Happy Sunday!
Even my kiddos are saying time is moving really fast – so I am not crazy! Every day just flies by so quickly. It made me grateful tonight when I just wanted to go to bed but to take a few moments to reflect on the last two weeks and the sweet everyday moments we’ve had.
Summer
Summer has officially started and, as usual, we Bernings melt. Our fair skin feels it every time we go out (we won’t talk about Mark’s sunburn after the Wild Animal Sanctuary!) and out bodies are littered with mosquito bites! Is it just us, or are the mosquitos just relentless this year?! Every evening when I go to water I feel like a full on crazy person because I am just swatting at myself! But the kids have had fun playing out in the yard as long as water is involved!
Pink Eye
Lydia’s eye got really red and crusty and she had a fever to boot. We brought her in to the doctor last Wednesday and she was put on antibiotics. It took a couple days to clear up – this little one was not a fan of her eye drops. It was a struggle! Ben also had a day where he was not feeling well – not quite the same symptoms as Lydie, but feverish with tummy troubles.
The Importance of the Wheel
We are nearing the end of our Motion and Simple Machines unit in science. Jacob and Sarah did a fun activity building with wheels – out of potato slices!
The Robe
Need I say more?
The Nutcracker Auditions
Sarah had her audition for The Nutcracker! Practices won’t begin until August but she is really excited to participate in it!
Ward Party
We had a ward party last weekend and it was so fun. Mark was not feeling well and we were worried about the heat with Lydia so both of them stayed home. Relief Society was in charge of this one and so there was a little coordinating with that for me. But we had such a great turnout and we are so grateful to be a part of our beautiful ward family.
Jacob’s 11th Birthday
We had the best time celebrating our favorite 11 year old. CLICK HERE for Jacob’s birthday post.
Orthodontics
Jacob had his first orthodontics appointment and he is a GO! Orthodontia is a whole new experience for Mark and I (neither of us had braces) but the orthodontist has been great and thinks Jacob’s whole process will most likely take about two years. His first step will be to get an expander (I think). Jacob is really excited!
Birds
How the kids have not named these baby birds yet I have no idea! It is a daily check in with our little friends. We initially had four eggs, only three hatched, and then one bird fell out and even though Mark put it back in, we don’t think it survived. So we have two little babies having a good old time in our wreath on the front porch.
Mark, Sarah, and Ben did some research (I tell you, our family library brings me so much satisfaction!) and they have concluded that they believe it is a house finch. I wish you could have heard their discussion as they thought about all of the possibilities for the different types of birds. The middle picture is of the daddy bird they used as a model to determine the species.
Also, let’s not talk about the amount of poop that is now going down my front door. Also, I’ve already accepted that this wreath is most likely a total loss once the birds leave.
All About Me
Sarah did the sweetest book in language arts – all about her! She is such a sweetheart and I love everything there is about her.
Barn Tote
Lydia and I did her last activity in her farm crate – a barn tote! Lydia was probably least engaged in this one, most likely because she wasn’t feeling her best self. But it has been a really sweet experience for me (and I hope her, too) to have some one-on-one time together just having fun – no “health” agenda.
Arcade
Jacob’s birthday felt like it ended up being a whole week of celebrations! Since his birthday was on Sunday, we celebrated it at home then. Then Tuesday, we went out to lunch and ended up going to the arcade!
Strep + Adenovirus
I honestly do not think our family has ever been sick as much as we have this last year. It has been so frequent and we are all a little burned out from it all. The day of our ward party – Mark came down with an intense fever and sore throat. He is normally the one that stays healthy so this was rare. He was pretty miserable over the weekend but stayed home and rested and then seemed to be doing better.
But then he tanked again and he finally went down to the Urgent Care and they diagnosed him with strep. That same morning, Lydia came down with a fever again and I thought for sure she must have it too. She hadn’t been eating hardly anything for days and just seemed off. I thought it was maybe lingering yuckiness from the pink eye. But when Mark was diagnosed I immediately made an appointment for her to get in to her pediatrician to get her on something. Turned out she did NOT have strep but when she checked her throat it was a wreck. He doctor said she had adenovirus (I had never heard of this before). Lydia’s doctor said she was surprised that Mark had strep while Lydia had this because they both have very similar symptoms but strep is bacterial while Lydia’s condition was viral. Since it was viral, there was nothing to do but wait it out. But her doctor warned me that both were extremely contagious and I should prepare myself for our whole family getting it.
And an absolute miracle has happened and no one else has gotten sick! I don’t know how but I am sure grateful. Mark bounced back really quick once he got on antibiotics and Lydia has seemed a lot more like herself the last day, so fingers crossed we are on the road to good health again!
Stander
Lydia got her second piece of new – PERSONAL – equipment! She got her new stander this week and it is so fun. Mark and I did laugh because when the person from the company came to deliver her new one and fit it to Lydia – they were eyeing her old one. When we asked them about it they said it was “pretty archaic”! We haven’t known any different and it’s worked great for Lydie – but this is definitely an upgrade and we are excited for her!
I will have to update later with a picture now that Lydia is feeling better.
Baseball
Ben’s baseball season is winding down. It’s been a little bit of a let down. He has only had one game and three practices because we have had the craziest weather – from intense thunderstorms, hail, and tornado warnings. But he did get to have his team pictures this week and then they did some drills. Ben took them very seriously.
Wild Animal Sanctuary
Mark and Jacob went to the Wild Animal Sanctuary as our gift to Jacob for his birthday. They loved it – CLICK HERE for full post.
Leather Portfolio
Gramps and Grammy gave Jacob a “doodle crate” for his birthday and he has loved working on his leather portfolio to carry his sketchbook. This boy is a crafter!
An Abundance of “Schoolhouse” Posts in the Wings
Right now I currently have 14 unwritten or half written posts about school things. Yikes. So much work. I’ve said it a hundred times – that I am always happy when I do them because I do go back and reference them – but wow, that is a lot. I hope this next week I can tackle some but we will see.
