Father's Day

It was a LONG week in South Jersey last week: Instead of my usual 4 day stint, I had to pull a full five due to important meetings Monday AND Friday. So when I rolled in on Friday Afternoon, I was VERY ready for a break with the family... and what family I got! PapaBam came up from Palatine with niece Lilli in tow on Wednesday and had been keeping Isaac and Bella more than busy... The weekend itself was busy and fun: Saturday was Swimming with Isaac, then the Zoo, then naptime, then Swimming at the Edina Pool... then ZZZZzzzzzz. Sunday was a lazy start to the day, some walking around and wrassling, a good heavy lunch from FiveGuys (burgers and fries - what every dad needs), and more naps. In the evening after the Chicago gang went off home, I cuddled up with the kids and watched my favorite movie - The Incredibles. Isaac only engaged during the Super scenes, jumping around and shouting, and went off to play with blocks during the "drama". Bella and I loved the whole thing.

Just because I was home didn't mean I didn't have work, alas. As part of the "reboot" project to recover from the nightmare earlier in the week, I had a big spreadsheet and a presentation to build. I worked on both after bedtime on Sat and Sun nights - getting to bed after midnight each night. But I feel I got things where they needed to be, and will have a good week here, where I will hopefully not be spending quite as late of evenings as I did last week. But with the full days and working late, I feel like it was a bit of a "lost weekend!"

Kid Updates... Kid Updates.... Kid Updates.....
Bella has decided to try her hand at Synchronized Swimming: One of our friends is a "SynchroMom" and both of her daughters (who are friends of Bella) are involved, and with Bella being such a water bee, we asked if she'd like to try. YES she said without hesitation! Her first session was last Tuesday, and she didn't say much about it, but did want to go back.

Saturday swimming with Isaac was a big step: I didn't get in the pool with him this time - it's just him and two other kids listening to the teacher. They sit on the steps and learn how to be in the pool safely without mom and dad holding them. Next week, no swimsuit for me even - just a bystander! It was quite bittersweet for me: He's such an independent guy that in a way I liked having our swimming time for him to clutch to me, needing my support. He still likes a cuddle in the shower at least.

Today was apparently very hot in Edina, and the kids were pretty poky on the soccer field. Isaac had a special job to work the spray bottle and keep the girls cool. Or so I heard, since I'm in Jersey again! I got upgraded in my hotel to a bi-level two bedroom suite. Not really sure what to do with the space, so I'm moving from surface to surface every 10 minutes. Not getting the upgrades at Hertz though - got a tiny Toyota Yaris rollerskate today... but actually it's pretty cute.

Well, I'm a few hours down on my sleep, so I'm going to turn in and read another chapter of Pillars of the Earth, which I'm finally getting around to reading only around 20 years after it was released. I hear it'll be a miniseries soon, with Rufus Sewell as Tom the Builder.