We went to our friends house after the pool…and this is what happened. We then made them put the devices away and go to the park.
Category Archives: Owen
Six Flags, y’all.
So we decided to bring the kids today as a special treat and they were super duper excited but—as honestly expected—they didn’t want to go on one damn ride. So Tom walked around with them and I went on rides by my damn self. (I had to put my hair up because I knew it would get crazy on the rides.)
No waiting was the theme of the day. The first ride wasn’t even full. (When I posted this on Facebook, a few friends thought it said margarita hangover which I think is a much better name.)
None of the trains were even full.
This was the perfect day for this. You could literally walk up to most any ride and get right on. NO WAIT. Lather, rinse, repeat as often as you want to. Of course it would’ve been even better had I been able to ride with Tom. (And technically, we could have left the kids while we rode it—especially since there was really no wait—but I’m pretty sure Tom is an old fuddy duddy at this point and doesn’t really want to go on them anyway.)
I’ve started to lose count of all the rides that I’ve been on. But I have taken pictures. And I know my favorites. This is not one.
This. This was my favorite. New. Steel. Smooth as silk. Twists, turns, loops. It was a thing of beauty.
And then I finally caught up to where they had stopped to wait for a ride. This was the one that they decided they would go on. I’m so glad I spent $70 on a season pass for each of them for this. Granted, they did go on it about five times each…
I went on one more while we waited for them.
So, this teacup-style ride was one I was looking forward to because Owen and Katie had both gone on it before, they liked it, and said they would go on it again. Guess who decided they didn’t want to go on it?
So the only other ride that both of the kids agreed to go on? The carousel. HOW ARE THESE MY KIDS?! At least I know we’ll save money next year because there’s no way in hell I’m getting season passes again.
The first day of 2nd and 5th!
Long story short, the school schedules all got mixed around this year. Owen used to have to get on the bus at 7:35am (which was perfect because he wakes up around six and he can get himself completely ready all by himself). And then when he was leaving the house at 7:30, I was waking Katie up if she wasn’t already up (which, more often than not, she was still sleeping) to get her on the bus at 8:20.
This year…Katie has to get on the bus at 7:25am…and Owen doesn’t need to get on the bus until 8:50!! Katie has a little bit harder time getting ready on her own (showering and washing her hair) so I have to get up with her—which means I actually have to set an alarm for the first time in two years. At 6am. YUCK.
I had no idea what to expect, but the morning went well. Katie was up by 6:15 and was ready in plenty of time to take first day of school pics. (I did find out after-the-fact that she skipped breakfast so that was a bit of a fail but other than that it went well.)
Usually I take sibling photos right before they get on the bus but Owen had to get dressed quick before she left because he had another hour and a half to wait.
On his way up to shower, he told Katie “If you have to leave before I get out, I love you!” (All together now…AWWWW!) He managed to shower and get dressed before she left for the bus, so he’s now in his first day outfit. Plus he wanted to go to the bus stop with her (and to see Enzo).
And then it was back to the house to waste an hour and a half before his bus.
And with neighbor and friend Nate at the bus stop:
And the official Facebook photo!
Meeting the teachers!
We have heard all great things about both kids teachers so we’re very excited for the school year. (Good friends of ours told us that they would take Owen’s teacher for every grade from here on out!)
Katie’s was first thing in the morning. If you can believe it, she was super shy. Like SUPER shy.
Owen’s was in the afternoon. He was only somewhat shy. But he was most excited to check out all the names on the desks to make sure that his least favorite classmate from last year was not in his class (she wasn’t).
And then it was off to his first band lesson—a super quick half hour of how to put the saxophone together and make some noise. There were probably 25 kids just for sax alone! Our fingers are crossed that he doesn’t hate it.
Passport photos…or mugshots?
So we didn’t have to take the kids out of school to get their passports done, today was pretty much the last day to do it. Tom even took the day off work (twist his arm!) because both parents have to be there and I didn’t want to fill out anymore paperwork (this means he could go to both kids meet the teacher events, too).
Both kids have great smiles in all of their photos, these mug shot photos are killing me.
I made Owen practice taking pictures.
After seeing some of the crazy (bad) pictures that Owen took with the camera recently, I sent him on a mission to take pictures of things around the house just to make sure he coul actually get something in the frame. These are two he took of Katie that I thought were funny.
18 years!
Wow. Eighteen years (22 if you count since day one). And there’s no one I’d rather have by my side in this crazy thing called life. 💕
So, we weren’t planning on doing anything to celebrate, then we realized today was our golden anniversary (18th on the 18th). So we decided to take the kids to The Chocolate Sanctuary for a chocolate fountain!!
She wanted to lick the plate!
2nd Annual Back-to-school BBQ waterslide party!
We had so much fun last year we decided to do it again!!
The kids were very intrigued when Tom started using the blow torch on the ribs.
It took awhile but by the end of the night, some dads (and one mom—not me!) went down the slide. Which led us to wonder how on Earth these kids could do this non-stop… The adults got tired after just a few times. 😄
And then it was over…the cleanup aftermath. And we can’t wait until next year!!
Surprise! They delivered it early!!
We thought the slide was going to be delivered Saturday morning…so the kids were thrilled that it came early!
Pushing at another playground playdate
Popsicles with the principal.
One of the back-to-school events…
Owen took over pushing the swing and then Katie joined as well. He had a blast.
I JUST CANNOT EVEN.
So this is what I walked downstairs to see this morning after the kids left to go out and ride their bikes. AYFKM?! 🤬 So when I ran into them on my walk, they had to go home and take care of it all and then stop they were doing and go on my walk with me.
F***ing cat.
Free ice cream!
Since they got their rooms finished (FINALLY) we headed to the pool and stopped by the orthodontist who was having a free ice cream day. I was good and didn’t get one.
Room cleaning drama, day 2.
Today started rough but in the end, I think we all got on the same page.
So they knew that today they were going to have to continue and I was going to ask them again to make their bed and put everything left on the floor on their bed.
So I literally stood outside in the hallway between their two bedrooms to keep prodding them.
When I say put everything from the floor on the bed, I mean it. Don’t put anything away. Don’t play with anything. Don’t try to leave the room. Literally put every piece of everything from the floor onto the bed.
Okay, now… Katie, pull out all the Barbies. No not the clothes. No not the Legos. The Barbies. Not the garbage. No! Not the stuffed animals. The Barbies. Okay, now the clothes and just the clothes. No not the Legos. One thing at a time. One thing. Clothes.
Owen, you pick out socks and underwear. Just socks and underwear. No! Don’t put them away. Get all of them first. You dropped one, pick it up. I see more socks. Dig through everything on the bed.
Katie, are you done? Now do stuffed animals. Good. Now crayons and pencils. Put them in your art basket. No, don’t do Legos. Just pencils. Don’t touch anything else.
Owen, now do Pokémon cards. Move stuff around and find them all. No don’t set them there. Put. Them. Away. You have a Pokémon card box. Use it.
Katie! Just crayons and pencils. In the art box, not on your bedside table…
Left, right, left, right, left right. The ping pong match from hell. An hour later it was passable.
We were up there so long Maggie even joined us…and napped!
Their reward for keeping their rooms clean? The Amazon dots they’ve spied in my room. Their rooms get too messy? Unplugged and removed. Easy.
Wish us all luck.
Room cleaning drama, day 1!
Unfortunately it was back to normal life post-vacation so it was time for the kids to clean their rooms. So I told them they had to clean their rooms. Multiple times. They couldn’t concentrate for more than a few minutes before stopping to play or getting otherwise sidetracked. I started to lose my mind.
👩🏻 You guys have to clean your rooms.
👫 …
An hour later.
👩🏻 You guys have to clean your rooms and Katie remember you wanted to finish your library reading to earn the prize.
👫 …
An hour later.
👩🏻 You guys need to finish your rooms. Katie you have to read that book.
👫…
Katie: Can I have a snack?
Owen: Can we go to the pool?
Katie: Can I go to Sophia’s?
Owen: Can we have the dots in our rooms?
👩🏻: 😳🤯🤬 You do understand that I’ve been asking you to do the same thing all day right? And you haven’t done any of it yet?
Katie reads for 5 minutes and Owen reads for 10. They go back to playing.
👩🏻 Hey guys, take a quick sweep around and pick up everything that’s yours and put it away.
👫 (They pick up one or two things and go back to playing.)
Lather, rinse, repeat three times. I warn them that the garbage will be the next stop. This is NOT a new thing.
Guess all the shit I threw away? Shoes, notebooks with drawings, water balloons, Legos, stuffed animals, beads, figurines…
I’m currently waiting for hell to break out when they discover it.
So, accountability time, folks.
Remember me saying I was trying to lose weight…again? Well, things went SMASHINGLY well for 2+ weeks and I lost almost 20# (I think it was 17). YES, THAT MUCH. I was feeling motivated. I was being strong. I was surviving without margaritas. I knew I could do it.
And then.
A minor slip up—one drink with a friend to celebrate a reunion. And then another minor slip up—an extra piece of pizza at my kids’ birthday pool party that I ate without even thinking. And then honestly I kind of lost track after that because…summer, friends, BBQs, late nights, kids being away, vacation, etc. And I wasn’t as strong as I thought I was so I gained 16 of those 17 back and could just kick myself.
This Monday I was back at it again. Because I know I can do this. I have to do this. I worked too hard the first time around to let myself slip farther.
I’m down a few so far this week. It’s better than going up so I’m thrilled. Now I only have *cough*grumble*cough* more to go. 😂
Who wants to be my accountability buddy since this crazy kid is a good walking partner but not much help otherwise…?! 😂
Sidenote: Owen and I might have the same size shoes!
Owen’s bucket list: the raft!
Owen really wanted to go out to the raft in the middle of the harbor but Grannie and Papa were afraid to let him do it on his own because they wouldn’t be able to help him at all. I wouldn’t have had a problem with him going but they wanted to wait until Tom was there. Tom did agree to go out with him…even knowing full well that it was freezing cold water. So here is their experience.
Tom was ready to stop right here—that water is COLD—but he agreed, so…
We had one happy boy!!
And one cold daddy.
Who deserved a beer!
Lay’s Smiles!
These kids crack me up. Grannie Lin thought they were so creative coming up with this…until they showed her the back of the bag that suggests doing it. 😂 I need to teach them to not share the secrets!! 🤫
Centennial party time!
Y’all know I love a good before and after! And if they tell me it’s formal, you can be damn sure my tiara is coming out!! (We were celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Agate Harbor Land Pool.)
Time for pics since we were all dressed up!
Owen didn’t even know this was on his bucket list until we got here and discovered Liam is a distant cousin. He was giddy. Don’t feel bad is you have no idea, either—I don’t do sportsball so I had no idea either…but it’s Liam McHugh.
He is a sports announcer for NBC Sports coverage of the NHL as well as Notre Dame Fighting Irish football and the NFLNBC Sunday Night Football. He is also perhaps the face of NBC Sports Network, anchoring much of its staple programming, including the NHL, Tour De France, college football, college basketball and the Premier League.
Who?! 😂 It’s okay, it made me feel like I was 14 again (which is the age I last saw some of these people)!
At the top of the world…in Michigan!
We took the kids up Brockway Mountain today. The bonus? Better WiFi!!
Pontoon ride + camera = Captain Owen
Time to kayak!
Papa and Grannie bought Katie a smaller kayak so she could do it herself…but for now she was still tethered to Grannie. Owen does really well in the bigger kayak!
Swimming with Papa
A quick trip next door to go swimming off the dock…
Katie didn’t feel like swimming today.
I left them there and went home. Imagine my surprise when I looked out and saw this:
So I ran out to get a better pic, though he was still pretty far out.
Time for mini golf!
Len Christmas in July, Year 6
I’m not sure we have enough crap for one day.
See? It really is Christmas!
When you learn awesome party tricks from your elders: Tequila-infused watermelon with salted limes. Aunt Rose, you rock!
The annual cousin lineup, by age: 7, 10½, 11, 12 (almost 13), 14 (almost 15).
And Nick is pulling away, which is okay since he is almost five years older!!
Adding older cousin Alex (17) to the mix (Jess was working).
I introduced Lisa to a few new products.
Unfortunately, it was a stormy day so we had to dodge rain and lightning for most of the afternoon…but, on the plus side, it wasn’t 100° with 95% humidity! My hair kinda grew throughout the day.
There was a fishing contest… Aubrey is a Master Fisher so she helped my kids. I was surprised at how long they kept at it! (Of course Tom was out there, too.)
Darrell caught the biggest one:
And then this happened…
Someone started the cooties!! (I think that will be a blog post in itself!) So for the last two hours we all had to keep our fingers crossed! We reminisced about the old days and learned Greg still has what it takes!
The big bummer? Lisa and Alex left pretty early and with the rain throwing things off, we totally forgot to take our group photo!
This is about where we’re at already today.
We’ve already reached this point today because we’re trying to pack for a vacation. 🤦🏻♀️🤯
They’re whining that they can’t find stuff…but they won’t put their dirty clothes in the hamper, won’t put their clean clothes away, or do their laundry. And even though I’ve asked 21 times, the same crap is still on the floor and I’m still stepping on it and over it.
I just keep thinking about the light at the end of the tunnel…the kids will be gone for TWO WEEKS with their grandparents. 🙌🏻🙌🏻
So sweet and peaceful…
Goodbye pics!
The story behind the biggest and best birthday present ever.
So let me preface this announcement by asking if you remember what one of my business goals was? Anyone? Bueller?
Yes, it was a family cruise. (I think I specifically said Disney, but realistically any cruise would suffice.) And we hoped the grandparents would tag along—I mean, what a great experience for the kids, right? And we’d all get an amazing vacation where no one has to cook or clean, we all get to relax and have fun with the kids, and hopefully escape some yucky Midwest weather.
So we forewarned the grandparents (they weren’t quite as excited as we were but they promised to think about it) and let our travel agent know we were looking for a good deal on a cruise. But then life takes over and you don’t think about it and time passes and you know that if you don’t actively engage, nothing will ever happen. And then something happens out of the blue and before you know it, you have put down a deposit on a cruise and it’s convenient to wait a few days to tell the kids after their party!
So what happened in an instant? New friends of ours (from baseball) that we’ve been hanging around with (and the kids love) were talking about a cruise they’re going on this fall. And not having any idea that a family cruise was actually in the back of our minds, she (possibly mostly in jest) said “You guys should come with us!” So I took a breath and said “You know, that might just work!”
It was the cruise line we just went on last year (almost the same ship, too) so that was a plus. A quick check of the calendar and with Tom (who pretty much gave an immediate and unequivocal YES!), and a few quick messages with our travel agent…and the cruise was booked! (Our TA even said he’s never booked a cruise that fast before!)
Long multiple-day story short, my dad and stepmom decided to go, too, so that’s awesome and we’re super excited. (We really tried to convince my mom and stepdad to go but weren’t successful.)
In the meantime, Tom started watching YouTube videos about the ship, pretending we were just showing the kids examples of cruises. We reaffirmed that we would be going on a cruise before we moved again, but that still left us two years.
We honestly didn’t think too much about how we were going to tell them, so after the party I rushed to the basement and cobbled together a card with the cruise info on it so they’d read it and hopefully we’d get a great video reaction.
Well, as usual, things didn’t go quite as we’d thought…