First Week of Summer, Joseph's 14th Birthday

It's been a crazy week, and things won't slow down next week since we leave for NC on Tuesday.

Saturday ended up busier than expected. We helped James's coworker Katie move, then the older boys and I went to vacuum out the van at the car wash. Katie had given us some furniture, so we rearranged the living room, got rid of a broken cabinet, and cleaned everything in the process. The girls also cleaned their room to make space for some new shelves. It took pretty much all day, which meant I didn't get to some of the other things I wanted to do.

Monday, Memorial Day, we went into Dinosaur National Monument to see some petroglyphs and a few cool overlooks. We had lunch at a campground before returning home. James and I played a board game and then relaxed somewhat for the rest of the day.

The rest of the week has been so busy that I've had to rewrite my planner by the hour. By Friday afternoon, I will been to/done 4 birthday parties (1 hosted here today for Joseph), 3 play dates (one of which was a long drive), 3 dental/ortho appointments (1 that got added last minute), 2 haircuts, and 1 presidency meeting. There's also a doctor's appointment on Monday. Oh, and there were also activities for Katie, YM for the boys, and a lunch date with Kenny to use a few certificates he got from school and a lunch date with James while he was working.

Naturally, James has been working since Tuesday and will do all of this week plus Monday. I've grown weary of driving places, even the fun ones. I know I won't write again until after I return from NC, so here's the rundown of the next few days:

Today: Joseph's 14th birthday. He invited a few friends to play board games and video games. I'm making several kinds of pizza, chocolate PB cheesecake, and PB fudge ice cream.

Tomorrow: Last playdate of the week, chores that I don't want to do on Saturday.

Saturday: chores, a baptism

Sunday: the usual

Monday: prep for the trip

Throw in a couple of small organizing projects on the side with a dash of "I'm bored; what should I do?" and that's my summer so far. I'm really looking forward to the trip next week while also dreading the really long drive.