Finally Friday!

Wow! What a week! I'm sure it was super busy for everyone, considering most schools begin their summer recess around this time. We had field trips (in the last week, really?!), parties, award ceremonies, and various other celebrations. Basically, the last week ended up being the busiest week of nothingness all year. Rivaled only by the few days before winter break. I spent three consecutive days at the school which, I don't think has happened since I attended school myself. But what a fun time! One of those days I was at school was for a PTO meeting for the 2014-2015 year. I am so excited to take part in this, you have no idea. Guess what committee I get to head: SPIRIT WEAR! Heck yes. I get to volunteer at Little J's school, plus be (mostly) in charge of clothes and other spirit inspiring gear. Plus, if you want spirit, I'm your girl. In case you didn't know, in seventh grade I received the Esprit De Corps award. It means team spirit, but I'm pretty sure the literal translation was the "we don't have anything else to give you, so here's this" award. It'll be really nice to be apart of something again. I do tend to miss that aspect from working.

You guys, I'm going to have a mommy moment here. My oldest child is now a middle schooler. This freaks me out. I'm not ready for this yet! Hopefully I can take the summer vacation and regroup my thoughts and have some sort of mental preparation going into August! In all seriousness though, I think this will be a very good transition for both girls. Little J will get a year all to herself to rule the school. Maybe she'll be able to blossom into her own identity and not feel like she has to be just like her sister. At least that's my {really BIG} hope for next year. Also, K could probably use the time to not feel like she can be little miss bossy and hovering over her sister. It'll just be good for everyone.

The promotion ceremony they had for the fifth graders was kind of cute, but also kind of evil. What teacher decided the kids should sing "We Are The World"?! One with no heart, apparently. I'm fairly certain there wasn't a dry mom-eye in the house. There may have been a few really manly looking men choking up, as well. Well played, music teacher, well played.

Speaking of graduations...my youngest sister graduates high school this week! I'm so incredibly sad that I can't be there to watch it live, but I'm betting my mom won't let me down in terms of FaceTime. (RIGHT, MOM?!) And I will see her in two short weeks when they come to visit us here in Germany. If it's hard for me to believe that I have a middle schooler, it's downright impossible to believe that my little sister is all grown up! I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. I'm 14 years older than her, so of course I've had an instinctive mama bear feeling with her since she was born. I'm incredibly proud of the amazing person she's become, and I look forward to see what her future holds!

As for our first official day of summer vacation..... I'm alive, they're alive, and the house hasn't burnt down. Parenting win in my book! We've also survived our first few summer weather days of 90+ degree heat and no AC. It wasn't too bad-but just in case I've seen how to make a cooler AC unit through Facebook. God bless the internet. We've ran to appointments and errands, we've had play dates and dinner dates, we've been hot and we've been cold (sorry, I ran with the Katy Perry song). It has flown by so quickly, but the thing I've been waiting weeks for happens this weekend. Today and tomorrow we get to enjoy the Wilhelmstrassefest, and I am beyond excited! It's a huge festival downtown that has big carnival rides, live music and entertainment, and most importantly fest food! Mmmm fest food! I can't wait to share this experience with you!

 

Let's Catch Up!

What a great fun-filled weekend we've had! I'm hoping this is an indication of an upcoming fun summer!

Friday evening we decided to give going to the movies with a two year old a try; a 3-D movie to boot! PJ did great. Once we got through his analysis that every preview was "scawy", he settled in just fine. {What's scary about Channing Tatum?!?} We also have a theater that is very accepting of young children, so I foresee us being able to catch a lot more new releases in the future! Also, opening night (which is a week behind the release dates for the States) wasn't near as crazy busy as I thought it would be. It definitely made for a great family Friday "date" night.

Saturday was the end of season party for K and Little J's softball team, and it was held at an indoor bounce house. Bounce warehouse more like. I can already tell you this will be my 'go to' indoor place this summer. If the weather gets bad and the kids need to burn some energy, it will be great. There was a 'volcano' they could climb and slide down the sides of, trampolines, ball cages, obstacle courses, a huge room with sand (that they called a beach), and tons of other activities to keep them running. All the girls were dripping with sweat by the time we left and PJ had a nice long nap afterward. I'm definitely sad to see the softball season end, but hopefully all the girls will be able to get together this summer and practice-they certainly showed interest in the idea, which is always a good sign. They loved to play and they really seemed to gel as a team with a fantastic set of coaches!

Today (Sunday) we experienced our first day of 90+ degree weather. I know back in the US, some places have been experiencing this type of weather (and higher temps) for a while, but I'm also assuming those places have air conditioning! That's not the case here, though. We are among the lucky ones who have a portable AC unit that we bought last summer and used a total of maybe three days. It just doesn't get that hot here. Especially for someone who used to be so cold all the time. Now I believe my body-for the most part-has made the adjustment to the German way of life. Once it hits the high 50's/low 60's I'm in perfect weather. The 70's that used to be my 'okay, I guess I don't need a sweatshirt and jacket' weather is now too hot. Last year, we were unable to get a pool because we missed the shipment at the Exchange and if you don't act fast, you're out of luck on most things, but especially such coveted items as a pool. This year, thanks to some helpful tips from ladies on Facebook, I was able to pick up a pool and slip 'n' slide. So, today we set up the pool for the kids. I wasn't sure that the girls would be able to enjoy it, but it's about 5 feet across, so it's plenty big for all their skinny bottoms!

This week is the last week of school, so it'll be a good time to establish some summer rules and a loose schedule to stick to so that the kids don't lose too much of that knowledge they've gained this year. I'd love to know some programs that you use for keeping kids' minds engaged over the summer! Please leave comment below or find the Our Life in 3 by 5 on Facebook!