Monday - We started the week with swimming lessons.
After that, we had another Spartan Station playdate. This one was at a splash pad near Fort Union. It was busy, Jack wanted to walk in the water, and Molly wanted to play on the playground. I had a hard time keeping track of them both, but it was still a lot of fun.
We wrapped up Monday by getting our yardwork done.
Tuesday - My cousin Melinda had suggested that we all go swimming at the West Valley Fitness Center outdoor pool. Annie didn't really want to take Quinn, so as a solution, I stayed home with Quinn and Jack while Molly went with Annie. I think I got the easy end of that stick because Jack and Quinn and I just played for a while until they both fell asleep. Molly had a lot of fun, though!
(picture borrowed from Annie)
On Tuesday night, Grandma and Grandpa Binggeli came to visit and stay over night on their way out of town to visit Alicia in New Mexico for a week. We had a nice visit with them!
Wednesday -James took Grandma and Grandpa Binggeli to the airport on his way to work and we headed to swimming lessons. Something happened that turned Molly into a poltergeist and she was NOT going to participate in swimming this particular day. She cried in the car on the way, she cried crossing the street to the pool, she cried while we sat on the floor against the wall during her lesson. She was finally brave enough to try it and went with "Helper Melissa" for about 7 minutes, but then was done. The mean mom was pretty mad and made her sit against the wall until her teacher told the rest of the class it was time to go. Once we got back to the car, she was pleasant and pretty normal for the rest of the day. She's been nervous about swimming, but I have no idea what got into her on this particular morning. Needless to say, we did NOT get slushee after this lesson.
We ran some errands later in the day, mainly to Shopko to get some back-to-school-supplies for my classroom. Molly and Jack both fell asleep on the way home.
Wednesday night we had dinner and swimming at my Grandpa's house. It was a little stressful, but it is still always fun to hang out in my grandparents back yard.
Thursday - In the morning, we walked to the little park close to our house and played for a little while. It was super duper hot on our walk, in fact, on the way home, we had to stop every time we found shade to get a drink. We ate snacks at the park before returning home. I swear it was 700 degrees while we were walking.
Thursday night we played outside and ended our otherwise uneventful day.
Friday - We got up this morning to head to our LAST swimming lesson. Molly was super well-behaved for this one and was very excited to get her sucker and certificate afterwards. After Wednesday's lesson I decided NOT to sign her up for another session, but I was glad that we ended on a high note. Though she didn't do everything she was supposed to every lesson and would have to repeat the same class again, she was well-behaved for 4 of the 7 lessons and was only totally crazy at the one. It was still a good experience.
We hurried home to get dressed and ready to go because Friday was Cousin Camp, Utah County. We ventured down south with Willie and Annie and her kids at Thanksgiving Point. We ventured around the farm, the 3 big kids rode the horses, and then we all rode the wagon around the parking lot. This was my first time to "The Farm" and I'll be honest, I was glad we had a free pass.
We left Thanksgiving Point for lunch at JCW's and then at Willie's suggestion, we went to Cabela's. This was also my first time to Cabela's. I was a little scared by the large quantity of stuffed animals, guns, and meat processors, but the kids thought it was pretty cool (and so did the bus load of Asian tourists).
All three riders in my car (Willie, Molly, and Jack) fell asleep on the way home.
Later that evening, with the help of our favorite babysitter, Miss Bethany, James and I went to the Jordan River Temple to do sealings as part of our ward temple night. We hadn't been to the temple in a while and had never been with our ward. It was a good experience and I'm glad we were able to go.
Saturday - We ventured to Costco in the morning and spent way too much (as we usually do at Costco). Molly was up in the night and up earlier than normal, thus causing her to turn into a poltergeist for most of the morning. We decided to drug her (no, it doesn't happen often, but was a necessity). We gave her a half a dose of benadryl before going to Costco and she was out cold in the car on the way home. Once she had a long nap, our afternoon and evening were much more pleasant.
At 4:00, cousin Natalie came over to get help planning her retirement, or at least complete the assignment for a class that allowed her to hypothetically plan her retirement. According to our hypothetical plan, she will begin working in her career field at 25, work until she is 67, and live for 20 more years after that. The gap between her desired retirement number that we figured and the amount she will have from a potential pension (assuming she is drawing no social security) will be about $250,000 that she'll need to come up with by investing. It was very interesting and though James and I do save for retirement, I don't have a targeted number to aim for. I am planning to do Natalie's assignment with our own numbers and see where we're at!
At 6:00 we left to head to the 3rd Annual Petersen Family 24th of July (or close to it) Party. It was fun with good food and smores to end the night. Thanks to Annie for being the hostess with the mostess.
(picture borrowed from Annie)
We swung by to pick up our rent money on the way home. Jack fell asleep. Molly had a bath. We were ready for Sunday.
Sunday - Today was "church day." We had 20 little ones in nursery and only one leader, so I stayed and helped (same thing last week) until James came to grab me because I had the lesson in primary (last week he had the lesson so Jack, Molly, and I just stayed in nursery the whole time). Our church was super hot.
After our block we loaded up and hurried to my mom's church because Willie was ordained an elder today. My Grandpa made it and Annie and her family were there too. Jack screamed through the whole ordination, but my dad and Willie both said they didn't hear him. My dad sobbed through it all, as with most events that involve my dad recognizing my brother. It's ok, dad, we still love you even though you cry.
We all came home and all 4 of us got to have super long naps. It was quite a nice afternoon. We had steak, tin foil potatoes, bacon green beans, and croissants for dinner. It was tasty. We played around, had milkshakes for dessert, then had a visit from the Parker and Cindy. It was a good day (except for the 20 kids in nursery).
