The Saturday 7 . . . on a Tuesday

I have too much to share from the last week to cram it all in with next week's Saturday 7.

1. Last Saturday we went to a pool party with Justin's extended family. His grandparents moved out of their house with the pool last year, but his cousin bought it! So once a year, they invite us all over and let us enjoy the pool again. This year, the kids also got to play on the "Ninja Warrior course." Justin's cousin is super talented and made this amazing course in the backyard. Lena loved it and did it over and over until she conquered each obstacle.

She scaled the warp wall barefoot.

And Lucy swam for hours, as usual. 

2. Our second week of homeschool wasn't quite as flawless as the first. Lucy is already fighting me on finishing her work and doing everything I ask her to - which isn't much. We're still getting done by noon or earlier. Monday was especially hard and I was seriously doubting my decision to homeschool - especially because all of our friends from ACS were posting their first day of school pictures and I was feeling sad that my girls weren't among them. But by the middle of the week, Lucy was doing much better. I really hope she's just testing me to see how serious I am about this school stuff and eventually she'll realize I'm not going to give in. Lena is still loving it and zipping through everything.

Accept and except were two of her spelling words this week and I didn't believe her when she said she knew the difference. She proved me wrong!

They loved making a world cake as part of our geography unit.

3. Two updates from last week: (1) I re-hurt my ankle twice this week. Both times I was standing perfectly still and it just gave out on me. Ugh. Fortunately, the pain isn't long-lasting, but it's really annoying. (2) Levi has already stopped stuttering! You all were right that it wasn't a big deal, and likely just a result if his vocabulary explosion.

4-6. And now, 2 points devoted to the camping update. In short, it.was.miserable. And not even because of my stupid bear phobia! Amazingly, I hardly even thought about those killing beasts the entire weekend. I had other things to worry about.

The first night wasn't bad. We got there around 5, got a site directly across from the bathrooms (which is fortuitous for Lena's anxious bladder), and the kids enjoyed the pool while Justin set up the tent. We had dinner with the fam, swam some more, played with glow sticks in the dark, and let the kids stay up late so they were good and tired by the time we climbed into bed. I took a sleeping pill around 9 and started to feel kind of heavy and weird by 10. But by the time we actually laid down at 11, I just felt restless. It did not make me sleepy at all. I laid there for hours. Fortunately, I thought ahead and brought ear buds, so I listened to the radio on my phone and eventually did fall asleep, but I slept fitfully all night. The kids slept great and got up just before 8. Then the real trouble began.

The first storm blew through around 10. It was very loud and the kids did not appreciate the noise, so we piled into my van and watched a movie while we waited it out.

With Cousin Persephone

The lake out my van window. Fortunately, our tent was on slightly higher ground and didn't suffer much damage.

After a while, the storm blew over and we all headed to the pool for a while.

For the first time in her life, Lucy tried out goggles and got the hang of going underwater. It has opened a whole new world for her.

Including going down the waterslide!

Eventually, though, it started to rain again, so we headed back to eat lunch. It wasn't raining very hard, just a steady drizzle. We were already wet from the pool, so we just sat in the drizzle and ate lunch.

The kids didn't mind the rain.

I was not amused and was starting to get a little ornery.

Levi and Justin fished in the rain for a while.

When it cleared up, we swam some more . . . until it started storming again. You get the picture. We were supposed to do dinner over the fire, but didn't think it would happen, so Justin and I agreed to take the kids out for dinner. Of course, the sun came out and someone got a roaring fire going by 6:00, but I was so done by then. Haha. We went out for pizza and enjoyed WiFi, hot food in a dry space, and even cable TV. It was glorious. I don't even remember what we did that night, but we didn't get to bed til late again. I fell right to sleep this time, which was fortunate, because another storm came through at 5 am and our kids lost their ever loving minds. The girls were happy to lay in bed with Justin, but Levi insisted on going to the van with me. We sat in the van for 3 hours and neither of us slept a wink. He watched a movie and I tried my best to get comfortable in my cramped driver's seat.

Sunday actually ended up being our best day there. After that morning storm, the sun came out and we were able to spend all day in the pool and at the beach.

Although, after his early morning wake-up, this happened on the way to the beach:

Eventually, we all made it out to the beach for some fun in the sun.

Of course, while we were at the beach another storm started rolling in, so we hurried back to the campground and packed everything up before the downpour started. And then, when we were ready to go, my van wouldn't start because apparently you can't watch 3 movies without killing the battery.

Justin got it going and we left just as the storm started in earnest. We stopped at McDonald's on the way home, pulled into our driveway around 9, unloaded the bare essentials and dropped into our warm, dry beds with glee. Haha. I'd never been so glad to sleep in my own bed!

7. The only pictures I haven't already shared:

Lucy got the idea in her head that she wanted me to straighten her hair this week. She doesn't even look like the same girl!