The Saturday 7

1. We finally got to go back to church last week! Woohoo!!! I think it's been something like 12 weeks since the last time we were in the church building. Of course, it wasn't back to business as usual. We had three services instead of two and were asked to register ahead of time for our preferred service so as to keep numbers down each hour. The rows were spread out, we were asked to keep 3 chairs between families, and mask-wearing was strongly encouraged.

Lucy was there, too, but believe it or not, she didn't want to be part of the family pic.

Oh yeah, that's the other change to church services post Covid: no children's classes. 😭 Some people are enthusiastic proponents of keeping their kids in the service. I am not one of those people. Lol. I wasn't concerned about the girls, but fully anticipated Levi running in circles around the auditorium screaming, "My buns are itchy!!" He surprised me by how well he did. There was some running up and down our row, but it was mostly limited to singing time. During the actual sermon, I broke out the Legos and he barely made a peep!

Legos FTW!

Ruby and her parents also happened to sit in our row, so she helped keep the kids entertained as well.

It was wonderful to be back at church, but I can't wait for the day that the sanctuary can be filled to the brim, we can worship without masks, and we can give hugs to all the people we've been socially distancing from for months!

2. Monday and Tuesday were super hot, so we spent most of each day at the pool. I'm the worst about remembering to put sunscreen on my kids (mostly because they jump in the pool before I can even get my shoes off), and they actually got a little burned this week! Oops!

I always remember to slather this little white-y in sunscreen!

3. Lucy has been begging to have a sleepover for years, but we've been on the fence about allowing them. This year, after so much staying-at-home, once the order was lifted I decided just to go for it. (I may also be trying to buy her affection. 🤷 Spoiler alert: it didn't work.) She really wanted to have a sleepover for her 10th birthday, but since that was forbidden, she decided to do it exactly one month after her birthday on June 11. She invited 6 girls, but only 5 could come, which was probably the best for my sanity anyway. Haha. Truly, it was a good group of girls. They were loud and wild and giggly, but that's how a 10 year old's sleepover should be.

First stop: Niki's pool! Lena had a friend for this part, so there were 9 kids in the pool. I know that because I was constantly counting to make sure they were all there. Hahaha.

The original plan was for Harper to swim with us for a few hours, then Lena was going to go home with Harper to have a sleepover of her own. She was soooooo excited. She'd been counting down the days, making elaborate packing check lists, and planning everything she and Harper were going to do. But, (surprise surprise!) she chickened out at the last minute. I tried to talk her into just going to Harper's for the evening and coming home before bed, but she wouldn't even do that. Sigh. #anxiety

When they were all tired out, we headed back home for pizza. But Lucy only wanted Papa P's, Justin had to work late, and I couldn't fit all the girls in my van, so I had it delivered . . .which took forever. The girls were starving after all that swimming, so we threw caution to the wind and had cake first!

Cutting the cake.

Finally, the pizza arrived and the girls all decided to eat it on the trampoline. (?)

They wouldn't let Levi on, so he sat outside the net. Haha.

Movie and knitting time

Makeovers and games

Around 10:00 they started a movie (Elf - haha) in Lucy's room. I told them they had to go to sleep when the movie was done. It was loud for a while, but soon girls started falling asleep. A few made it through the whole movie (which ended at midnight), but they all fell asleep shortly thereafter. I slept on the couch just in case anyone needed anything, but no one disturbed me until 5:30 - and that was Levi. In an effort to get him to go back to sleep, I went down to my bed and convinced him to snuggle with me. It worked like a charm, but I had trouble falling back to sleep, and then the girls woke up at 6:30!! What kind of sleepover is this??

I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, they played for a while, but by 9:00 they were bored. So we trekked off to the park.

The girls all left by 11, and Lucy promptly marched to her room and cut herself off from us once again.

4. I made headway on The Explosive Child again this week, but I'm not feeling very hopeful about it. I've gotten past the part that helps you determine if your child is behaviorally challenged (big fat yes), and to the part about what to do. I haven't tried it yet, but I just can not imagine that it will go over well with Lucy. A major part of the process is talking with your child to discover what's behind the behavior. Lucy won't even look at me - forget talking! I'm so completely defeated and ready to throw in the towel. But that's just me being lazy. I can't give up on her. I have to keep fighting - even though my default is to avoid conflict at all costs.

5. Speaking of fighting . . . have y'all been on facebook recently? Oy. The world is going to hell in a handbasket. Is this what happens when you lock people inside their homes for 3 months? They come out as rabid maniacs intent on destruction, division, and dissent? (#the3ds) I want off the ride please. But not enough to actually get rid of facebook because: FOMO!

6. Today, the weather cooled down dramatically, the sun was shining, and we didn't have any plans. It also happens to be free fishing weekend in Michigan, so I can fish without buying a license. My parents generously agreed to watch my kids so Justin and I could go fishing all by ourselves. But first: garage sales! Justin wanted to mow the lawn this morning, so I took Lena and Levi out to hit the sales while we waited for him to finish. We didn't find very many treasures, but I had fun searching. One sale we stopped at was marketed as "50 years worth of junk!" Haha. I overheard the lady say that they went through all her mother-in-law's stuff and were astonished by what they found - totes full of brand new items still in the original shopping bag with the receipt from 30 years ago. Apparent Grandma had a shopping problem. Lol. It really was mostly junk, and lots of crafty stuff: binder after binder full of sewing patterns, a huge tote full of knitting needles, totes full of yarn and fake flowers and wreaths. Lena picked out a knitting loom (like one Lucy already has), and Levi found this:

He picked it up almost immediately and started begging me for it. I tried and tried to talk him out of it, but he was insistent. I browsed for a long time and he kept saying, "I just love this duck so much." Lol. It was 50 cents. Worth his happiness. Haha.

Finally, it was fishing time.

Justin ended up with 3 pike and 4 bass

I got 4 . . . ish bass. I hooked and reeled in the first two, but they got off before I could get them out of the water. That (^) was my third, but the first one that actually stayed on. And this was my 4th:

I caught it, but didn't feel like holding it for the pic.

I'm definitely not the fishing enthusiast that Justin is, but I don't mind it. Especially on a day like today that wasn't too hot or too cold. We fished for 3 hours and I never got bored. I've decided that fishing is like gambling. You always want to cast it "one more time" because what if that's the time you'll catch the big one? And once you get a taste of "winning", it only makes you want to go for bigger and better! At least it's not as expensive as gambling . . . usually.

7. Pictures