What A Summer....

I know I say this every summer, but seriously, this summer was so exhausting. From June 22nd-the day after labor day, I had a total of two days off!!! One of those days was because we had to close the deli down one day in August...I was about to lose my mind! A 54 day stretch without a day off...I was losing it!! Eleven hour days were a bit to much. My next day off was the day after labor day. Tired doesn't even begin to describe how I was feeling. We are now closed two days a week, but only get 1.5 days off. We landed this HUGE contract with the casino and we now provide food for their EDR. Why they don't make their employees food in one of their seven kitchen, no one knows. Until then, we are more than happy to take their check!
Kids are doing well. Liam is now 16 and has no interest in driving :-( But, he did enjoy working with us this summer. Might I add that we also had him cooking a little bit, and by the end of the summer, he was doing amazing at it!
Fiona is now 12...which means she gets to wear makeup now. Our rule is 7th grade. Hard to believe she is that old already. She spent the summer watching the kids for us while we worked. She is such a great sister. Emily absolutely adores her.
Quinn is still Quinn. Nine years old with a mind of a forty year old. The kid kills me!!
Emily...we are dealing with some health concerns at the moment. Waiting on a call back from Doernbecher's Children Hospital in Portland to make an appointment to get her in. Basically, she has gained a ton of weight this past year and there is no explanation for it. Her pediatrician has no idea what is causing it. We shall see what is going on. Until then, this mom worries.
Emily is now in 4th grade and that seems crazy to me. Seems like just yesterday she was in preschool. How the hell did time go by so quickly? Not ready for this!!!

Family Day

Sunday we had one last family fun day before the summer madness begins at the deli and we are working 7 days a week.  We went to the family fun center in Wilsonville and had a blast. Activities for the whole family. It was 89 degrees of beautiful sunshine!

New Glasses

Ms. Stubborn finally got her new glasses and is wearing them. Because she refused to wear them for almost a year, her lazy eye came back. Back to patching her right eye to strengthen her left eye.
 She wasn't happy about it, but now she knows the importance of wearing her glasses :-)

Tulip Festival

The girls and I had a much needed day away from the guys. We went to see my best friend and her husband and little one, had lunch together and then us girls ventured to the Woodburn Tulip Festival. I had never been but really wanted to check it out. Long line to get in, but totally worth it. They had fun stuff for the kids to do also.
We next headed into Salem and did some shopping at Target to get Fiona some supplies for outdoor school the following week.
It was an exhausting day but so much fun.

Just My Girl and I

This girl makes me laugh, gives me a reason to smile, keeps me going and is by far my greatest blessing in life. She is such a mommy's girl and I love it. It was her and I conquering the world for years before I met Greg. She was my buddy, my partner in crime. She has made me feel like I can tackle anything that is thrown at me. She made me strong when I felt weak and loved me when I felt unloveable. Amazing what such a tiny human can make you feel.
She turned 9 in December, 9 years old...I am halfway done raising her. How the heck did that happen?! It makes me so depressed. I don't want to ever be done raising her. As much as she drives me crazy sometimes, I cherish every minute of it. She is no longer a baby but becoming a young adult. I watch her become more independent and it makes me proud and sad.

Basketball

This year I was thrilled when Emily decided to play basketball! I am so proud of her. She goes to a different school than any of the other kids. She knows no one. And yet, she still chose to participate. I am trying not to be that parent that is always in their child's ear and telling them what to do or how to do it, but it is so difficult. Having played basketball myself for so many years, it is hard to just keep quiet. Greg suggested I just drop her off and leave during practices, but I can't do that. So, now I just walk the track that is above the court. That way I can watch and see can see me, but I can't just throw in my two cents!
She had her first game Saturday and did great. At the end of the video she accidentally knocks down her own teammate but stops playing to help her up! It was a proud moment!
She is the tallest one on her team, of course! I am just hoping she becomes less afraid of the ball as time goes on.

A Little Taste of Disneyland!

What a crazy week! This was my first time to Disneyland as well as Quinn and Emily's. We had so much fun, but man were we all exhausted afterwards! So much to do and see in such a little amount of time. The kids were so well behaved and everything went better than expected. I couldn't wait to get home but it was so sad to leave at the same time.
I planned ahead and had a town car pick us up and take us to the hotel from the hotel and then back to the airport on the day we left. We purchased shuttle passes for the days we went to Disneyland (so cheap!) And we had so many stores and such within walking distance of our hotel. I don't think I could have survived driving in that madness! Luckily, our hotel provided breakfast and dinner, so the only meal we had to worry about was lunch. Which, luckily our hotel room had a full kitchen, so we went and got groceries at Target that was 1 block from our hotel!
The kids utilized the outdoor pool at least 3 times a day, which the rashes all over them proved it! But they had to take advantage of the warm weather and pool as much as possible. It wasn't hot or cold...it was a perfect 80 degrees all 4 days we were there. Which, in return, made Oregon seem VERY cold when we returned!
I also discovered Italian Ice while down there! I am in love with those things...now if I could find them in Oregon, I would be a happy girl!
This was our first big vacation as a family. I never knew how much time and work went into planning a trip for 6. I think I was exhausted before we even left! But, I wouldn't trade a minute of it.