What a wonderful weekend it was! For most, it marks the end of Summer. But I like to think of it as the beginning of Fall! Is that like looking at the glass half full? Not sure, but I just love Fall! I like the slightly (?) cooler temps and the crisp air. I love picking apples, the smell of dried leaves, carving pumpkins, corn mazes, hay rides, and trick-or-treating. I don't particularly care for the allergies it brings me, but I just pop a few pills, and I am all good! Yes, I love Fall!
Anyway, back to the weekend. Saturday was the warmest day of the weekend, and Mike's parents (Hi, MIL!) threw an end-of-season bash. We were a little late, as usual, since we waited for Sleeping Beauty (aka Allison) to wake from her nap. But better late than never, right?
Michael is always so pumped to see his cousins (and the rest of the family, too!), and that day was no exception. The second we arrived he was wound up and bouncing off the walls!
We finally had to persuade him to get in the pool, just so there was a little peace and quiet in the house.
The kids had a blast! Unfortunately, the clouds started rolling in, and there was threat of rain. The kids stayed in the water a little bit longer, and then Michael had a scare. He was swimming in the deep end and was heading towards the shallow end. My best guess is that he thought he was at the point where he could touch the bottom, but wasn't. So as he went to put his foot down, he went under. He popped back up long enough to yell out "Mom!" and went under again. I jumped up from my chair, but his cousin Sydney was at his side (she was in the water very near him) and lifting him up before I could get to the edge of the pool.
Syd brought MJ to the edge of the pool, where I was standing, and I pulled him up and out of the water. He was pretty shaken, but only coughed once, so I know he didn't swallow too much water. He sat out for a while, but then got right back into the pool, in the shallow end. However, he didn't stay in long, and he said he was too scared to swim anymore, even with staying in the shallow end. So, his swimming season came to a close. I wish it hadn't ended on a scary note, but I have confidence that come next Spring, he will have forgotten about it, and will go back to being the fish he is. He will probably say,
"Hey mom! Remember yesterday (all days in the past are 'yesterday' to him) when I choked and almost drownded?"
Then I will say, "Yep, Buddy. I remember. But you didn't drown. Now jump in the pool and show me what you can do!"
We will be traveling to Orlando in a couple more months, so I am hoping we will have a chance to swim in the pool at the resort. Maybe we can put this in the past before Grandpa and Grandma's pool re-opens next year!
Ok, so back to the weekend. Shortly after Michael's incident, the skies turned pretty dark, the thunder clapped, and the lightning flashed. So everyone headed indoors, and the kids played for a few more hours before we headed home.
Sunday morning, I started the day with a lovely walk with my BFF Jen. We have committed ourselves to walking in the Maple City Half Marathon Walk next month. So, we are going to meet up every Sunday for our long walks each week, and do short walks on our own during the week. It is always so nice to just get together with her, sans kiddos, to catch up on the week's happenings. We used to do it back in 2007 (between kids for me, before kid with her), when we were training for my first 5k run. I am loving that we are doing something similar again! I am hoping after the walk, she may be willing to continue these Sunday morning meet ups, and JOG again. We are planning to run a marathon in Maui in 2014, and we need to start now!
After our walk, I cleaned up, we lounged around the house for a spell, then our little family went on a bike ride. We decided to ride to Martin's, and we had lunch at their Side Door Deli. I absolutely love their salad bar! I heard their Panini's are tasty too, but I have had one yet.
By the time we finished lunch and rode back home, it was nap time! While the rest of the family took naps and/or rested, I took advantage of the peace and quiet to get caught up on my Project 365. I started it last year on my birthday, and the end was coming very near! I was months behind on posting (although I was faithfully taking the pictures!), and I was determined to get caught up! By the time I went to bed Monday night, I was caught up! Yeah!
When the natives started to get restless again, we headed outside to play, and before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We had our own little family cookout, followed with s'mores!
But wait! There's more! It's a four day weekend! We had more fun in store on Monday!
Usually on Sundays we go out for breakfast. But since it was a long weekend, we reserved it for Monday morning. We were awake before the sun came up, loaded up and headed to iPod* for pancakes!
*IHOP (International House of Pancakes)
Just for fun, after breakfast, we ventured over to Meijer to stock up on long-sleeved white T's and heavy socks. Somehow we ended up with a cart full of toys and garden gnomes (no, I am not kidding!). I am such a sucker for the end of season clearance! I need help. For reals.
We managed to get home in time for me to bake some brownies and head to our next event. We went to a local county park for a BBQ lunch with my step-dad's family. There is such a beautiful garden there, and fun trails to hike. The temps were a little cool, but the sun popped out here and there just enough to warm us up now and then.
Since the cookout was at noon, Baby Girl didn't get her nap in before we went, so we left around 3 o'clock. I don't think we were out of the parking lot before she was fast asleep!
We spent the rest of the day playing outside, and at one point Michael invited the neighbor's daughter over to play with him. She is about 1.5 years younger than Michael, but they play together pretty well. He cracks us up, because when he hears them outside playing next door, he climbs up our privacy fence, and pops his head over to talk to them. We have nicknamed him "Wilson." They are pretty good sports, but we have to remind him to let them have their privacy sometimes!
