Does anyone else feel like it’s the 14th week of July?? Maybe it’s because it’s been so hot here in Colorado, and oh my gosh, I’m realizing the heat makes me IRRITABLE. Anyway, we had a very real weekend and by that I mean Joey and I saw The Odyssey, we did an outdoor movie night with the kids, attended Lydia’s last soccer practice and two birthday parties on Saturday, then the girls got their hair cut and we all spent Sunday afternoon at my parents’ pool then had dinner together but also the movie theater was so hot, we had technical difficulties and didn’t start our outdoor movie until 9 PM, Lydia spent like five minutes on the soccer field, the kids stayed out late on Saturday night, Lydia had THEE biggest meltdown on Sunday afternoon and bedtime was rocky and ended with her in our bed. So not perfect, but very real 😅 Perhaps three late bedtimes in a row was not our best parenting decision!

Joey and I snuck out early on Friday to see a 2 PM showing of The Odyssey and I guess we weren’t the only ones because that IMAX theater was PACKED! SPOILER ALERT! I wasn’t as immediately blown away as I was by Oppenheimer and there are definitely some sections and some performances that I wasn’t completely on board with — Christopher Nolan and I must have different opinons on Benny Safdie 😂 — but overall, I really loved it. I adore me some Greek mythology and my high school education came rushing back to me. I looooved the Circe section. And how amazing to just see a really big scale act of filmmaking by an auteur filmmaker with all the star-power and budgeting that befits a story of this scope. Truly the loudest movie I’ve ever seen though. Bring your earplugs if you don’t want your eardrums blown out!

Afterward, we picked the kids up at Chad and Lori’s, then went home for dinner and a movie on the new projector screen. We had the hardest time signing into our steaming accounts and had to pivot on which movie we watched but finally got How to Train Your Dragon going and watched until 10. Lydi and I just saw the 2025 live action remake in the theater a few weeks ago but I hadn’t watched the animated version since it came out 2010. I forgot how good and cute it is! Got the kids to bed then went right to bed ourselves.

My second time seeing the Trojan Horse in one weekend! 😂

Lydi had some trouble waking up on Saturday! I made us all some whole wheat banana pancakes and then we got ready for soccer and walked/biked over to the field. She was mostly on cone duty but Joey got her to kick the ball a couple of times. Can’t say I’m sad the season is over, though it was sweet to see Dempsey and his friend from school play together every week. Went home for chores, rest time, an inaugural playing of the BTS album I got for my birthday and Joey took the kids to Home Depot for a Halloween decoration check before we all headed out to celebrate Auntie Lauren’s birthday. It was HOT but food and drinks were good and the kids had fun playing pinball and mini golf. How cute is Dempsey very seriously filling out his score card?? 🥹 Our neighbors were having a party too and we told them we’d stop by after so it was another late night for the kids but I think they had fun. We put them to bed, then started some frozen palomas for the next day and put ourselves to bed.

The kids slept wayyyyyy in on Sunday, unsurprisingly. Joey went on a run and I worked out and then we finally woke them up at 9! Lydia and I both had haircut appointments, so we headed out around 10:30 and don’t we look so beautiful? 💁‍♀️ She did so good and we cut a couple of inches off. Headed back home for lunch and to watch the World Cup halftime show, which I thought was so good! I thought the boys sounded amazing and how beautiful is Shakira?? I love that Coldplay is so secure that they can cede their song to a group of kids and just stand in the back and hype them up ❤️

Afterward, we loaded up in the car and headed to my parents’ pool. It was SO HOT yesterday, so the pool felt amazing! Dempsey loves the water so much but he has such a sensory issue with water on his face/in his eyes and we are forever working with him on it. By the end of this pool day, he was jumping in from the side and using Grandma’s tip to just use his hand like a windshield wiper to get the water off his face. I love that for him! Headed back to my parents’ for frozen palomas, burgers with all the toppings and some really good corn. Ina is not messing around with that paloma recipe, it almost took me out 😂 Lydia fell asleep in the car on the way home, then woke up on the transfer and was a mess afterward, hence ending up sleeping in our bed. Wasn’t too bad for me but I can’t speak for Joey, who got a middle-of-the-night slap in the face 😱

None of us wanted to wake up this morning, but is it even summer if you went too hard all weekend and forgot what time bedtime is?? Happy Monday!

We had a great, albeit scorching hot, weekend filled with continued breakfast celebrations, a night out for Mom and her mom, breakfast in bed 🥰🥰🥰 and some family time on Sunday. We also marked the fourth anniversary of Elliott’s passing with a balloon release in her honor. She is so missed, now and forever 🩷

Friday, I worked from home, spoke with my therapist and finished Hamnet in my new hammock before Lori brought the kids home and then, once Joey was home, we all went to Little Wolf for dinner. I thought the food was really good but between our last visit and this one, they got rid of their kids menu? And the restaurant is in a family neighborhood, was half full with kids and has all kinds of games and coloring for them? Make it make sense. Anyway, got the kids back home and into bed and only had to get up eight times to re-put them to bed while trying to watch Big Brother. We’re more than ready for our 5.5 year old to finish up pre-school and stop taking a 2-HOUR NAP that he doesn’t need 😅

Joey was out for his run on Saturday morning and Lydi was still fast asleep, so Dempsey and I made French toast together and it was the best 🥹 Tasted good too! After breakfast, we headed over to the soccer field for much laying in the field, sitting on the soccer ball, whining to be held and a few seconds of participation 😂 One more week, thank goodness! Took the kids to Mess Fest at the children’s museum afterward and despite being a million degrees they had a great time! Mud was just okay, paint was pretty good, foam was a blast, but best of all: the kid carwash! 😂

Got home around 2:30 and we all vegged for a bit then everyone took a shower/bath and I headed out to pick my mom up for the Shakespeare Festival. She packed up a perfect little picnic for us and then we got to see the newly renovated Hellems building and it was unrecognizable! Wowza, it looked nice. Can’t say the combining of the men’s and women’s bathrooms into one bathroom but half the number of stalls was my favorite but what can you do? I think Twelfth Night is my favorite Shakespearean comedy or at least the one I’ve seen the most. The whole side plot with Sir Toby, Andrew Aguecheek, the jester, Maria and Malvolio is good stuff. We also both thought we might pass out from the heat just sitting there in the Mary Rippon Theater but we survived. Got home at 11:30 to a house full of sleeping people and crashed into bed myself!

I had my alarm set for 7:30 the next morning and kept dozing off until Joey and Dempsey came in with breakfast in bed 🥰🥹 They’re so sweet! Dempsey even shaped it into a butterfly for me. Lydia was less excited about being woken up but she eventually made it in too and we all ate in our bed. At 10:30 we went to the balloon release and the kids just wanted to play on the shade-less playground 😅😅 I got that sweet shot of Lydia holding the string of her balloon that I didn’t even remember taking and was really moved to see later. Dempsey asked me if I was crying and gave both me and Lori a big hug. We considered going to the pool but it was honestly too hot to be outside at all, so we headed to the movie theater. That dark air-conditioned space felt amazing and Minions and Monsters was cute too. It’s for film nerds, okay? The kids were telling us their favorite parts on the drive home and I loved that. Spent the rest of the day making salads, playing and staying inside but we were able to go out after dinner and that felt really nice.

I hope you all had a good weekend as well and if you’re in Colorado, I hope you find ways to stay cool this week! 🥵