Summer Days

I am enjoying the rhythm to our summer days. Since returning from vacation, Emmy, Eli, and I are the Three Musketeers throughout the week, and then Daddy joins us on Fridays for fun adventures on the weekend. The kids have been sleeping in until almost 8AM, which has been a nice way to start the day. Without any pressing plans, we take our time getting moving. One morning I came in to find Emmy feeding her baby doll "Sister." It was so cute; I had to take picture. She generally occupies herself as she waits patiently for me to come into her. She knows she can leave her room to go the bathroom, and otherwise she plays with her baby dolls and other stuffed animals. 

While I prep breakfast and pack our lunch, the kids will play in the sun room. I was so impressed this week when Emmy made a pattern with the Play Doh. She has loved finding patterns in everyday things. She also surprised me by knowing "half" and "quarters." She has learned so much this year at Preschool. Hopefully I can continue over the summer to nurture her interest in learning.

Our outings usually are mid-morning through lunchtime. Sometimes the outings are appointments...

...or pooltime at the YMCA!

We've also had some playdates with friends. This week we met up with the Saddlers. Emmy and Levi are only 5 days apart in age, and Eli and Cooper are only 3 months apart. Michelle and I stayed busy following them around the playground while fitting in some mom talk. 

In the afternoons, I am enforcing a nap/rest time from around 1:30PM to 3:30PM. Even though Emmy rarely takes naps these days, a nap is still necessary for Eli. Also, the time is essential for me to complete my grad school work. As soon as I get both kids settled in their rooms, I open my laptop to get to work. The assignments have been manageable right now. I am a little nervous about keeping up once the school year starts again, but hopefully I will find pockets of time to get the work done. I am almost finished with my first summer class....just in time to start a second one on Monday, yikes! I keep a close eye on the video monitor while I'm working, and once I hear sounds from Eli, I wrap up things, until the evening when I usually work again. One afternoon this week, I almost had a heart attack when I found Emmy in her room with my rings! She had gone in to our bedroom and had been playing with them - ah! I emphasized how Mommy's rings were not toys. 

Today, Boomer had the day off, and we made plans with my parents to go to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. Boomer and my dad are both NASCAR fans, and so my mom and I have watched several races on tv and in person over the years. We arrived when the Hall opened at 10AM. We were so impressed by all the cars and memorabilia on display. There were a lot of interactive exhibits which made it especially fun. There was a pit-stop challenge where you raced to change a tire and fill up the gas tank; there was also a station where you practiced announcing a race. The favorite activity of the day was the racing simulator where you got into a car and raced against other people for top position and overall fastest lap time. We headed back home around 3PM, and both kids took cat naps during the last 30 minutes of our drive. We ended the evening with our usual Friday Movie Night. This week's choice: Moana. It has been a fun day!   

One last thing to include: Boomer received this photo from his Dad. It's Boomer's namesake, his great grandfather Robert Daniel Kennedy. He was Boomer's dad's dad's dad. Hopefully you followed that! I had never seen a photo of the first Robert Daniel Kennedy, so it was very neat to see the man that Boomer is named after.