Summer Nights, Summer Days

This weekend kicked-off our party-until-you-drop then get-back-up-and-party-more August. Saturday whizzed by in a flurry of morning errands to service the Toyota, buy school supplies, and get the kids’ haircuts and then be back home before the babysitter arrived, so Mark and I could head to an appointment with a kitchen designer (YAY—new kitchen is in the works!)—all before the start of our annual block party! Whoosh! In all the hustle and bustle, Nick managed to escape the house to go on an adventure of his own. As we were shouting his name and scanning the immediate area, Lainey yelled, “there he is!” His little face was pressed to the window of the hatchback of the CR-V, which was sitting in the direct sun on an 80-plus degree day, and he was wielding a pair of scissors in his hand. I aged about 10 years in five minutes…and then it was time for the block party (and a drink)!

The block party gets better every year as we all get to know each other better and our kids get older and less dependent on us for supervision and entertainment. I got some good intel on what to expect this coming school year and met a few new parents in the neighborhood. Nick won a raffle prize the second year in a row, and Lainey allowed her disappointment at NOT winning for the second year in a row to be soothed with a cupcake versus a having a meltdown. The kids managed to stay up for movie time and watching all the little ones huddled on the driveway with their popcorn made me fall in love with our small town in the big city all over again!

Better than a drive-in

The late night out bought us an extra hour of sleep from the kids Sunday morning, and we decided to ditch the chores and opt for a long excursion to the beach. The weather was perfect, the kids were well behaved, and Mark and I actually found ourselves relaxing. Aaah! A nice refresher that we both needed.

Engineer dads build the best sand castles...complete with running water

Next up on our August party plan…the Wisconsin Dells with the O’Gradys, followed by Lainey’s first official school event to meet all the incoming kindergarteners!

This little beach bum is kindergarten-bound