We’re slowly transitioning to fall/winter activities.

• We had two soccer practices + two soccer games for two kids.
• We started indoor swimming lessons for four kids.
• I took the boys to a fundraising lunch with some other twin families.
• The oldest three had their last golf lesson of the year.
• We started bike club (1 kid) & drawing classes (2 kids) for the fall.
• Two kids went to a playdate.
• Our oldest had one baseball practice + one baseball game.
• We hosted a very belated birthday party for the twins.
• We let our oldest stay up to watch the lunar eclipse.

With last week including the first few days (albeit short hours) of preschool I was able to get a few more things done that usual.

• I filled a hole in the yard with gravel, where they’re been a small cave-in of the previous gravel.
• I spoke to a few contractors regarding potential work on our house.  The project looks like it will be smaller than originally envisioned so I’ll have to get back to them about that.
• We had our first soccer games & practices of the fall.
• We went to one birthday party.
• I got all the upstairs stuff out, tagged, and sorted for the fall kids consignment sale.
• I ordered new shirts for the older boys for school picture day.
• I signed our oldest up for spring baseball (I know it seems early but the deadline is fast approaching.)

No messing around here:

• The school year started! (Well, if you count 2 days off, 2 half days, and 1 actual day a week of school.)
• We went to two play dates for the younger ones.
• We got a tow hitch installed on the minivan so we can put on a bike rack which is necessary now that our oldest’s bike doesn’t fit in the trunk.
• I got my haircut.
• We had a relaxing holiday weekend with two BBQs.
• I got out closet cleaned out so this week we’ll be putting everything we still want back in.
• I filled a mystery hole in the backyard.  I expect it will come back when it rains, but hopefully not as big so I can fill it again quickly.

This has been a busy week.  Today is back to school (for elementary) so Monday was super hectic and I didn’t get the post up.  Then Tuesday we ended up in the ER as our 4y cut his face on the corner of the TV stand.  Thankfully no stitches were required, only Dermabond, but it wiped out my evening and once again I didn’t get the post up.  So here I am playing catch up.

• First day of school! (Happened last, but must be mentioned first.)
• Two kids attended a week of soccer camp.
• We had two playdates with preschool friends.
• We attended two pre-preschool playground meetups to meet this years classmates.
• The older three had two golf lessons.  These were supposed to be the last of the year, but for reasons we won’t get into they’ll get one more in a few weeks.
• I repaired two back packs.
• Purchased all necessary school supplies via Target (mostly), Staples (one small flexible binder), and Amazon (new water bottles).
• Got one twin’s bike repaired.
• Purchased a few more pairs of shorts for our oldest..
• Enjoyed Tomato Fest.

One could tell the summer is winding down last week.

• The twins had their second week of video game design camp (I was late to their week-end presentation  😦 ).
• I got to a GNO, which was nice.
• We had two summer BBQs – Saturday & Sunday of the same weekend.
• The older boys went to a baseball game.
• I did a lot of tagging for the upcoming Twins Club Consignment sale.
• It rained!  (Not an accomplishment, but we’ve gotten so little this summer it needed to be mentioned.)
• I completed the last of the school registration papers.
• We bought one pair of soccer cleats.

Lot’s of appointments last week; nothing very stressful.

• Hosted a few contractors to (a) get work quoted and (b) change most of our lightbulbs to energy efficient ones.  We were about a quarter of the way through this process, but they moved us well past the 3/4 mark for free, and all LEDs (no CFDs is important to us).
• Took oldest to the last two baseball games of the summer.
• Had four doctor’s appointments.
• Tried to attend a baby shower.  The 1.5h drive became for than a 3.5h drive with traffic that had no know cause (seemed like just vacationers vs construction/accident) so we turned back.  With everyone in the car and the need to make the round trip in a day this really wasn’t feasible.  We’ll try again to visit them this coming weekend.
• Bought new bikes for the older boys.  Unfortunately one had to go back for a warranty repair.  Hopefully we have it again soon.
• Received the back-to-school letters, school supply lists, teacher assignments, etc.

A lot of fall planning occurred this week.

• Renewed our rec center membership and signed up for fall classes
• Took oldest to baseball camp
• Took oldest to three baseball games
• Took older three to golf lessons
• Took middle three to swimming lessons
• Signed up for Disney Fast Passes for fall trip (more on that process Friday)
• Celebrated two birthdays
• Started bike shopping – birthday activity
• I took all the boys to “Shaun the Sheep: the movie” by myself.  It actually went remarkably well.
• Cleaned up this lovely mess when my toddler decided to explore the spices unsupervised.

Last week was relatively uneventful, by summer standards.  We got some rain, for the first time in a long time (I’m not a meteorologist, but it seems like a very dry summer.) which caused one baseball game to be rescheduled.  Otherwise, things were pretty routine.

• One baseball game
• Made it to the farmer’s market for peaches, among other things.
• The schedule finally worked out so everyone could get to their golf lesson at the same time.
• Attended one birthday party

We had some biggies this week!

• Toilet trained #4!
• Got the twins going on bikes without training wheels!

• Took 3 kids mini golfing.
• Took 2 kids to see Jurassic World.
• Tried golf with 5 kids; 2 didn’t succeed, but we’ll try again when they’re older.
• Sorted through another round of paperwork from the past school year.  (I’m about halfway through.)

I know I missed last week so let’s get caught up.

• Took our driving tour of eastern Pennsylvania and New York states (more about this in the weeks to come)
• Attended the 4th of July town carnival
• Hosted a 4th of July BBQ where we smoked a beef clod
• The older boys attended a Red Sox game
• The older boys attended a week of either technology or baseball camp
• Started summer swimming and golf lessons
• Had two play dates for the younger boys
• Oldest started his summer baseball team
• Three boys got their hair cut
• Cleaned out the garden of spring, ie cold weather, plants
• Renewed my twin club memberships
• Did some grocery shopping to restock perishables after the vacation