Summer -- Week 10

We wrapped up our visit to Colorado on Tuesday.  But, first I accompanied my Mom to Akron.  She had to go to a meeting and I got to see Paula for a couple hours.  We had a great morning at the coffee shop with our glue and drinks in hand.  Glue, you may ask?  We were busy finishing the gluing for locker decorations.  My die-cutting machine came in super handy and with a few emails back and forth, we came up with this design.

The message on the black rectangle can be changed whenever and can be quotes, pictures, or whatever is needed for inspiration that week.  The red volleyballs can have one of six volleyball action words on them to best represent each girl's position.  And, numbers will go on the blue volleyballs once their uniforms are handed out.  It was fun to design!

RJ and Ry spent Monday with Grandpa.  He took them to Panera at their request.  What a good sport!  We spent our time remaining there hanging out at the house.  We enjoyed one last visit with the M girls and their Mom, building Legos, and taking over the living room.

We got home Tuesday night/Wednesday morning around 1:30.  Everyone was in pajamas and in bed by 1:45.  The kids took naps on the way to the airport, but didn't try nodding off again until about 5 minutes before we pulled into the garage.  We slept in until around 9:30 Wednesday morning.  The kids were back on East Coast time as soon as they woke up, but it took me a couple days.

A couple nights ago, the kids already had on their pajamas and were waiting on me to put them to bed.  I washed my face and brushed my teeth and came out of the bathroom to find them taking selfies.  That's not unusual for Ryleigh, but I don't see many selfies of RJ in the photo stream, so I thought I should save one since it is so rare.

Jip should get home later this week.  We're all looking forward to seeing him again.  This underway hasn't been particularly long, but it has FELT long.  He has overnight duty one day over the long weekend, but then that should be it for September.  Yay!

Also on the agenda this week is BrickHeadZ camp for RJ, open houses at both of the kiddos' schools, and haircuts.  Based on RJ's selfie, haircuts should probably move up to a higher priority on the agenda.

Until next time, cheers!

Summer -- Week 9

The kids and I headed to Colorado on Tuesday.  The kids are my travel troopers!  I had my alarm set for 3:15 am.  I had actually been awake since 2:30, so I was up quickly when the alarm went off.  I quietly went into the bathroom and started getting ready.  Within a couple minutes, I had two kiddos already dressed and proclaiming their desire to go.  We were to the airport in plenty of time.  RJ slept on the first flight.  Ryleigh slept on the second flight.  They were my good travelers.  

We've had a fun week so far.  We've spent some good time with my parents and the Linnenburgers.  We got to hit the splash pad at Spring Canyon Park on Wednesday.

On Thursday, we went bowling.  The kids had a great time and I think the adults enjoyed the competition and using a few different muscles than they are used to.

We got together for lunch with Stacy and Zoya on Friday, which was great!  It was so nice to see the Mosman girls, even if Zoya and Ryleigh didn't show that in the photo we took.

I made a quick run to Denver to see Torrie during a two hour break she had between kiddo soccer games.  It was great to catch up, but it was way too short!

While we have been having fun, Jip has been working hard at sea, helping keep the ship running smoothly.  One of the reasons the ship is out right now is that the Navy is testing the carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter on GW.  There were lots of great pictures, but these are a few of my favorites of the crazy-looking plane.

We head back to Virginia on Tuesday and start preparing ourselves mentally for school to start.  As always, pics to come.  Until next time, cheers!

Summer -- Week 8

We sent Jip on his merry way again this week.  The sailors had to be the ship Wednesday night, but they didn't leave until Thursday.  So, the kids and I got to wave to them as they went by Thursday afternoon.

Soon after the ship made it over the tunnel, an LCAC came breezing by.  That was fun to see.  And hear.  Man, was it loud!

We wrapped up swimming lessons this week.  It was a successful week for both kiddos.  They both have a few more skills to master before moving to the next level, but as long as we can get into a pool a few times this winter, I think we'll be able to stay on track.

Over the weekend we went to Jump with our neighbors and the usual Ninja Zone.  The rest of the time, we stayed hunkered down in the a/c thanks to heat indexes of 114 degrees.  It was so crazy hot.

This week the kids and I head to Colorado for a week in Fort Collins.  We're looking forward to the trip and catching up with a few people while we are there.  As always, pics to come.

Until next time, cheers!

Summer -- Week 7

We started swimming lessons again.  Despite Ryleigh's reluctance to swim for someone else one more time this summer, she's been enjoying classes.  RJ has been making some improvement, too--and both he and I are thrilled.  We also enjoyed the pool on our own on Wednesday and Friday.  

All of the pool time in Mexico plus lessons led to swimmer's ear for Ryleigh. Thankfully we caught it early and we were able to see her pediatrician right away, so it hadn't become too painful.  

The rest of the week was pretty low key.  On Saturday, I capitalized on tax-free back-to-school stuff during an afternoon of shopping and errands.  RJ had another good class at Ninja Zone and Ryleigh is enjoying being pushed a little harder in gymnastics

We wrap up swimming lessons this week and bid Jip good-bye for a few weeks.  The upcoming underway time should have some exciting stuff, so as long as the ship's public affairs officer gets those pictures shared, I'll share a couple here.

Until next time, cheers!