The Cunningham Family: Around Here: Week 28 2024

{July 7-13th}

Enjoying... a day at the river with my parents and sister. We first went to Lincoln Rock State Park maybe two years ago? And we had so much fun. There is a buoyed swimming area which is great for the little kids, and you can kayak beyond the buoys where the big boys go cliff jumping. It's gorgeous and so fun, has bathrooms on site, and lots of picnic tables and trees for shade.
Carly's bravery constantly blows me away. She jumped off the cliff into the deep river; climbed over the rail and jumped into the water with her dad and brothers; and swam, underwater, with no goggles, in the FREEZING water like it was nothing. She makes me so proud!

Loving... Carly's new bike. She had outgrown her old one and her only request for a new one is that she wanted a basket. I gave her some options and she chose this adorable peach bicycle. She loves it and so do I!

Cherishing... Carly's innocent playing. I just love her imagination and her ideas so much. One morning she was using a Barbie foam applicator to apply blush to her Barbie. The next morning she asked to put makeup on Sammy, my old American Girl Doll (originally named Molly, but Carly changed it to Samuel, after her Uncle Samuel- whom she adores- and calls her Sammy as a nickname). One of her favorite, most random, things to play with is syringes. Like the kind you use to give medicine to a baby. She likes to play with water and the Barbies, or use them to drink her milk or juice. Well, Josh needed one to work on Logan's car and it was her last one. She cried, she was so sad. What do you know the next day I see that Josh has added a package of plastic syringes to our Amazon cart for her. Happiest girl ever when that package arrived. Hah! It really is the little things.

Watching... Animals Up Close on Disney. You guys, such a fun, interesting show and I love both the animals and the crew recording them. So good! I also watched Six Brothers, which is a documentary that goes along with the novel Hidden Valley Road, about a family with 12 kids, six of whom have schizophrenia. The book was incredible, and the documentary is mind blowing. Very sad, but fascinating.

Listening... to First (about Sandra Day O'Connor) for book club, and The Eyes and The Impossible, a cute middle grade read written from the perspective of a wild dog in a national forest park. It was very sweet and hopeful.

Reading... The God of The Woods, which was gripping from the first sentence. Highly recommend.

Driving... very little since both twins have their licenses. The two of them drive everywhere, and fight over who gets to drive if they're going to the same place. They LOVE the freedom it provides them. And I love that they can run errands for me, shop for me, and get themselves to and from where they're going. It's surreal!

Melting... in the heat and loving every second of it. I live for summer. The feel of the HOT sun on my shoulders while I read or rest my eyes on the patio is everything I dream of during winter. That said, an occasional break in the shade is often needed, so we made the decision to purchase a second sunshade from Home Depot for the back patio. It's so lovely for when the sun starts going west and feels like it's aimed directly at our eyeballs at the back table.

Shocked... at how much insurance costs. I mean, I knew that insuring two teenage BOY drivers wasn't going to be cheap, but our insurance for four vehicles and four drivers is $615 per month. The sticker shock that came with that was intense. So I'm currently shopping around to see if we can get it cheaper somehow. In the meantime we have let the boys know that they're going to need 3.0's so we can get that "good student" discount. Every penny counts!!

Actually... starting my sourdough. It's scary and a little overwhelming, but one day at a time I began and got it alive and growing. Then I cooked up my first batch of bread. It was a little dense & undercooked, but Josh said that switching to a cast iron dutch oven (as opposed to the ceramic dutch oven I've been using) should help. Thankfully his mom has a few out at the land, so Josh brought me one and I'm hoping it makes the difference! I will say, though, that the bread came out very beautiful! I was so proud of it! And Josh couldn't wait to cut into it, which meant the world to me. I am so grateful to have him on the sidelines of my life, always cheering me on in whatever I choose to pursue.

Celebrating... Josh's birthday a day early since we were all six home and we had plans on his actual birthday. Carly and I made him a cake and Logan picked out ice cream at the store. It felt good to celebrate our favorite guy and I cherished all of us sitting around enjoying cake & ice cream together. Who knows how many more birthdays we will have with all six of us together once our kids spread their wings.

Spending... the day in Pasco for Josh's cousin Januari's wedding reception. We joined his sister Julie, her wife Erica, and his brother Samuel and his girlfriend Makayla. After the reception (where we had so much fun visiting and laughing) we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I got a pulled pork sandwich that was delicious and Josh got a steak that looked incredible. After that I convinced everyone to go Barnes and Noble. We don't have a B&N in my small town, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit one. I was hoping to find the book Sandwich by Catherine Newman, but they were sold out. Instead I found two different books- The Other Year and Swimming Lessons- and am excited to read them both. The Other Year is about a woman whose daughter goes under at the ocean. The book then goes on to describe two outcomes. One where her daughter pops up, and one where she doesn't. Swimming Lessons is about a woman whose marriage is falling apart. She writes journal entries on pieces of paper and plants them in books throughout their home library. When she leaves the family, her daughter discovers the notes.

Suffering... a migraine when we got home from our trip to Pasco. I felt bad because it was Josh's actual birthday, but I couldn't rally. I laid in bed, miserable. But Josh, being the best dad he is, got in the pool with Jack and Wyatt at Wyatt's request for a night swim. I could hear them laughing and shooting hoops down there. It made me so happy.

Choosing... book club books with Julie, Erica & Makayla for our sister-in-law book club. We chose This Is How It Always Is for August; Mondays Not Coming for September; And Then There Were None for October; and Last Night at the Telegraph Club for November. I'm so excited!

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