With school started for Karissa and Adelaide, we had one last week of calm before another round of first days of school. We enjoyed our last week of quiet, slow mornings before Adelaide had afternoon preschool.
On Wednesday, Adelaide and I got to spend our last morning alone together for a long time. (Grandma and Grandpa take Emerson to their house on Wednesdays.) Adelaide wanted to go to a new playground, so we got on a bike and rode about 1.5 miles over to a playground I haven’t been to since childhood. It might be one of the best in the area! It’s the right size, the right mix of things to play on, and has great vantage points for parents. We definitely had a fun time there.
We knew we’d be spending at least two days and one night helping to shut down the lake house in Wisconsin. We also wanted to get stuff done at home, but when we told the kids the plan, they revolted. They wanted to get up there ASAP and stay as long as possible. We caved in and got ready in a hurry. Emerson was so ready to go, he got seatbelted in Adelaide’s seat while we packed up the van!
At the lake, the kids had three different sets of cousins there! The oldest cousins celebrated their 13th birthday with cake and ice cream. We had a fire, removed the pier for the season, and fixed a few last minute things before the full shut-down for winter. It’s not too big of a deal to shut (and open) for the season, but takes 4-6 bodies for about 30 minutes of lifting. The rest can be done by 1-2 people. But no biggie.
On Monday morning, we all said our goodbyes and headed home.
Adelaide got to start her morning preschool at a local church. She did it last year before getting to attend afternoon preschool as well to receive speech therapy. Rather than pull her out of one of the schools, we chose to see how she did going to both schools 5 days a week.
Emerson got to start his preschool at the YMCA. It runs for 90 minutes twice a week during Adelaide’s morning preschool. I planned to be at the YMCA anyways to work out, so it was a perfect fit. Karissa took the morning off of work to take both kids to their first day.
The week after Labor Day is also a natural time for a reset. It is pretty much the end of summer and the serious start to a school year. We both gained weight over the summer from too much fun and fast food, so it’s time to reset our eating and exercise habits. To kick off our new health plan, we’ve decided to go on a (mostly) “real foods” regimen. Basically, we’ll try our best to eat mostly foods that are unquestionably “real” and minimally processed. In a few weeks, when we eat the remaining stuff in our fridge & pantry, we’ll do a round of Whole30.
Personally, my weight has ranged from 175 up to 235 as an adult. When I’m healthy, fit, and strong, I tend to weigh about 200 pounds. So that’s my goal weight. Karissa has had a pretty wide range as an adult too – partly due to pregnancy weight gain. Essentially, we both want to get back to our physiques from the start of the summer.
We look forward to getting into the swing of the new school year and new schedules. We’ve been missing structure all summer, and while this year might be too much structure, the routine will be good.
love your report Ryan- a lot more information than I seem to get from the rest of the family 😉
Haha. I’m mad we didn’t take more pictures of the pier coming out. But it’s out. And boat. And siding fixed for now.