Hello and Happy July! It feels like it’s been a minute since I last posted and a lot has happened. We took our first kid-free vacation since Lydia was born, celebrated the 4th of July, went to the Rockies game, attended Dempsey’s last soccer game, visited the museum, saw a movie and ate a million meals out. It was all the very best and I’m feeling ready to jump back into normal (but it’s still summer, so maybe not so normal) life 😄 Now bear with me as I try to piece together our weekend 😂

We had a pretty chill 4th of July. It is always so weird to me that we have the entire day off but no one get together until later because we want to time it close enough to nighttime for fireworks. At 3:30, I was so ready for everyone to come over at 5 😂 We started the day with waffles and then Joey took the kids on a run/to the park while I cleaned up the house and then we just hung out/played until BBQ time. We had quite the spread! Dempsey and Landon rode around in his car for sooooo long and it was the cutest. And we took a picture of the cousins and could not believe how much they’ve changed since last 4th of July!!!! We set off our little pack of fireworks around 8:30 and Dempsey was in his happy place. Lydi was NOT but she survived 😅 Such a happy time with our family!

Joey went golfing Saturday morning, so the kids and I had breakfast then walked to the coffee shop/park. I let Dempsey bring his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pizza van to the park but did not think about how busy the park would be or how it would be a kid magnet. They were all drawn to it! Then we had 5th of July tickets to the Rockies game/fireworks show. I don’t think we’ve been on the field for fireworks in something like 15 years!!! And turns out, it’s a lot harder with kids but we had fun! Can’t say the same for the rest of our group who got pushed to Lot B parking 😣 Lydia was not a fan again but she seemed to do okay. It was a late night for all of us!

Needless to say, we were all extra tired and slept in on Saturday. Once we were up, we made pancakes then headed to soccer. I guess we could technically still show up for the beginning of Dempsey’s game next week (the actual last week) but maybe we’ll also just skip it 😂 It’s been a grind keeping this kid on the field and participating. They had to share their favorite animals and act them out on the field and he said “a sloth,” which seems right for how slow he was moving 😂😂😂

After Lydia’s nap, we hit up the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Joey suggested it and I’m so glad because it’s the perfect “too hot outside” activity and the kids had a great time (until Dempsey literally punched me when I wouldn’t let him open the cover over the emergency stop button on the escalator “just to look, MOM!” 😑). My favorite part was when Dempsey was pretending a rock-shaped pillow fell on him? This kid! Since we were in the area, we headed to Vine Street Pub for dinner. It’s finally re-opened after closing down in 2020! My beloved tempeh Rueben was missing from the menu but the beer and fries and BLT I had were amazing, so I guess I’ll live 😋 Back at home, baths and bedtime for the kids and then Joey and I watched the sixth and seventh episodes of Ripley before going to bed ourselves.

Sunday, finally! Joey was up and at em early and then he and Dempsey headed out to go fishing. Sissy and I had a slower morning of breakfast, Bluey and playing before we walked over to the farmers’ market. Got peaches, popcorn, zucchini, corn, blueberries, coffee beans, and sunflowers then headed back home. Joey sent me that photo of the fish they caught and I guess Dempsey wasn’t too thrilled about it this time 😂 They came home in time for us all to have lunch together and then Lydi went down for her nap and Grandma Lori came over so Joey and I could go see The Bikeriders. Lot of voicework being done there! I felt like the whole thing was more vibes than plot, but I did like the vibes. Jodie Comer IS the movie but Austin Butler and Tom Hardy are pretty good too. Back at home, salads, toy rotation and dinner. Felt slightly chaotic but oh well. We finally had a normal bedtime with the kids then finished our show. I thought it was really good! Shot beautifully and Andrew Scott was just incredible as Tom Ripley. Would recommend!

Wishing everyone a good week!

Good morning from my scratchy throat and runny nose, just in time for our kid-free vacation at the end of the week! 😣 Demps came down with something on Thursday and was not feeling his best that day or the next, but he seems fine now, so I’m hopeful that Joey, Lydia and I are all better just as quick. We still had a fun weekend! My aunt and uncle — who I hadn’t seen in eight years! — were in town and we hosted a big family BBQ at our house. It was such a good and fun visit with everyone and it made my heart so full and happy 🤍 Followed it up with a down day on Sunday. It was so hot outside, so we all hid inside and had cabin fever but we did get all our chores done and Joey cooked us a good, uh, soup for the 96 degree day 😂

Joey had a golf tournament on Friday, so I got the kids up and dressed and fed and over to Grandma’s for the day. Lydia left Bitty Baby in her car seat and it made me do a double take when I looked in the rear view mirror. I got my nails done and grabbed a few things at Whole Foods, including the Barbie Olipop and I thought it was delicious! Back at home, I worked and then Joey came home and we both went to pick the kids up. Ate some leftovers for dinner and I had a few moments of dinner peace when they both wanted to sit on Joey’s lap 😂🥰 Got them both bathed and to bed before firing up a movie. We finished this on Saturday night and I thought it was just okay. Bordering on funny but not quite there for me.

Dempsey slept 7-7 and seemed so much better on Saturday! And I was asleep at 9:15, so I felt pretty good too! Went for an early morning run and then Joey made us some banana oat pancakes and gosh, I love a good dense pancake with some texture. Spent the rest of the day hanging out, playing and cleaning up the backyard so we could have people over at 3. Demps helped me melonball a watermelon and he was very dedicated to his task 🥺

Stole a bunch of my aunt’s photos and she got some good ones of us all hanging out and catching up. My brother and his family came down as well and it was so sweet seeing his older kiddos hang out with my younger kiddos. The cousin bond knows no age difference, I guess 🤍 My niece had had a birthday earlier in the week, so we celebrated with Chantilly cake. We got the tripod out for that group photo and then Dempsey used it for the rest of the night, which was very funny. He doesn’t have a bad eye! The kids were up later than usual and I guess Lydia was ready for bed 😂 I’m so glad we were able to have this get together and I hope it’s not eight years before we do the next one 😊

Joey made us egg sandwiches (hashbrowns and waffle for Lyds) for Sunday breakfast and then it was laundry, cleaning the humidifiers, making salads and putting Lydia down for her nap before I headed out to get a pedicure. Joey made us a really good tomato-bean soup and cornbread for dinner and both kids skipped the soup and only ate the cornbread 😂 Got the kids to bed and watched some Olympic trial coverage before getting into our own bed.

Happy Monday!