Week in the Life {New Bonnets, Last Day of School, Dutch Cuisine!}

We are nearly mid way through June!  Where is time going?  The days are long, sometimes, but the weeks, the months, the years, are fleeting.

Sunday, June 7th

We started our morning with virtual worship via the Bridge City Church.  For the first time we did the kids videos, and I'm really disappointed in myself that we hadn't done them before June!  We've been worshiping altogether and the kids have been listening to whatever message we tune into, which is great, but the kids videos are so good.  We did both the elementary and the preschool and our little crew got really filled up for the week!

Here Mia and Zayden are showing off their surprise inside cupcakes from the kids' drawing lesson.

After worship - golly what did we do the rest of the day?  Played, rested, read.....spent time together.  The theme of 2020.
Mike drove down to help with some more things at his Grandma Betty's as they prepared for a sale this week, and the kids got to have some coveted electronic time.

Evalynn got a new bonnet.  This is her "going out" bonnet - you'll see her new everyday bonnet later this week.  Listen y'all, I've tried sunhats and I can't get them to stay on and not fall into my kids' eyes.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I'm 5 kids in and still frustrated.  I switched to bonnets with Mia (Zayden wore mostly ball caps), and loved them, so I knew I wanted them with Evie.  I also just happen to think they are adorable.  It's okay if you call her my little prairie girl.  Just wait until you see the new "everyday" bonnet.

I mean the cheeks peeking out.  Be still my heart.

Evie had a late Sunday nap so she was up after the rest of the kids and full of scamp!

Monday, June 8th

Monday was such a Monday.

Especially in the world of Evie.

I posted this on Facebook Monday morning...
I know the correct term for a baby who clings to mom is "Velcro baby," but I like to refer to this one as my cockle burr. Sticky, but a little bit prickly, and you have to pull hard to get her away.
While I was attempting to eat breakfast, she licked my bite as it was suspended in mid air, so apparently that's a thing now.

This was our last week of school and the kids put their pencils to paper to get done with their books!  Monday school with my ballerina!

Xavier made a line of "boom boxes" from PlusPlus blocks while I read history aloud and we discussed Canada!

Afternoon swims, because why wouldn't we?

Look at Zayden's face.  That's joy.

Mike went out to our friends' after work to help them put up some hay.  Some good physical labor to make you feel alive!

I made Evie Lynn a stew from bone broth, chicken, and veggies and froze it in little jars to heat for her on days when we're snack-eating or eating something she's not ready for yet.  She loves the stew but prefers to feed herself - sigh.

She ate so much her belly didn't want to zip into her jammies later.

Mike got home a little after supper time feeling good for having had the ability to help out some friends and feeling tired!

Showers and bed for my whole crew!

Tuesday, June 9th

PJ school with my preschooler this morning!  He was determined to finish his space book bright and early!  Sometimes he's ready for school before mom's brain is really awake.  Natalee is a good help to me in those instances, because her brain wakes up bright and early, too!

Looking at the rain.  We felt a little like Noah watching all that rain.

Evie had some "Monday" feelings flow into her Tuesday.  By the time Mike got home for lunch, she was hitching a ride and I was trying to survive the morning.

She has started wanting 3 meals a day, which kinda breaks my heart because she's losing pieces of her babyhood every time I turn around.

Zayden and I have this little "bit." I hope he remembers he pledged to love me forever.

Zayden, show me an over the shoulder smolder.
#nailedit

The rain stopped for awhile so we quick slipped outside and enjoyed the evening!  I had a lot of people who needed to stretch their legs!

Hi Ruby.

Natalee's arm is getting stronger!

It was a late to bed night because we played outside until almost dark.

Wednesday, June 10th

More more more rain!  Sheets and sheets and buckets and buckets of rain!

Mom was feeling.it.

Mia completed her last assignments in her Masterbooks Level 1 math book!!!

 
Zayden has a book he'll continue working on that's part of the Rod and Staff Pre-K curriculum.  We're practicing coloring slowly so he can stay in the lines.  Look how good!!

Evie has learned how to access her book sling.  She finds it's best to take them all out in order to look at them.

A rainy day....I went looking for little Zayden.  Sound asleep in brother's bed with a book on his chest.  Is he not cute, though?

The rain stopped again in the evening so we hustled outside to stretch our legs.

Caught it!

Books before bed...

How to babies know to dance?  Do they just feel it in their little bodies?

Thursday, June 11th

SUNSHINE!

And the last day of school!

Mike and I were supposed to be heading to a homeschool conference together so he had Thursday and Friday off.  It was canceled because of the pandemic, but he decided to keep his PTO and spend time with us.  He did have a meeting he needed to attend so he went in for an hour or so mid-morning....Evie wasn't impressed her da left!

The big kids had a couple of science experiments (that I guess I didn't take pictures of) to finish out our atoms and molecules unit, and then finished up their reports of a Canadian province and a famous Canadian.  Their reports are very short, and I'm sure they'd love for you to listen to what they learned.

We took last day of school pictures and I think they turned out quite fun!

As we were boxing up the readers and read-aloud books from our History core, I thought it was especially sweet to listen to the big kids reminisce about how good they were, and talk about which ones they wanted to read again.  I hope all the rich books we read together are some of their fondest memories.

When Mike got home, he worked on the mower for a good portion of the day, fixing a couple of things that needed remedied.

Evie practiced standing alone,

And being cute.

Her new bonnet came!

Now isn't that sweet?  We like it because it actually shields her face from the sun.  You can fold the brim back, too, and it's reversible.

I made something new (tacquitos) for supper.  My kids have never had these, even prepackaged frozen, and they were a hit all the way around.  They liked the flour tortilla ones better than the white corn, but in the end, from that large sheet pan completely full, there were only 5 left.

After supper Mike took the kids for a bike ride.  It didn't go well.  But, gosh, I love this man.

Since there was no school on Friday, we had a bedtime swim and ice cream in celebration of a school year well done!

Bedtime for this girl.  She's reaching for mama to take her inside.

Friday, June 12th

The kids slept in, both because we were up late and because they were tired from the late night swim.

I spent the ENTIRE day finishing up our yearly records (grades, hour logs (b/c we started in MO), work samples, etc.) and vowed to do better at doing things as we go this coming year!

Mike sorted pictures from his childhood much of the day, and helped run the house while I worked at the computer.

I ordered a Bug Bite Thing and tried it on Xavier who got eaten after he got out of the pool Thursday night.  LOL.  The results....

Perhaps we won't use it on the face anymore.

The kids played hard, Friday!  They swam and played outside and enjoyed a day with zero agenda.  They are showing us their Lego Duplo zoo....

Mike treated me to supper after I worked so hard on school stuff (and the kids ate all the leftovers - ha), and Evie stayed up to eat with us.  Bedtime snack?

We watched a movie while I finished the hour logs, and by we, I mean I watched it while Mike snored on the couch.  Romance ain't dead after 15 years.

Saturday, June 13th

Mike finished putting the mower together, while I did my Saturday laundry hustle, and then we slipped away to vehicle browse while my mom kept the kids for a few hours.  Thanks, Grandma!  It's been months since we've been anywhere without any kiddos.  

{Besides work, Grandma has been staying away from all the places and peoples, too.  We are slowly tiptoeing back into life.  We're still figuring out what that looks like.  It's very hard when you have children with neurological conditions, to know how to navigate.  We're thankful for everyone who loves us while we look for our new normal and fight back tears for everything we're missing out on.  Trust us when we say staying away isn't the easy path.  It's the very hardest one, I think.}

This is the #bigfamilyvan I chose and I don't want to change my mind.  Mike says don't encourage me.  Y'all.  Would I not look good behind the wheel of this 1998 Hawkeye minibus!?  Seats 10+driver.  Who wants to ride!?

We stayed distanced and walked the Molengracht and decided to try some Dutch cuisine.  Fully immerse yourself in the place you live, right?  The town was VERY quiet.  Almost so much that it made you wonder if something was happening that you were invited to.  LOL.  Oh well.  We ate outside and it was a lovely evening for a little "distanced date near the canal and fountain."  I want to learn to make poffertjes, now.  They were delicious.  We shared this order because we were trying to be good.  Drool.  At one point I thought we should take a selfie (proof of life, you know) and then I took this picture of our food and forgot the selfie.  Oops.

All in all it was a great week that ended on an absolute high note!