Saturday: summer list

One of the things the boys said they wanted to do this summer was eat blackberries.  They were on sale this week, so we were able to cross it off the list.

Friday: Urban Air

Today was a busy day!  We started out in at a playground (Drenthe Grove Park) with my mom's group from church.  It was a new playground for us, so we rated it like last year.  It was a pretty normal playground, but it did have close bathrooms and a lot of shade.

Isaac: 6
Joshua: 7
Amanda: 9

We ate lunch and then went to Urban Air.  The boys have wanted to go for ages.  It was a lot of fun...I got the parent admission so I could also do all the activities, but I don't think I'll need to do them again.  Once was enough...fun and I'm glad I did it, but trying to escape the foam pit was more difficult than I expected.  I think being larger just makes a lot of the things harder.

Anyway...Joshua was a bit afraid of heights, but he worked his way up to the tops of the climbing wall and even tried the ropes course at the very end.  He was a bit scared of the ropes course so we only went around the first small section, but he did a good job while he was up there. 

There was a ton of climbing stuff for Isaac.

Joshua's favorite part was the ball pit.  It was really an obstacle course with balls underneath (like ninja warrior), but a lot of kids just played in the balls.

Isaac's favorite thing was in the climbing wall section.  It was a bunch of capped tubes that got higher and higher that you needed to climb and then you could jump/spin off the top one.

We stayed about 3.5hours, but at the end everyone was just a tad bit out of sorts.  They rebounded quickly though once we were home.

Thursday: roof

Today they put a new roof on the house.  It was loud and annoying, but...they (mostly) finished within 12 hours!  I had been expecting a week or so of annoyance, so I was delighted to find out it would go so quickly.  We did get a large crew (12 or so guys), which is one of the main reasons.  Some crews apparently have significantly fewer people and so it obviously takes longer.  We also didn't have any damage under the shingles that needed to be repaired.

There is a bit of caulking left for tomorrow and the dumpster is still in the driveway, but it should be mostly quiet at least.

We also brought Grandma to her appointment today.  The boys came with me to see her.

Last Friday: done with school!

Today was (finally) the last day of school for the kids.  They had a half day.  We got home, dumped all of their stuff by the counter, finished packing, took a short nap, and then headed out for vacation!

I *think* I finally figured out how to tell them how to dress.  Joshua likes shorts and a T-shirt if the high is going to be about 63F or warmer, but is willing to bring a jacket.  Isaac likes pants until about 70F, and usually will take a sweatshirt regardless.  (In the pictures above, Isaac was going to be outside most of the morning and Joshua was going to be inside.)

Wednesday: no school

Well, today felt a bit crazy.  It was the first day of summer vacation being home.  The kids did a great job, but I also felt like I only got half of my normal work done.  This was a bit of a problem because I had 1.5x the work to do today because we just got home from vacation.  I chose to do several things with the kids and it was definitely the right choice, but I didn't get some important things done.

We went strawberry picking first thing in the morning.  It's a hot week, but there was a nice breeze and strawberry picking really doesn't take that long.

Joshua started to incubate his hedgehog from the children's museum and I got some jam set up.

I also played several games with the kids, taught Isaac how to do his laundry, and attempted to get some normal chores done.

Thursday: good news, bad news

Local Quilter Semifinalist in International Quilt Show 

Paducah, Kentucky, USA – Amanda Hilldore from Holland is a semifinalist for the 2022 AQS QuiltWeek® – Grand Rapids, Michigan held August 17 – 20, 2022, at the DeVos Place Convention Center. Amanda has been chosen to display the quilt, MESHING TOGETHER, along with 389 others in this AQS contest. First, Second, and Third Place prizes in seven categories will be awarded, along with seven overall awards including Best of Show. Winners will be announced at the show and posted on the AQS website, Americanquilter.com. More than $50,000 will be granted, including $10,000 for the Best of Show and $3,500 each for Best Wall Quilt, Best Traditional Design, Best Original Design, Best Hand, Best Stationary, and Best Movable Workmanship. Regardless of how MESHING TOGETHER places in the final judging, all semifinalist quilts will be displayed at the show. 

AQS President Bill Schroeder says, “AQS has a longstanding history of having the best of the best quilts in our contests. Just when we think the quality of the quilts can’t get any better, quilters step up their creativity even more and set a new standard of quiltmaking. This year’s contests are no exception and these quilts are truly exceptional.” 

Quilts were entered in this international contest from 38 US states and 12 countries. Come see a wide range of special exhibit quilts including: New Quilts from an Old Favorite: Wheel of Fortune; The Diana Cherrywood Challenge Exhibit; SAQA: Wide Horizons VII; The Ties That Bind Us curated by Wendy Brackman; along with a variety of quilts from the West Michigan Quilt Guild. 

The American Quilter’s Society hosts several shows annually, each with its own quilt contest. Besides the Grand Rapids, Michigan show, AQS hosts other prestigious shows in Daytona Beach, Florida; Branson, Missouri; Paducah, Kentucky; and Des Moines, Iowa.

The bad news is that I'll be on vacation and not able to actually attend.

Wednesday: roof

Shingles were delivered today for our new roof.  I don't notice the roof line often, but it was quite noticeable with the shingles!  Next we need to see a duck on the shingles.