In June I did well sharing life in the World of Weeks.

July, I got quiet.

August, I was MIA.

Oops!

Life!

It’s not like things haven’t been happening in our world. Quite the opposite. Things have been happening and this little blog of mine got put on the back burner.

In June I shared about our trip to Guatemala, kid’s birthdays and gardening adventures.

July was a busy month.

• July is my birthday month (no big celebration for me).
• Hubby had surgery. He’s fine.
• Arryn did a week-long musical theater camp with a performance of “Go Fish” at the end of the week. She did GREAT and LOVED it.

• The week before her camp, Arryn had her cast removed, had to get a CAT scan on the elbow which resulted in a referral to rehab to help her regain some strength and flexibility.
• Arryn did a summer ballet class.
• Naomi decided to try something new and auditioned for a show at our local community theater. She was cast in an ensemble role and the business of rehearsals began.
• Lili got her learner’s permit, completed her driver’s training class and began her hours behind the wheel.

• With the girls having all their activities, Ezran needed something to do. He is an EXTREMELY active child. He loves to run, jump, climb, and flip so I decided a Ninja Warrior class would be good for him. He had his first class and did well. The second week he cried and barely participated. The third week I had hubby take him. He did a little better, but was guarded. By the fourth week he was a little Ninja warrior and is now comfortable participating. He’s even beginning to make some little friends in the class.

In between all the highlights of the month there was a birthday party for a friend, going to the community theater to see “Mary Poppins”, doctor’s appointments, work for hubby and Lili, school for the kids, playdates, a get together with friends and everyday life.

I thought July was a busy month, but then August hit.

• Arryn began rehab

• Naomi had rehearsals and was absolutely loving the theater life. The next step was beginning voice lessons as she decided to audition for the next show, “A Christmas Story the Musical”.
• Lili took an English placement test at our local community college and did well. She then met with an advisor and was enrolled in her first college class as a dual enrollment student. She then decided to enroll in a second college class. She has plans to take at least 3 classes in the Spring and will finish high school with at least 15 college credit hours. Her goal is to get a degree in Computer Science.
• Lili also began her college classes and has continued to work between 12-20 hours per week.
• Arryn began an art class with her bestie.
• I harvested and canned 10 quarts of tomatoes. Hubby harvested and pickled a quart of Serrano peppers. We’ve used green peppers, onions, carrots and jalapenos from the garden as well. The strawberries and raspberries have been eaten as soon as they were picked. We have at least 10 butternut squash on the vines, and I will soon be picking 4 of them for eating and freezing. While the garden hasn’t produced quite as well as I had hoped, we will continue to harvest for the next several weeks.

• The highlight of the month was a trip Lili, Naomi and I made to St. Louis to see Pink in concert. This was the second time I’ve seen her in concert, the first big concert for Lili and the second big concert for Naomi. The tickets were a Christmas gift from hubby and what I didn’t realize at the time was that the opening acts were The Script and Sheryl Crow. I was as excited about seeing Sheryl Crow as I was Pink. The concert did not disappoint at all.

• The other highlight of the month was “James and the Giant Peach”. Naomi shines on stage.

Hubby and I have done A LOT of chauffeuring in August taking Lili to her classes and work, Naomi to rehearsals and voice lessons, Arryn to ballet and art classes and Ezran to Ninja Warrior classes. We also had a couple playdates, birthday party, and another get together with friends.

We also had a fun family outing at a state park near us for some fishing.

Our fishing trip has rekindled the camping fire. Stay tuned as there may be some camping posts in the future.

It is now September, and my calendar shows no signs of being any less busy than the last couple of months.

• Naomi will finish up “James and the Giant Peach” then immediately move into auditions for “A Christmas Story”. Fingers crossed she gets a role and if that happens, she will go back to rehearsals several times a week.
• Naomi will continue her voice lessons; Ezran continues Ninja Warrior and Arryn will continue art classes.
• Added to the schedule in September will be Arryn back to Musical Theater classes and ballet. Ezran will begin his first music class without mommy or daddy in the room.
• The highlight for the month is our next cruise. We will embark on a 9-night cruise up the east coast visiting Boston, MA; Bar Harbor, ME; Sydney, NS; Halifax, NS; and Saint John, NB (Bay of Fundy). This will be our longest cruise to date and our first cruise not going to the Caribbean.

There are no signs of life slowing down in the World of Weeks and that is okay. It’s taken us much longer than anticipated to settle back into life in Illinois. We’ve reconnected with some old friends and made new friends. The kids are trying out some new things and we are making plans for future adventures.

While the blog has taken a back seat, it’s really only due to the business of life. Maybe not the most exciting to read about, but this is life in the World of Weeks right now.