Three Things

Hello! It’s been a minute since I’ve written a Three Things post about what we’ve individually been up to, so I thought I’d give a little update for today’s post.

1. I’ve mentioned before that Hayden started reading the first Harry Potter book with his teacher this year during her afternoon read loud. Once they finished the first book, she moved on to the second book with anyone who was interested in continuing with the afternoon read aloud. Hayden already had the first book, but then I purchased the second and third books from Amazon for him. He finished the third book very quickly on his own and wanted me to purchase the fourth book. My mom has the entire series, and we will see her soon, so I told him to just wait for her books. I bet he will finish the series this summer at the rate he reads!

2. Baseball is back, baby! Hayden’s excited to be back on the ball field with his teammates again. They have a few games this week, and are getting back in the baseball groove. I love seeing Boo play ball!

3. I know bike sales sky rocketed during quarantine 😉 but so did actual bike riding by Hayden! He learned to ride a bike quite a few years ago, but after a bike accident a couple summers ago, he seriously refused to ride a bike…so much so, that we sold his bike in a garage sale. Last summer, he got back into riding his bike (maybe because so many neighborhood kids ride their bikes around?). Once he got tired of borrowing Hadley’s pink bike, we got a hand-me-down bike from a friend. He and Hadley, along with other neighborhood friends, are on the bikes so often which is great!

4. Bonus: I’m not sure if there is anyone more excited about Patrick Mahomes sealing the deal to be a Chief for the next 10 years than Hayden! He’s definitely a #Mahomie

1. Hadley is all about various hairstyles. She’s mastered the top knot, rocks a side pony tail, and now loves to put her hair up in “space buns.” I know nothing about hairstyles and even less about makeup, so she’s figuring this all out on her own. She’s quite the fashionista (with a side of tomboy!)

2. I’ve always said that Hadley needs a hobby. She doesn’t love to read like Hayden does or when they were little, she wouldn’t sit for hours and build Legos like Hayden would. Sis is always on the move! When people would ask for gift ideas, I’d always say, “I don’t know. Girlfriend still needs a hobby!” When she does find something to do, it usually involves some kind of mess.

Now that she’s old enough to gather supplies and clean up her messes, I let her do what she wants (most of the time.) In the past month, she’s tie dyed a shirt and socks with her friends, made a lava lamp (thanks to You Tube) and, my favorite, she made a lovely hand scrub (made of sugar, coconut oil, and lemon) for the guest bathroom. I am impressed with her creations…and even more impressed when I don’t have to clean up the mess!

3. Hadley has completed a few dance camps at her regular dance studio this summer. While she’s often dancing around the house, it’s been good for her to be with her instructors in person and see her dance friends.

Since sleep away camp was canceled this summer, they refunded our money, but gave the option of sending a “virtual camp box” filled with some activities, a t-shirt, water bottle, journal and more. Hadley’s working on some of the activities here and there.

4. Bonus: Hadley and I have been reading Love Does: for kids together and the kids’ church group has just gotten started meeting (via Zoom) to discuss. It’s such a great book with life lessons tied together with biblical stories and references. The chapters are so short and include pictures which keeps her attention and provides more meaning and opportunity for connection and discussion.

1. Homer is still ornery and enjoys hanging out in the inflatable pool. His scratching, from his possible grass allergy, has gotten so much better and his little paws are less pink now.

2. Travis celebrated a birthday yesterday! Of course, he’s always busy with work and now baseball as he helps coach Hayden’s team.

3. As for me, I’ve enjoyed being able to blog almost daily. I also spend time keeping the kids busy. I’ve tried to plan an activity (like hiking, going to the zoo, and canoeing) at least once a week; we really are in a good summer groove. I also continue to work a bit this summer as students turn in work to me for credit recovery, so I check my email daily and spend time looking over the submitted work.

Needless to say, summer of 2020 is definitely different, but we continue to enjoy our time as a family while also seeking comfort in some sense of normalcy with baseball, eating out a bit, and seeing friends as we can while remaining socially distant.

See you back here tomorrow for my second ever Day in the Life post.