 19

Kat and I worked in the nursery at church. 

After dropping her off at work, Elliott, Lucy, and I went to the Science Center with our Cultural Passes. Julia drove herself home from church and Clay spent the day flying to Montana for work. Three flights,

four hours of layovers, and many many many hours in a mask, he made it. 

July 18

We have had a yellow jacket problem for years. I finally had enough! We had five active holes so we called an exterminator. He sprayed the holes and then dug up the nests. He was only able to find three nests. He will be back next week to check the mole traps that he set and will check for yellow jackets again. 

July 17

Elliott and I went school supply shopping after we dropped Kat off at work. I got all the homeschooling kids’ binders labeled and supplies in their appropriate places. We won’t know Julia’s list until after the first day of school. When school starts in three (!!!) weeks, we are ready to go (physically, not emotionally). Why does summer go by so fast!?!

After I picked my van up from the mechanic, I went to Wal-Mart and purchased the necessary school supplies to fill our co-op supply bins. What a fun way to spend a Friday night, right? Clay was on his way home from Alabama, and the kids all had something to do, so I took advantage of the time. 

July 16

My van is in the shop. Since I was stuck at home, I made the best of it and cleaned the basement. I got rid of a lot of garbage and cobwebs, and sent Julia to the Goodwill with plenty of donations. It ain’t pretty, but it’s clean!

Lucy and Ava had a sleepover last night.

Kat takes Gus on a walk every night. The last block back to our house, we let go of the leash (I am not sure when/how/why this started, but we’ve done it as long as I can remember) and Gus picks up the leash and walks himself home.

July 15

Abbie and Lucy found a dead butterfly, so they buried it in our fairy garden. Silly girls.

My lunch dates

After a morning of golfing with Bapaw, Elliott and Tucker wanted to head to the skate park. In the bottom set of pictures, Elliott wanted to drop in on the skateboard, but was really nervous. An older guy showed him how and he did it!