The Saturday 7

1. This week was water week! We went to 4 different places to swim 4 days in a row! It was horrendously hot all week, so we were grateful for the many opportunities to cool off! On Monday, we joined a bunch of our friends at "Grandma Jan's" pool. It's a small 3 ft. deep pool, so it was somewhat crowded with all 13 of our kids and 4 moms, but it was a blast! I mean, don't get me wrong - we each spent a lot of time counting heads, telling kids to stop splashing each other in the face, drying off wet wiggly bodies to run inside and go potty, and handing out copious amounts of snacks. But we also spent lots of time floating in the water, laughing with our kids, and chatting.

2. On Tuesday we joined my extended family at Uncle Joel's pool for an early Independence Day party. Levi has gotten so good at swimming with his Puddle Jumper life jacket that I don't feel like I have to be right next to him. Don't worry, though. I never take my eye off of him.

Our sweet niece Nova was there. The girls loooooved playing with her.

She loved the water!

The gang

Sparklers. I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture of both girls in their homemade shirts. They were adorable.

Levi was absolutely fearless about the sparklers. The rest of us were fearful for him, though. Haha. At one point, Lena said, "I think it's time for Levi to be done." The anxiety genes run strong in this family!

Waiting for fireworks

Realizing that fireworks are loud and scary.

3. On Wednesday, we went up to a family friend's cottage. Justin ran a 5K around the lake early that morning (and got 7th place and a free citronella candle!) and the kids and I met him after lunch. We swam for hours. The lake was so warm it wasn't even refreshing. I kept swimming deeper so it would feel cooler!

With Cousin Persephone

This float was the best. Lena, Levi, and I laid on it for half an hour, riding the waves.

A bunch of cuties eating cookies.

Trucks and sand. Every little boy's dream come true.

Justin and the kids went on a pontoon boat ride, but my anxiety can't handle that, so I napped in the hammock instead. #roughlife

4. On Thursday, I told the kids that we were going to stay home and get the house in order after 3 days of being on the go. But then another friend invited us over to swim in her pool. It was 90 degrees, our house was absolutely sweltering, and I can't resist playdates, so off we went! All of the sun was a bit much for me. I was always that girl who tanned easily and never burned, so I never wore sunscreen. To this day the smell of sunscreen makes me think of Michigan's Adventure because when we spent all day there as kids was the only time my mom ever put sunscreen on us. Haha. Anyway, my tanning disposition has changed significantly since having kids (or maybe just since getting old). But my attitude toward sunscreen has not. It's an unfortunate disconnect that left me fried Monday afternoon. I did eventually put some sunscreen on, but it was too little too late, and I was in paaaaaain. So I was a bit more diligent the rest of the week. I even wore a shirt over my swimsuit on Wednesday! (Of course, then I got a farmer's tan even despite sunscreen!) The good news is my sunburn has faded into a nice tan. The bad news is I'm definitely going to die of skin cancer.

5. Thanks to a few late nights this week, my kids have gotten into a bad sleep routine. Levi usually goes to sleep around 8:30, but despite putting the girls to bed at the same time, Lena doesn't fall asleep until after 10, and Lucy's been up as late as midnight lately. Consequently, they sleep in until ridiculously late in the morning. Ok, really just Lucy. She's slept past 10 every day this week. And Lena's usually not up til 9ish. Levi has been having issues keeping his Binky in his mouth overnight and wakes up to find it on the floor sometime around 7 am, panics and calls for me, so I bring him down into my bed and then he falls asleep on me until 9ish. It is glorious. I'm soaking up those snuggles and the precious moments watching him sleep. And I'm definitely enjoying sleeping in myself! 

One more crazy note about sleep. Tuesday night, we got to Uncle Joel's at 3:30 and the kids swam non-stop until 8:30. We did fireworks until 10 and didn't leave until 10:20, getting us home around 10:45. And none of my kids fell asleep in the car! Wednesday we swam at the lake from 3:00-8:00 then headed home. Again. None of them fell asleep. They are freaks of nature.

6. All the water wreaked havoc on Lucy's hair. I asked for hair advice on facebook a couple weeks ago. Lucy's hair is incredibly thick and curly and unruly. She refuses to let me brush it unless she's just gotten out of the shower, so it gets unthinkably tangled. This week I took pictures as photographic evidence.

Fresh out of the shower.

Knotted section #1

Knotted section #2

Knotted section #3.

I've been using a product called Kinky-Curly Knot Today recommended by a couple different friends on facebook, and we use a Wet Brush, but it's definitely not "easy" or "tear-free" as advertised. It took me 20 solid minutes to brush through it that day. But look how beautiful it is when I'm done:

Whew. So much work. It curls right back up as it dries. And the curls look gorgeous the rest of the day - until she sleeps on it (on her special satin pillowcase!).

7. A few more pictures

Sunday

Snapchats I send to my sisters who live in air conditioned houses.

Libby is my little sister who is 7 months pregnant. Suffice it to say, the diet is not going well.

Unintentionally advertising for Nike

Reading with Nova

The girls made dinner tonight. Very cold mac n' cheese, very sugary fruit salad, and an assortment of marshmallow desserts.

Meme of the Week