July 22nd-28th

(7/22) Work day for Dad and me, and Sarah had the herd at my house.  They played lots of games and had a really smooth day.  We had a really nice evening too - very peaceful. 

The littles were taking selfies

(7/23) Well harrumph!  It is not supposed to pour when we have plans to go to the beach!  We were all bummed, but happily got all our stuff together to have a rainy day picnic at Nana's house!  We brought pot-luck items and I made the mistake of mentioning that there are usually brownies at Nana's, so Nana got conned into making them.  Sorry, not sorry, Nana!  The kiddos played lots of games and we stayed super late.  Came home, had dinner/baths/bedtime all squished in there and then collapsed.

Auntie Bridgette sent us tons of games to play ~ thank you!!!

Backyard picnic fun ❤

(7/24)  Work day for me and Dad had the kids.  Dad got everyone in the car and went off to the girls' visit, but missed the call that it was cancelled.  They attempted to reconvene at another spot to visit with our social worker, but that didn't pan out, so it was a lot of driving and traffic and hassle for a cone at McD's.  Big let down for the girls, again.  Everyone was pretty antsy by the time I got home, so it was a lot of finely managed chaos until bed. 

Deedles

Watching Star Wars.  The right way.

(7/25) Work day for Dad and me, and Sarah had the kiddos.  The middles were oh-so-grouchy today, which made for a fun day for all. Sarah said she kicked them all outside with orders to GO PLAY.  Harsh.  My book club was tonight, but after working all day and trying to figure out who was watching the kids, my brain fried and I decided to stay home.  Tonight was good, and was what we all needed. 

Beaver Pond @ Lord Hill

(7/26) I took the littles out to do some work in the yard and our social worker appeared.  He visited with us and caught up with the girls.  I'll restate the obvious and say foster care is hard.  Not just on the kiddos, but on all of us.  I kept working outside and eventually the middles wandered out to play too.  They requested a picnic.  I guess "breakfast sandboxes" weren't quite enough.  After our picnic, there was more play time and then it was time for nap for the littles.  I put them down and then came back out to do battle with the sticker bushes.  Our girl created a clubhouse in the back yard, complete with welcome mat, and C worked on his Legos.  Once the littles woke up, I decided we needed ice cream, so we piled in the car and went on a few errands and totally ate ice cream right before dinner.  Don't tell anyone. The on-again off-again slumber party appeared to be a go for the night, so the teen left after dinner for that.  I can't even pretend to keep up with that group. 

Selfies with Mom

(7/27) Today I took the middles out hiking with Sarah and family.  We stopped at Starbucks and then decided to congregate at Nana's after for an afternoon of lazing, tree-climbing and grass gathering. Dad took them out ice skating in the evening while I got the littles in the bath and caught up with the teen.


(7/28) Happy Monday!  Today is the only day I'll be working this week, and I have a lot of stuff planned for us.  Hoping for good weather and a lot of fun!