winding down

Summer is winding down and I have mixed feelings about it.  Summer Break went super fast, which I am a little sad about, but it will be good to get back to the school routine next week.  We have had such a great summer, with lots of fun memories to look back on, but lately the boys have been bickering ALL. THE. TIME. and momma needs a break!  The one major downside to school starting will be the effect it has on Jackson's naps.  My marathon napper.  (Still can't believe he has earned that title.)

We've had some more fun activities these last couple weeks.  Playdates at the park with school friends, Caleb and Logan went to a friend's house for an afternoon, we've been to the cottage a couple times, last week we went to the community fair a couple times, and, of course, there was the solar eclipse!

The eclipse was SO COOL!  Had travel been more feasible it would have been neat to be in the path of totality, however we were at 80-some percent here and that was still incredible to see.  Certainly part of the enjoyment was seeing it myself, but I also got such a kick out of the kids enjoying it.  Earlier before the eclipse the sky was fairly clear with some clouds, but right before it was going to begin the sky became quite overcast.  We were quite disappointed, and I was doing my best to keep a good attitude (sometimes it's hard to be the adult in the group!).  We hung around outside hoping things would clear up and after a bit when I checked I could see just a sliver of the moon covering the sun.  The boys got their glasses on, and when they saw it, too, they were SO excited.  "I can see it! I can see it! I can see it!!"  Pure joy and wonder and God's Creation.  We really enjoyed witnessing it over the next while, and thankfully it was right at naptime, so Jackson just slept through the whole thing.  :)  It was so strange how the lighting changed outside.  Since it wasn't a full eclipse here it didn't get very dark, but there was a weird twilight-y type of cast to things.  And, it really cooled off noticeably.  We were also having fun keeping tabs with various members of my family and what the eclipse was like for them.

Of course we went to the fair last week.  The boys only talk about it ALL YEAR.  :)  I took them Tuesday afternoon and we just stayed there until Mike was able to meet up with us after work.  I was exhausted by the time we came home!  Caleb, Logan, and Levi each got to do a bunch of different rides, and play a game or two.  Caleb won four goldfish!!  (Almost a week later, and we're down to two.)  In the evening when Mike was there, Logan and Levi rode the ferris wheel with him.  Caleb rode The Zipper with Mike and after loving it last year, he absolutely hated it this year.  He came off in tears.  I'm not sure what the difference was, but I'm fine with him not wanting to ride it!  :)  We went to the fair again later in the week as we hadn't had time to walk through the animal barns with Mike on Tuesday.  Jackson loved the cows (he is obsessed with cows right now!).  Caleb and Logan each got to sit on a horse!  Levi could have, but changed his mind.  :)  (They were tall horses!)

On Saturday at the cottage Jackson was absolutely loving the water.  The week before he had been getting pretty brave, and it was no different this week.  I don't remember any of the other boys playing in the water at that age the way he was!  It's fun, but also requires man-to-man defense for safety purposes.  :)  Logan attempted waterskiing a couple weeks ago (and did great, got up for a couple seconds one time), but wouldn't try this past Saturday.  At this point he's saying he will try this coming weekend (the last time for the summer!).

Jackson keeps on coming up with new things to say.  He had some super cranky days last week, I'm reeeeeeallly hoping it was just the little cold he had and not an introduction to the Terrible Two's.  He loves cows and babies, various stuffed animals, wearing his bright blue rain boots, and being outside.  He likes to be silly when I go to get him out of his crib (laying down again, acting like he wants to stay).  He's like a little tornado going through the house, leaving a path of destruction.  There is no "keeping things in order" with him around.  He likes to look at books and insists on being picked up when I'm trying to work in the kitchen.  He still hates diaper/clothing changes just like he always has.  He looooooooves Daddy - we've done a few video calls now, which Jackson thoroughly enjoys, but he is NOT happy when the phone call is done.  Jackson generally goes to bed very well again - I don't get snuggles, but at least he's not mad and he'll say "nigh-nigh".

I'm looking forward to having some extra time with Levi on the days he's home from school.  I feel like he needs a little extra attention that's just really hard to fit in right now.  Hopefully we'll be able to get into a good routine where everyone is getting enough sleep, and I think that will help, too.  :)

kindergarten

Levi went on his Kindergarten shopping day with Grandma a couple days ago!  He's all set up with new clothes and supplies for school.  Not a huge surprise, he picked out a John Deere backpack.  :)  I still need time to get ready for school.  I have most of the supplies and books set, but I really need to go through their clothes and I VERY MUCH dislike that job.  Having kids try stuff on, deciding what they really need....not fun.  This has been a great summer, and going so fast!  I can honestly say that I'm not desperate for school to begin (that is pretty huge).  I'm starting to see the signs that maybe I'll be ready when the time comes, but I'm not yet wishing for summer to be over.  :)

We've had lots of fun since the last time I was able to update the blog.  Last week Caleb and Logan went to an Arts Camp at a local church.  Levi went to a Vacation Bible School at another church.  It was a little crazy getting everyone where they needed to be each morning, but they were both things we really wanted to do, so we made it work.  Caleb and Logan loved Arts Camp!  Caleb took Photography and Chalk Art classes; and Logan took Cooking and Grilling.  They really enjoyed it and I'm so glad it worked out for them to go.  Levi went to VBS at Jamestown, so it was in a familiar place (it's where I got to Bible Study), there were a few kids he knew, and my best friend always leads the Kindergarten class, so that helped, too.  She did comment on how quiet he is, which is something that has really come on strong in the last year or so.  I don't like overloading on organized activities, but something like this was a good fit for Levi to do something 'on his own' (i.e. without the safety net of his big brothers).

The garden seems to be doing fairly well.  The cucumbers produced very well, so with all of ours combined with those that Mike and the boys gleaned a couple weeks ago, I have canned A LOT of pickles.  My boys love 'em!  The zucchini plants are doing well, I have some peppers coming, and most of the tomato plants are looking pretty good.

Last weekend at the cottage Levi, Logan, and myself went kneeboarding, and it was so awesome!  Mike did it, too, of course, but that's no big deal.  ;)  He did it to show how easy it is, and then Levi agreed to go.  He did great!!  I didn't have my phone with me on the boat because I didn't expect all that to happen, so after he went and Logan said he wanted to go, I got my phone to get a few pictures, then Levi agreed to go again so I could document it!  Logan fell after awhile because we had to go through some pretty good sized waves (actually, he stayed on longer through the waves than I expected).  And, Levi needs to work on his 'dismount'.

Yesterday morning I went kayaking with a group of women from church, and it was so great!  We went down the Grand River from Grand River Park to Eastmanville.  It was a beautiful morning and an enjoyable time hanging out with the other women.  We saw a bald eagle!  It seemed like we ended up against the wind a fair bit, and my arms and shoulders are quite sore now.

It was pretty funny the other night - I think it was the first time big brothers actually got frustrated with Jackson.  They were trying to build things with Duplos in the living room (Caleb a farm, Logan some sort of building, and Levi had celery wagons behind his tractor), and Jackson was messing it up.  I heard "Jackson!!" on more than one occasion.  Of course, at the time I was trying to cut corn off the cob for freezing, and if there wasn't a problem in the living room Jackson was grabbing at my leg wanting to be held, so that simple job took me probably 5x as long as it needed to (par for the course).

Jackson is talking more and more.  I don't have a good list of all the words he's saying, but I just heard him say "thank you", and he says that A LOT.  He is my most polite child!  When he says "Awwwww" when hugging a stuffed animal or seeing a picture of a cat or a baby, I think I might melt.  "Belly" is another one of his favorites (sounds like "bye") - he says it while pulling up his shirt.  The other day in front of some friends he tried to pull up my shirt while saying "belly".  Ummmm, no.  Ha!  He has said "moo" for a long time, but now he actually says "cow".  There are a number of things he says that aren't real discernable, but I know what he's saying (I love that) - like "fi" for pacifier, and I don't even know how to say what he says for "trash" (he loves putting things in the trash). He also says "outside" a lot.  There are so many things I wish I could remember...

We've got poison ivy like the plague around here.  I started with it a few weeks ago and just can't seem to get over it.  The main areas I started with have cleared up, but I keep having new bumps and itchy spots popping up and I'm about to lose my mind.  Logan must have got into some at the beginning of the week because he has ended up with it - mostly on his face, but a few bumps elsewhere.  Levi has a few spots on his leg that are looking like poison ivy.  JUST GO AWAY!  I'm not going to let it keep me from enjoying the rest of our summer, though, so take that, poison ivy!  :)