End of Summer/Back to School 2024!

 

Well, it's my least favorite day of the year....the kids are all back to school. This year, all three kids are in three different buildings which makes me even more sad! I love everything about summer: the weather, the activities, the laid back schedule, no rushing around in the evening or mornings and the super simple meals, and I am going to miss all of that so much! Thankfully, they are all excited and ready for another year. It's still so hard for me to fathom that they are in 7th, 4th and 2nd grade but here they are! 

Before starting back to school, the final summer "hoorah" was Camp Tecumseh! The kids all had the best time! Mellany was at overnight camp and the boys did the day camp. 

We were able to carpool with neighbors for day camp and it was a blast!

Johnny was in heaven at the lake! He worked so hard to get a blue band so he could go on these blobs....I'm so thankful the camp photographer captured this!!

At the end of the week, Winston was so happy to have Mellany home!

We've spent quite a bit of time at our neighbor's pool and Johnny just loves her dogs!

Coming home one evening, Mellany and I passed Johnny making an egg delivery. 

We got Mellany's locker all set up! The light she found is my favorite! And of course the pic she put in her locker of her with her super cool parents! :)

Charlie got to celebrate Griffin's birthday! They went to the movies then played and ate at his house. I think it was one of his favorite days of the summer for sure!

Sadly, Mellany broke her nose at Camp Tecumseh! She was climbing into her bunk bed on the first night and hit her nose right on the board. She had bloody noses every day after that and was pretty swollen and bruised. The nurse was continuously checking up on her but nobody ever called us, so when we picked her up from camp, I was in complete shock! After getting another bloody nose at home because she sneezed, and being completely congested, I made an appointment with the doctor. After taking her to see the doctor, he had us go straight down to the ENT right then because he was pretty sure it was broken, and sure enough, the ENT confirmed it! The ENT scheduled surgery for that Thursday to reset it. Mellany wanted John to take her and he said she was a champ through the whole process. The doctor was really happy with the procedure and said our timing couldn't have been more perfect because she was already starting to heal, which meant he had to re-break her nose in order to set it correctly. She had some great nurses and we couldn't be more thankful that the procedure went well!

Johnny wanted to get Mellany some balloons and flowers so after he, Gammy and I had lunch at his favorite spot, we went to the grocery store to pick it all out. He was so proud! (Charlie was still at Griffin's birthday party...)

While Gammy was still in town, Johnny showed her how his chicknic table worked and was so proud! (Somehow, I ended up with zero photo evidence that Gammy was here! I am so sad!!)

We ventured to the boys' back to school night so they could deliver their school supplies and see their classrooms. Of course, they had to check out the fire truck on site. The firefighter was so sweet and showed the boys every square inch of the truck and told them about all of the tools and what they are used for. It was amazing! 

Then today, it was the first day of school! I really need to pick a better spot to take pictures, because the sun is super bright at 8 in the morning! 

Dropping Johnny off at the Intermediate tugged my heart a bit more than I expected....

....but then dropping Charlie off by himself at the Elementary really got me! These boys won't be back in the same school together for another 4 years! 

Then it was time for Mellany to head to school, but she had an ENT follow up visit first thing instead.....thankfully, he removed the splint and gave her the all clear!! This middle school girl was ECSTATIC! I was super amazed that she wasn't bruised or anything! Her nose is totally back to normal! 

Here's to another fantastic school year for these amazing Barrett kids!! 

Summer Continues!

 Now that the County Fair is over, it really feels like the end of summer is near, which makes us all so sad. We didn't even take a trip this summer and we still feel like it wasn't enough time off. There are two weeks left until the official start of school so we fully intend to enjoy every single day we have left!! I'm envisioning several movie nights, swimming in the afternoon, playing with neighbors and even a potential trip to the Children's Museum! Gosh I love having my kids at home....just thinking about them going back to school makes me so incredibly sad! 

Here are some pics of the last few weeks....most of which took place at the fair! :) 

The boys really wanted to have a few swim lessons before Camp Tecumseh and they both did really good. They are both making some huge improvements in swimming this summer!

Mel just hanging with "her" chicken "Hermione"

Then it was back to static project judging for 4H.....Johnny submitted his Shooting Sports project and got reserve champion for 1st Year Members! He was super excited given the fact that he didn't even want to submit a poster!

At the same time, Mellany was getting judged on her sewing project and fashion revue. 

She received a blue ribbon for her tank top and shorts. We were so proud of her....not only in her skills, but for trying something brand new to her! 

Then lastly, it was Charlie's turn to submit his Mini-4H Lego project. He came up with the idea all on his own and did almost the entire project by himself, only needing some assistance here and there (same for Mellany and Johnny!) and it turned out fantastic! He loved talking to his judge about his lego set but was not happy about it not getting "officially" judged. 

I had another round of gum grafting surgery (on our anniversary of course lol) so John took some time off for my recovery and to help be at the fair. We didn't have to be at the fair on this particular day, so we headed to Mrs. Sherry's pool and soaked up some sun together. The kids absolutely loved having John there with us. 

Our first official day at the fair was Sunday for the Kiddie Tractor Pull. Charlie had been practicing and was so excited for this event. He made it past the first round but that second round was TOUGH! He sure gave it his all though!

AFter the tractor pull we ventured through the fairgrounds and spent some time with the Okos pigs....which was Johnny's favorite spot to be!

....and then we found Spike!!!! Spike was our rooster that we passed along to a neighbor. Johnny was so happy to see him!!

On Monday, the kids decided to compete in a drawing contest.....Simon took 3rd and Johnny took 4th......then Mellany ended up taking 3rd in her age division! 

After the drawing contest, we grabbed some food and then headed to the coliseum for the public fashion revue for Mellany. The judging took place the week prior, but results were announced on this night. She didn't get a Champion or Reserve Champion but she had a great time, did an incredible job and received some really nice feedback on her scorecards. 

The next morning we were up bright and early for poultry judging. Our chickens did not look well (because they are plucking each other's feathers!) so we only submitted eggs. Mellany and Johnny both received blue ribbons for their eggs.

On Wednesday, it was swine day! So we spent the day watching our friends show their pigs! It was so much fun and they did an incredible job!! 

After fair week ended, we came home, packed up and sent our tween off to camp for the week! She chose to do equestrian camp again this year and couldn't wait to get there! 

....the boys miss her, but weren't sad one bit about choosing where we ate dinner the night we checked her in. They chose Applebee's so they could play games together on their kiosk.... :)

Then on Monday, the boys started their week of day camp and have been having so much fun. I'm so thankful for an amazing faith-based youth camp so close to home. Johnny is even looking forward to being old enough for overnight camp next year!

Look at me posting twice in one month!! Now, if you need me, I'll be soaking up every single minute with my kiddos before they head off to 7th, 4th and 2nd grades!!!!