A Whirlwind of a Summer

 Summer is not over!  But as of today, the high schooler returned for his senior year.  The 3rd grader goes back Wednesday.  And we return the college sophomore to his university on Saturday.  Even though summer is still with us, it seems to be behind us.  

It was a really good summer.  Baseball dominated the first part of summer.  From May (actually April) until early July, our days were full of baseball.  The season went ok.  The team he was on was full of really great kids.  But they all go to another school, and some of his school friends play on another team and he really wanted to play with them.  He tried out for the new team and made it.  So next year he'll be on a totally new team and he'll miss his teammates from his old team, but he's really happy to be with his school friends.

The older boys both worked at a grocery store this summer.  At first it was really busy and they worked a lot of hours, but as summer went on, customers weren't coming in as much and the available stock became less due to supply chain issues, so things became slow and hours were cut.  They weren't happy about losing money, but it did give them more free time.

We went on vacation.  To our usual South Carolina spot.  It was a really great week.  We all love it there so much.  We fished, swam, sunned, and just spent quality time together.  I wish we could do that more than just once a year.

It's been a rainy summer here in Ohio.  My flowers and garden are water logged.  My lettuce did well, as did the hot peppers, jalapenos, and green beans.  I got NO garlic (I don't know what I did wrong), and my peas, carrots, radish, green peppers, and cabbage did "meh".  Tomatoes and zucchini are coming in now so we'll see how those go.

We spent some time at the swim club this summer (I call it the lake).  It's really nice there and I'm glad we joined.  I'd like to keep going on the weekends until they close, but weekends are filling up fast.  

I went on a few college tours with the senior.  He's narrowing things down and we'll see how things go.  He seems a little disengaged in the whole process, but we'll see.  Maybe that's just how he's appearing on the outside.  I know he'll end up in the correct place for him.  God always put us where we should be.

So that's my update.  I'm sure I forgot some things.  But these are the big ones.

Meal Plan Monday 5-24-21

 Things have been busy around here!  

Easter
First Communion
Baseball
Picking up oldest from college
End of the school year activities

This is the last week of school.  Of course, the 8 year old is home sick the last Monday of the school year.  How very Monday-ish. 

So we or may not have baseball this week depending on how he's feeling.  He was supposed to play tonight, but that is not going to happen.  Poor kid has had the worst time of it lately.  At the end of April he got hit in the face with a bat (trip to ER, broken tooth, no stitches), last Wednesday he fell off the swings at school and had a slight concussion, and now today he's sick.  He needs a break!

Since this is the last week of school, you would think that I would have some things planned for this summer.  You would be wrong on that front.  The older I get, the more of a slacker I become in this area.  We do have vacation planned.  But that's about it.   We belong to a swim club so I'm guessing that is where we will be spending most of our time since I'm already paying for it.  I'd also like to get to the zoo.  And on rainy days I want to take him to the history museum, the art museum, and possibly the science museum.  And he's requested bowling.  The older two will be working so they can join us on days off.

I should probably put a "summer meal plan" together, but I'm not there yet.  I did get a membership at Costco, so I plan to stock up on snacks and meat.  My downstairs fridge is already loaded with chicken sausage and smoked sausages for nights we set up the fire pit.

Last week of school meal plan:

Friday:  Fish Tacos

Saturday:  Chicken kabobs and mushroom and potato kabobs on the grill

Sunday:  Roasted chicken (I roasted two for left overs for lunch), watermelon, and mixed veg

Monday:  Tater Tot casserole

Tuesday:  Pressure Cooker Salsa Chicken with Cream Cheese

Wednesday:  Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

Thursday:  Last Day of School Pizza Celebration


So this is it for the 2020-2021 school year.  It has been better than 2019-2020 that's for sure!  But I'm hoping that 2021-2022 is even more back to normal.  The 21-22 school year will bring us a college sophomore, a 3rd grader, and a high school senior.  When I started my first blog, the senior child was 2 years old.  How is this even possible?  I remember my mother telling me that the older you get, the faster time goes by.  At the time, I didn't understand (I was a teen).  But now I get it.  I really do.

But bring on Summer 2021!  We are ready for you.  And I, for one, am looking forward to lazy days and family time.  

For more MPM Visit Org Junkie