So it’s been just shy of two weeks since our camping trip and little getaway and we are gearing up for our next trip for this long weekend, going to Chelan for Father’s Day weekend again with our friends Anne and Phillip and family. We’ve still had two full weeks in there of work and school and as usual there is never a dull moment.
Bryan was home for only a night before heading off to Wichita, Kansas for a work trip and left us girls home by ourselves for three nights. We tried to keep ourselves entertained while he was gone. We essentially spent our nights at a different playground each day, bringing Reese’s bike along with us, and not returning home until about 7 pm each night. On Tuesday, we hit Powell Barnett Park and after hours of riding and playing we picked up pizza slices at Amazon Fresh before heading home. On Wednesday, we had swim class and Reese and Lottie enjoyed swim and then we hung at Garfield Park for a very long time before heading home for leftovers.
On Thursday, I walked with Brooke and Reese’s bike to Volunteer Park and we played there for several hours. Reese rode her bike around the empty wading pool and then we set off for home, stopping first at the bike shop to get Reese a bell for her bike and a new helmet, we then picked up dinner from PCC, me from the hot bar and Reese wanted more pizza, and ate our dinner at picnic tables outside before finally making one last stop at Lowrider for a cookie to share as we made our way home.
We had beautiful weather all week but Friday brought cooler temperatures and rain. Sarah offered to pick up Reese from school for her early dismissal and let her and Lottie play for some time at her house. They did that and I retrieved Brooke from her nanny share and then Bryan was on the ground back in Seattle so I picked him up too. We were going to hit Red Cow for happy hour but they were full. We walked across the street to Bottlehouse but they were full. So we headed to Cactus in Madison Park and had a delicious but hectic dinner with the three girls.
Saturday morning Reese had her first gymnastics class at her new time slot and new coach. This went well and then for several hours her friend Georgie came over for a play date. We were still having cool and drizzly weather. We spent the rest of the day inside although I tried to get in a solo bike ride around Mercer Island for my first time of the year but I got a flat tire that I noticed at 17 miles in and had to have Bryan and the girls come pick me up and take me home. Unfinished Business.
Sunday morning started with Georgie’s 5th Birthday Party at Madrona Beach. We decided to walk there as a family and took a short cut through a park that was an adventure. We made it to the party and there were bagels and snacks, a delicious cake from Raised Doughnuts, a face painter who was excellent, a pinata, and of course our friends. We had a good time socializing on the grassy lawn overlooking the lake. The sun was now coming back out full force as we headed back home. We broke out the bounce house and Lottie came over to bounce, play and have dinner with us to give Sarah a reprieve. Bryan went on his own 22 mile ride around Magnolia and back. He got sunshine and no flat tire, thankfully.
This week has been a little bit of a downer, I’m not going to lie. Mainly thanks to getting my results of my SE exam from NCEES on Tuesday midday. I didn’t pass either day and it’s especially annoying because I was close to passing both. When you don’t pass you are given a diagnostic report to see where your strengths and weaknesses are. Truthfully the diagnostic report is not very helpful but what I can see is that I had scored a 29/40 on the vertical AM but had one acceptable, two needs improvement and one unacceptable on the vertical PM and similarly I had scored a 28/40 on the lateral AM but had two acceptable, one needs improvement and one unacceptable on the lateral PM. From everything I know you need roughly a 70% passing of the exam and I did that for both mornings but I also have heard from many that if you score any unacceptables in the PM your morning results are essentially null and void…you won’t pass with an unacceptable in the PM. How frustrating! I’ve been angry, grumpy, hard on myself for not passing either day, and ultimately just do not want to take this stinking test again. But I’m not the type of person that can leave Unfinished Business. Also, it’s only being offered pen and paper in the current format, the one that I am now used to, one more time, in October, before moving to Computer Based Testing, so I have to try my hand at it once more in October while it is reasonably still fresh and a paper exam.
I think I can do it but man do I not want to. I know I won’t have to study nearly as long as I did this last time and will really just focus on doing countless problems and practice exams to get there. But in no way do I want it to mess with my summer or my time with my family again. But I’ll do it. I need to sign up for it in less than a month to do so.
Bryan’s week has been a ringer too. He had to tell one of his employees that he is moving to another group and that employee didn’t take it very well. He had to have 12 meetings on Wednesday alone that left him with zero to no time for anything else, including eating a banana, and all were emotionally taxing. And he has had some early mornings.
Both of us need this vacation weekend; a few days off of work, a few glasses of wine, a few (hundred) times down the water slides, and some laughs with friends. Hopefully it is what the doctor has in order for us. Also, Bryan got his new stand up paddle board that he is eager to get in the water. That should be fun to test out this weekend. Reese wrapped up her swimming class this week and we are waiting to sign her up again until the fall, a decision she wasn’t keen on, but probably the right decision for summer. See you after we hit the Lake!
Chelsea
