Catching up on things around here

This was supposed to be one of our quieter weeks this summer.  If that is the case, yikes!  There have been quiet moments though, and for that I am very grateful.

What has been going on around here?  Swim has continued of course.  The kids have no meets this week or next, so we allowed them to take a more laid-back approach to attending practices.  I've worked a little bit at the church, we've been dealing with the final stages of our bathroom remodel (a post of its own), there has been a drama exploding in our religious ed program (which is ridiculous), and Robert has been finalizing his process to enlist in the Navy.  I'll be honest, for privacy and security reasons, I'm not sure how much I'll divulge about that.

To be honest, it just feels as though everything has been a hassle lately.  I'm starting to feel that my family is the only one that can be organized and function efficiently.  I know that isn't the case and I know I shouldn't be so righteous about things, but there have been so many frustrations.  I'm trying to remember we are all working together for the greater good!

A weekend of entertaining

We had two different couples over this weekend.  Saturday afternoon we hosted a couple and their five-year-old twins.  This couple attends church with us, and Kyle played football for my husband over a decade ago.  He spent some time in the Navy and has decided to get a master's degree in education.  Things happened to work out, and he is going to be a student teacher with Andrew this fall.  We are all really excited about this!  It was an absolutely lovely afternoon and we enjoyed it tremendously.  I also really enjoyed the fact that we had them over in the afternoon and therefore our evening was free.

Last evening we hosted another couple we've known for many years.  Their children are the same age as the couple that came over Saturday afternoon, so we definitely covered an age spectrum this weekend!  We had an absolutely fabulous visit with them as well.  As an added bonus, Robert point out that as long as we keep having people over, our house stays picked up!

We've been out of school a month

One month ago today school ended.  In two weeks, band will be beginning, and things will be crazy.  Not necessarily as crazy as the school year, but still crazy.  I'm trying so hard to enjoy these moments, but it doesn't seem easy right now.  Lots of little things are causing my anxiety to be higher than I would like.

One thing I am enjoying is our evening with the kids.  Most evenings, they all prefer to be in the room with us, and I think that is very sweet.  Even though I don't always care for the TV shows that are chosen by the majority, I enjoy that the kids actually want to be with us.  I love listening to their laughter...that sounds never gets old!

A lovely Saturday afternoon in June

It is truly a beautiful Saturday afternoon and evening.  The weather is just perfect.  We also invited a couple over this afternoon, and had such a lovely visit.  They are a couple from our church, and have twin five-year-olds with another on the way.  They are young enough that they are former students and the husband is going to be a student-teacher with Andrew this fall (his second career).  It was truly such a lovely afternoon spent visiting.  I'm so grateful for this afternoon and friendships!

A rainy Friday in June

We are currently experiencing a lot of rain today thanks to the remnants of tropical storm Cindy which combined with a low front as it came up our way.  It is going to rain pretty much all day, and in fact the skies just opened up and began really pouring.  It would be a fabulous day to just lay around and watch some movies together as a family.  It isn't going to work that way though, as Robert has a doctor appointment later this morning, and I have a meeting at church this afternoon.  We are also having people over tomorrow so there are things around the house that need to be handled.

Speaking of handling, it feels like there are so many things that need to be handled, and sometimes it feels a little overwhelming.  Nothing is major and everything is being handled, but it is a little astonishing how things add up.  I try to count my blessings every day, and there truly are many!

One-third of the way through summer

As of yesterday our summer is 1/3 over.  We had a wonderful vacation, but I don't feel that we've really enjoyed much of anything except that.  Part of it is the car problems we've had, and part is that because of everything I'm extremely hesitant to spend money.  Part of it is also the youngest two kids.  They are often the most unpleasant human beings on the face of the earth!  There is also the fact that we are having our bathroom completely redone and it can be logistically challenging to leave the house or do much of anything fun.  I've also been having some stomach problems, so it all adds up to not necessarily being out having fun.

I cringe when I think that this is the easy part of our summer.  In just over two weeks band begins, and another two weeks after that football begins.  Cross country begins the week after that, and then school two weeks later.  AGH!  I'm not ready!

A discouraging day

Overall today has been a rather discouraging day.  Andrew went yesterday with Catherine and Thomas to visit his parents.  Robert and I were leaving this morning to make the drive over.  We'd had our van fixed, but certainly didn't need it just for the two of us, so we were taking the Honda we had purchased from my sister last winter.  Robert and I were about 45 minutes into our trip when I realized we were losing speed.  We were in the left lane, but I managed to navigate us safely to the right shoulder.  I knew we were about 1.5 miles from the next exit, and I told Robert we were going to try to get there.  Semis were currently whizzing by and it wasn't the safest place to be.  The car would move, we just couldn't go above 20 mph.  We made it though, and managed to get to a gas station at the exit.  I called Andrew, and he mentioned that we should have the car towed to my hometown since it was significantly closer than our current town.  I also called my mom and explained to her what was happening and she was just waiting to hear from us again to help us out.  The tow truck driver was a very nice guy, and we ended up making it back to our house (my mom brought us home) about the same time we would've made it to my in-laws.

I'm so grateful that honestly, things worked out so well.  We were able to get off the interstate, and honestly, it really couldn't have happened at a better spot on the interstate.  My mom was easily able to bring us home, and all worked out.  At the same time though, I'm so disappointed that I wasn't able to spend Father's Day with my amazing husband.  Because my in-laws will no longer make the trip here, Robert may not be able to see them until Thanksgiving.  I am grateful that we are home safe and sound, but it seems as though right now we just keep spending money on repairs for things.  Hopefully this will be an inexpensive fix, and we aren't broke...I know that.  I think the kicker is that we can't find the keys to the van.  Robert and I have spent two days searching the house, but they just don't seem to be here anywhere.  It is so frustrating, but I know that in the long run it will all work out.  I'm just glad we are safe this evening!

An interesting trip home

While we loved our time on vacation, we did not love the trip home.  I knew it was twelve hours of drive time and there is no way around that.  However, it took us nearly 15 hours to get home...ugh!

We were up at 5:30 the morning of our departure.  My mom and Robert were flying home so they left the rental house before 7:00.  Mom had been awake since 2:30 and she was antsy to get moving...even though their flight didn't leave until afternoon.  It was a two hour drive to the airport though, and she didn't want to take any chances.  We left shortly after 7:00 and had to return the keys and make one last walk to the ocean.  We were officially on the road by 7:30.  We stopped shortly after 9:00 for breakfast and that took 25 minutes...even though we were the second car in the drive-thru!  Had we not already paid we would've driven on, but once they have your money you kind of want your food!  Traffic was so heavy that we had many times of stop-and-go along the interstate, and at one point we even had to wait in line to park at a rest stop.  I began driving in western VA, and I noticed the engine kept "missing" as I was driving along.  Andrew resumed driving and I could still feel it.  He noticed it as well and we were concerned.  We stopped to get gas and he decided to use premium gas just in case something had gotten into the lines.  The good news is that got better.  The bad news is that lights began to come on all over the dashboard and the cruise control wouldn't work.  This terrified me as we were entering the mountains (although we wouldn't use the cruise there anyway).  I was convinced something awful was going to happen and we'd be stuck.  My anxiety was pretty high.

Late afternoon we decided that since we were getting good gas mileage, and everything seemed to be running, we were going to go as far as we could go.  My thought was that if we made it close enough to home it would be easier for someone to help us out because I was not at all convinced the van was going to re-start if we had to turn it off.  We were lucky that we had plenty of snacks and gas, and no one had to use the restroom.  Once we were within 100 miles of home, I relaxed and we stopped...and were very grateful when the car started again!

We kind of joked about what a ridiculous trip it had been.  Everything was taking longer than we had anticipated including the fast food stops (which were NOT fast).  We were less than 20 miles from home and turned onto a state route...where we promptly had to wait in line at a sobriety check point.  At that point it was just comical.  Obviously were permitted to go through and we finally made it home that evening.  My mom and Robert of course, had a much less dramatic and eventful trip home and were sound asleep by the time we were pulling into our driveway.  Because we had my mom's bags and I needed to do an early Sunday morning exchange for Robert, we had to unload the van that evening and we all tumbled into bed very late and very tired.

I was so grateful things had worked out though.  We are having the van checked out and they suspect the "missing" of the engine was caused by bad gas and the other problem sounds like a sensor.  I am so grateful it doesn't sound as though it is anything more expensive, and I'm so glad we were able to make our trip safely!

This year's vacation

We really enjoyed this year's vacation.  The location of our house on the sound led to some beautiful sunsets, and we loved the location of our rental home in proximity to the resort amenities.  While we could never afford to rent that house again, we definitely plan to stay in that community the next time we go.

Our first day was really spent recovering from the trip and just getting to know where things were.  Robert did some swimming at the indoor pool, while Thomas, Catherine, Andrew and I spent the afternoon at the ocean front pool.  Drinks in the bright sunshine by the pool...it really doesn't get better!  We enjoyed a seafood dinner and hot tub time that evening.

Monday we visited a book store, then mostly hung out until we headed to dinner.  We found a buffet and then picked up a few necessities for my mom.  It rained all evening so we were all indoors.

Tuesday we visited Manteo on Roanoke Island, one of our favorite places.  Unfortunately Festival Park wasn't what it used to be, but Mom wasn't really up for much walking anyway.  We did some shopping along the water front and ate a fabulous lunch in a little cafe/brewery.  The weather ended up being gorgeous when we returned and we decided to venture to the ocean front pool again.  We brought in salads and pizzas for dinner and again were able to enjoy beautiful sunset views on the sound.

Wednesday was crappy in terms of the weather.  It was in the low 60's, rainy and windy, making it feel even cooler.  Mom wanted to see the Wright Brothers site so we did that, and then took her to our favorite restaurant for dinner.  She loved it as much as we do, and it definitely didn't disappoint!  We spent the evening watching a movie and there was lots of laughter.

Thursday was another crappy weather day.  We ventured to our favorite shopping area and everyone was able to pick up things they wanted, and have our favorite ice cream.  We found a new place for dinner that we all enjoyed, as well as hitting the beach store for a bit more shopping.

Friday took us back to the ocean front pool and more afternoon drinks.  We were able to walk on the beach, but it wasn't safe to swim in the ocean due to riptides.  We brought dinner in of pizza and other snack foods, and while getting things ready to go home the next day, Andrew and I were able to enjoy a walk along the sound with gorgeous sunset views.

Last summer is still my favorite vacation, but we enjoyed this one as well.  I did not fail to just sit and enjoy the moments, and I recognize what blessings we have in our lives!

Heading home tomorrow

We are heading home tomorrow.  Robert is flying back with my mom and the rest of us are driving.  I guess I'm ready to head home, but it has been an amazing week.  The resort amenities have been spectacular, and our family has enjoyed them tremendously.  We are already making plans to come back next year.  We knew when we left last year that we would probably come back this year, and this year we are already deciding that will be our plan as long as Robert's schedule permits.  I'm so very grateful for this week we've had, and took time, especially today, to soak it all in.  The week flew by way too quickly, but I am well aware that many don't even get to experience this for a week.  We are so amazingly blessed.  I'll write more about our trip when we get home!

Wearing sweats at the beach in June

We have not had the best weather again this year.  Monday we had storm after storm in the evening.  Yesterday was a rather nice day, although clouds rolled in during the evening and the temps dropped.  Today has been pretty crappy, and in fact it's brutal out in the wind.  We are all dressed in sweats this afternoon and evening, so no beach or pool today!  Tomorrow might be like this again, but we are planning to hit some shops.  Friday should be nice, and it will allow us one last time for pools and the beach!

It's a little piece of heaven right here on earth

We are on vacation, and honestly, it is even better than we thought it might be.  The trip down was a little rough Saturday in terms of traffic, but my mom and Robert had no problems with their flights.  We arrived just in time that evening to see the sunset over the sound, which we could see from our house.  Absolutely gorgeous.  The house has lots of decks (which are well shaded in the middle of the day, as it the pool and hot tub.  We are right in front of the pier that walks out into the sound.  We are next door to the soundside pool in our resort community and across from the indoor sports center that has both an indoor pool and work out rooms.  We can ride a trolley to the ocean front pool...and that complex is amazing.  The pools have a restaurant and snack bar, and they will even deliver down to the ocean.  Wowza!  We have certainly splurged on this vacation, and I don't mind at all.  This is almost certainly our last big family vacation.

My mom has some mobility issues and to be honest, I didn't realize how tough some things would be on her.  She is doing okay though, and the kids are very helpful.  We enjoyed our first fun dinner out last night, and we are looking forward to a week full of fun!!!!

No going back now

There is no turning back in our lives...we have no choice...our bathroom reno has begun!!!  Our family has hated the hall bathroom since the day we moved in.  It had a yellow tub, a yellow toilet, white sink, white vinyl flooring which had shrunk (and lots of caulking), white wall tiles, ugly hollywood lights (actually, ugly could go in front of nearly everything), baby blue walls, and lots and lots of mildew thanks to a crappy ceiling fan.  The paint on the ceiling was also cracking and peeling.  Nearly two years ago we had replaced the toilet so that it was white (thank goodness!), and had also attempted to paint the tub.  Even though Andrew had followed the directions exactly and studied tutorials online, it had not worked well.

As the mildew had increased and we all began sniffling and coughing more, I began to be worried about our health.  Last fall we decided to take the hit and have it done.  Even though we could have gone the DIY route, we decided to hire a contractor, and that was definitely the right decision.  He is taking out a fake wall and we will have double sinks now.  We will convert half of a large hallway closet into a linen closet, and overall it is going to be so much better in terms of design.  We were definitely shocked by the sticker price, but we knew we could swing it.  Having to purchase a new car this spring has thrown a bit of a wrench into that, but we'll still be okay.  The crew arrived this morning and have completely gutted the bathroom.  It is going to be extremely inconvenient to be down to just our tiny master's 3/4 bath for the next six weeks, but it will be so worth it in the end.  It will be so nice to have this finished, but I am NOT going to wish away our summer!