Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 8/21 - 8/30)

Friday (8/21) We slept in again this morning, it is going to be very hard to get back to a routine when school starts in just over a week! We are loving the late nights and late starting mornings, probably a little too much around here. Adrian got to work as quick as he could and I started my day. We had a plumber come by this morning to fix our tub that wasn't draining and he was able to fix it quickly and inexpensively. Unfortunately he wasn't able to fix our toilet so we need to buy a new one of them and he'll be back next week to take care of it. After he left, I mostly worked around the house while the boys played and Adrina worked. We finished up a few things on their to do list, including me going on a bike ride with them which they all seemed to enjoy.

The day passed quickly and it was a mix of relaxing and being super productive. Around dinner time, Daniel went to his friend Christian's house to hang out for a few hours. They had pizza and played together for about 4 hours and had a great time! While he was there, the rest of us had dinner, took Rocky on a walk and got cleaned up from the day. Then Adrian and I played "Fort" which I won and "Takenoko" which we tied on and Adrian won on the tie breaker ending a long losing streak to me. We broke up the games with 2 episodes of "Parks and Rec" as well. It was a really relaxing night and good end to the week.

Saturday (8/22) I was up earlier than I would have liked after staying up late last night but I got up and moving anyway. I headed to the church to teach a Zumba Toning class and got a great workout there while Adrian got the boys up and ready to head to the zoo. When I got home, I quickly got changed and we finished packing up and headed out for the day. We wanted one more trip to the zoo before our passes expire at the end of the month. We had an awesome time there, even though it was a little hot and crowded, we made the best of it. We checked out the new Adventure Cove area and loved the sea lions! We also rode most of the rides, including everyone's favorite the Sea Dragon. We finished the day with feeding giraffes and watching Aquaman in the 4D theater. It was a super fun family day at the zoo!

On our way home, we stopped at Menchie's since the one up there didn't close like the one by us did. The ordering process is a little tough with the COVID restrictions but we made the best of it and loved our ice cream once we had it! We ate it in the car and then headed home to take care of Rocky. The boys headed upstairs to play video games and Adrian and I played a few board games. We played "51st State" which Adrian won and "Roll for the Galaxy" which I won, but just barely. We broke up the games with two episodes of "Schitt's Creek" which were probably two of the funniest ones so far. We let the boys stay up until midnight again as we have been doing on Saturdays, even though Adrian and I were exhausted! It was a great Saturday and we all had a lot of fun!

Sunday (8/23) We all slept in this morning after two late nights and a full day yesterday. We got up and moving eventually and I got ready to head out with a group of friends to Easton for the afternoon. We were supposed to have a wine tasting at Cooper's Hawk but they messed up our reservation so instead we had wine and appetizers in their dining room and then headed to FlipSide for lunch. We had a great relaxing afternoon with lots of conversation, laughs and a little bit of education. While I was out, Adrian and the boys did most of the weekly chores around the house and got lots crossed off our to do list.

When I got home, I started working on some of my stuff around the house. I was very productive and finished just about everything that I wanted to finish this afternoon. Then after dinner tonight we had another at home drive in movie. We wanted to go see "Trolls" at the drive in but didn't want to see the second movie so we decided to pick a second movie here at home and just rent "Trolls." I put out all of the candy we have leftover from the past few trips to the drive in and we had popcorn and wine too. We enjoyed both "Trolls" and "Fe@rless" from the comfort of our recliners! Adrian and I really liked "Trolls," especially some of the music jokes. The boys thought it was just OK, however they all loved "Fe@rless" and Adrian and I were bored with that one. It was still a great time for all of us and in addition to the movies, we loved the snacks we had! When the second movie was over, we all crawled upstairs and headed to bed. We were really exhausted after a full weekend!!

Monday (8/24) Adrian and I were woken up earlier than we wanted to be when there was a problem at work for him early this morning. He got right to work and I got Rocky thru her morning stuff. Since it was such a quick start to the day for us, I jumped right in on working around the house. I'm trying to get a lot done this week because I don't know what next week will look like since the boys start school a week from today. I got a ton done around the house and we finished up some of the things on their weekly to do list. We did our final craft of the summer and made flying fish out of toilet paper rolls and tissue paper. The boys got really creative and they don't look like they were supposed to, but the boys had fun and laughed so I still think it was a win!

The day passed quickly and before long it was time to get dinner together and get ready for our evening activities. We all had dinner together and then I headed to the church to teach my Zumba class. I had a few technical difficulties but I worked most of them out and class was great. While I was there, Adrian got ready to take AJ to Scouts but a thunderstorm blew in so they decided not to head to the park for the meeting. When I got home, the storm had passed so we took Rocky on a walk and then finished cleaning up from dinner. We watched the next episode of "High Score" with the boys and got them down to bed. Then we had our snacks and watched two episodes of "Parks & Rec" before we also headed to bed. It was a great start to our last week of summer break!

Tuesday (8/25) We slept in this morning and then Adrian started working in our room and I got the boys started for the day. Then I headed out to run a few errands, including picking up my new glasses. When I got home, we did a few things that were on the boys weekly to do list and then they played video games while I got stuff done around the house. The day passed quickly and we all stopped what we were doing early to have an early dinner and head to Zoombeezi Bay for their bonus nights. Unfortunately a thunderstorm rolled in while we were getting ready to leave and with a good chance of them for the next few hours, we decided to postpone our trip just in case.

The boys got a little extra video game time while Adrian and I cleaned up from dinner and walked Rocky. Then we played our monthly game of Machi Koro Legacy. We were all really close again this month and Zak pulled out the win for the third month in a row. AJ was super upset because he has yet to win a game this year and he's always one or two turns away from winning! After we cleaned up the game, we finished up the night with an episode of "Series of Unfortunate Events" as a family and one of "Schitt's Creek" after the boys went to bed. Not the night we had planned, but we made it work!

Wednesday (8/26) We slept in again this morning, we are really milking this last week of summer vacation before we have to get up and be ready for school by 7am next week! Adrian got Rocky thru her morning stuff and barely got her to daycare on time for the day before heading to work. I got everyone ready for the day and around noon we headed out to Magic Mountain for some fun this afternoon. I didn't realize that not all of their attractions were opened today, so we decided to just mini golf and play arcade games. It was super hot while we were golfing, and we had a few breakdowns on the course, but we still managed to have a fun game. I won, beating AJ by only 1 stroke! When we finished golfing, we headed inside to cool off and play some games. The boys got enough tickets to get two fun toys, a blow gun and a flying UFO.

We left Magic Mountain and ran a few errands around town to get ready for school starting next week. Then we picked Rocky up from daycare and came home. She had a fun day at daycare celebrating National Dog Day with pool fun and ice cream. When we got home it was so late that I had to get ready to head to work at church for the night. While I was there, Adrian fed the boys and then attended his Zoom Bible study. When we all finished, we cleaned up from dinner and then watched the new "Muppet Show" with the boys before getting them to bed. Then we watched two episodes of "Parks & Rec" before heading to bed for the night as well.

Thursday (8/27) We slept in again today and are really starting to enjoy all of this extra sleep. After running around most of yesterday, we stayed home today to get stuff done around the house. Adrian worked in our room for the day while the rest of us got our stuff done around the house. We all walked up to school to pick up Zak's materials for the school year in the afternoon and had fun looking at last year's yearbook that we finally got. The day passed quickly and before long it was time for Adrian and the boys to head out for haircuts this afternoon. After they left, I realized I was alone in the house for the first time in months! It was so nice to have silence while I showered, got dinner ready and headed out to the church to teach a Zumba Toning class.

While I was enjoying the silence, the boys all got much needed haircuts and then picked up Daniel's percussion set for this school year. After that, they headed to Gahanna Lanes to bowl and play some arcade games. They had a great time and Zak is asking to bowl again in a league. I'm hoping they will have one in the fall and if not the winter. When we all got home from our activities, we cleaned up from dinner and got on with our night routine. We decided to have movie night tonight because the boys' game has an update tomorrow and they really want to be able to play that tomorrow. We watched Zak's pick of "Spiderman: Far From Home" again and all really enjoyed it. After the movie, all 4 guys headed to bed leaving me a little more alone time to watch some Jersey Shore and NY Housewives before heading to bed too. It was another fun and productive day!

Friday (8/28) We slept in again today, last weekday that we can do that for a while. I actually had to wake Adrian up so he could start working at a reasonable hour. After he started working, I got Rocky thru her morning routine and then started working around the house. The boys played video games and waited for their favorite game to update. We took a break in the afternoon to finish (or make a plan to finish) everything on our summer to do list. Zak and Daniel also watched back to school slide shows from their teachers and we did a few things to get ready for school to start on Monday. I also dealt with getting someone set up to powerwash our house and fence, our weekly produce delivery, our mortgage refinance and the plumber who was supposed to replace our toilet but the one we bought was broken so he has to come back next week to finish the job.

After a quick dinner, Adrian headed out to exchange a board game at his board game club and also exchange the broken toilet while I cleaned up from dinner and finished a few more things. When he got back, we walked Rocky and then played a few board games. We played our August game of Pandemic Legacy and we won, but just barely. Then we played Reef and Fort and I won both of them. We broke the games up with two episodes each of "Schitt's Creek" and "Parks & Rec." The boys finally got their update around 6:00, but it was really glitchy so the creater is fixing it and releasing a new version tomorrow. We got the boys down to bed around midnight and we followed soon after. 

Saturday (8/29) We slept in and had a lazy morning today. We did a few things around the house and then got ready to head to my brother's house for Vinnie's 4th birthday party. We had a nice time there, the kids played and the parents chatted. Vinnie loved opening his gifts and was super excited about the remote control dinosaur we got him and the new Pokemon stuff he got from his parents. We ate awesome food for dinner, including a delicious green funfetti cake that Sarah made. It was a fun day with family and we all enjoyed it!

When we got home, we took care of Rocky and then the boys headed upstairs to play some video games and Adrian and I played some board games. We played Wingspan and I won and then we played Roll for the Galaxy and Adrian finally won a game. Both games were close and we both played really well. We broke up the games by watching two episodes of "Parks & Rec" and one of "Schitt's Creek." We put the boys to bed at midnight like we've been doing each Saturday for the past six months. They are really hoping to continue that when school starts and I hope they aren't too tired from school and are able to stay up that late once a week too.

Sunday (8/30) It was our last day to sleep in for a while so we took advantage of it! After sleeping in, we hit the ground running trying to get everything done around the house. We got the boys all set up for school tomorrow including logging into their email accounts, classroom app accounts and setting up our control center. We also finally made our robot from our summer day camp from the Scouts. After working for a few hours, we took a break and headed out to Dairy Hut to get ice cream to celebrate the end of summer break. We decided we are going to continue going out for ice cream once per week because we're all really enjoying it!

When we got home, we played a game of Space Base together as a family and Zak kicked all of our butts! He did a great job setting up an engine and beat all of us pretty bad. When the game was over, the boys got a little bit more free time while Adrian and I worked around the house including making our own pickled banana peppers and dehydrated cayenne peppers. We worked most of the night only taking a break to watch "Series of Unfortunate Events" with the boys before getting them to bed early since it's a school night. We worked until about 10:00 and then watched two episodes of "Schitt's Creek" before heading to bed too. We have to get up early as well!

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Aug 23 - Aug 29)

We did a pretty great job sticking with our meal plan from last week and getting a handle on all of our leftovers. I didn't feel like cooking on Friday so we bumped that meal to this week and made sandwiches and finished up the salad that we made the day before. It was nice to have an easy week in the kitchen and I'm glad we were able to catch up on all of the food that was in our refridgerator without any of it going bad. I'm hoping we can keep a better handle on things going forward.

This week is an in between week. Last week was catching up after having a little vacation since we had family here and next week school starts for the boys so we will have a little bit more of a set schedule. This week we are finishing up all of summer projects and getting ready for school. We are also trying to squeeze in as much fun as we are able to. I'll be cooking most days this week and then starting next week we'll have a little bit more of a set schedule. I plan to do a set leftovers day every week going forward since we're not eating as much leftovers since Adrian is working from home. I'm also hoping to do a big meal on Sundays that can yield more meals during the week with less work.

We continue to get delicious fruits and veggies from our CSA and plan our meals around them. Again we fell behind a little bit on those and have a ton of stuff to use up before it goes bad. But we have a plan and should be fine to eat it all. We are turning towards more fall items so we'll have a lot of apples and squash coming up soon. The nice thing about those is that they last a long time so I won't need to focus on them as soon as I get them. We have been impressed with all of the produce again this year and I assume we'll be continuing with this CSA next year.

Here is what we're eating this week:

Sunday - Out (I'm going out with friends and Adrian will pick something up for himself)

Monday - Unstuffed Cabbage and Green Bean Salad

Tuesday - Tacos for the kids and Pork Fajitas for the adults

Wednesday - Hummus Crusted Chicken (using up the rest of my homemade hummus) and corn on the cob

Thursday - Pasta using up the rest of my homemade sauce and a Brussels Sprouts Salad

Friday - Steak on the grill and corn on the cob

Saturday - Leftovers

Water Flavor - One more week of pear flavored water to use up what I have. It's such a good flavor, I'll be sad not to have anymore. I'm sure I'll have it again in upcoming weeks.

Baking - We have friendship bread from last week so I don't think I'll be baking anything this week. We'll be getting donuts for the first day of school next week and I plan to make scones next weekend so I want to make sure we eat what I have already before getting any more baked goods.

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 8/14 - 8/20)

Friday (8/14) We did not sleep in as late as we would have liked today due to Rocky waking up with an upset stomach. We had some clean up to take care of because of that overnight. When Adrian and I got that under control, he headed upstairs to work and I started working around the house. I spent the whole day working on stuff around the house, including finishing all of the laundry, picking up prescriptions for Rocky and Adrian, getting one of our recliners fixed, and catching up on all of the things on my to do list from this past week. I was super productive and stayed focused all day, including thru dinner when we all had leftovers in an attempt to clean out the fridge.

After dinner, we headed out for our ice cream trip for the week. We went to Dairy Hut, which is a local place that has delicious ice cream treats. We all got different things and loved everything we got. The boys declared this the best ice cream place that we have been to all summer! We enjoyed our treats on the ride home and when we got there, we played a family game of Quick Cups and AJ beat us all. He is super good at that game!! When the game was over, we got snacks together and watched our family movie of the night which was Adrian's pick "Hugo." It was slow in parts but overall a very good movie. AJ really liked it (he had a pretty awesome day!) and we had a nice discussion after it as well. Then we got the boys to bed for the night, watched one episode of "Parks and Rec" and headed to bed too. It was a great family night to end this week!!

Saturday (8/15) We slept in this morning since I didn't have enough people registered for Zumba class today. After a week of feeling tired and off, I'm finally starting to feel better today. We have a busy weekend so we're not following our normal schedule of one day of fun and one day of work. Instead we are splitting the work and fun over both days. Today we started working on our to do lists right away this morning. We were really focused and got a ton done during the day. The boys were having an all fun day so they played and watched video games most of the afternoon. We stopped them around 5:00 and headed out to Red Robin to meet Adrian's parents for dinner. We had a nice dinner out and the food was delicious as always! When we got home, the boys went back to their video games while Adrian and I played a few board games. We played Sagrada, Lost Cities, Reef and Roll for the Galaxy and I won all four of the games! I've really been on a roll with winning games recently. We let the boys stay up until midnight while we played and broke up the games with episodes of "Schitt's Creek" & "Parks and Rec." It was a great day of both fun and work!

Sunday (8/16) We slept in a little again this morning and then got up and got breakfast and coffee and settled in on the couch to watch our church services. We've decided to just watch the services from home for a few more weeks to try to minimize our risks since we're taking some risks going out to other places. After church, we called the boys down and started on our weekly chores with them. They did a great job of getting everything done and helping us figure out a few things we need to do before school starts. Adrian and I got a few things done around the house and then took Rocky on a long walk before getting ready to head out for an early dinner. We were finally able to go to Cooper's Hawk to celebrate our birthdays and anniversary! We went and had a wine tasting first, then got appetizers for dinner. Everything was delicious and it was nice to get out and be alone for a few hours.

After we finished eating, we walked around Easton for a little bit and then headed home. We got the boys and Rocky their dinners and then played a new game that arrived while we were out to dinner. We played Fort which is super easy and cute, and finally ended my winning streak! After we finished the game, we called the boys down for their night routine. We watched the season finale of "Don't" together and then got them down to bed. Then Adrian and I watched two episodes of "Schitt's Creek" and also headed to bed. It was a pretty great weekend and I'm hoping to have an awesome week this week!

Monday (8/17) Back to our normal schedule today! We got up and moving and Adrian started working from our bedroom again for the week. I got the boys thru their morning stuff and then started working around the house. I was very productive and got a ton of stuff done around the house all day. I also ran out to start the grocery shopping for this week and made stops at Dollar Tree and Aldi to get us started. I still haven't found a great rhythm to our grocery shopping, this week I'm trying to do a little each day and I'll see how that works out for us. The day passed very quickly and before long it was time for me to get dinner together and get ready for our evening activities. I headed to the church to teach my Zumba class, the first one in 2 weeks! I had a great time but I was struggling to get thru it for sure. While I was there, Adrian took AJ to Scouts where he helped with an orienteering requirement for some of the younger Scouts. When we all got home, we cleaned up from the day and then started season 2 of "Lemony Snickett's Series of Unfortunate Events." It started better than season 1 so hopefully it improves over this season. After that, we put the boys to bed and watched two episodes of "Parks and Rec" before we also headed to bed. It was a good start to our week!

Tuesday (8/18) We got up and moving fairly quickly this morning, Adrian headed to work upstairs and the rest of us headed out to Zoombeezi Bay for the afternoon. The boys and I had a great time for our last day there before they close for the season. We rode all of the big slides and Zak finally got over his fear and rode the Cyclone & Big Boa Falls and loved them both. The waves in the wave pool were also on for most of the time we were there which was rare this season so we spent a lot of time playing in there as well. We were at the park for just over 3 hours and had a great time! We'll be heading back one more time next week for their bonus night event.

When we got home, we all took showers and then I relaxed a bit before making tacos for everyone for dinner. Then I headed out to teach my last Aqua Zumba class for the summer. We had some new people join us tonight and everyone had a great time dancing in the pool and then hanging out and chatting after class. It did get a little chilly after a while, but we were able to get a lot of time in the water which was great. When I got home, we took Rocky on a quick walk and then I was ready to collapse from being so tired. So we got ready for family movie night and watched Daniel's pick of "Scoob." It was very cute and everyone really enjoyed it. When it was over, we got the boys to bed and then Adrian and I watched two episodes of "Schitt's Creek" and then headed to bed too.

Wednesday (8/19) Adrian and I were up and moving early and thankfully the boys slept in a little bit. Adrian got Rocky thru her morning routine and dropped her off at daycare for the day. I got started on some stuff around the house, including taking a Zumba Step class with another instructor and recording a Zumba Toning for my students. It was a busy day and it passed quickly with me being super productive around the house and the boys finishing a few things on our summer to do list including another puzzle. After I picked Rocky up from daycare, we had an early dinner together before we split up for our evening activities.

Adrian and the boys headed out first to a church youth group event at Hannah Park. Our youth group hosted a fun scavenger hunt/challenge at the park so the boys went to check it out. It was technically only for the older boys but Zak tagged along and had a great time too. Their team came in second place in the challenge and they all came home with some fun snacks for their efforts! While they were there, I headed to the church to work for an hour and then to Giant Eagle to pick up a few more groceries. When we all got home, the boys had some free time, Adrian finished up some work from the afternoon and I cleaned up from the day and baked our next batch of Amish friendship bread. We all finished up and watched the new documentary on Netflix about video games called "Game Over" before getting the boys to bed. Then Adrian and I watched two more episodes of "Parks and Rec" before we also headed to bed for the night.

Thursday (8/20) I was up and moving super early this morning because I had my annual physical this morning. Everything looks good and my doctor said to just watch my weight and try to increase my activity levels. When my appointment was over, I headed to Meijer to pick up a few things and then came home to start the day here. I was very productive around the house while Adrian worked at home and the boys enjoyed some video game time. We did a few more things on their summer to do list and were all very productive all day. The day passed quickly and before I knew it, it was time for dinner and to get ready for our night activities. 

I headed to the church to teach a super fun Zumba class and then to Kroger to pick up the final groceries for the week. While I was there, Adrian cleaned up from dinner and set up a board game for us to play as a family. We played "Fortnight Monopoly" which was someone's choice from a few weeks ago that we finally had a chance to play. It's a super fun game and AJ finally won a game! He's been on a rough streak of losing every game we play so I'm glad that he finally won a game. After the game, we watched another episode of "Series of Unfortunate Events" and then got the boys to bed. We got our snacks and watched two episodes of "Schitt's Creek" before we followed them up to bed.

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Aug 16 - Aug 22)

 

I'm back to meal planning! I accidentally took two weeks off from planning, oops. There were two main reasons why I haven't posted. First, my parents were here visiting for some of that time so I didn't have a lot of free time to write the posts. Second I didn't really cook last week since we had help the first few days of the week, then I had a ton of leftovers for the middle of the week and finally we went out both nights of the weekend. There wasn't really any meal planning last week, which was fine with me because I think I needed the break.

Unfortunately taking a break from meal planning also meant taking a break from eating healthy. I noticed last week that I felt sluggish most of the week and had a headache on and off all week too. I know how bad I feel when I don't eat enough fruits and veggies and drink enough water but I still just keep doing it. I'm writing it out (again) in hopes of it finally sinking in and me staying on the right path for the remainder of the year. Adrian and I were talking the other day and we have very little planned for the next few months. We'll be virtually schooling the boys so that will be our main focus. We aren't traveling and probably won't have anyone here for Thanksgiving. We're planning on staying focused on eating well for 6 days each week for the next 4 months, at least!

This is another weird week since we still have a ton of leftovers to eat. We debated what to do but since we also have a lot of lettuce and cabbage, we're going to eat smaller portions of the leftovers with salads for about half of the days this week and then I will cook the other days. We're really trying to empty our fridge this week and then start fresh after the weekend. We tend to have a lot more leftovers right now because Adrian isn't eating lunch everyday during the week, he often gets busy working and just works right thru it. I'm definitely going back to having a built in leftovers day on our meal plan to make sure we're keeping them under control and not wasting any food. Since half the week is leftovers, I'll share some of my favorite recipes over the past 2 weeks that we'll be eating this week as well.

Here's what we're eating this week:

Sunday - Out to dinner at Cooper's Hawk to use our birthday rewards

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Taco Tuesday - beef for the boys & chicken fajitas for us

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Asian Cabbage Salad with Shrimp and Roasted Kohlrabi

Friday - Unstuffed Cabbage with Corn on the Cob

Saturday - Leftovers after a full day at the zoo

Some of our recipes over the past two weeks that we've been enjoying as leftovers too:

Mushroom Pork Chops

Roasted Beets & Sweets

Sausage & Spinach Lasagna

Cheesy Lasagna

Buckeye Bars

Beet Hummus

Chicken Fried Rice - I've made this twice using different veggies to use up some of our CSA veggies. It's delicious, filling and easy to make. It will probably be on our rotation on a regular basis!

Water Flavor - Pear. I still have a few pears left from the abudance I received a few months ago so I'm trying to use what I can of those in my water. I've had to throw a few away, just too many for me to eat or use up!

Baking - I've gotten more adventurous with my Amish Friendship Bread baking and we've been having that most weeks right now. I did a lemon blueberry one and a chocolate salted caramel one. This week I'm making a chocolate mint one. I may go back to different baking at some point, but this is really easy right now since I don't have to think about what to make. We are also pickling our own banana peppers this week using peppers we got from our CSA. This isn't really baking, but I don't have anywhere else to put it so it's going here. This is our first attempt at this so I'm hoping it turns out OK. We plan to use them for salads and sandwiches over the next few months. 

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 8/7 - 8/13)

Friday (8/7) We all slept in again today and were feeling refreshed after taking yesterday off. We hung out around the house in the morning and I got a few things done. Then after a quick lunch, the boys, my mom and I headed out to Utica to meet up with Carl, Sarah, Isabelle and Vinnie. We met at Legend Hills farm to pick some peaches and do some shopping in their store. I was a little disappointed in the peaches, but I know this is a hard year for the harvest since we had frosts so late in the year. We picked a box full of peaches, most of them are not ripe yet so we'll have them for a while.After we finished picking peaches, we headed down the road to Ye Olde Mill for some Velvet ice cream. My mom treated us all to our scoops of the delicious ice cream which we enjoyed outside in their patio area. After we finished eating, the kids played on the play structures that they have there and Vinnie had a blast running around with "the boys." After they played for a while, we took some pictures and then headed back home. We stopped at Dollar Tree on our way home to stock up on snacks for our trip to the drive in later this weekend.When we got home, the boys played video games while we got dinner together. Adrian grilled a delicious london broil on the grill and I made a green bean salad and some air fried potatoes. After dinner, my mom and the boys finished up the Peanuts puzzle they have been working on and then we played "The Mind." We took Rocky on a nice long walk and then cleaned up from dinner. After the busy day, we decided to watch the new "Muppets Show" and then get the boys to bed a little early. Then Adrian and I watched two episodes of "Parks and Rec" before we all headed to bed for the night. 

Saturday (8/8) We all slept in a bit since my Zumba class didn't have enough people preregistered this morning. When we all did get up and moving, we started getting the house ready for company. Adrian and the boys cleaned up the back yard while my mom and I worked in the kitchen. I made a big pot of gravy and 2 trays of lasagna plus 3 desserts for later today. We got everything done by around noon and then just hung out for the day. Carl, Sarah and the kids came over in the afternoon to hang out for the day. The adults chatted while the kids played pretty much all day. We ate a ton of delicious food including a variety of dips for appetizers, lasagna for dinner and desserts. After dinner, most of us played a fun game of "Just One" while Sarah and I relaxed on the couches. After they left, the boys wanted their normal Saturday night of staying up until midnight so we let them do that while we checked out a new to us show "Schitt's Creek." We thought it was funny but need to give it a few episodes to grow on us. After two episodes of that, it was midnight so we got the boys down to bed and headed to bed too. It was a great family day!!

Sunday (8/9) I was up super early this morning to meet some of my girlfriends to walk a 5K. We found the Wine 5K a few weeks ago and knew we had to do it together. It was early to get up and moving, but the time flew by and it was fun to walk and chat with the ladies. And I surprised everyone with a little bottle of wine at the finish line! It was a great way to start the day! When I got home, everyone was still asleep so I took Rocky out and got her thru her morning routine. By the time we got back from a long morning walk, I was sweaty and exhausted and it was too late to go to church in person. So I got online and watched it from my living room instead. It was a great kick off to a new sermon and I'm so excited to have a new lead pastor to learn from!!After church, we got a few things done around the house then we taught my mom two new games. She played Zaul with me and Adrian and I won, but we were all really close in score. Then Daniel came down and the 4 of us played Sushi Go and I won again. It was a fun afternoon of being a little productive and a little lazy. After a quick dinner of burgers and hot dogs, we got all of our snacks and drinks together and headed to the drive in for the night. We stayed for both movies, "Kung Fu Panda" and "The Karate Kid." I didn't remember most of either movie so even though I'd seen them both before, it felt like 2 new movies. The boys also really enjoyed both movied. It was super late when we got home, so Adrian took care of Rocky while I got the boys down for the night. After playing with Rocky for a bit, we all headed to bed for the night exhausted.

Monday (8/10) We got a good night of sleep, but had to get up earlier than any of us wanted to this morning because the boys and I had eye doctor appointments. We got up and moving and were all cranky as we headed out the door, but thankfully we were on time. We all had our check ups and everyone's eyes are doing great, no one needed glasses again this year except me and my eyes are actually improving a little each year. After we finished at the eye doctor, we headed to run a few errands and then came home. While we were out, my mom made her famous chicken parmesan for us to have an easy dinner tonight.

The afternoon passed quickly and most of us were really tired all day. My mom played video games with AJ and worked on the puzzle with all 3 boys. Adrian worked all day and finished up around 5:00 so we could all have dinner together. We were planning to go play mini golf, but we saw how exhausted everyone was and decided that was not our best option. So instead we went on a nice long walk with Rocky, then came home and played a new game to all of us called "Farkle." We had a great time playing and laughed a lot, especially when any of us got "hot dice!" After I won that game, we made our own ice cream sandwiches and then watched the second episode of the new "Muppet Show" since my mom wanted to see that. When that was over, the boys really wanted to watch "Holey Moley" so we watched that together too and then all 5 of us headed to bed. It was a fun day, but I wish we weren't all so tired!

Tuesday (8/11) We all slept in today and it felt great! Adrian got Rocky thru his morning stuff and then headed upstairs to work. The rest of us had a lazy morning and then my mom got ready to head back home later today. She played one more game of "Just One" with the boys and they worked on the puzzle a little longer. Then in the early afternoon we all said so long and I dropped her at the airport. I'm glad she was able to come and visit, I just wish things weren't so hard right now with this pandemic but I know it's not going to last forever.

After dropping her off at the airport, I ran to the library to pick up a bunch of things we had reserved and then came back home to make tacos for everyone for dinner. I was supposed to teach Aqua Zumba tonight but we all forgot about it and didn't publicize it so no one signed up and we cancelled it. It's hard to keep up with everything when family is here! After dinner, we cleaned up and took Rocky for a nice long walk before settling down to watch a movie as a family. We had a ton of leftovers from the drive in Sunday night so I put them all out on the table and we watched "October Sky." It was recommended by Scouts from our day camp and we all really enjoyed it. After the movie, the boys headed to bed and Adrian and I watched another 2 episodes of "Schitt's Creek" which is growing on both of us before we also headed up to bed.

Wednesday (8/12) We slept in a little today and then got up and moving. Adrian took Rocky to daycare and then came back and headed upstairs to work for the day. I got to work around the house on all of the stuff that I have been igorning for the past week or so while we had company here. I got the boys thru some of their stuff as well. It was a very productive day for all of us and it passed very quickly. I got a ton done before I headed out to pick up Rocky who had an amazing day at daycare playing in their new outdoor area. She came home exhausted as she always does on a Wednesday. After a quick dinner for all of us, I headed to the church to work for an hour tonight while Adrian did his Zoom Bible study meeting. When we were all done for the night, we took Rocky on a walk and cleaned up from dinner. Then we finally watched the final episode of "The Floor is Lava" with the boys. We all really enjoyed this show and hope they do another season of it! After getting the boys to bed, Adrian and I watched two episodes of "Parks and Rec" and then headed to bed too. It wasn't a super exciting day, but it was a much needed work day after tons of days off.

Thursday (8/13) We slept in again and are starting to feel like we are getting back to normal, or whatever normal is these days. Adrian headed to work for the day while the boys and I packed up and headed to Zoombeezi Bay for a few hours. It was super hot but we decided to power thru because we only have a few days left to go to the Bay before our membership expires. The boys played in the wave pool, we did a few laps in the lazy river, rode some of the bigger slides and had a great time for the three hours we were there. As it got hotter and a little more crowded, we decided to call it a day and head home. We really prefer shorter and frequent trips instead of one or two really long trips.

When we got home, we all took showers and then the boys played video games while I did a few things around the house. I was pretty worn out from all the outside fun but I managed to get a few things done before having leftovers for dinner. After everyone had dinner, we took Rocky for a nice long walk and then came home to clean up from the day. Then the boys played a game of "Forbidden Island" with Adrian and it didn't go well. There was lots of fighting and short patience and they didn't win the game. After they were finished playing, we watched "Holey Moley" as a family and then got the boys to bed for the night. Then Adrian and I watched an episode of "Schitt's Creek" before also headed to bed for the night.