The Saturday 7

1. Another blissful week of summer. Mostly. Haha. The Sisters and I took our kids to Deer Tracks Junction on Tuesday. Levi was complaining of a belly ache on the drive there, but he sometimes gets carsick, so I didn't think much of it. More on that later. It was a great day for Deer Tracks - 70s and overcast, with just enough sprinkles to cool us off when we started to get hot.

Guinea pigs

Look at me getting all up and personal with the bears! They're actually cute when they're this little . . . and that fence had all kinds of signs warning of high voltage. Haha

The stroller crew

In the tunnels

Pop quiz: which sister is holding the baby?

Oh hey there, camels

Look at that dimple when he's hardly even smiling!

These pigs running all over are so fun.

Libby's kids being troublemakers during the group pic. Lol

There we go! (Lucy doesn't do animals or heat, so she stayed home and missed out on the fun.)

2. By Tuesday night, I could tell Levi was feeling off. He was up a lot in the night, crying pitifully, but that's not totally unheard of for him. By Wednesday morning, though, he was feverish and lethargic. And then the puking started.

79 degrees outside, but he was freezing and insisted on being covered in a blanket and snuggling with me on the couch. (I am wearing a shirt in that picture. I guess the blanket just covers it. Haha.)

Fortunately there wasn't much puking overall. But he was absolutely miserable for two solid days. His fever lingered around 101 and he didn't get off the couch. The worst part was the stomach cramping. For 3 solid days he would stop what he was doing every few minutes, grab his stomach, and wail. He was writhing in pain on the couch and in bed. It is the worst watching your kid go through that without being able to help. Yesterday he really took a turn for the better, and while the cramping still gets to him sometimes, he's made it 48 hours with no fever or vomiting. And, remarkably, none of the rest of us have gotten it. Fingers crossed!!

3. On Wednesday, I started my summer semester of college classes. I was feeling a bit overly optimistic when I signed up for classes apparently, because I'm taking a full load - 15 credits: 4 classes. What I didn't realize when I signed up, though, was that the summer semester is shortened, so 10 weeks' worth of material is compressed into 8 weeks. Suffice it to say, after the first few days of getting acquainted with the classwork, I'm going to be verrrry busy - which isn't ideal when the kids are home on summer break. I foresee a lot of late nights in my future.

4. We've also been hustling to get the last minute stuff done for VBS, so my brain is in hyperdrive lately. On Thursday, when Levi was at his worst, I decided to let the kids do as much screen time as they wanted. I figured they'd get bored after a while, but I was wrong. They sat in front of their screens alllllll day. I mean, it was nice for me - I got lots of schoolwork done, but the guilt was eating me alive. By Friday I finally made them turn off their devices. Levi was feeling much better, so we went to the pool for a while to get some fresh air and exercise. Hopefully that counteracted some of the brain rotting our "day of screens" inflicted.

Lena's getting the hang of her mermaid tail and swimming in the deep end with it now.

Sunbathing

"You taking my picture?"

5. Last night we kicked off our 4th of July festivities with fireworks in my hometown. Actually, we waited until Levi went to bed, then the girls and I snuck out while Justin stayed home with him. He's absolutely terrified of loud noises, so we didn't even attempt fireworks. Justin wasn't too heartbroken to miss them, and the girls loved it. I didn't take very good pictures, though . . .

6. Today, we continued the fun with Justin's parents and some family friends at the lake.

Net fisher 1

Net fisher 2

The boogie boarders

They floated out there for almost two hours! Lucy has the sunburn to prove it. 🤦

The sunbathers

My happy place

Off to catch some fishies!

The master, showing us how it's done.

These two aren't patient enough for rod and reel fishing. But their persistence finally paid off with the nets! (They both have one in their net in this pic. Levi's just isn't showing up very well.)

7. A few more pics . . .