Coming home from vacation is hard. And, do you know what the hardest part is for me? The mountains of laundry? Nope. The return to getting up before 9? Piece of cake.
It’s the drinking. Upon returning, I continue to believe that I am entitled to cocktails at all hours of the day. Mimosas after feeding the dogs, Blood Mary’s while doing said laundry, beers during the long afternoon driving the kids around. 😏
And then, wine just seems like a good way to end a day of hard work. I have to wean myself off slowly.
Others of us are quitters….
You know what’s even sadder about that picture? It’s like 9:00 and he’s been asleep for 2 hours. During the Olympics Opening Ceremony. I know that’s the most boring part of the whole two week event, but IT’S THE OLYMPICS. John and I have been known to stay up until well past a decent weekday hour watching the swimming and gymnastics. At least one of us is still fun….
It’s August 🙁
Every summer there’s one thing on the “must-do list”…a not-to-miss event. Yup, the Larimer County Fair. Also known as the event where you’ll use an entire bottle of hand sanitizer, empty your checkbook for a crusty stuffed animal, and witness some people that make you question humanity. The little people are drawn to it like a moth to a flame. It’s such a s*%t-show in fact, that I’ve written about it every August since this blog began….
First up, an innocent enough picture of two awesome kids humoring the little one before they progress to the vomit-inducing rides. BUT, what’s awesome about this picture is the 72 oz. Big Gulp that occupies the seat next to Natalie…in the seat belt. Yes, it belongs to the carnival worker in the background, and I will bet you all the money I have that it was not filled with water.
Have I ever talked about how much Malory loves a carousel? I mean LOVES, like as much as I love bacon….and cheese….and wine. If I did not bribe her with promises of chocolate, she would ride around and around for hours. Which is exactly what we did….until I spotted in the distance the ultimate bribe for any 4-year-old animal lover….The Petting Zoo.
The goats, chickens and donkeys were loathing the day that they agreed to be part of this. Come to the fair they said…it will be fun they said.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch all of that carousel riding made me dizzy….and thirsty. So, I had a beer and convinced Phil to ride all of the big boy rides with the kids while I kept Beth company. If you’ll remember from last year, those carnies REALLY took a liking to Beth, and it’s best that I kept an eye on her.
Check out poor Natalie in this picture. She is desperately trying to hold Jackson’s hand because she’s terrified of the aptitude of the carnival workers and that the Super Shot will shoot right off the track and into space. Jackson’s having no part of it, and I’m not sure what to say about Phil. He’s clearly had a Valium.
As an official end to summer, the Country Club has a Junior Awards Banquet, complete with red carpet. Have you noticed that Natalie has been in at least 3 of the pictures from this month so far? It’s pretty normal for her to be at our house for at least a few minutes most days, and we love having her.
I am super proud of my young man for this award. What a great recognition for the amount of time and effort that he puts in. He was beaming, and so was I!!
Much to our dismay, the day arrived. It’s hard to believe that I have a second grader and a fourth grader. They’re getting so big and so grown up…most of the time. As with any 7 and 9-year-old kids, their brain occasionally short circuits and they lose all control of themselves. But, by and large, they are a joy to be around and I’m always sad to send them back to school.
You know who missed them the most? Walter. Because now he is in charge of playing with Malory, and I’m here to tell you that is exhausting. Soon enough, he’ll get a reprieve…but that’s next month.
So, almost the entire summer had gone by and we’d spent very little time with Aunt Liz and the girls. Before they started school we invited them up for one last marathon play weekend. From the minute they walk in the door, the girls disappear up to the playroom for a Barbie extravaganza. We see them for the occasional snack, or an impromptu dance party. Jackson is a pretty good sport and plays for a solid 10 minutes before he retreats to his Minecraft.
And, since the kids were occupied, Liz and I decided to sneak off for a much-needed girls night. I am being 100% honest when I tell you that I thought we’d go have a glass of wine (maybe two) and a nice dinner. Yeah, we did that….and then some.
The beginning…..
The end….
We are soooooo dumb….
Side note: Can you believe that Liz had never had a jello shot? Obviously, it took several to really get the hang of it.
We had SO MUCH FUN….until the next morning when I had to get up early for the annual Lindenwood Days parade. I was cursing those last 40 jello shots, but managed to get up, get donuts, and dress the little people for this year’s theme, royalty for The King’s Court. They work so hard each year on their costumes, and it really paid off this year in the award for the Best Decorations! You think we could just ride our bikes or walk along for the parade? Nope! We really upped our game this year and created a float. Let me tell you who did NOT love running alongside that float, ensuring that it stayed on course.
The spectators could be heard saying “Do you smell vodka?’
