Summer weeks 4 & 5

I'm playing a bit of catchup here to wrap up summer as I go back to work in about 10 days (eek!). I loved how I chronicled our weeks earlier in the summer and hopefully I can jot down the rest of the weeks before it leaves my brain like most of my memories these days. 

Week 4

On week four we headed out to Brenton Arboretum in Dallas Center for our Monday morning field trip. It is a fun little trip and the girls and Michael had fun exploring the play area. Michael and I did some obstacle courses and we had fun pretending to use floo powder in the big shelter fireplace to travel to Diagon Alley. Side note- we finally got the Harry Potter disc from the library on request this week and watched it about nine times. It is one hard disc to get a hold of! 

On Tuesday we did the High Trestle Trail which went smoothly. Normally it is very busy so we enjoyed the fairly empty ride on a weekday morning. We rode a little past the bridge before the girls lost it and we had to turn around. 

Most days we spent a bit of time on the deck doing play doh while I get dinner ready or to kill time until Scott gets home. The girls love being outside and our deck is a nice place where they can play and be safe. I love that it gets shady in the late afternoons. We also have been taking a walk after naptime...I can usually talk Michael into it since he can usually run into a friend and they ride their bikes around for a bit together. If you do every street, it is a little over a mile and those steps add up! 

At the end of the week (the friday before the 4th), Scott had his knee surgery. He was getting a meniscus tear repaired that had been bugging him for a while and finally was getting it taken care of. I sent the girls to daycare for the day since we didn't know what time his surgery would be until late the night before. It ended up being early in the morning, with us reporting to the surgical center at 8 a.m. Michael and I had plenty to keep us busy while we waited for about four hours during the surgery- school work, coffee, legos, a book for me even. The actual surgery was only about 45 minutes but there was time for prepping and recovery. 

I'm not going to lie-this time waiting in the surgical center was probably the most relaxing for me all summer. Not having the girls to worry about was huge. Michael did a good job entertaining himself (or enjoyed the one on one attention from me) and it was good just to relax for a bit. The rest of the weekend was a little taxing as Scott was not able to help at all with the kids but we got through it. He is now feeling 100% better and his knee is better than ever so I am looking forward to no more complaints from him! 

Week five

The Monday of week five was the 4th of July which I already blogged about: we did fireworks at our house plus we laid low since Scott was recovering from his surgery. 

On Tuesday, we rode the trestle again but this time we started in Slater and rode towards Madrid. I had never done this leg before and it was a good ride. Michael's favorite part was playing at a new to him park at the trailhead. We also rode the most miles yet on this ride-8! 

I enjoyed my Thursday mom day this week, wandering around Target & the mall gathering things for our Mexico trip. It was so fun to pick out special little new things like sandals, jewelry and books for reading. Side note- I did read all these and enjoyed especially Dark Places and the House Girl. The Vacationers was really fluffy and I can't believe I spent time reading it but hey, what else did I have to do? 

Michael's prizes for the summer reading program! He's been working hard all summer and I think he has actually improved in his reading. Yay for parental badgering. 

I played at our annual municipal band festival on the second Saturday in July which included selections from the Lion King. I loved playing the piece and it was stocked full of fun solos and it was so fun to play. The Lion King is one of my favorite musicals and it was a highlight of the summer for me! I even got the feels during rehearsal...something that is rare indeed. I was happy that I had a break in between performances so I could enjoy pie and ice cream at the festival and also that my parents came for the concert. It was a beautiful night in the park. 

We ended week 5 with my niece's baptism, which I already blogged about. It was a busy day wrangling all the children but still very, very good. We are so blessed to have Isla in our family! 

I think that wraps it up for weeks 4 & 5! Thanks for stopping by!