Adulting

It's one of our favorite traditions that every summer, we take the girls to "Camp Grandma" and "Camp Mimi". The kids get to spend several days bouncing from location to location, spending the night in one place, going to the pool at the other place, meeting up for joint playdates and meals, then splitting off again for one-on-one time with the each set of grandparents. It's fantastic and they look forward to it every year.

As do we.

For while the kids are away, the adults can play. Sometimes we have various house projects we work on, like the time we transformed Violet's room from guest room to "big girl" room to make way for Annie's nursery. Or the time we painted our bedroom. Or was it the dining room? But this summer, without any big projects on the must-do list, we just took the time out to relax.

Sushi. Almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

First up, we went out to sushi. Why waste it on kids who won't appreciate it, right? Although Violet shows signs of being a sushi-lover. There is a delicious sushi place called Mori House not far from where we live and we basically just tell the sushi chefs to hit us with their best shot. We sat at the bar this time and as they crafted this masterpiece I was silently jealous of whoever lucky customer ordered it, until they handed over and I realized that lucky customer was me. The attention to detail, the plating... it tasted as good as it looked.

The next day, we headed up to Chateau Elon, the Georgia winery and resort. We were meeting another couple here for a overnight date-night night-golf event. While the rain ended up cancelling our night golf plans, I wasn't overly broken-hearted about it. We enjoyed the pool, headed over to the winery for a wine tasting, indulged at the buffet dinner, and took a morning nature hike.

Pretty!

My hot date.

Thanks for inviting us, Joyce!

We had some generous pours during this wine tasting.

Scenes from our nature walk the next morning! A beautiful day!

The next day, the plan was to go on a 2.5 hour canoeing adventure with the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Alas, the event got cancelled due to poor water quality (again with the cancelled events! Mother Nature was not playing nicely!) But we rebounded quickly with a trip to the "quiet pool" in our neighborhood. We have lived here eight years and I had never once been to this adults-only saltwater pool. See those trees? Just beyond them lies the family pool, full of yelling, splashing kids. But here, do you see that? Just peace and tranquility. We followed this up with a trip to the movie theater to see Baby Driver. Dumb name, great movie! Go see it! So fun!

Ah, the quiet pool.

Shh. I'm at the quiet pool.

The next day we cooked ourselves a breakfast scramble that featured tomatoes, peppers and basil sourced from our own garden (Mother Nature and I were back on speaking terms) and then headed to the race expo to pick up our Peachtree Road Race numbers. We finished our day with a last dip in the quiet pool and then dinner next door with good friends, before turning in early to get ready for The Race! Ah, adulting. It's so nice.

Girl Scouts

Violet has been having a great year in Girl Scouts. I'm glad we elected to keep her in the same Daisy troop even though we changed schools. Our early-start schedule allows us to still make it to the meetings (although it means I sacrifice my Friday afternoons of prepping for the next week). I got "promoted" to assistant troop leader this year, which basically means I lend my moral support to whatever our fabulous troop leader decides to do. She's amazing and I'm just here to watch!

We participated in World Thinking Day a couple weekends ago. There were various countries represented, set up with booths and food samples and interesting facts, all designed and led by older Girl Scouts. Did you know that Scotland's national animal is the unicorn?! Yep, fun fact brought to you by World Thinking Day. The girls had a great time on their tour of the world, tasting food, getting their passports stamped, goofing off with each other.

We also had our first cookie booth this year! The girls rocked it, singing songs about cookies and hawking their wares to the Walmart crowds. Violet did a great job selling cookies this year, more than doubling her total from last year! It helped that I slapped a notice on social media on January 1, the first day cookies are available for purchase. Of course, that means I'm still trying to deliver cookies to everyone that ordered. If you haven't gotten yours yet - I'm so sorry! Just look at it this way - when everyone else has long eaten theirs, you'll still have some and everyone will be jealous!

October

And then it was October. And October is the worst. October is the time of final assessments and report cards and conference reports and Parent-Teacher Conferences, a week of 20-minute back-to-back nonstop talking meetings. Some parents I know. Some parents I'm having the first real conversation with. Some conferences are easy, some not so much. It's just a tough, stressful time. We came back from fall break and immediately jumped into two weeks of this overwhelming stuff.

But then it was done, everyone could take a big sigh of relief and enjoy the respite for the last couple weeks. Here is the happier side of October:

My Uncle Hans and cousin Amanda came for a visit from Sweden! Amanda is studying to be a teacher and needed to do a research project. Seems like quite a distance to go for a little research, but hey! They came up our way for fika one afternoon and we spent a delightful time making fun of American Gevalia coffee ads, discussing the horror that is American politics, and eating Swedish candy. (Actually, Matt and I hoarded the candy. Even though my relatives brought the girls their own little bags of candy, we replaced it with fake Swedish candy from Ikea and kept the good stuff for ourselves!)

And everyone was smiling at the camera on the first take! Miracle!

Building a Home Depot birdhouse.

Annie rocked her first trip to the dentist!

 The other highlight of  my October was hosting my dear, dear bookclub friends. While we no longer bother pretending we actually read/discuss books, we still cherish our time together. There are two new members of our club now, and the babies were so well behaved, we have decided our next "meeting" will be a Family Book Club. We'll even invite the husbands! Oh, how I love these ladies. They have been a part of my life for the last 20 years, and you just can't manufacture bonds like that.

The triumphant return of book club!

Getting Ready

The listening center by the window with the ladybug chairs in my favorite, although I love how the library turned out too.

Preplanning officially starts this Thursday, but I've been unofficially on the clock for the last two weeks. New school means new curriculum to get trained on, new room to unpack and figure out, just lots of new that I wouldn't ordinarily be encountering my seventh year in this business. So as much as it pained me to head into the building early, I know it's a special case that won't have to be repeated every year.

I've been dropping by the building for the last two weeks now. At first I would take Annie on my way home from dropping Violet off at camp, and we would only stay an hour, long enough for me to move furniture or unpack my desk, little things. Last week, I took the girls to Camp Mimi and Camp Grandma and I worked all day every day. It stinks to not get paid for all the work I've put in, but the payoff is that the room is done and I'll be ready to focus on the new school year (open house paperwork, daily schedule, all those other things) once preplanning starts.

By far the most complex Ikea undertaking so far.

It was also great to have a week without the distraction of the girls. After their Ikea dresser got recalled, we decided to take the opportunity of a full refund to go ahead and upgrade them to something they could both share. They seem fairly committed to sharing the same room, so it's probably time to migrate Annie's clothes in there as well. Even though our house is pretty much 80 percent Ikea, it was still daunting when all the pieces spilled out. We had to take a break halfway through to nourish ourselves (we decided to only eat at places we would never want to take the girls) with some excellent sushi. But all's well that ends well. We also went to the movies, a nice Italian restaurant, shopped at Avalon, met a friend for drinks... you know, all those adult-y things we never do anymore. It was nice to have the one-on-one time with Matt to reconnect, since once school starts we won't see much of each other. Seriously, with a 7 a.m. start time, I'll be lucky if I see 9 p.m. anymore.

I made all the drawers.

Maine Lobstah!

Don't let go!

Friday was our last full day in Maine. It was too cold to "beach" but we still walked down and decided to try our hand at kite flying. Lauren had a bright blue octopus kite with eight waving tentacles that the girls had fun holding on to. The tenacity of Mainers (or perhaps it was the dumb tourists, who knows!) was astonishing. There were kids in bathing suits, families with beach gear, and look how we are dressed! Pants, jackets, layers... I guess if this is your yearly beach vacation, or this is your (short) summer season, you make the most of it regardless of weather! I remember having a picnic in Sweden one summer under very similar circumstances. Hey, if it's summer, you take advantage.

Our flying octopus!

After naptime we decided to take the kids to a mini golf place we had spotted earlier. It was your typical vacation town putt putt place, complete with giant waterfall in the middle of it. Violet had only played once before, but she was too young to recall. And Annie was a novice. Of course, beginners luck meant that on the second hole, Matt showed Violet how to line up, then she took over and got a hole in one! Annie quickly figured out the best spot to start her shot was about an inch from the hole, allowing her to make her own hole in one (or hole in nine, whatever). It was actually pretty fun. The nice thing about family places like this is that they are, well, full of families. Families who totally get it if your kid wanders onto their green or cheats their way through the course or has more fun playing with the waterfall than playing putt putt. That put us at ease and everyone had a really great time.

Getting ready to play.

Attempting some instruction.

Our last Maine event was dinner with a view. We headed back to York for dinner at a restaurant definitely nicer than somewhere I would normally take my kids. The staff was great through, and still very family friendly. I mean, when Fluffernutter sandwiches are on the kids menu, you know everyone will survive the night.

Spotted on the cliff walk before dinner.

The girls ordered spaghetti. When we eat pasta at home, I always make Annie take her shirt off. Things are bound to get messy, after all, and why make more laundry for myself? Well, no sooner had we placed our order than Annie starts trying to strip her clothes off! "But I eat spaghetti!" she kept insisting, unable to figure out why tonight should be any different! I died. Fortunately, giant lobster bibs were procured in short order, saving the day.

One big, happy, messy family!

Matt ordered the whole lobstah! It was totally intimidating but apparently amazing. I spent my dinner tag-teaming with Grandma and Grandpa, getting the kids out of the dining room and letting them run around in the courtyard overlooking the sea. Then we headed back home to get ready for our return journey the next morning. The flights home were easy, the kids did great even though we weren't back in our own beds until 11 p.m. Thank goodness for airports with play areas (or moving sidewalks that might as well be play areas). It was an awesome trip! Cross one off the bucket list!

When in Maine...

So Maine-y Things to See

Meanwhile, in Maine... things were heating up finally. We headed back to the beach and this time things were glorious. I mean, the water was still so cold your ankles would freeze in about five minutes, but the rest of your sunkissed skin would be roasting. I swear the sun seemed brighter in Maine, perhaps because it was often absent. We beached, came home for an early dinner, then walked back into town for ice cream in the evening. A full day.

Now THIS is a beach day!

Good thing Annie could keep her feet without my help because I was not that brave!

Thursday dawned dark and gloomy. We had booked tickets on a lobster boat, thinking an hour and half to see lobsters was probably safer that five hours to see whales for my novice sailers. As it turned out, the trip was still about an hour too long for Annie. The ride took us out to Kennebunkport, home of the President Bush summer compound. It was pretty chilly and choppy, but we were all weathering it just fine until... well, let's just say we learned my youngest child gets seasick. Poor thing. After she announced "I have a tummy ache" in the most pitiful wail and promptly threw up her breakfast, she fell mercifully asleep for the rest of the ride.

Lobster traps. Apparently the lobsters are really good at climbing out of them.

The Bush property. During his presidency, this was a no-sail zone.

Seasick Annie.

We survived our boat trip and even got to pet a few lobsters and spot some seals. Next up, the Maine affair of fresh lobstah rolls, eaten as only they should be, on a picnic table next to the water off paper plates. Yum yum. We strolled around the city, had ice cream, Annie perked up immediately after hitting dry land again. The sun even started peaking through the clouds again, warming things up.

First lobstah of the trip!

Exploring Kennebunkport.

Before going back to the house, we decided to take a stroll on the Marginal Way, a walking trail along the water boasting beautiful views of the sea and crashing waves. Annie's refusal to sit in the stroller and Violet's desire to explore made it a bit nerve-wracking. But the sights are just breathtaking. Maine reminds me a lot of Sweden, both in scenery and climate. And it was even sunny enough for sunglasses. Oh Maine, make up your mind with this weather.

Our little family.

It never gets old.

Want to know if we got another beach day? If anyone ever ordered a legit lobstah? If we finally decided to come home? Find out here!

Summer Glass Half Full

Pool pals!

Well, it's July. Summer is half way done. Or, on the other hand, I have half a summer left. Let's be optimistic here. And we're still having a good time. Here are some things we've been up to... Violet had her friend Taylor spend the night. The girls played in the pool for hours. Annie watched them jumping in from the side and decided she was a big girl too, so before I knew it, she had cannonballed right in, totally dunking under before bobbing back up in her floaties. Once I realized she had no fear of going under, I figured she was ready to tackle the waterslide. (Truth: I didn't want to take her on the waterslide myself.) You know, it took Violet years before she was bold enough to do the slide solo. Annie, on the other hand, marched right up the steps, hurled herself into the darkness of the enclosed tube, and came out the other end grinning. She's so bold. She's going to steal my car when she's 13 just because Violet will be old enough to drive and anything Violet can do, Annie is going to do 3.7 seconds later.

Rocking the water slide for the first time.

First King of Pops popsicles at food truck night.

Annie was very sad she could not take a ride.

Foot bath.

So one evening after dinner, Violet was running around barefoot and somehow got a thorn stuck in the top of her toe. Oh, the agony. You would have thought someone was about the chop her toe off, the way she carried on about it. "I'm just so scared it is going to hurt!" she kept crying when I told her the thorn had to come out. It took 10 minutes and her dad's company to convince her to take a warm foot bath, and Matt had to physically restrain her when I approached with the tweezers. I'm sure the neighbors thought we were conducted some type of torture. But it did eventually come out, along with the admission of "that didn't hurt so bad".

A special guest and Madeline's birthday party.

Our neighbor Madeline turned five this summer, with a lovely Frozen Fever-themed bash. Violet wanted nothing to do with Elsa, but Annie was all like "I'm going to sit next to her!" and had no qualms at all about snuggling up to the frozen queen. Little things like this constantly remind me how different my girls are.

Princess Annie!

My pal Jen had a shower celebrating her baby girl!

Leather push button reclining seats, popcorn kids meal... fanciest dollar movie ever!

Cumming Aquatic Center for the win!

I have to admit, this summer has been pretty sweet when it comes to water action. At the pool, I can actually sit in a chair and observe from the sidelines and the girls play in the water. Violet is a strong enough swimmer to make it all the way across the pool and as long as Annie has her floaties on, she's good to go. And they were awesome again at the aquatic center. Annie has no problem taking off on her own, and Violet was able to hang with the big boys. They were so busy it was almost hard to keep track of them all!