June

 

I love June! The beginning of summer where everything is so exciting and we are just loving the warm weather and the freedom that summer break gives us! We started off our summer fast and furious. We have been playing all summer and have had so much fun! It’s been full of lots of swimming, playing with friends, spending time outside, and just hanging out together!

One of the sweetest parts of our summer have been our cousin swim days. We always look forward to our Saturday swim night we’ve been doing for years at my parents house. This year Kate and I decide that Wednesday would also be cousin swim morning. We pack a lunch and hang out at the pool all morning together. We’ve also included the Newbolds, which has been so fun (and also sad since they are moving far away later this summer!). Lila and Rose have really bonded this summer. They are the sweetest together and their friendship is reaching new heights! We’ve all been gushing over how cute these two are together this summer!

Chase had a great baseball season! Ben signed up to be his coach and they had so much fun together. Their team didn’t win very many games, but it didn’t seem to matter. The boys all had so much fun together and they all learned so much! After they lost in the first round of the tournament, we had all the boys over for a swim party later that week. It made me so happy to see this group of boys having an absolute ball in the pool together! It didn’t matter anymore that they didn’t win. Sign of a successful season for sure!

Hudson’s creativity never ceases to amaze me. He got this frame randomly from school because his teacher was getting rid of it. He’s been filling it with important things to him. He also has not stopped talking about technology all summer. Specifically, which technology he would like to invent in the future. Mostly features he’d add to phones, tablets and computers. Look out world, this kid has some ideas!

I’ve spent so much time at the pool with my kids this summer and I regret none of it! I decided not to teach swim lessons this summer and I’m so glad. It’s been nice to just soak in my kids. Lila is good for about 45 minutes in the pool and then she mostly wants to sit poolside and snack. I have to be wherever she is- if she’s in, than I am too.  If she’s out, I am too. And it’s always a plus if I can get her to sit poolside wearing SOMETHING. She loves to just be naked after swimming for a good hour.

Davis found this little rolie polie the other day and he was so cute with it. Let’s face it, I think everything this charming child does is so cute. He’s just the best. 

This was a Sunday evening we spent in the backyard. We are having our deck rebuilt this summer, which has made a huge mess of our yard. But we are having fun seeing it come together and dreaming and planning about other things we’d like to still do back there!

We went to Salt Lake one night to see the Hickman’s perform a fun Disney concert at a park downtown. It was mostly the adults, but they put their kids in a few songs and my kids were so excited to support their buddy Will! The kids all loved the concert, and I have to admit I was smiling ear to ear watching them. Our friends are so talented! 

I’m actually enjoying having all the kids home for lunch! Chase likes to play with a friend as soon as his jobs are done and he hops on his bike to go find one right away. But he knows he has to be home at 12:30 for lunch and it’s been fun to be together in the middle of the day. Also, how is Lila this gorgeous even with a face smeared with yogurt?!

The big kids are officially babysitting for us! On my birthday, my mom took me shopping and to lunch. Chase and Hudson watched the littles for three hours and did great! I’m loving the freedom! We haven’t left them to babysit after bedtime yet, but during the day they can handle it for a few hours.

Davis graduated from Upstart! I do love this program. Even though Davis didn’t love doing it most of the time, it really did teach him a lot! He’ll be going into kindergarten knowing all his sounds and letters and is beginning to read! 

Davis has been having “nightmares” (I’m not sure if he really is, or if he just wakes up and wants to join us). He used to climb into our bed but we’ve settled pretty well into a bed on the floor. In fact, now I set a blanket and pillow on the floor next to me and most nights he ends up there. 

Another Saturday swim night where we had so much fun as a family, and only took pictures of the baby girls. These girls love to “play rocks” which mostly means climbing up and down the stairs and collecting tiny rocks along the way. 

We had a free night in a Marriott hotel expiring at the end of the month. So we made the last minute decision for Ben and the boys to go on a little getaway! Davis especially was so stoked, that kid LOVES a hotel! Ben was able to leave work early on a Tuesday and took the boys to the planetarium, out to dinner, swimming at the hotel pool and then watched a Transformers movie in the hotel. In the morning they stopped at the best donut place for breakfast before heading back home. I’m glad he got the chance to do this with the boys. They loved their little boys night! (Lila and I stayed home, played with Rosie at Nana’s, went out to ice cream and I’m not sure she even knew she got left behind!)

That was June! What a great month! 

New York!

 

It’s been four years since Ben and I got away together (London 2018) and it was definitely time for a trip! For years I’ve wanted us to do New York City together and it finally happened! This was Ben’s first trip tot he city, and my first trip back since I went in 2006. It was simply wonderful!

For a few hours, I didn’t think this trip was even going to happen. Delta airlines was going through something weird and was canceling flights all over the place. The night before our flight it got canceled! We spent three hours on the phone with delta trying to get rebooked and finally got booked on a red eye the next night. It delayed us about 14 hours (and we really hate red eyes!) but we did finally get there! I was so stressed the whole day- worrying about them canceling the flight again, worrying about leaving the kids, worrying that maybe this was all a sign the plane would crash leaving our children orphans, but once we were in the air it all melted away and I was able to just fully enjoy our time there together!

We were really able to pack a lot into our 3.5 days there! I’m always amazed whenever we travel without children just how EASY it is! Getting from one place to the next is so fast and easy. Walking around the city was so easy. Getting into a restaurant was so easy! So we saw and did a lot- and it still felt relaxing and rejuvenating! 

 

Once we landed a got a few hours of sleep, our first stop was to visit our favorite New Yorker! My cousin Erin lives in NYC and met us in Chelsea for a delicious lunch on the water. We had the best time with Erin that we stayed at lunch for like 2.5 hours! Then we walked the Chelsea Highline, which was super cool, and then decided to just walk the 1.5 miles back to the hotel. I love walking a big city- it really gives you a feel for it and I loved understanding the layout of the place!

I loved our hotel and it’s location. We in Midtown, right by the New York Public Library and Bryant Park. The library is so beautiful and had a really cool free exhibit we enjoyed. The architecture is just stunning and so ornate. And I thought Bryant Park was so charming. We also found our favorite bakery right on the corner by the park and stopped by a few times.

We had tickets to see Wicked that night. We walked to the theater by way of Rockefeller Center, just so we could see it, then found to most delicious pizza place, and then on the to the show. It was a serious highlight fo me! The stars were incredible and even though I’ve seen Wicked before, it blew me away again. Ben was a good sport, even though theater really isn’t his thing. 

 

Sunday our first stop was the 9/11 memorial and museum. The memorial is so beautiful. The sweetest elderly woman who lived on our street growing up was killed on 9/11, she was in the first plane that hit the North Tower. We quickly found her name (it’s right behind us in the photo). I noticed beautiful white roses on a few names and later learned that the memorial places them there on each person’s birthday. That touched my heart, it made them even more real. Real people who lost their lives that day. We went into the museum, which I think is a must see for everyone. They have real recordings of first hand accounts of people who were actually in the towers and the pentagon that day and as you walk through the events you can listen to their memories. The preserved fire engines, shoes, name plates- everything burned and mutilated, really helps you understand the chaos and destruction and devastation of those events. I teared up several times as we went through the museum. This experience was the highlight of the trip for Ben- while it’s not necessarily “fun” it’s definitely important and sobering and also healing.

After all that we walked over to The Battery and sat on a shady bench and chatted all about our feelings from 9/11 and now while looking across the water at the Statue of Liberty. We found Levain cookies on our way back up to Midtown. We went to Koreantown for dinner that night, passing the Empire State Building on our way (it was only a few blocks from our hotel). We walked around Midtown for awhile that night and just enjoyed the beautiful weather and the people watching. We remarked on this trip how fun it was to hold hands again! Almost everywhere we go we are usually toting our whole crew of children and we always have our hands full of kids!

Monday we crossed another item of my bucket list- seeing Starry Night. It’s at the MoMA. It was worth the visit just to see that for me, but there were other famous pieces of art there that were really fun to see. We stopped in St. Patricks Cathedral for a bit and then headed on to Central Park. We spent a couple of hours exploring the park, found the Bethesda Fountain and chatted with some locals. We finished the day exploring the Upper West Side and having dinner at Carmine’s. 

Our last day was super chill- we had a leisurely brunch and checked out the Harry Potter store. We walked along 5th avenue and bit and checked out the beautiful Grand Central Station. And then we were headed home to our kids! I missed them so much! But also, was so grateful that we got this chance to do this beautiful trip together. We promised ourselves we’d do it more often!

MAY

The most exciting thing in May was that Davis finally got his turn to play T-ball! He was adorable playing! He insisted on always hitting left handed (who knows why?) and frequently got so mad/sad when someone else on his team got to the ball first. By the end of the season he’d chilled out a bit and ran around those bases like a pro! 8 games was not enough- we were all a little sad when it was over! Also, his blue safety goggles were frequently part of his uniform. And he’s pictured here with his little friend Finn, a friend he just made on the team and loved hanging out with!

I took this picture of Chase because he’s just so cute and awesome, and also my tulips looked beautiful in May! I planted a lot last fall and most of them came up. Tulips are my favorite!

Hudson’s 4th term book report was to read an animal book and make a diorama. True to Hudson form, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. He read a book about goats and made this darling diorama. Literally all I did was make the salt dough for him and he took great pride in creating the rest!

May the 4th! This year I made “light sabers” out of grapes and “Seven Leia Dip” for dinner. And we had Ewoks (teddy grahams) for dessert. It was so easy, which we needed on a hectic night after T-ball and karate, but we squeezed in watching a Star Wars movie before bed.

Davis and Lila are frequently dogs, and need to drink from bowls on the ground. It’s the cutest. 

I took this photo and immediately thought she looked way too old! How is my baby this big already?

I jetted off to the NorthEast for a few days! My cousin Eleanor got married during the early days of the pandemic and her dream wedding got cancelled because of it. So here we were, two years, finally celebrating the happy couple! Will, my parents and I all flew into Boston and then we road tripped to Rochester, NY with Heidi. Heidi made an epic playlist that she made us all submit songs for that was so fun and hilarious. 

We attended the beautiful wedding and reception and had fun hanging out with our cousins and dancing the night away! We had a yummy brunch on Mothers Day with Will before he left for the airport and the rest of us headed on to Stowe, VT.

We stayed at Laura’s house in Stowe and it was the prettiest place! We all loved it there and were so glad we made the trip. The road trip itself was just gorgeous (although windy and not direct at all). Laura’s place is a little bit of heaven! Then we had one day back in Boston before heading home! I was so excited to see my sweet kids, but it was also so fun to have this cool trip with my parents and sibs!

Ben and the kids managed just fine without me. Ben even sent me daily pictures to show me how well he was doing with Lila’s hair!

Came inside one day to see Lila getting herself lunch, spreading peanut butter on a bagel! She’s an independent little thing!

We hung out at the park while Chase’s baseball team practiced and these two were just being too cute and hilarious! 

I had a fun one night getaway with my friends in Park City! We shopped, ate at yummy restaurants and stayed up way too late. I’m so thankful to have such amazing friends. These beautiful women are truly remarkable and I’m so lucky to have them!

I came home to this sweet sight- this daddy-daughter duo is just darling. Ben has a hard time telling her no, hence she sometimes gets to nap in his lap.

Chase, usually my very conservative dresser, requested a Hawaiian shirt! I was surprised, but found him one in Park City. He loved it! This was his last week of school, which this day ended up being quite eventful! I got a call from the principal right before Chase got home that day informing me that two boys had gotten into an altercation on the playground and Chase stepped in to try to calm everyone down and break it up and took a hard punch to the face! It dazed him a bit, and made him feel all kinds of emotions, from the high of being the hero and helping out a kid who was struggling, to the physical and emotional pain of being hurt, embarrassment at the attention, guilt if he handled it the right way. It was a LOT! Also, Ben was out of town when this all happened! I was able to take Chase out for some ice cream later that night after the little kids were in bed and helped him work through all his emotions.

Two days later, we got a visit from the boy who hit him and his mom with cookies and an apology letter. Chase was so sweet and forgave this boy, gave him a hug and reassured him that it was okay. I was so proud of him for responding that way!

After the whole punching incident, our week just got harder! A flu bug wiped out Davis and Lila! They started in the middle of the night and the puking just didn’t stop! Both of them were puking, crying for mom, and I didn’t have Ben here! It was awful and exhausting! I spent a lot of time cleaning, cuddling, doing laundry, and trying to nurse them back to health!

To make matters even worse, a horrific school shooting happened in Texas that day. 19 children and 2 teachers were killed, all right around Chase and Hudson’s ages! It was completely horrific and I teared up every time I read more news stories about it. While we were struggling with our own stresses at home with the punching thing, all the puking Ben being gone in general, I savored every moment with my kids. Up in the middle of the night, rocking my sick Lila, I just held her and smelled her and felt so much gratitude she was safe and alive. Every day when my kids got home from school I breathed an extra sigh of relief. And my heart kept breaking for those poor families in Texas. 

Also, this was the boys last week of school, and I wanted them to be able to end on a positive note! I volunteered to do field day with Hudson’s class. It was so fun to see him with his friends, especially his buddy Hyrum.  He really has a darling class this year full of so many fun kids!

My sickies started feeling a little better and keeping popsicles down! Of course, shortly after they got better Hudson started with it! Luckily his was short lived (until we realized that his bug tended to circle back! Oh it was bad!)

I was so happy to have a healthy boy back! He was so miserable and it made my heart hurt!

Lila, nurturing her baby. She went on got her noise machine and then proceeded to use an entire container of wipes to change the babies diaper.

Hudson was sad and Lila disappeared for a minute and came back with her bunny exclaiming “I got bunny for Hudson!” She was so proud of herself for coming up with that solution! Hudson hugged her and felt so sweetly touched by her kindness, meanwhile Davis sat there saying “But Hudson doesn’t like bunnies! Hudson likes elephants.” This week really was a doozy- all our emotions were running high (and sleep was running low). And although we made it, I definitely felt so depleted by the end of the week and thankful to have Ben back in town!

And then the boys wrapped up the school year! As happy as I was for summer break, I was so sad to see this year go!

Chase really thrived in 5th grade. I didn’t get the teacher I requested for him, which had me in tears last summer, but really it work out so great. Mrs. Flynn was the perfect teacher for him and helped him regain so much confidence he’d lost. She helped celebrate all his amazing talents and helped him learn to deal with imperfection. He made some good friends and was stretched A LOT by social situations- overall he learned so much, learned to rise above pettiness, be quick to forgive and how to celebrate others. Academically he was amazing- had the highest math scores in the class, read the most books of anyone in the class, and continued to really work hard and try to reach higher and higher goals, even when they already far exceed the expectation for the grade.

Hudson had an amazing 3rd grade year, in fact he was sad to see it end! He had Mrs. Hubbard and Mrs. Bland- Chase had them and it was great. He got Hyrum in his class but also made other awesome friends too. He was the first kid to pass off all his math facts. His writing and art projects all turned out so cute. And he was one of 5 kids who finished the 40 book challenge. He was a very independent learner and took on his term projects all on his own. He was delighted that he got to be in SEM this year (an enrichment class for advanced students) and loved telling me all about what happened each day. Also, a funny thing about Hudson this year is that since school lunch (and breakfast) was free, the boys were riding their bikes to school really fast and having a second breakfast at school! Mind you, I serve them a good, big, usually homemade breakfast at home too! Hudson mentioned “I just look to see if they have anything good, sometimes I just take a juice.” 

In our crazy world, I am so so thankful for wonderful teachers and a wonderful school. I’m thankful to all the other parents who have raised darling children to interact with mine at school each day. I’m thankful for even the hard situations that have given my kids some good real life practice and helped them learn valuable lessons. And after the crazy couple of years we’ve had, I’m thankful for a pretty normal school year! 

And now we are so excited for summer!