Grains of Gratitude

There's something about being busy and taking the kids places that makes me feel like a good mom. I guess when we're home I'm distracted by so many other things, but when we're out and about I can really focus on them. This week was great for that.

Monday we stayed at home, but spent the afternoon in our backyard enjoying the kiddie pool and sand/water table. The kids loved this and I didn't even complain when most of the sand ended up in the pool and vice verse. It's so fun to watch their imaginations at work while playing outside.

On Tuesday, the kids went to their Aunt Lynn's so that I could get some work done. I'm down to the wire on some summer hours that I need to fulfill by July 15th. I was so grateful to the hubs' sis for taking the kids for about 6 hours!

On Wednesday, we went on an outing to the zoo. My cousin, her husband, and their three kids came to Omaha so that we could all go to the zoo. Our city boasts an awesome zoo and it was fun to host some out-of-towners. We get an annual pass and go quite a bit, but actually spent five hours there that day.

On Thursday, we went to the Children's Museum with Aunt Lynn and her two boys, Tyler and Trevor. Our city also has this great children's museum that just was remodeled. The kids had a blast!

On Friday, Brenna's preschool teacher (who is off for the summer) called to see if we wanted to meet them down at the park near our house (about a five minute drive) for a play date. I accepted and took the kids down there for about an hour in the morning. Then on Friday night, we drove down to Lincoln to eat dinner with my cousin and her family (the ones who came to the zoo) and say good-bye to another cousin who's moving to Florida. We got home late that night, but it was so worth it to spend a few hours with family. There's nothing like being with people who've known you your whole life. Whose stories are all wrapped up in your own. Who know the value of a pudding pop.

Saturday was a day for running errands with hubs and getting a few things done around the house. Then in the afternoon we let the kids do some more swimming in the back yard and daddy even joined them in the pool! I was so grateful to hubs because he stayed home with kids on Saturday night so I could go to scrap mania at a local scrapbook store with my sister-in-law Lynn and scrapbook for 6 hours in their work room. That was so fun and I'm getting caught up on Brenna's scrapbook finally!

Today we went to a new gym that just opened (and hubs joined) that has a huge outdoor pool complete with zero-entry kids' area. It was so fun and the kids loved it! Then we went to a cookout with my in-laws, hubs' parents hosted a great supper meal and the kids ran through the sprinkler.

I'm tired just writing this all down, but it was such a fun week! I love staying busy and was grateful for all of the fun summer activities that we were able to do!

Thanks, Christine, for hosting Grains of Gratitude. And thanks to Michelle for inspiring me to do it!