I wasn’t sure where to take this personal notes post today. As you know, I recently traveled halfway around the world to visit Europe, and Toiny (and family) (Manda). I can’t wait to share some of our adventures with you, it was an incredible first trip to Europe, and so many amazing things happened. But, Toiny’s post about Tess’s Last First Day pushed to to post about my last first day this year as well. Europe will have to wait.

School started this week for my kids. This year I have a 7th grader, a 2nd grader and a kindergartener. My last kindergartener. He was so ready for school to start, both emotionally and educationally. Me, on the other hand, I’m not so sure. For 13 years now, I have always had a kid at home with me during the day. A buddy, a snuggle bug, a helper….but now, I’m alone. As happy as I was for him, I was feeling a little sad for myself. As he stepped onto the big yellow bus without looking back my eyes welled with tears. All day I wondered how he was doing, what he was doing, if he was making friends and having fun or if he was sad and missing mom.

Turns out, it was all of the above. He was ALL smiles when he got home. He LOVED kindergarten. He couldn’t wait to go back. But, the moment that pushed me over the edge, pushed me to understand that both he and I were ready, had to be ready was the hug. He climbed down from that big yellow bus with a huge, proud smile on his face and ran straight into my arms. “I missed you mom, but kindergarten is so fun”! That moment. I was ready.

At least once a year, we hop in the car and make the 30 minute trek south to Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store! This place is insane! The building is HUGE and every inch is covered in candy. This isn’t the kind of candy store where you grab an empty bag and choose your bulk candy – this store has EVERYTHING! From the nostalgic candies of our childhoods to the crazy, unique stuff from all around the world! The kids absolutely LOVE it!

In addition to the tables and tables of candy, they have a lot of really neat decor – super heroes, oversized candy machines, amazing art….most of which I didn’t think to photograph when we went earlier this week – but it’s overwhelming and so fun!

The kids ran off to find just the treat they wanted. No one was more excited than my youngest, who has been dying to try gummy sushi after seeing it in a You Tube video months ago. He found it, and wouldn’t let go of it. Turns out, it wasn’t very good – but he didn’t care, he was in candy heaven!

We only stay as long as it takes the kids to pick out their perfect treat, but it’s always a blast to wander. I love seeing treats that you don’t find on shelves regularly anymore (candy cigarettes, ‘Tato Skins and cry babies to name a few). It was a wonderful family day – and I am already looking forward to our next visit!

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We haven’t gone for a family walk in years, it used to be something we did all the time – but not so much anymore. A few weeks ago, we decided to go for one. We headed out, on foot and sans technology to a local park, about a mile from home. The kids were having a blast, running ahead and back, laughing, not fighting with each other! My husband and I were taking our time, it really was a beautiful night!

The kids get to the park a minute before us, and run straight to the monkey bars (the favorite). As Mike and I are walking down the path, we see Alex jump up to grab the first bar, miss and falls. When he stands up, he has tears in his eyes and he comes walking towards us. Before the words were out of his mouth, I already knew what he was going to say. “Mom, I broke my arm again,” he cried as he collapsed into my lap. I wasn’t quite sure what to do, at first, we were over a mile from home with no phones. “RUN,” I turned to my husband and yelled, and he did!

It was a bit of an adventure getting Alex from the playground to the street, and to keep him awake. Promises of new video games and special treats were made. His brothers were fantastically well behaved while we waited for daddy to get back with the car. He made great time, about 20 minutes later, he pulled up, dropped the brothers and mom off at home and headed to the ER with Alex. It was a slightly different break than last time (My Broken Boy) and required IV’s and his oxygen level was a little low, I think from the hyperventilating he was doing. But, 6 hours later the bone was set and home he came.

Later that next week we met with the Orthopedic doctor and got a cast, but because he broke it before (and, not that long ago), a full cast wasn’t an option for the whole time this time. So, about 2 weeks later we went in and Alex got a special brace made just for him. The cool part about the brace is that he can swim in it! Which makes it easier better to have a broken arm in the summer time!

He’s about half way through the healing process now, and he is a champ! If he keeps following the rules until early September, he will be able to only wear his brace part time after school starts (he will have to wear it during any sort of rough play or activity, but not around the classroom)! He’s pretty excited about that!

The fact that he broke his same arm, in the same place 1 1/2 years apart doing the same thing is a total fluke. His arm isn’t weaker or more susceptible because it broke before, it’s all about the way he fell. We’re hoping this is the last one…but he keeps talking about getting back on the monkey bars….

When you break your arm, and have to wait 20 minutes at the park for a ride, you get Ice Cream the next day!

A new blue cast, because blue makes him feel happy!

The brace! Yes, his arm is still a little wiggly looking, it will straighten over time.

It was only 62*F this day, but he didn’t care, after 3 weeks of a cast – he was finally able to swim!

Life gets stressful and busy and this summer has been no different. I keep telling myself to STOP and get in the moment, enjoy the here and now – but my head just keeps swimming to the next thing on the agenda. I can’t shut it off, I am always going 100 Miles Per Hour. My family calls me the whirling dervish….But, that’s not what this post is about, this post is about the one afternoon I did shut if off! Our afternoon on a boat!

Our next door neighbors have a boat and near our house is a big lake – we’ve lived here for 3 years and have talked about going out on the boat a lot but never have. But a few weeks ago, all that changed. I had a hundred things to do, the grass needed mowing, I needed to run to the store, the laundry was piled up, waiting – but the neighbors called and invited us to go out on their boat that afternoon and I said yes! We packed up some snacks and threw on our swimsuits and off we went.

I know nothing about boats. I can’t help with the trailer, I can’t help drive, I don’t know which bin they keep the lifejackets in…so I was stuck. Stuck doing nothing. As the boat picked up speed across the lake, I looked up at the front and saw the smiles on my kids’ faces, and literally felt the weight of everything fly off my shoulders and into the waves behind us!

It was one of the most relaxing afternoons I’ve had in a very long time. Sitting there on the boat, I couldn’t do the laundry or the dishes – I could do nothing and I embraced it. The kids had a blast (even my Broken Boy, who was the only kid who got to drive the boat, since he was the only kid who couldn’t swim)! My youngest told me on the way home that it was the best day of his life.

It was so worth letting go of what I thought needed to be done to go out and do what my family really needed. Fun, time together and a mom who isn’t frazzled and running around like a madwoman all the time! I truly look forward to the next time we go out on a boat – so I can be forced into relaxing and enjoying without guilt.