Back in the Swing

It was a very typical week around here. Dylan was on a trip from Monday morning thru Friday afternoon, with a little Wednesday intermission. Let me tell you, having him here on Wednesday night and Thursday morning was a sanity saver. With him at home for a one-nighter, the week was totally doable. Not only did he do the double school drop-off on Thursday morning, turning my 80 minute commute into a 50 minute commute, but having another man on my team for a one-on-one defense approach just really lightens my load for the nighttime and morning routines. The boys have been big time momma's boys and super duper clingy for some reason. It can be really sweet, and I do enjoy the extra love, but by the end of the day I'm in extra need of personal space. I crave personal space at my baseline mode, so I've really had to shut down and tune out lately once the monkeys are done hanging on my body and fast asleep in their beds. Thankfully, once I was on my own with the boys and enforcing our regular early bedtimes, Gavin was able to fall into a rhythm that kept him asleep through the night. It has persisted all week, and I'm very grateful for that.

Brotherly love at Nonna's house

Mom was on babysitting duty while D and I worked on Monday. She's teaching Graham how to bargain shop!

Playing in the mud and rain after school on Tuesday. I didn't have the wherewithal to wrangle them into the bathtub after a long day, so we hosed off, and they went straight to bed in their skivvies.

Just morning shenanigans.

On Friday, I promised Gavin that I'd take him to the library. So we hit the gym and ate some pre-prepared PB&Js in the car on the way to Story Stop. Afterward, we hightailed it out of there to meet up with D back at home. I was extremely ready to hand off the boys and take a mental and physical break from life. I had even volunteered to do some work from home because things were predicted to be a little crazy back at the pharmacy. When I checked in, though, they had the workflow under control. Woohoo! Dylan had planned to take the boys swimming with my brother and his kids across the street. Just as I was getting ready for an afternoon off-duty, Gavin begged me to come with them. I tried to make an excuse and then quickly stopped myself. I don't want to be the mom that never does anything fun. So, I suited up and lathered everyone in screen, and off we went. We ended up staying in the pool for a long, long time. Coupled with an adult beverage or two, it actually ended up being really fun. I'm glad I chose to save my hermity afternoon for another time.

Come Saturday morning, we took it slow. I was in no mood to get the show on the road in record time. Dylan took off for CrossFit, and the boys and I stayed here. By the afternoon, we were ready to make a move. After running around town, we ended up at BrickFest. Because of Gavin's latest love for Legos that grew out of our trip to Legoland, we figured this big Lego event at WestWorld would be right up his alley. It didn't disappoint! He was able to build and race Lego cars and play with Legos of all shapes and sizes. Afterward, we closed out the evening with a swim and BBQ dinner at the Jordans' house. The boys stayed up late and had so much fun...how could they not? Playing with Luke and his toys was a great time!

'Nana lover

Saturday morning!

Crazy for yogurt

Car races! They spent all morning making laps around the house, and all I had to do was sit on a chair and yell "Ready, set go!"

Graham loves picking up anybody's shoes and bringing them over for you to help him put them on his feet.

Stormtrooper at BrickFest

Graham had fun, too!

Baby brother toppling G's tower

A pool of blue Legos!

Building cars for the races

Watching the race!

Graham has taken over the skateboard.

Checking out the cool plane that Shawn is building :)

The boys found dirt and a shovel, and the rest is history.

Let this kid outside for a minute and he comes back covered in dirt.

I'm not sure what the rest of the day holds besides a few chores. Every now and then I guess it's good to do something responsible on the weekends. Tomorrow we'll kick off a week of a really packed calendar. Dylan will head to Seattle for a service for his aunt, and we'll fit in appointments of all kinds in every available pocket of time. See you next time!