Father's Day, FSY, Cedar Point

Sunday was Father's Day so the kids and I did a group effort to make breakfast for Tyler and his dad that morning. I made the bacon, Lucy and Penny did the pancakes and Ben made the eggs- of course they all needed some help but they mostly did it themselves. After a big breakfast Tyler opened his things- he got a dumb shirt from me, a Harry Potter Lego set from Ben, oatmeal cream pies and some candy from Penny and Lucy made him a card. Notice that Steven did not do anything for him *sigh*. Tyler's dad also brought Tyler some ties. I felt bad because I hadn't realized Tyler's dad would be here on Father's day so I had just mailed him a card with Lego Darth Vadar keychain and did not have any gifts for him. Hopefully the breakfast was a nice enough gesture.

At church the primary kids sang "This Little Light of Mine" which was really cute but I am not sure what it had to do with fathers...Then the RS went all out with a Superman Theme for the dads and meatball subs. Tyler's dad said this was the most recongnized he has been on a Father's Day Sunday in ages. I think he really appreciated it.

Also, Tyler got ordained and set apart as a high priest during church. This was the whole reason his parents came out, so his dad could ordain him. It was our whole family (minus Ruby) and the stake president, Pres Day. I think it was a real special experience for Tyler.

When we got home we had some chips and dips to snack on, watched Veggie Tales (which Tyler's dad thought was hilarious), laid down to rest for a minute and then Tyler had to take his parents back to the airport. It really was a short visit with them.

Monday morning the boys headed out to FSY. I was lucky to have people from church giving them rides so I didn't have to- it was at a university in ohio so a 4 hour drive round trip. That morning Steven was being particularly rude and Ben was being particularly pesky so to be honest, I was more than happy to send them on their way. Shortly after dropping them off with their ride, Ashlee brought her girls over for me to watch while her house got packed by movers. Her girls, Wynn and June, are really sweet and easy to watch. They played with toys, we walked to the beach and they tried (and failed) to catch minnows in the shallow water (meanwhile Ruby just sat in the water fully clothed), we colored pictures, we played games on our tablet, they played with Legos...it was a good day and I am going to miss them.

Monday evening I went to Walmart and grabbed a couple things to drop off at Melissa's house since apparently she was still having a lot of pain from the ankle surgery. She couldn't come to the door but thanked me from their Ring doorbell which threw me off and made me awkward. I shouted back at the Ring doorbell, like she couldn't hear me. I am such a goober.

Tuesday Lucy had her babysitting gig and I ran a couple errands with Ruby and Penny. I made the mistake of not putting Ruby in a cart at 5 and Below, she is not ready for that freedom and I had to carry her out of the store crying. Toddlers. That evening I took Lucy shopping for a new church dress, she's not loving rompers anymore, and that was a challenge. She is really wanting to fit in which means she was looking at lots of dresses that are not super modest. This is a whole new phase that I am probably not handling right. I tried to talk to her about what modesty means and I also told her that she should wear things because she likes them and feels good in them- not because of what other people say. I don't know that anything sunk in. She ended up getting a dress that will need a shirt under it and it barely covers her bum. Of course she looks pretty in it but that is just because she is pretty and looks good in anything. I think these next few years are going to be super tough.

Wednesday was the day that Penny finally got her cast on! She was so excited...until they started cutting off the wrapping that was on her and she started freaking out. She said she didn't like seeing her arm with all the stitches and there was a lot of crying and me having to calm her down. I thought this was supposed to be the easy part and I really did not expect so much drama. Of course there was a lot of waiting and that just made it harder. BUT luckily they had pink and she was able to get a hot pink cast which totally made up for everything. She was so excited to finally have a cast that her friends could sign. We had to go to Mimi's shortly after so Mimi could sign the cast before her family leaves on vacation. It turns out she will only have this cast for 3 weeks and then she can move on to wearing a brace. She might actually get to do some lake swimming this summer.

At 5pm there was a combined YM and YW activity for the youth who were too young for FSY. They met at a park and then walked down to Dairy Twist for ice cream. The time was earlier because of impending storms. I took Lucy, and Penny and Ruby tagged along. We hung out with Caroline and Lizzie at the park. I am starting to feel a bit disconnected with Caroline. No bad feelings or anything, just like we aren't as close as we used to be. While the ym and yw walked to Dairy Twist, I hopped in the car with Ruby and Penny and met them there. The ice cream proportions there are absurd. I bought 1 scoop for me and Ruby to share and 1 scoop for Penny but 1 scoop apparently equals like 4. It was a lot of ice cream and Penny had a hard time eating it one handed because it's not soft serve. Caroline was nice and at one point tied Penny's hair back so it wouldn't get in her ice cream. It was a messy outing for sure.

Tyler had the day off Thursday for Juneteenth. We all had a really lazy morning and then Lucy went off to her friend Claire's house. While she was there, Tyler, Ruby, Penny and me went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. Ruby was terrified of the tube slide there but also loved it once she went down it. After we ate we stopped at Kohl's so I could find a shirt for Steven for his senior pictures. Tyler was annoyed at my indecisiveness but I appreciated having his help to pick something. Unfortunately every one decided to go shopping that day and the line was huge. Tyler was nice and took Ruby and Penny to the car to wait so I didn't have to deal with a toddler in line.

Friday morning Ruby and I went to Asher's home. They played outside at the water table and in buckets of water until a storm rolled in. Then we went inside. Julie told me she had been having stomach pain all week and unfortunately it returned while I was there and she was in bad shape. She decided she should probably go to the dr's and I felt bad just leaving her while she was not feeling well, but her husband was coming home and I think she was not comfortable with me being there. 

Friday afternoon Geli and Luna came over. Last time they got together they all seemed to get bored so I decided to take them all to Target while Ruby napped (Tyler was working from home). I thought it would be a good outing and it was mostly, but it led to more modesty struggles with Lucy. She was really wanting a tank top and I don't have a thing against tank tops but the once she chose is very low cut, tight and barely covers her belly. She ended up buying it with her own babysitting money and putting it on when she got back to the house. But I noticed her tugging it down a lot, despite telling me she feels comfortable and cute in it. I hear so many conflicting things about modesty and about the issues you can create by making a big deal out of things but as a parent where do you draw the line? What battles are worth fighting and what battles will only cause more rebellion?

Anyways, after Target we came back home and Penny and Luna struggled to find something they wanted to do together. Lucy and Geli do fine together but I feel like Penny and Luna are growing apart. Penny is still happy to do kids things and Luna is trying to be more like a teenager. Geli and Luna will be going to different school next year so I am not sure how much longer this friendship will last.

Saturday morning the boys came back from FSY and Steven was immediately angered at me because I was washing bedding and he needed the washer. So nice to have him back. Ben was better and told me all about his adventures. It sounded like it was a really good time for them. Ben ended up in a good group and made lots of friends and came home to 600 text messages from a group chat they had made (he had not brought his phone to FSY because Lucy needed it for babysitting). Ben also got a phone call from one of the girls in his group when he got home- he is not interested in her and she is only interested in talking about another boy she likes, lol, so I guess that's ok. Here are some pictures from their adventures.

After they got home, Penny, Ruby and me went for a walk to the library. I like our walks but it was a little toasty on the walk back, we are going through a heat wave. That was pretty much our only adventure for the day since Lucy and Tyler had taken the only car with a/c to Cedar Point. Lucy had used her own money to buy a ticket for Cedar Point so Tyler took her (she is feeling flushed with cash). It was obviously a hot day for them as well but they seemed to have a good time. They went on 8 roller coasters- the Gate Keeper was Lucy's favorite coaster. 

A story I forgot to document last week, maybe because it is not a proud parent moment... I was making dinner and in the "cooking zone" when Lucy asked me if Ruby was outside. Someone had went out the front door and hadn't shut it all the way and Ruby had escaped. Lucy had noticed the open door, thank heavens. We ran outside and Ruby was pushing her car we take on walks and was just about to enter the road. It was epic timing and I am so grateful nothing bad had happened.