The Saturday 7

1. We got a good taste of summer this week, with temps in the upper 80s. Just in time for me to sign up for my summer classes! 

I'm excited about Social Media Marketing, but dreading Health and Wellness. Haha. 

I'm halfway through my spring semester and still enjoying it. I feel like the work is getting a little harder. For my reference class, this week we had to pretend to be reference librarians and answer a legal question from a "patron." I don't even understand the legal system or government most of the time. How am I supposed to help anyone else?? Fortunately, we're dealing with imaginary scenarios, but it's reinforcing my decision to stick to school libraries or children's sections. Haha.

2. On Tuesday, Levi brought home his first reading book and I realized this is the last kid I'll have to teach to read! Hallelujah! Truth be told, the school does most of the teaching. I just have to reinforce it and make him read the books they send home . . . which is sometimes the worst part. Haha. It melted my heart a little bit to watch him sound out words and realize how much my baby is growing up. He only has 4 more days of school (because he only goes two days a week), and then he'll be a Kindergartener!!

3. There are actually quite a few changes on the horizon for next school year. The school has grown enormously in the past couple years, so there will be two kindergarten classes next year instead of one. (It's a tiny school. There's only one class for each grade.) So that will be different for Levi. Similarly, next year's third and fourth grade classes have gotten so big they've decided to make a new split-level class, combining a small section of next year's third/fourth graders into one class. We found out this week that Lena is a candidate for that class. At first, I had a lot of concerns, but as usual, the teachers know what they're talking about. The regular 3rd grade class is going to have a male teacher, and Lena will not handle that well. The 3rd/4th grade class is being taught by the current aide in Lena's class. She already knows her and is comfortable with her. And some of her closest friends (though not all 😔) have also been recommended for the combined class. They're trying to keep the numbers down so the kids can learn at their own pace, which I think Lena will benefit from. The last change for our family is that 6th grade will no longer be a part of the elementary, but instead will be classified as "middle school." So Lucy is about to be a middle schooler!! Really, it's not that different. They'll move out of the elementary wing (to make room for all the new classes!), but still only have one teacher all day - no switching classes yet. She's beyond excited to be so grown up, though. 😁

4. Thanks to the weather, we spent a good portion of this week at the pool. Lucy and Levi are already so tan. Lena's freckles popped out, but that's about as much as she tans. Haha. This weekend was the men's campout at church, so Libby, Esther, and I were husband-less for a night. And Niki's husband was working out of town. So we all spent lots of time together at the pool and the park and each other's houses.

Peek-a-boo!

Casper's first time in the pool!

At the park with Saylor

Swinging with Nash

5. This week I watched The Queen's Gambit on Netflix. My parents recommended it, so I was surprised to see it was rated MA! I figured it couldn't be too offensive since my parents watched it. Mainly, I can't handle nudity, and fortunately there wasn't any. There was some language, but not horrible. I think it got the MA rating because of all the substance abuse. Who knew chess was so fueled by drugs and alcohol? Lol. The show probably would've meant more to me if I actually understood chess, but I still enjoyed it. I loved all the 60s fashion and decor. Women were so classy back in the day. No wonder Grandma's generation is so scandalized by our leggings and messy buns. 

6. This weekend, the carnival is in town. The kids have been so excited to go, but I've been putting it off because Justin was gone and it's been so hot. We waited until 7:30 tonight so it would be a little cooler. I prepared myself to spend $50 on mediocre carnival rides and cotton candy, we squeezed into a parking spot, and tumbled out of the car. Levi immediately covered his ears and started whining about how loud it was. It only got worse. I tried weaving through the carnival to find the ticket booth, but Lena and Levi were freaking out. At one point, Levi took off running with his hands over his ears. I don't even know where he was going - he was just trying to get away from the carnival. Haha. Poor anxious children. We ended up going right back to the car and going home! At least we didn't spend any money or stand in obnoxiously long lines in the heat!  

7. More pictures:

Chilling on Grandpa and Grandma's deck

The kids were soooo excited that Daddy came home today.

Posing with the flowers that popped up this weekend. 

Excited to go to the carnival . . . before he knew what it entailed. 

The best part: he told me he wanted to wear a hat with an ice pack under it so his head wouldn't be too hot. And that's exactly what he did. 😂

Backyard campout with Daddy! He's been camping all weekend, but offered to set the tent up again tonight to have a campout with the kids. They're all in the tent right now (11:40 pm). We'll see how long they last!