goodbye school year, hello summer fun

 the last week of school is always a whirlwind, and this year was no exception. actually, monday and tuesday were relatively chill. 

the kids had last wednesday off for juneteenth. it's been weird having this day off so close to the end of the school for the past few years, but i'm happy that it's a recognized holiday now. thatcher was off too, which was nice. ashford got invited to his friend elijah's house for a few hours with a couple other buddies. so, we dropped him off then azalea and i headed to alderwood mall. she's been wanting some new clothes because many of the summer things she has are yearrrs old, which is a long time when you are a growing kid. we had some success! 

thursday the weather got summer-like again (perfect timing with it being summer solstice). i went to the gym in the morning. i was using one of the weight machines that i always use and when i was adjusting the weight above my head, it didn't get secured correctly, and when i bent down, the hard knob attached to a 5 lb weight came crashing down on the top of my head. it caught me by surprise, and it hurt. i decided to go to the lobby and tell an employee just in case i were to pass out or something. they got me an ice pack and i put it on the growing goose egg on top of my head. so embarrassing! after texting a bit with thatcher, i decided i should probably go to urgent care to have them evaluate me just in case i had a concussion or something. urgent care is right across the street (so convenient - ha), but there was an hour and a half wait. i went and hung out in my car for a while and came back closer to the time. i saw the doctor and thankfully he said this was not a bad enough head injury to cause a concussion or any other damage. whew! 

that afternoon i was in charge of bringing popsicles for the entire 4th grade to enjoy on the field for the last 30 minutes of the school day. kay and i normally do this together (as grade reps), but she had to go back to chicago for a family emergency. i forgot to take any pictures. oops! after school i also helped set up the cafeteria/stage for the 5th grade graduation on friday morning. i was there for 2 hours and there was still more setup after i needed to leave. 

friday was the last day of school! i took a picture of the kids before they left, comparing the first and last day of school for the year. ashford looks like he's grown a ton and i'm sure he has, but it's also partly the way he's standing :)  i went to ashford's school to watch the 5th grade graduation and then stayed for the cleanup. i can't believe next year will be his turn to graduate. it goes too quickly.

they both had fun last days. after school got out (1 hour early), ashford and i headed to golden gardens with a few of his buddies and their moms. it was a beautiful, hot + sunny day for the beach, it was our first time there this season. it was packed because it was so nice out and the last day of school, though my pictures make it look like no one was there. ha! 

azalea hung out with sisi after school. the rest of the night we made dinner and then thatcher and i let the kids be on screens all night so we could sit out on our deck and enjoy the beautiful weather. 

saturday morning we hung out at home. in the afternoon we headed to the city of redmond for a street fair put on by 'move redmond'. thatcher's employer was loosely tied to the event, but the main reason we went was to see a band called 'warren dunes' perform. the band is made up of one of ashford's baseball coaches, his wife, and his brother. we got to know all of them during the baseball season, including azalea's new little best buddy whit. it was a pretty small event, but it was so much fun to hang out with our friends for the afternoon and see them perform for the first time. 

on the way home from redmond, thatcher and the kids dropped me off at vanessa's house for a sleepover :) i was supposed to have an early 40th birthday celebration with seattle friends that night, but kay was going to host at her house and since she had to go to chicago unexpectedly the party got cancelled/postponed. but vanessa invited meredith, erica, and me to spend the night at her house because matt and ewan were going out of town. so not all was lost! we had a fun, relaxing evening together. lots of chatting and laughing and food/drinks. we also took these pictures in the back yard. 

we stayed up way too late, but it was a really fun night. 

sunday morning vanessa made us brunch and we hung out for a while before we all headed home. in the afternoon ashford went out with fritz and his dad to check out the super low tide at golden gardens and out for lunch. 

 azalea went to her friend penny's to see their family's new bunnies. a great start to summer! 

we leave for our road trip to minneapolis in 6 days, and we are so excited!