The 4th of July weekend was great. I had 4 days off in a row, which was a huge treat. I feel like I’m been just running on fumes for awhile now and it was great to get a nice break. The boys and I painted the play set, including the new addition that Andy and his dad built. Jude was a good helper, but Levi and Asher, not so much. Asher instead painted the house (with the wrong color), painted the cement walkway and the grass. I also did some other random painting projects, a lot of cleaning and organizing. I didn’t get everything done on my list, but I made headway. On Saturday, the boys and I headed to my brother’s house. Every tuber in town was on the lake so I had to barefoot through rollers and it was a trick just to plant my feet and stay up. And, it was tough to not drown while barefooting with all the spray I was getting in my face. But, I toughed it out and am still paying the price. I love that sore muscle feeling. We attempted to get Jude up waterskiing, but not this time. I have a couple ideas for getting him up next weekend. I was proud of Levi for trying on the skis and thinking about trying to ski, but he changed his mind at the last minute. Asher was thrilled to get on the boat and was an eager tuber. He went tubing with me and was having fun. But, the fun was short lived. My brother was driving too fast so Asher and I intentionally bailed off the tube after his bouncing head made me nervous. I didn’t realize that little guy had an Angry Bird toy clutched in his hand the entire tube run.  Our last day of fun consisted of church, followed by pizza at Sam’s Club and then our first visit to Elm Creek Park. That park is just remarkable and we’re already thinking about when we’ll make out next visit.
Tonight Andy had to record a podcast so the boys and I planned an outing. Jude has been asking to train for a road race, so I found a 1/4 mile track at a high school and the boys and I went there. My energetic boys raced and raced. Jude ran over a mile and still had lots of energy. After lots of racing, we went to the play set nearby and we played some more. On the way home, Jude was hungry for a second supper so the McDonald’s came in handy. I was paying for his hamburger when Andy spied on me through “Find my iPhone”, noted that I was at McDonald’s and texted me and asked me to order him a caramel shake and not to drink any. I ordered him the shake and helped myself to plenty.