last weekend

 Last weekend was a nice low key one for us after we'd been busying turning over our rental property and not seeing Doug very much. We laid low and went out to eat a bunch and it was nice.

Finally I grew a zucchini!

Pulled out 2 hydrangeas that had been mislabeled and were growing some variety I didn't like. So ripped those out and planted new things I wanted. Frustrating as they had been $40 each and it was their mislabeling fault. Oh well. On the left of the rhododendron (in the middle) is a strawberry sundae hydrangea and on the right is going to be a snowball vibernum. If we're staying in this house for a while longer I thought I might as well have plants I like! Next summer they'll be pretty I hope.

Out to breakfast :)

Then to a park

The kids got soaked and we didn't have spare clothes, so just stripped them down to dry diapers. We just planned to go home until we stopped for an impromptu car wash (this kind you get out so they can vacuum inside your car, so hence this no-shirt, no-pants, no-problems horsie ride lol)

Sunday we went to church

I thought we've got to start wearing all these dresses before she grows out of them! 

This was actually the dress that our niece wore as the flower girl at our wedding. 💗

The one quiet, non-chasing them around part of the service, when they were snacking on nuts. 

Unfortunately as much as I love trying to be there, I think we'll probably go back to the home livestream option until the childcare is open again, it's just too crazy and distracting chasing them around :(

And ended the weekend out to dinner at Panera, yum! 

books and movies

In light of the current status of our nation, and simmering for decades, I've been slowly working through articles and books from this anti-racism resource list and I read:

I read it all in one sitting but it was pretty awful. Intense sexual scenes, incest, rape, it was rough. And reading it I'm not sure if that was an "accurate view of race" or just one persons "experience" (it's fiction so it wasn't a real experience anyway.) I don't know, I mostly regret reading it for the images that were in my mind.

The next month our book club read this one:

Jodi Picoult is a pretty safe "good book" bet. This one was an interesting story with the root of something that really did happen at a hospital in Michigan. This was written by a white woman, with extensive research with people of color, so it made me feel like maybe it was a close reflection into white privilege. It had the "N" word in it several times, so I'm hesitant to recommend it. But the story was good. 

I think going forward I will reference from this list, it seems a little more Christian worldview focus. 

It's been a hard time wading through racism. After George Floyd I reached out to a friend for his perspective and recommendations to help me understand. And then later I see on Facebook someone says it's racist to ask people of color for education. I was really upset to see that, and I hope not all people feel like that. It's like, geez, who is better to educate others than the people experiencing it everyday!? And does that person not view that question as love and concern and interest in being better?? That was my intent at least. So that was frustrating, just feels like no matter what, stepping on someones toes. 

The last thing I want to say is that while I 100% believe black lives matter, I also didn't know that "Black Lives Matter" is a specific organization with some beliefs that I personally don't agree with. I guess this organization was founded in 2013 after Trayvon Martin's death; I just didn't know it was a specific group with it's own agenda, and it seems a little misleading to say a phrase, but then some people are pushing their own issues through on it. Anyway, I can't be the only one who thought that. 

It seems like all these resources would be unnecessary if we could all just follow Jesus' command to "Love thy neighbor as thyself." Matthew 22:39. 

I know I'm guilty of not doing that every single day though.

The last thing I recently saw was:

Yes I am very late to the party. I don't really like Lady Gaga so I shied away from this movie, but she was amazing in it. I really liked the first half of the movie, it was so fun to see her come into her talents. But the second half was just sad and I wished it had ended a different way. 

The Redbox pickings have been pretty slim as no one has been making new movies, but it's nice to have more time to be outside and to read anyway.

39

This year on my birthday I got to do one of my favorite things, be out on the lake with friends!

My birthday fell on a Saturday this year and I was supposed to be working originally, but a girl at work had wanted to swap weekends and it ended up being perfect for me too!

We went over to our friends house with another couple friends and their kids and had an all day lake fun day and potluck-ish dinner. The weather was overcast which meant no sunburns, yay!, and it was still warm and nice. 

The kids played for HOURS in the sand

Jeanie is finally at the stage where she doesn't eat (too much) sand.

Wakeboarding!!

I hadn't waterskiied in a couple years, but someone else was making it look so fun so I thought I'd try again. I went around on 2 skiis a bit and then tried to drop a ski, I fell a couple times and the girls were like "just try to get up on 1" so I tried and got up on the 2nd try! I was super proud of myself since I haven't done that in probably nearly 10 years! It was fun. I think I still prefer wakeboarding best though. 

Eating mama's birthday brownies :)

August tubing with daddy

Jeanie's first tube ride!!

I'm blessed to have some great girlfriends. (Maybe my goal for 39 should be to get Erin's abs?!?!)