Our Week - The One with Summer, Week 10 (Girls Dinner, Bowling, and a Lake Day with Our School Family)

Last week was SUCH A FUN ONE!!  Let’s jump right into the recap!

Monday, July 25

Monday morning, I got up, showered, got breakfast ready for the kids, and then I headed to Publix while the kids stayed home since B was working from home.  The rest of the morning was spent unpacking groceries and putting them away and reorganizing the fridge and pantry while the kids tackled a lot of summer homework.  They ended up getting in an hour of IXL and 30 minutes of summer reading before it was time to get lunch ready.

After lunch, they played video games for a bit while I got some blog work done, and then they played the rest of the afternoon while I got prepped for girls night.  Olivia played dress-up for a bit, and I was surprised to see that as she hasn't been playing in her dress-up clothes very often lately.  

Matchy, matchy with Tiana!

We decided to get together at my friend, Jessica’s, house this month, and since she had some barbecue ribs, the rest of us brought sides to go with them.  I opted for my Momma’s mac n cheese recipe, and it was almost a disaster as I almost burned the roux and I realized after the sauce was done that I had forgotten to boil the noodles (forehead slap), so it turned out a little bit dry, but it wasn’t bad. 

We all met at Jessica’s house at 6, and she already had a couple of gorgeous charcuterie boards for us to graze on and two different cocktails from which to choose plus a BEAUTIFUL tablescape.  Love love love!

This time, every girl in our usual group was able to make it (we usually have one or two missing due to scheduling conflicts, etc.), and we had a couple of others join us as well! 

Once everyone was there, we sat down to eat, and we had the best dinner – ribs, mac n cheese, baked beans, caprese salad, watermelon mojito salad, pasta salad, and a few other sides plus dessert.  We were all stuffed by the time we’d finished eating.

After dinner, we moved into the living room with another round of cocktails, and we spent the rest of the night laughing until our faces hurt.  Seriously, I had tears streaming down my face at one point because I was laughing so hard.  The eight of us graduated together + Khristina (Jessica’s sister) graduated the year before us, so we spent the whole evening chatting and reminiscing about middle school and high school.  At one point, Jessica pulled out her high school memories shoebox, and we passed around old photographs, some of which I’d never even seen!  There were a couple of pictures that I was in that I have zero memory of and had no clue where we even were.  So crazy!

We also reenacted this old picture from high school…

 

NAILED IT!  Hahahaha.

Before we knew it, it was 10:30 and we all needed to get home.  It was seriously the best evening – one of my favorites in a long time – and I’m so grateful for these long-lasting friendships!  I’ve known one of the girls for 35 years, two of the other girls for 30 years, one for 28 years, and the rest of them for 26 years as we all went to school together… the same school that my kiddos attend now along with three of the other girls’ kiddos!  One of them was Jacob’s second grade teacher, too.  :o)

We all stepped outside to pouring rain – totally unexpected – and my drive home was horrendous.  Ugh.  Since it had been so hot all day, there was steam rising from the streets and between that and the pouring rain and the fact that it was pitch black outside, it was an awful drive.  I ended up turning on my hazards and driving 35 mph all the way home on the highway (that normally has a speed limit of 70) because that’s what everyone else on the road was doing, too.  There was one point where I thought I was going to have to pull over because I couldn’t see a thing. 

Fortunately, I made it home safely – as did everyone else – and then B and I both went straight to bed because it was so late!  I hated not getting to say goodnight to the kiddos, but I did take a peek at both of them snug in their beds on the way to my room.

 

Tuesday, July 26

Tuesday morning, Jacob and Olivia came running into our bedroom bombarding me with hugs and kisses and asking me why I had gotten home so late the night before.  Haha.  We did our usual morning routine, and then mid-morning, we headed to Target to let Jacob spend his birthday gift cards.

We ended up browsing the school supplies and toys for nearly an hour, and Jacob ended choosing one of the large 3-in-1 Lego sets.  On the way home, we swung by the library to return some books, and then we had a light lunch at home. 

After lunch, Jacob worked on his Lego set – he chose to put together the ferris wheel first – and then after tidying up, they both played video games for a bit while I got some work done.

After video games, both kids worked on summer homework – IXL and reading, and I got started on dinner.  We all played in the back yard for a bit after dinner, and then while the kids showered, I got in a walk and an arms workout.

We ended the evening with some America’s Got Talent and then an episode of Vampire Diaries, and that was our Tuesday!

 

Wednesday, July 27

Wednesday morning, the kids watched cartoons for a bit, and then they worked on some more of their IXL and summer reading.  We met my aunt and uncle along with their grandkids (my cousin’s kids) at the local arcade at 11, and we ended up spending the next four hours there!

Everyone went bowling first (except for me because my back is still killing me), and the kids did really well.  Jacob bowled a 95 and Olivia bowled a 96, but she used the little plastic contraption that helps you roll the ball straight more often than Jacob did.

After bowling, we all ate lunch, and then the kids hit up the arcade.  I kept an eye on the boys while my aunt kept an eye on the girls, and they had the best time playing all afternoon.  After claiming their prizes, we headed home, and we only had about 30 minutes there before it was time to leave for a dentist appointment for Jacob.

He had a spot on a tooth where his enamel had weakened (it wasn’t a cavity… it’s just a condition he was born with), and they needed to reinforce it, so he had to be numbed which meant he had to be given nitrous oxide (laughing gas) first.  He had never had to do either of those things before, so it was all completely new to him. 

I had no clue that the procedure required all those things, so Olivia and I waited in the waiting room as we always do, and when the dental assistant brought him back out, I was shocked when she told me he had been through all of that.  Had I known, I would have gone back with him.  She said he was a fantastic patient, though, and he was totally fine that we hadn’t come back there with him, so it all turned out fine!  Whew!

He was pretty lowkey for the rest of the evening after having that gas, and his mouth was numb for quite a while, so he had to be careful chewing his dinner so he didn’t accidentally bite his cheek.  Other than that, it was an easy peasy procedure!

After dinner, the kids rode around on their scooters in the culdesac, and Olivia had a bad spill, so bad that I was terrified to look because I thought she’d broken another bone.  Thankfully, she was fine, but she really banged up her hip and knee and she still has bruises.

After her fall, we all went back to the house, and I don’t think anyone was sad about that because it was BOILING HOT Wednesday evening.  The kids got showered and I skipped my walk/run and opted for an arms workout instead because it was just too hot to be outside. 

After showers, Olivia and I snuggled up in my bed and she read a Halloween book to me (she’s already anticipating Halloween!  LOL), and then we went downstairs and watched the rest of America’s Got Talent while we iced her knee.

B and I watched a Vampire Diaries and a Better Call Saul, and then it was time for bed for us, too.

 

Thursday, July 28

Thursday morning, I made homemade waffles for breakfast.  The kids had been requesting them, and we haven’t had them on Saturday morning in a while because of golf lessons. 

After breakfast, the kids watched a couple of cartoons while I got some things done, and then Olivia and I played a game of Exploding Kittens while Jacob tinkered with his Legos.

After that, we tried on all of the new uniform pieces that had arrived and I got them ready to wash, and then I helped Jacob get all of his new birthday gifts/Lego sets organized and put away.

By the time that was done, it was time for lunch, and then after lunch, the kids tackled some more IXL summer homework.  While they did that, I packaged up some returns that needed to be shipped back, and then it was tidy/video game/work time.

The kids both had music lessons Thursday afternoon, and while they worked on that, I prepped my planner for August and all of the back-to-school stuff.  The administration at their school asked me to be on the Home & School Association Advisory Board this year, so I had lots of meetings and events to add to my calendar.  Wish me luck on that!  EEKS!

The rest of the evening was spent cooking dinner, eating, reading, finishing season one of Theodosia, and then watching some Saturday Night Live after the kiddos went to bed.

 

Friday, July 29

Friday, I spent the morning getting everything packed for a fun day at Callaway Gardens with our school family.  We’d been planning for weeks, and thankfully, we woke up to great weather, although it was HOT.

We arrived at Callaway around lunchtime just as all of our friends were arriving, and we spent the first little bit getting all of our tents/chairs set up on the beach by the lake.  We had 11 moms, and twenty-something kiddos (25, I think??) so there was a huge group of us!  One was one of my best friends from high school and her sister, and several others were moms of kiddos in Olivia’s class, one of whom is also Jacob’s math teacher this coming school year. 

Callaway Gardens is super nice, and there are so many amenities, so you can easily spend an entire day there.  In addition to the beach and the lake, they have a giant floating obstacle course on the lake, a fountain in the lake for the kids to play in, cabanas, a miniature golf course, paddle boats, a beachside bar, a huge pavilion with lots of food choices, several shopping options, bike trails, and a butterfly center, too.  It’s a great place to spend a summer day!

Unfortunately, the week before we were due to go, there was an outbreak of people who got sick (stomach bugs) after swimming in the water due to a high bacteria count in the lake, so they had to shut it down for a few days.  They opened back up a few days before we were due to go, and they said that the bacteria had returned to it’s normal/safe amount, but I was suuuuper wary about letting the kiddos get in the water.

Ultimately, I told the kids all the facts and I let them make their own, informed decisions since the experts said it was currently safe to swim.  Naturally, Jacob (my firstborn, cautious child) wanted no part of being in the water, and Olivia (my second born wild child) couldn’t have cared less.

All of the other kids chose to do the floating obstacle course, and unfortunately, the only way to get to it was to swim way out there (in a life vest, of course), so Jacob was the only one who sat out.  He had no regrets, though, even when Olivia came back raving about it.  He is so much like me it isn’t even funny, y’all.  If someone tells me there’s risk, then I don’t want any part of it.  Haha.  He also doesn’t like getting in murky water like me either.

The rest of the day, the kiddos played in the sand and in the water, and they played a round of miniature golf.  We had a couple of college girls with us who helped keep an eye on the kiddos, too, and that was nice because all of us moms were able to sit under the tents with our adult beverages and chat for a good bit.  We wanted as many eyes and ears on the kids as we could, because 25 kids is a LOT to keep up with.

Around 4, we were all sunned out – it was SO HOT – so a few of us packed up and left while several others decided to stay longer. 

Callaway is a good haul from our house, so by the time we got home, B was already off of work, and ready for dinner.  The kids and I stayed home, showered, and got in our PJs, and B went out and grabbed Five Guys for all of us for dinner. 

After dinner, we watched Zombies on Disney+ (basically Highschool Musical, but with zombies – LOL) and then after the kiddos went to bed, B and I watched Vampire Diaries. 

 

Saturday, July 30

Saturday morning, we slept in a bit, I made homemade waffles, and then B and the kids skipped golf lessons and played a round of golf instead.  While they were gone, I did some laundry, got in a cardio workout, and got some of my plants repotted. 

By the time they got home, it was time for lunch, and then after lunch, B headed outside to mow while the kids did laundry and played video games.  Meanwhile, I settled in my office to get some blog work done until it was time to go to church.

We all headed to Mass at 5:30 and then we went to our favorite pub down the street afterward along with my parents, Mama Cass, and two sets of aunts and uncles.  Saturday marked seven years since my Big Daddy passed away, and we all wanted to take my Mama Cass out to keep her company and keep her mind off of things.

While we were at dinner, the kiddos stayed in the game room most of the evening, and two of Olivia’s friends from school just happened to be there, too, so she got to hang with them all evening.

After dinner, our fam picked up Blizzards from Dairy Queen on the way home, and then after the kiddos went to bed, B and I watched more Vampire Diaries and Better Call Saul. 

 

Sunday, July 31

Sunday morning, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then we all watched an episode of Nailed It.  My friend, Jeannine, has been telling us to watch that for the longest time, and we’re finally getting to it.  We all cracked up the whole time. 

After the show, I got a few things done around the house and then I did a yoga workout.  After weeks of having a messed up back, I finally felt good enough to try it, and I did a workout specifically for low back pain, and it helped tremendously!

We had Sunday lunch with my in-law’s as usual, and then the kids got to pick some corn that had come in from the seeds they’d planted earlier this summer.  When we got home, they played some video games, and I watched You’ve Got Mail one last time while getting some work done in my office.  It left Netflix July 31 and I’m so sad!!

We also had Sunday dinner at my parents’ house and my momma made my favorite meal of hers – meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, and black eyed peas!!!!  She makes the best meatloaf in the whole universe and it’s one of my favorite things everrrr!!!!

When we got home, B watched the end of a movie he’d started earlier in the afternoon, and then we went to bed.  Another fantastic week of summer in the books, y’all!

Happy Wednesday, y’all!