Memorial Day

Monday was Memorial Day so no work for Tyler and no school for us. I decided to go for a run that morning with Ben and then Ben and I went out kayaking. He is kind of a wild paddler and he gets tuckered out real easy but it was still a nice morning with him. We spotted a turtle and tons of fish and we also dicovered a "P's allowed" sign. Penny was real excited about this when I showed her the picture.

That afternoon we went to the Bloomfield's for a BBQ. The May's and Solomon's were there too. Chalsea had her baby and I wish I didn't feel weird around newborns still but I do. Maybe someday it will get better. Other than that and some her feelings towards masks and vaccinations, it was a good party. Us ladies did a puzzle while the kids wreaked havoc outside. 

Did I mention that my oven broke? I spent Tuesday morning (in between teaching the kids) trying to figure out what oven to buy and then deciding to buy a dishwasher too because there was a good deal on buying multiple appliances and our dishwasher is on it's last leg. I hate spending so much money (and my credit card was convinced it was a fraud) but now we have a new oven, new dishwasher and I got a microwave/hood (so we won't lose counter space to a microwave anymore). All these things are exciting and will be even more exciting when Tyler actually gets them installed (this weekend he had to help someone in the ward so I might have to try to be very patient).

Wednesday after we finished our work- well Steven hadn't finished his because apparently probability math problems take hours- we met the May's over by the kayak launch spot and the younger kids all played in the water while the teens went on a nature walk. Andrea got a leech on her foot which now makes me terrified of lakes and rivers. And the teens claim to have almost walked on a baby rattle snake, equally terrifying. Other than those creepy things it was a nice way to pass a couple hours.

Wednesday evening Melissa had planned "Trivia with a Twist" for the young women and I was real worried about the twist part. I thought she was going to have them eat all sorts of awful things if they answered questions incorrectly but it actually turned out really fun. There were a few gross things (like baby food, balsamic vinegar sauce, pickle flavored chips...) but she also had yummy things (like Kool-Aid, beef jerky, pop tarts...). The girls really loved it and requested that we do it again with the young men. 

Friday I was able to go meet the new family that just moved into our ward from AZ. They needed a vaccum so I brough ours by for them to borrow. They seem really nice and maybe a bit too cool for me but they live fairly close so it would be nice if our families mesh. 

Friday evening the kids and Jacob and Ethan attempted to sell pictures at our street corner. Some nice people took pity on them and they made a few bucks off their pictures. The kids said they worked hard on the pictures but there were scribble marks and they weren't colored so...people are nice.

Saturday has been fairly uneventful. I took the kids to the beach for our first ever beach day of the year and it was great. The water was freezing but they still had a lot of fun and Penny let some friends bury her in the sand. I am grateful beach days are back. It was nice to sit in the shade and read a book. I am not the fun beach mom. Tonight we are going kayaking with the Bloomfield's and May's- no kids. Caroline is more about the exercise that kayaking brings and I am a lazy kayaker so this shall be interesting. Hopefully it's chill and my weak arm and core muscles don't hate me.