First Week of Junior Lifeguards and Lots of Fun in the Sun!

Hey OH! Do you know what time of year it is? What?!? It's Junior Lifeguard time! I have been looking forward to these 2 weeks alllll year! I have planned and prepared and organized and BOY have we had one heck of a good week!

Parker was stoked this week. He loves being out in the sun all day, learning, being in the water, making new friends- this is his 4th year at the Back Bay and he's a pro! Every day when I'd pick him up he'd have the biggest smile on his face and was filled with so much light and energy!

People think I'm crazy to drive to Newport every day and back but it is seriously so great. The kids are awesome in the car- we all have our devices (which is the ONLY screen time they get all day) and I can listen to 2-3 books a week! No one cries or fusses- it's just one big happy chill fest! And really, 45 minutes is not THAT bad....

On Monday, we stuck around the Back Bay since it was so bright and beautiful and just played for as long as we wanted. I chatted with a fellow Junior Lifeguard mom and the kids made friends with her daughter. They swam in the water and ran all over the playground- It was wonderful! Andrea is in town this week staying at the Marriott Villas in Newport and she needed to borrow my double stroller. So, we went over there and had a picnic by the pool and I was able to meet her new little baby boy, Weston! The kids swam in the resort pool with Andrea's kids and we chatted and I showed her how to use her Solly wrap. It was soooo good to see her!!!! We then checked out the trails on the other side of the Bay where the wetlands are. The Muth Center was closed but we were able to use the awesome bathroom. When you spend 2 weeks on the road, it's nice to use a decent bathroom.We also had our first day of swim class. I lied about Jack's age so he could be in Rayleigh's class but he was not too interested in getting in the water.... Parker LOVED it and said he could have swam for 6 hours and Rayleigh did great! Jill and Courtney signed up their kids too so each day we had 30 minutes to sit and chat relatively uninterrupted. ha ha My kids fell into bed happily exhausted on Monday night!

Rayleigh brought a flower for her teacher. She is so sweet and thoughtful like that!

Tuesday was eventful in it's own right but not so much picture worthy- My Mom watched the kids while I ran to Costco and Target. We had lunch in the backyard and Ella took a good nap (that's the one area where we struggle because we're not at home for naps. But she's so good and sweet all the time, you'd never know she was missing her usual naps! She does sleep in the car which is fabulous). I love spending time at my mom's house and seeing my parents! On Tuesday night, after I got the kids to bed (and luckily Tanner came home) I was able to go to Bunco which is always soooo fun! I had so much energy and was telling everyone stories which made them all crack up. We were all laughing so hard all night! It was the best.

On Wednesday it was sunny and hot again so we played at the Back Bay until we were ready for lunch. I tried to just go-with-the-flow with the kids and let them dictate how long we stayed anywhere. We had NO tantrums or meltdowns and I was happy with their behavior the entire week! I think kids do better when they are out and about playing and exploring. They always love coming back to home base when they'd have their fill of freedom.  When they got hungry, we picked up my mom and headed to the Fairy Trail in Mission Viejo for a little hike and a picnic (which we ended up eating at my Mom's house because it was so hot). But the Fairy Trail was amazing!!!!! So magical! Rayleigh LOVED it! We walked along from one little Fairy house to the next and each one was so unique and different. Now we have to make our own!

Poor Ella had another weird reaction to something- or maybe she got sunblock in her eyes?

She was so proud when she climbed to the top of the whale! She really is such a shining star!

This was Ray and Jack playing "Jesus Getting Baptized" ha ha They kept hugging and saying "I love you!"

There's Parker out there doing his thang

I love this crew of kids we've got going to swim class together! When you put them all together like this, it's almost overwhelming the responsibility we hold as mothers! Jill and Courtney are the BEST friends and I'm so thankful for them. And each of these kids is a rock star!!!!

On Thursday Lindsey met us for some fun in the sun! I also had the bright idea to fill a plastic bin full of all the mess making crafts I abhor doing at home and put it in my trunk so they could make messes somewhere else! They sat and did play dough for a while which they were stoked about. Lindsey's little boy Preston is so cute and super chill. It was so nice of her to come meet us at the Bay even though we couldn't finish a sentence- we have busy kids! We had a picnic and then headed to the Buck Gully trail tucked away in this super nice neighborhood in Newport. As I was getting the kids' shoes on, this super sweet old man stopped to smile at the kids and was just so kind to me. And then on our way back up the trail, these 2 older ladies just shot off a million compliments to me "Look at you, strong mamma! What well behaved little kids you have. You are such a good mom! Way to go!" I cannot tell you what it means to me to hear such sweet words from strangers! Fills my heart to the brim! The trail itself was pretty cool and I just went as far as the kids felt comfortable going. It was fun to look up at the giant, million dollar dream homes above us on the trail. Yet, we felt so secluded and it was so quiet on the trail. All I wanted was to get my kids out in nature where they could run and be loud and get messy and do it all in a place where all of that was acceptable. Like hiking trails and the beach! ha ha After our little hike we went BACK to the Muth Interpretive Center since it was open this time and man, was that the coolest place ever! We had the place to ourselves so Rayleigh and Jack could run around and explore all of the tanks and aquariums, displays and interactive screens- it was amazing. We watched a movie in the theater about the local wildlife at the Back Bay (very well done- they LOVED it) And in the back was an entire room totally dedicated to preschoolers with tables full of coloring and puzzles, a big tree with bean bag chairs inside where you could sit and read, puppets and terrariums with snakes and turtles and tarantulas. Ella was finally able to crawl around and the AC was an added bonus. We totally scored when we walked into that place! It was Kaitlyn's birthday so after swim we all had cupcakes on the grass before going home for dinner! And after I got the kids to bed, I was able to meet up with some sisters from the ward for ice cream. It was a nice way to keep balanced during my day full of mothering.

When I came home from getting ice cream, Tanner was having a meeting with Carson out back. I thought it looked so nice out there, I had to snap a picture!

On Friday, I dropped off Parker and then went back to the Newport Villas to pick up the stuff I lent to Andrea and see her one last time before she went back to Vegas. I was able to snuggle baby Weston for a minute and it was so nice! He's exactly 1 month old in this picture! Andrea is just the best and I love her so much. On Fridays, Parker has the totally fun opportunity to play on the inflatables that are brought out into the Bay and he always has a good time. We had lunch at my parents' house and got Ella down for a nap and then I took Rayleigh and Jack to Richel's house to play! Oh man, it was soooo good to see her. It's crazy to think that we became friends when we were about Jack's age. What a blessing it was to have a friend like her live right up the street from me. We shared our childhood and to this day she is such an extraordinary friend to me! The kids played so nicely together and were so cute! I really was such a bright and beautiful afternoon! After we picked up Parker, we went to the Montage where we met Cami and the kids for a beach night! They swam and played and Cami and I got caught up- it was a gorgeous night. Nothing beats family time!

Week 1 of Junior Lifegaurds is in the books! It has been an absolutely perfect week and I feel so lucky to have such great kids and amazing friends and family to share these special days with!