Kaitlyn knew she wanted a friend birthday party, but she had a really hard time figuring out what she wanted to do. By the time she decided she wanted to invite a few of her closest girl friends on an outing, we had to schedule it for after our trip to Kentucky. Kaitlyn was a little bummed one of her best friends was out of town, but we still planned on her place of choice (Altitude Trampoline Park), her dinner of choice (McDonald’s), and some of her favorite friends. The girls all had a great time.
Month: July 2022
I rallied the troops and we made it a lake day. Alex couldn’t convince any of his friends to go with him so he opted to stay at home. The rest of us had lunch at home and then spent the afternoon at the lake. A big group of kids starting catching fish and it took off. At one point they had buckets lined up everywhere full of fish.









Kaitlyn used a Raddish recipe to make donuts for breakfast.
Kaitlyn’s friend is going out of town for a month so we arranged one last playdate. I was thinking they could play while I got quite a bit done. Nothing went according to my plan. They wanted to “create” in the kitchen. Then they wanted to use makeup, which was fine. Except then I realized they wanted to do a makeover on me! I agreed to it all and it was a great playdate, but I got zero done all day.
We had to say goodbye to our friends this morning. We took a few last pictures and got a few last hugs. There were several (or a lot) of random ways to procrastinate before all three kids were loaded up and headed back to Milwaukee with Amber. We were sad to see them go but so happy they came!
Because we had a couple free hours on our hands and some really good light before it got too hot, I bribed my children into dressing up for Porch Portraits – something I have been doing the last several years on Gram’s porch every summer.
Today we did a little bit of everything. The big boys spent the morning drawing while the younger kids watched TV. Then we remembered that we hadn’t actually taken a picture of the seven kids together (what is happening to me!?!). Next up was a trip to Vertical Jump. This had been high on Kaitlyn’s list of things to do in Paducah and even better to do it with good friends. Then we had BBQ for lunch. We spent the evening at the country club and wrapped up the evening with a game or two of Bingo. Abram also brought his virtual reality at Alex’s request and he tried it out after everyone else was in bed.
Alex and Gram have been making Orange Julius since 2013. (I remember it as a special childhood treat too.)
We normally spend at least a few days of every summer visiting old friends in Milwaukee. Sadly, we couldn’t make our schedule work with our friends’ (two families). It turns out that the nine kids and working adults have very busy calendars. I had given up on seeing them when Amber asked if she could bring her three kids to see us in Paducah!? We of course said yes and were so excited when they arrived late last night.
We had a lazy morning watching TV and eating breakfast in shifts.
We then spent most of the day at my dad’s pool just being us. Except for one unfortunate encounter with a bee, we had a great time.
Today’s big planned adventure was to Atomic City. (Because Ben wouldn’t be able to participate in most of the activities, Gram planned her special outing with him at the same time. They went to pick out a new toy and he never knew he missed out on anything!). Chris and I took all of the others for goKarts, bumper cars, laser tag, and mini golf. We had called ahead to find the wrist band times and planned our schedule accordingly. We were a little worried it would be busy, but just like in April, it was pretty quiet. Alex rode a few times and then seemed content to sit with us. I told him he had to ride enough for me to get my money’s worth and he agreed. Otherwise the kids loved it. They spent a lot longer than they did in April and I think finally left due to dinner plans.
I was trying to think back how long this toy has been around and did some digging. It evidently appearing Thanksgiving of 2015 (as a hand-me-down from friends). Ben, and some of the bigger kids, still love it.
We didn’t have any “big” activities planned today. The kids love getting up early and then watching TV in their pajamas. My only rule is at some point they have to watch a show Ben actually enjoys, which gets quite a few groans, but nobody leaves the room.
Then we picked up Starnes BBQ and headed to the CSI park to enjoy a “picnic” lunch.
We knew this week was going to be insanely hot and that would rule out most of our non-water related activities. My kids love the water so I also knew multiple trips to the pool would not be a problem. We had a lazy morning at Gram’s and then met the cousins at the pool. What has surprised me is that how few people have been at the pool. I expected it to be fairly crowded but only a few families have been there each time with us – which is probably a good thing. We are a fairly crazy crew!