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- I am continuing the “pool” series! I’ve taken a handful of Abby’s Saturday photos based around the different kiddie pools we’ve had & so of course we had to continue the “trend”! If you want to go back & see the progression, start here:
Three hundred and ten
Two hundred and fifty-eight
Two hundred and eight
Two hundred and two
One hundred and fifty-three
Of course – I came outside to take this photo & it was gorgeous & sunny out. By the time I corralled the 2 kids & the dog into the kiddie pool – the sun disappeared behind some clouds, never to come out again. Boo. - Well – the week is over & I can’t say I’m super sorry to see this one go. Last Saturday, I photographed a big, gorgeous wedding & had such a wonderful day.
And then I woke up Sunday morning & it was all downhill from there. - I woke up with a slight headache Sunday morning, which is fairy normal for the day after a big wedding (have you heard of a “wedding hangover”? Wedding industry professionals – the ones who work extra long hours on a wedding day – all complain about experiencing “hangover-like” symptoms the following day. Delightful, isn’t it? I can usually avoid feeling that way by drinking plenty of fluids, making sure I eat, changing my shoes mid-way thru a day, and getting plenty of sleep heading into the wedding.) So, I really didn’t think it was too big of a deal. That is, until I attempted to get out of bed & was hit with a crushing wave of nausea. That’s not normal, so I stayed in bed & tried to go back to sleep (Derrick had the kids downstairs already, so I wasn’t worried about taking care of anyone).
It wasn’t long before I realized that I probably had the same stomach bug that Braelynn had had while we were on our trip to Carowinds. Words simply cannot express how thankful I was to be waking up with the bug on Sunday & not Saturday.
So, I was in bed for the rest of the day. It was rough – I couldn’t tell you the last time I was actually sick in bed. Barf. - Sunday was the 4th of July though! And we had made plans to spend our evening at Kennywood (like we usually do on the 4th). Unfortunately, my being sick tossed all of those plans out the window. I felt so bad – I had been looking forward to a fun-filled 4th of July afternoon/evening & there I was, stuck in bed.
Thankfully, by dinner time, I was feeling much better. The headache & nausea passed & I was able to get up & actually eat a little something.
It was the 4th of July! I wanted my kids to see fireworks! So, I suggested we hop in the car around 8:30pm, and drive over to Kennywood – not to go into the park, but just to park our car up on the hill & watch the fireworks over the park. That way, I could just sit in the car, but the kids could still have a fun 4th of July fireworks experience.
So, that’s what we did. We put the kids in their pajamas, loaded them into the car (intending to get ice cream on the way to the park, but all the ice cream places were closed? so Derrick stopped at a gas station for a few snacks instead) and we pulled up to Kennywood.
There was just one problem: the parking lots were empty.
We were dumbfounded – what in the world was going on? Where was everyone? Why wasn’t the park bursting with people? What about the fireworks at 9:30pm? We pulled in & attempted to figure out what was going on. Turns out: the email Derrick had gotten from Kennywood that talked about fireworks, was actually advertising fireworks at Idlewild this year. He had totally missed that part (just, saw it was a Kennywood email & assumed it was talking about Kennywood).
We always watch fireworks at Kennywood over the 4th of July – so we were super bummed. And of course, by this time, it was too late to figure any other plans out, so we simply went home. Thankfully, our neighbors were setting off fireworks, so the kids watched those when we got home – and that was that. - On Monday, we did a huge purge/clean-sweep of the house. We had returned from vacation, then Mom had been gone off to shoot a wedding all day Saturday, then Mom was in bed sick all day Sunday – so needless to say, the house was a wreck. Derrick still claims that the house was “clean”, but I said, “Sure, the house was ‘clean’, just like my serving you a bowl of cereal for dinner would be ‘food’. That doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.” We thinned out the kids toys (how in the world do they have so much stuff?!), switched a few things around, and just deep-cleaned everything. And I felt SO much better.
- Tuesday morning, we all woke up & started into our normal morning routine – I was getting the kids drinks & snacks mid-morning when I moved to put my hair up into a ponytail & instantly froze. Wrong move. I could feel my entire back/neck/shoulders shifting out of place & my muscles were already locking up around my spine & neck – from putting my hair into a ponytail. (If that doesn’t say: “Wow, I’m old”, I don’t know what does.)
Needless to say, I couldn’t turn my head, could barely lift my arm, and was in awful pain the rest of the day. It was just delightful.
Thankfully, some resting, some relaxing, and some yoga later – I’m feeling much better this morning. (Which is good, because I have a wedding later today!) It’s just been a long road to get here.
So, when I say: I’m thankful to be moving away from this week – it’s because I had a rough week! - Braelynn slept over at my parent’s house last night (it’s only the 3rd or 4th sleepover she’s ever had, although if you ask her, she’s slept over at Grandma’s house hundreds of times when she was 4 years old. Nope.) So, she’s been having a fantastic time – meanwhile, Derrick & I don’t even know what to do with just one child. It’s so strange (and easy) only having one kid to take care of!
We went out to dinner last night & stopped at WalMart on the way home where Leander scored himself a new toy – that never happens when big sister is around! It’s just been a ton of fun to fully concentrate on our sweet boy. Of course, he keeps asking for “Brun-nun” & saying: “I find her,” while running off to look around the house for her. He just loves his big sister. - That toy Leander got last night – is a Bluey stuffed animal. (Have you heard of the TV show “Bluey”? It’s super cute & we are all a bit obsessed with it.) He keeps clinging to it & claiming, “Mine!” (probably because he knows that as soon as Braelynn comes home, she’s going to attempt to steal it from him).
Speaking of Bluey though, we discovered this week that there is Bluey music on Spotify! SCORE. So, you now what’s been on repeat in the Abbey house this week. - Leander has always said “thank you” as “tanks” (it’s so sweet & cute). But this week, he actually started saying the full: “thank you” & I’m not sure how I feel about it. I miss my tiny little boy saying “tanks”. Stop growing up!
- I bought these bubble guns this week & they are AMAZING. Leander got a bubble sword when we went to Great Wolf Lodge this past winter & it’s been a ton of fun to have, however, it wasn’t meant to least forever & it bit the dust last week. So, I ordered bubble guns from Amazon to replace it (because, manually blowing bubbles is SO oldschool) and the kids have had a blast with them!! They’re SO much fun!!
