The Saturday 7

1. Was Memorial Day really this week? It's been a long week! We spent the day at a friend's cottage. Justin helped put the dock in while the kids and I played. It was a super windy day, so it was too cold to swim, but we had fun with the sand.

Levi actually wore his Bass Pro Shops hat most of the time we were outside! 

Looking patriotic on the deck.

Lena caught her first fish all by herself!!

She loves casting. Just don't stand too close to her while she's doing it. Lol.

2. Lucy finished first grade this week. It's somewhat baffling to me that I could have a second grader.

She loved first grade. Her teacher was awesome. She had all the same kids in her class as Kindergarten, so she's making some solid friendships. And she made leaps and bounds academically. I'm actually amazed at her natural understanding of math. It makes so much sense to her and is her favorite subject! Whose kid is this??

3. We got the good news this week that we were approved for financial aid for school in the fall. We're actually getting a decent amount, so our monthly payment is only going up $150 for adding another kid. I'm so excited for Lena to be able to experience school, although I'm growing increasingly worried about her anxiety. I feel like it's gotten a lot worse in the past few months. She's adopting phobias left and right. Peeing in any toilet other than ours, pooping on the toilet, carrying her puke bag everywhere with her in case she randomly pukes, screaming psychotically anytime she sees a bug, and basically refusing to do anything new or difficult. Oy. The anxiety genes are strong in this family.

4. Now that school is done, I'm getting serious about our summer schedule. I really do desire to spend intentional time with my kids and not to waste our summer in front of the TV, but if I don't have a plan, it's not going to happen. So I've been obsessively pinning craft ideas and activities and summer fun projects on Pinterest. I've made a rough outline of Monday: craft, Tuesday: outing, Wednesday: baking, Thursday: playdate, Friday: family fun. And we're also implementing the summer chore schedule that requires work before screen time. The girls are going to loooooove that one. Haha. I'll keep you posted as to how well we stick to the plan.

5. One of the things I liked in the book I read this week (Desperate - see review here) was the idea that parenting well doesn't happen naturally. You have to have an end goal in mind and then take steps to achieve it. Clarkson suggested writing down 5 things that you hope your kids learn through your parenting. I couldn't actually think of 5, but I wrote: Love for God's Word, a kind heart, willingness to serve cheerfully, and valuing family. And one of the ways I thought about encouraging some of those attributes was through a "marble jar." The past two years at school, Lucy's teachers have had a marble jar. Every time the class does something exceptionally well or goes above and beyond, they get a marble or two. Once the jar is full, they get a reward - like movie and popcorn or extra recess. So I thought we might implement the same idea at home. Each girl would get a jar and receive marbles for immediate obedience, kindness, helpfulness, etc. Part of me thinks my girls would respond really well to that, and part of me worries about teaching them to expect rewards for every good deed. Thoughts?

6. This weekend, Justin went on a fishing trip with his dad and nephew. They rented a cottage at the campground we went to a few times with his extended family. It's only 30 minutes from our house, so Justin's dad invited us to come up for the day today. I busted my booty to get the house clean this morning. (I literally have "mopper's elbow" from mopping the floor so vehemently. The muscle around my right elbow has been killing me all day.) Thanks to my wonderful parents, we left Levi at home and the girls and I headed up to the lake. Justin's mom and the girls' cousin Persephone pulled in just ahead of us and the three girls jumped in the lake within minutes of piling out of the car. I sat in a beach chair reading a book and soaking up the sun. It. Was. Glorious. Heaven knows I love the baby stage, but I'm starting to get a glimpse of the freedom that comes with having older kids. It was so nice to sit and read largely uninterrupted for a long period of time! After a while, we dragged the girls out of the lake so we could go on a boat ride.

Persephone is only one year older than Lucy. They are very different, but get along great and love spending time together.

Lena was terrified of the boat for the first 20 minutes, but finally started to relax.

The campground is on a chain of lakes. To get from one lake to the next, you have to go through a few tunnels. This was actually one of the bigger ones. We all had to duck to get through the second one!

Beautiful. 

Persephone found this tiny baby turtle and was in her glories. Lucy screamed anytime it got close to her. Haha.

7. A few more pictures from our week:

Post-nap snuggles

Cheese face showing off her new boots

At Lucy's last day of school party

Lucy getting her scripture memory award at the awards assembly. (Funny story - that kid next to her is the little brother of a kid Justin and I graduated high school with 14 years ago! #bigdutchfamilies)

Reading time with my girl.