First Week Back Catch Up

Ok, so we had a whirlwind and super busy week after returning from NH.  First of all, on Friday night we arrived home to a large water damage issue in our kitchen.  Apparently the water line spontaneously busted a hole and started leaking beneath the tile and into the basement.  When we got home the kitchen floor was saturated with water and I ran down to the basement and found an inch of water and some puddles with the saturated rafters dripping.  Ugh.  Thankfully we got home before it got any worse and Doug was able to stop the leak.  The next morning ServPro arrived to clean up the mess and set up numerous fans and dehumidifiers and air scrubbers in the basement and kitchen and since then we had daily check-ups from the ServPro crew.  Definitely put a "damp"er on my free time and my peace at the kitchen sink, but it was worht it.  After 6 days, the kitchen and basement are dry and thankfully we have since heard from insurance that everything is covered.  Praise God!  Now it's just a matter of finding a contractor and getting the work done.  

Here's what we did the rest of the week despite all that going on at home...

Sunday
Doug had a full weekend of work and I had a full weekend getting acclimated back home with the boys, but on Sunday evening we got to attend a dinner at a friend's house and Kylie stayed at home.  Here's a great picture during their time playing together.

Monday
On Monday we had Penn's speech therapy appointment and Tavin's therapist was still on vacation so we got to head out for some fun in the sun early.  We had plans to meet one of the boys' longest standing Pittsburgh friends, Miss Lisa, at the Water Steps on the North Shore.  It was a great visit.  The boys played and I got to catch up with Lisa for 2 hours.  Here are the pics I got when we enjoyed our picnic together.

Thanks so much for coming to hang out with us, Lisa.  It was a great time as usual!  We all love you!
Tuesday
Our usual Tuesday playdate didn't work out this week, so I took the boys to the pool.  With it closing Labor Day, I'm trying to take advantage of these final pool days!  No pics though.  Oops!
Wednesday
On Wednesday, we had a very rainy and thundery start to the day, so our playdate at the playground wasn't going to work, so I hosted Adrianne and her kids here at our place.  It got me motivated to clean like crazy, which was much needed as I had really put it off after returning due to the kitchen issues, service guys in and out, etc.  We had a great morning with our friends and catching up, but unfortunately I forgot pics again!  That evening Doug had plans to take Koen to a Pirates game and thankfully the weather cleared so they were able to enjoy the one-on-one Daddy date late into the night.  Here are the pics I received via text.

Thursday
On Thursday, I had my final Momma Mixer playdate of the summer (a little group I've organized with church, neighborhood, preschool and community friends).  We went to the Troy Hill Spray Park this time.  The kids all loved it.  Koen and Tavin were best buds and had a blast doing their brotherly fun.  They thought they were pretty clever to figure out they could go under the water umbrella and breathe in there like a water clubhouse or something.  

They also loved the sprinkler rainbow.  Check out the action shots.

Penn was tentative with the sprinklers at first.

He warmed up to the idea eventually though and had a blast himself.

He also really enjoyed hanging out with Dr. Megan and baby Marshall.

There were lots of other moms and kids and babies there.  And it was a fun morning of catching up and enjoying watching them all play together.  
Friday
Friday was a fun day of being together as a family.  We had appointments, errands, time at home together and a fun lunch out enjoying Little Italy Days down the street in Bloomfield.  We all got some fun Italian food and listened to an Italian singer just belt it out across the street.  

Saturday
On Saturday we again had a nice family-oriented start to the day.  I had a baby shower to go to at 11am, so Doug was on full Daddy duty through lunchtime.  He and the boys did yardwork and then took a walk back down to Bloomfield and hit up Little Italy for lunch again.  The boys shared a table with a few nice ladies and apparently completely had them wrapped around their little fingers because the ladies gave them a $20 to get ice cream!  Hilarious!  This stuff of course only happens when Doug is on duty!  Then when they went to the ice cream stand, they gave Penn a free cup of ice cream which he happily ate on the way home on his own (and got all over the stroller!).  Good job, Douglas.  Sounds like a blast!  Doug had to leave for work around 3pm, so it was just me and the boys in the evening and we had fun with a snacky dinner playtime at Osceola Parklet for a change of pace and a nice way to get outside.  No pics though.  Oops.
Sunday
Today we went to the 9am service at church and then headed to the pool.  (Yet again trying to get as much pool time as possible before Labor Day!).  Today I remembered to take some pictures.  Koen and Tavin played awesome together in the pool.  They made up a game where they were a train pulling each other along with the noodles and then inviting other kids along that were in the pool.  They loved it and it was so great to see them do such a good job playing together.  

Penn enjoyed the pool too, but he loves the sprinkler area the most.  Can't you tell?

It was a super fun morning.  I'm going to miss these summer days when we get into the drudge of winter, but for now we are "soaking" up every second!  

Well, that's a rap.  I caught up!!