June Tid Bits

 While Liesel was at FSY, they talked about Family History and she asked about this particular relative on my side- Sarah Haigh. Thanks to her, my daughters are 7th generation members of the church which is quite rare to go back that far. 

She's even mentioned in the second volume of Saints: No Unhallowed Hand.

Topic of discussion around here: If you could become invisible, impervious and a time traveler, what event in history would you go witness? Two rules: 1- it cannot be withing your lifetime (aka go see the Taylor Swift Eras tour) and 2- it cannot be recorded in scripture. 

I would go to the grassy knoll for JFK's assassination. Brent said Pompeii.

The I Love You Because board is not getting used as much as we'd like so we are trying something new. Every week we put up a quote and if the girls can recite it from memory, they earn $5. It's a little way of earning some coin throughout the summer. Our first quote was by Dylan Thomas and Liesel zhushed it up a bit!

My morning walks have been nothing short of spectacular!!! I love starting my day wrapped in God's beauty!

When I'm braiding hair and I get to the nape of the neck, I start singing that song from Les Mis.

Me: Look down! Look down! Don't look 'em in the eye. Look down! Look down! You're here until you dieee.

Gita: What is that from?
Me: Les Mis! Wanna watch it with me tonight?"

Gita: I just... uhmmmm... NO.

Ireland has been using contacts for quite some time but when she needs a break, she didn't have reliable glasses. I needed an extra pair of reading glasses so we booked a double appointment. She is SO thrilled to have a backup, finally!

When I'm up early, Ireland is my buddy to go for a walk, grab an early breakfast or generally start the day. I woke her up early to go to Home Depot for weed killer. Apparently it doesn't open until 7 AM so we stopped by Starbucks first. Initially it also looked closed but turned out to be open.

Me: Oh HOORAY!!!!

Ireland: They're gonna think it's weird a mom and a teenager are here this early.

Me: No they won't, they'll think it's awesome and that more people should do it.

Ireland: They're gonna be like, "I don't want this shift and I hate these people."

We ended up finishing our Starbucks in the Home Depot parking lot and laughing together. Love that girl!

Knock, knock

Who's there?

Yoda's Lady

...no one wanted to finish this joke with me.

Per tradition, when the girls go into middle school we prep for the crimson tide to come at any moment. As such, Gita and I went shopping for incidentals like pads, feminine wipes and some fun stuff like scented hand sanitizer, lip gloss, perfume, etc. Gita suggested we knock this out early in the summer so she was really SUPER prepared for school in the fall. 

I splurged on a couple of makeup bags to hold everything: one for backpack, one for locker. This has been a fun (albeit pricey) tradition.

Sunday dinner discussion on whether the girls could date the same guy if there was time in-between. 

Liesel: I'm the OG! They're all duplicates!!!

They all gave it a firm NO!

A couple of our evergreen trees completely died and it was time to cut them down. The company gave us their estimate and the child in me laughed that they were sure to leave the stump "low @$$ ground"

Missing Liesel away at Girl's Camp and then FSY, I came across an ice cream I thought she might like! Not sure if it's because she was born in Boston or what, but she's always been a fan of Boston Cream Pie!

Sydney did a University of Chicago study about playground fairness and it got a little spicy. I overheard, "Because that's his BEST FRIEND and that other kid never should've done that! It's not FAIR!!!'

Speaking of little Miss Sydney- here are some of her many expressions:

After a bit of a delay, the outdoor pool at our health club finally opened, much to the joy of all!

As the girls arrived home from their various camps, they discovered Sydney had a load of fun with their stuff while they were gone. She may have to enter the Witness Protection Program.

Brent: Where's Gita's phone?
Sydney: I didn't touch Gita's phone!

Brent: Well you played with Ireland's while she was gone!

Sydney: That's IRELAND! Gita would kill me, then hurt me!!! Ireland just yells...

Fortunately, she was able to attend a Girl Scout camp of her own and she was incredibly excited to secure the top bunk.

She had an absolute blast, made new friends and was reluctant to leave.

Brigitta also attended a Girl Scout camp but it was for an entire week, not just a few days like Sydney's. 

She also loved it and immediately insisted she go again next year. 

We are big believers in sleep-away camps to let these girls grow as individuals. It can be tough growing up in a family with so many sisters!

That was more or less our June!

Annual Asthma Check Up

 
This year's annual checkup was more difficult than any previous year. Not the actual checkup itself- that went like clockwork- but everything else associated with staying at my parent's home and taking them to their appointments as well. We got through it, but Ireland and I agreed we will never stay there again and never again try to tie in their appointments with her. Ireland was sweet and stalwart and worked her little tail off. We tried our best to have fun in spite of everything. 

There's just something about these good people in Iowa! Ireland was mortified when I walked up to the pharmacy and said, "Can you guys hook me up with some drugs?" We ended up chatting with the pharmacists and I noticed his mug which made me laugh.

At another appointment I noticed the IOWA stickers on the keyboard and when the receptionist heard me commenting on them to Ireland, she gave us our own, which was really sweet.

We went for lunch at St Burch Tavern. It's a great spot for people watching and their lobster mac n cheese is phenomenal.

Not that it kept her from sneaking some of my salmon salad!

My dad asked that we help clean out the closets which were all chock full of clutter and old clothes. We managed to find some gems like this old dress of my moms.

Ireland helped my dad make dinner and didn't complain once. She also helped my mom while I ran my dad to a whole slew of appointments. When we could, we did some shopping at our favorite stores and had a bit of fun.

We really did try to make positive memories, as much as we could. Ireland is such a champ and even though it was tough, I was so glad to have her with me.

We took mom for breakfast at Starbucks since Dad sleeps in and chatted with her about how things are going. Their situation is really a house of cards and the slightest breeze is going to blow the whole thing down but unfortunately, there's a lot of stubbornness and pride.

It's really discouraging to see the ways my parents have chosen to spend their sunset years. Ireland and I had many a deep discussion about it- especially how I never want to put my children in this position. Every night we watched Golden Girls just for a bit of fun and a friendly reminder that not everyone makes the choices my parents have.

Ireland and I both breathed a huge sigh of relief when we hit I-80 heading home. As difficult a trip as it was, we now have a much better vision of where we are headed for the immediate and distant future!

Liesel is En Pointe!

While Ireland and I were in Iowa City, Liesel was taking extra ballet classes to prepare to go en pointe. I was so sad to miss it all but Brent was good to send us photos and video. 

The whole class took a trip to the Schaumburg Dance N Tees to be fitted for their pointe shoes.

The sign is so adorable it just kills me! Seeing my girl en pointe just gave me all the feels!

Technically Liesel is supposed to take dance classes throughout the summer but I pulled out my calendar and showed the director that between Girl's camp, FSY, Spanish camp and Cougarette camp, this girl is really and truly GONE all summer! Luckily between our trampoline and Cougarette camp she will have some activities and dance to help strengthen her ankles before fall. 

I never took dance but Whitney did! She is the ultimate cool, supportive aunt and I love her so much for that.

I think Liesel is going to find a whole new world with pointe and I think she has some competitive and observant little sisters who are not far behind... haha!

Happy Father's Day!

OK so a word about this picture. Brent and I were doing some yard work and I got a bee in my bonnet about the honeysuckle climbing vines. Years ago when we bought the house they were barely making it up the pergola and we really haven't paid attention to them ever since. They had grown wild and I was just sure we could untangle them, prune and twist them into lovely ropes twisting elegantly up the columns. It ended up being a bigger job than I anticipated and Brent was annoyed that I'd taken a departure from the actual yardwork we were supposed to be doing. However, by Father's Day they'd bounced back and were looking (and smelling) just lovely! So that's the story behind this patient, hard-working man standing here with his four daughters.

We moved to the trampoline for some more informal photos- Brent bouncing the girls with a butt bump! 

Where I'm more of a one-pot kind of girl, Brent loves dishes with tons of different components so he can make and remake different versions. He usually cooks Sunday dinner while the girls and I hang up Sunday clothes and select outfits for the week. I was hoping against hope he would choose something simple for his Father's Day meal but nope, he wanted a big, farm breakfast with lots of different options. Gita needs to get some serious credit for the pretty way she arranged the protein! She even made ham roses! Unfortunately, it's hidden behind the water. 

Brent was really happy with his dinner and that's the most important thing. Happy Father's Day to this guy who so wholly dedicates himself to his family! 

Hello to Summer- Foster Beach

At the tippy top of every summer bucket list is a trip to Foster Beach. This place just has such a special place in our hearts as the girls have grown up playing on this sand and in these waters!

The girls got to work digging a hole- as one does at the beach. They made a fort (of sorts) and some little friends in the process.

Bubbles at the beach are also a tradition. There's always wind and they are so happy! Usually it's one of the younger girls but Liesel had a lot of fun playing with them.

No one should ever get too old to become disenchanted with bubbles. Sydney joined her and I love the sheer happiness on their faces.

 I have far fewer photos of Gita and Ireland because they were both off playing. Gita did return for the occasional snack Brent lovingly packed and to (reluctantly!) reapply SPF.

Most people are whipped after a day at the beach but it just seemed to energize this girl!

Ireland befriended a little girl- like toddler age and they were two peas in a pod. A very grateful mother came over to thank me for it since she was actually able to enjoy herself a bit! I was able to snap this photo of Ireland with her freckles all ablaze in the sun looking so happy (albeit tired).

Liesel is always up for a beach photo shoot so she's the one I was able to capture the most.

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? ~Mary Oliver

The perfect way to kick off summer!