Right away after we got back from our Missouri road trip, Maya started a six-week summer swim team, and Ian went to art camp. In fact, our entire June was full of swim team every weekday and either one or both kids in camp. Because Sean and I were working also, it wound up being very hectic getting everyone where they needed to go and with all the right stuff every day!
The second week, Maya had art camp and Ian went to bouldering camp (which he adores). Then the next week, they both went to Pokemon camp. And then Maya had a week where she only had daily swim team practice while Ian had basketball camp. Whatever vision of a lazy summer I might have entertained very quickly evaporated with all that running around.
Sean and I took a crack at implementing a few dietary changes this month, which has made meal planning a little more interesting. We’re starting small – trying to only have red meat once a week (and instead trying to eat more seafood). And we’re trying to seriously curtail added sugars in our food. This is a big one for Sean, who has a massive sweet tooth. It didn’t impact me as much, so instead I focused on avoiding school night beers (and their added calories). I’m very proud of my spouse – he’s managing pretty well reducing his sugar intake.
We have had some really great animal action in our yard this month. Mama fox (who we call Foxy Cleopatra) has visited a few more times, but so have her babies! We have seen at least a pair of them playing around back there. The little kits are actually more nervous about visiting the feeder than the big foxes, which I was a little surprised about.
We had a deer sleeping in our front shrub bed for a couple days. That was kind of startling because she was right by the door. The striped skunk visited at least one more time. There are countless birds and squirrels of course, drawn to the various feeders we put out. I hate the heat here, but I love our big-windowed house and its well-traveled backyard.
Mid-month, we went to a sandlot baseball game at The Long Time with the cub scouts. It was pretty hot, and I’m not sure the kids were all that interested in the game, but it was an interesting idea. It would be a neat little venue to watch a game, but it might be more fun once it got dark out.
Sean’s Father’s Day was pretty busy. He and the kids got up nice and early so they could go on a bike ride before it got too hot. Then we got to go watch Maya’s first ever swim meet, during which she did very well. And then finally, we went home, had homemade thin-crust pizza, and opened gifts.
The pizza we made was Brian Lagerstrom’s Tavern Style Chicago Thin Crust Pizza. Sean happened upon his YouTube channel in looking at something else, but quickly found his way to this recipe. We’ve made it several times since, and it’s been a hit every time, so it’s probably part of our regular rotation now.
The next weekend, Ian went bouldering with his friend Damian, and then they had a sleepover! With all the camp running around, it’s been hard to find time and energy to arrange social visits. It’s probably something to keep in mind when we think about structuring things next summer.
That same weekend, Maya participated in a fundraising car wash for her swim team’s end of season party. As a very tall kid, she wound up mostly be in charge of “washing high.” Weirdly, I think she liked the work well enough.
And we closed out the month by meeting friends at Cidercade. I love this place. I can’t remember if I’ve talked about it before, but you pay a flat fee and then everyone plays all the games they want, no quarters or tokens or cards required. You don’t earn points. There is no prize counter. You just go, play games, and if you so desire, drink hard cider and eat pizza. We pay for the kids to have bottomless soda, which delights them. I think on this particular day, we spent maybe 4 hours playing games and eating lunch and catching up. It was the low effort hang out that we needed after a month of camp and swim team craziness.
