Here is somewhat of a rundown of our summer:
We went to Valleyfair. It was
Anyways, the big guy loved it.
Logan loved it.
Maria loved it.
And Estella loved it.
Sam hated it and everything about it.
And I was so busy worrying about Sam that I forgot to enjoy it.
He was hot, and hungry, and tired from walking, and let's face it - he's just not a fan of rides so this was the absolute worst place that he could possibly be. And he made sure we and everyone around us knew all about it. We all got to go on a few rides, and I dragged Sam onto 1. He cried and pouted as I drug him, and I'm sure onlookers were thinking of calling CPS, but dude, I know my kid and I knew what I was doing. So I plastered on a smile, stared straight ahead, ignoring his protests and cries, and I continued pulling him into the line. He got onto the ride with Logan, and I sat with Maria in the car in front of them, and when it started up I turned and watched Sam, who, low and behold was smiling and giggling! He loved it. And when the ride ended and he got off, he made it perfectly clear that he hated that ride and would not be participating in any more.
Which was fine.
My job was done.
I got him on a ride and he liked it.
And... that's pretty much all I remember about Valleyfair.
We went to the library on average 3 times a week.
We swam in the lake. Until it turned green.
We visited Devil's Punchbowl.
The kids did lots and lots of chores. And complained about it.
Estella did not sleep. Ever.
Both boys learned how to mow the lawn.
The 3 older kids did homework every day before lunch. Yes it was summer and yes they complained every single day.
It got hot. Like, really really hot. So we bought a pool. A big blowup-with-an-air-compressor pool. And we put it on the deck and it was awesome.
But then it sprung a leak. So we fixed it with superglue and duct tape and it lasted for a while. And then it sprung another leak. And another. And then we gave up and threw it away.
So I mounted the sprinkler on the deck. And that was pretty awesome too. The kids ran around in the water, while I kicked back on a lounge chair where the water would just barely sprinkle on me. And I got a great tan.
We all made new friends. And lots of them. The big guy and I made grown up friends. And the kids made kid friends and it was awesome.
The big guy and I spent many weekend summer nights at the Tiki Bar.
My sister and her husband and children all moved back to the area after 20+ years being married to the Marines. Her husband retired and now it's back to civilian life for them and we're all getting to know each other better than ever.
The big guy managed to get himself epiglottitis which landed him in the hospital for a few days.
We got a kitten. Her name is Olive. She has no tail.
In all, it has been a remarkable summer. Except for the epiglottitis part. That was not awesome.
A lot of growing has been done this summer between me and the big guy - both in our marriage and outside of our marriage.
We grew spiritually.
We grew thicker skin.
We found out what true friends are.
We found out what true friends aren't.
Fences were mended.
Bridges were burned.
We learned family isn't necessarily about who's blood you have.
And now school has started and summer is coming to a close and that makes me sad.
I have a ton of pictures that perhaps I will put on here sometime.
But not today.
The end.
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