Day 2547 | Reunited!

After dropping the boys off at camp on Monday, we were reunited this morning to smiling faces and stories galore. The hot weather didn’t seem to put a damper on any of the fun. Is there anything better as parents than listening to your kids tell you how they thrived independently in a totally unfamiliar environment? I’m just so proud of these small humans. And I’m beyond excited to have them back home in their own beds tonight.

Day 2546 | Kid-Free Week

Chris and I have taken basically zero photos with the boys gone—no surprise, I guess. We had this one from our anniversary over the weekend, though. That’s something!

It’s been lovely to have some kid-free time, but it’s so very weird to be home going about our daily life without them. I just can’t wait for Saturday morning to hear all the details.

Day 2545 | Camp Manitou

We dropped the boys off for their first-ever sleep away camp tonight. They handled it better than me, but I did manage to put on a brave face. They’re my people, you know? What am I going to do until Saturday morning without them filling most of my waking moments (ok, I imagine they’ll still fill most of those moments—just in a different way).

Don’t get me wrong, Chris and I have been excited for the vacation from parenting, but that part hasn’t exactly kicked in quite yet. I just hope everything goes ok for the boys tonight. The first night is always the hardest, after all.

Day 2544 | Summer Reading Challenge

The librarian didn’t seem thrilled when Robbe showed up with his completed summer reading program today—on June 15. Apparently they were hoping it would extend a bit further into the summer months. Haha!

Live and learn, I guess. Forty minutes of reading for each box (I think there were about 25 boxes total) just wasn’t enough. Especially when you’ve got a book series that keeps you enthralled.

Day 2537 | So Long, Soccer

The spring soccer season has officially come to an end. We started in about 30 degree weather in April and ended in 90 degrees today—you’ve got to love sporting in Wisconsin.

As much as I really dislike all the schlepping (and games EVERY weekend), I do enjoy watching the boys working hard, making new friends, and running around like crazy. Robbe is planning on playing again in the fall, but Chase has decided to hang up his cleats, so we’ll be on the lookout for a new activity for him to try out.

Day 2535 | Graduation

This smart, funny, beautiful, talented young lady graduated from high school over the weekend and we couldn’t be more proud of her. She’ll be able to accomplish anything she puts her mind to and we’re excited to watch her next chapter unfold.

*The bottom photo is just a cute one from a graduation party. We’ll call it “Three Stages of Boyhood”.

Day 2534 | Culture Fest & Wax Museum

It’s the end of the school year and that means time for another Culture Fest & Wax Museum. Robbe became an expert on South Africa and Chase transformed into Albert Einstein (you can tell by the wig, right?). We’re so proud of all the effort both boys put in and their final products were really impressive.

The other two photos are from the student art show. We had one 3D “stick man” sculpture (Chase) and one back-lit transparency art (Robbe). Both beautiful pieces of art.