Go, Go, Goers!

What a lovely week to spend time outdoors! Even though the weather has been steamy and buggy, there were plenty of opportunities to be outside, getting exercise and fresh air. My lilies are blooming...I love this time of year! The kids had a good week...nothing too exciting that I can recall. They had fun at their respective Y programs, and on the days they were home, they were content to lay low and keep cool inside. We all had a chance to visit with Grandma Deb before she returned to Florida, so that was a great way to end last weekend. Ava  had an ortho appointment on Tuesday, but no braces yet...she still has too many baby teeth. We'll check back next summer and see where things stand at that time. She also had a friend spend the night on Friday to celebrate her birthday. They had fun playing on multiple devices, and hanging out in the basement, enjoying the new room. Ava enjoyed wearing her mask...G did not like it! G was invited to play with a few different group of friends. ...

This was a good week. The kids both had a great time at their summer programs, and on one of their days home, they were able to spend most of the day with Grandma Deb who is visiting from Florida. I had a really productive end to the week at work, a happy hour with friends, a great dinner with my parents, and Scott's been able to get a lot of stuff done this weekend so he can enjoy his day tomorrow, since it's Father's Day! The biggest thing that happened this week is that Ava turned 12! I'm not really sure where all of those years went, but one thing that I'm sure of is that we have a wonderful daughter. She is so even keel, polite, responsible, and kind. And even though we're beginning to see signs of the teen snarkiness, she realizes it and then adjusts her attitude. Most importantly, she seems to still like us, so...we'll take it! Grandma Deb took the kids on an adventure in St Paul... They were able to visit several family members at Ft Snelling...this ...

Ava finished up her sixth grade year this past Wednesday. But, let's be real. This entire week was just about her daily check-in, and then playing Minecraft and Roblox all day. Teachers used the last few days of school as a chance for kids to get caught up on their schoolwork. Ava did an amazing job staying on top of her assignments for the year, and she was rewarded by a few super easy last few days of school. We're so proud of how well she handled distance learning. I can't believe we have a 7th grader already!!! It's also hard to believe that we're down to the last week of her being 11 years old. We're doing a low-key birthday party this year for her. One friend will come over and have a pizza dinner with us and then they'll have a sleepover. Should be fun and easy - and Ava's really looking forward to it! Garrett enjoyed his first week of summer break, too. He attended the Y program at a local elementary school Mon-Wed this week. It was an adjustment...

I took a break from posting last week. I needed a chance to breathe and think. We've had some really great and fun times over the last two weeks, but there have been some heart wrenching and mentally exhausting moments, as well. Last weekend, Scott and I stayed up late, watching the riots, looting, and burning of Minneapolis and St Paul. We watched the National Guard (deploying from Rosemount) roll through our neighborhood. We had conversations and debates about what was happening and why. We watched our cities go into curfew...and then have absolutely no traffic on our Nest doorbell cam. It was surreal.  We can't believe that the country is still broken in this way, and I can't believe that we didn't see that until now. It's time that we had real conversations with our children so they understand that racism is real, and it's all around us. I feel like my eyes have been opened, and I don't want them to close again. My summer reading list has now expanded be...