Afternoons at the Pool

The temperatures have been in the high 90s every day this week so we've been enjoying the pool even more than usual. Korra is an absolute fish and would stay all day if we let her. 

Pizza Night

We tried a new pizza place tonight. The Detroit style pizza at Triple Js is nearly as good as Nina and Rafi's, but way less expensive and easier/faster ordering and pick up. We'll definitely be eating there again. 

While I was cooking dinner Korra said to me...

Sometimes I feel like my life's a play but no one has rehearsed their lines.

Backpack

I added some buttons and embroidery to my backpack. 

51 minutes

Today I spent a total of 51 minutes on hold with 3 different doctor's offices and STILL didn't manage to get an appointment. Ugh. 

Korra's Gag Reflex

Korra has a sensitive gag reflex. Things that cause her to gag: 

-putting dishes in the dishwasher

-coffee breath

-gross foods on TV

-the smell when she first gets in the car

-watching someone (me) eat a banana

Homemade Ravioli

Korra got a kid's cookbook from the library. She was insistent that we try the recipe for ravioli so we bought all the ingredients and tried it today. It took over 2 hours, made a huge mess, and I ended up doing most of it by myself because it was too frustrating, difficult, and tedious for Korra. It was delicious, but way too much work. 

Bulletin Board

This morning I went to the school to start getting my room ready. I put border on my bulletin boards and printed out an "All About Me" craft for the first day of school (that I'll put on the bulletin board). Here's my example:

Lunch with Nate

Korra and I picked up udon and sushi and went to have lunch with Nate today. It was neat to see where he works (and to see him at work for a bit). 

Carrot Apple Zucchini Bread

https://www.momontimeout.com/carrot-apple-zucchini-bread-recipe/#recipe

I made this bread today and it's fantastic. I subbed the sugar for honey (half) and a cup of flour with oats. I also added flax meal and wheat germ just to make it a little healthier. It makes 2 loaves and boy am I glad. The second one is going in the freezer. Perfect after school snack or breakfast!

Tubing in Helen

From the summer of 1996 until about 2009, my family went tubing down the Chattahoochee in the "Alpine village" of Helen almost every summer. Today we went back and took Korra for the first time. She absolutely loved it (even asking if we could immediately do it again). 

Jumper

I sewed this jumper for Korra. I even drew the pattern myself!  It's not perfect but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 

5 dozen cookies

Yesterday Korra and I baked 60 snickerdoodles for Nate to bring to work to share with his new coworkers today. Looking forward to baking another big batch of cookies for my coworkers in 2 weeks. 

Refashioned Dress

A few weeks ago, Korra picked out this dress for me at the thrift store. Since it was half off day, it only cost me $1.82. It was originally long sleeved, but they were really tight on the upper arm, so I cut them off and widened the arm hole. I cut a strip off the bottom of the dress to make bias tape and then used that to finish the new sleeves. Then I used the old sleeves to make pockets which I added to the side seams. It's still not my favorite dress ever (cut or pattern) but it was a fun little project and for under $2, totally worth it even if I only wear it a few times. 

Skateboarding

Bloodwork

This morning I had to get bloodwork done for my annual physical. I was dreading it since nurses and phlebotomists always seem to take my "I have small veins" as a sort of challenge to their professional performance. That and knowing/ hearing/feeling that they are struggling to find my vein causes a vasovagal response (meaning I almost pass out), well, you can see why I wasn't excited to get this task checked off my to do list. Thankfully, today's phlebotomist didn't have any trouble fining my vein so I was in and out without even getting light headed or queasy!

Headed home

In the Denver airport. Had a personal pan pizza for dinner. Hoping for an easy flight home. 

Rainbow Falls and Red Rock Canyon

More pictures?

Some friends in this group LOVE to take pictures. 

Garden of the Gods

Why yes, we are wearing custom matching shirts. 

7/9

Colorado!

Leaving for Colorado this morning to visit with some of my college girls for the weekend!  

Flat Tire

Korra and I planned to bike to my doctor appointment as the office is only about a mile away but we discovered that Korra's bike had a flat tire. It actually turned out to be a good thing we had to drive, because the office moved another mile away and we definitely would have been late if we had biked or walked. 

She's not sorry

Mrs bit the vet tech. 

Zucchini Pasta

If you have a few giant zucchinis you need to use up, this recipe is good!

https://smittenkitchen.com/2021/06/zucchini-butter-spaghetti/

Smart, Stubborn Cat

Mrs Reynolds has a vet appointment today. Her vet suggested she take some medication before the appointment to help her be calmer. We tried all last night. We bought pill pocket treats- she only smelled it. We wrapped it in cheese- she only licked it. We broke the pill open and mixed it in a little bit milk- she only took one lick. We didn't feed her any dinner so she'd be hungry enough to eat it. Oh well. I guess she's just going to be really ornery and upset at her check up today. 

Assistant Babysitter

Friends who have 4 small children had to take one of their kids to the ER this morning so Korra and I are babysitting the other 3 for a bit. Korra was pretty excited about being an assistant babysitter. 

HAMILTON!!!

We just bought tickets for all 3 of us to see Hamilton in September! 

Sleepover Date

Korra is at a sleepover so Nate and I had a date. First, drinks with friends, then ordering 2 large pizzas to eat in our pajamas while watching Brooklyn 99. 

Family Vacation, Part 2

On Monday we left my parents' house and headed to the cabin for time with Nate's family. G and I taught the kids the Macarena and the Cupid Shuffle during a porch dance party. All the adults worked together to remove the spa. The kids enjoyed playing in the creek and "spying" on the adults. I spent lots of time reading on the porch. I also completely forgot to take pictures except for this one of the little lizard that appeared in our shower one morning. 

Auntie Katie's Beauty Shop

I braided my neices' and Korra's hair today. 

Games

This afternoon we played Just One 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/254640/just-one at the kitchen table and then Kubb 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubb in the yard. Both were super fun!

Baby Snuggles

One more week of summer

Out of the blue (at least to me), I got an email from the school that informs us that the first day is school has been moved back a week. Bonus week of summer! Best of all, they aren't changing any breaks or the last day of school!

Family Photos

 

Cousins

This morning I took a walk with my dad and then went to the grocery store with my mom. My sister, brother-in-law, and 3 niblings arrived at lunch. The cousins played so hard all afternoon and well into the evening. Walkie-talkies, slingshot rockets, slip-and-slide, swimming in their underwear, running around without shirts on, and a long game of "Uncle Nate is a monster." 

In the afternoon we left the kids to check out Sierra Nevada Brewery (beautiful garden, terrible traffic) and then Todd and Sarah after the kids were asleep. 

Family Vacation, Part 1

Today we're driving up to NC to see my parents!  ALL my siblings and their partners and kids will be joining us tomorrow so we can spend the long weekend together.