Feels like Fall! A lovely weekend home

I had a lot of traveling the last couple of weeks, which is not normal for my schedule.

I went to Baltimore for a work proposal (side note… check out this proposal through ARPA-H, it is so cool to be around super smart people trying to do really hard things that would be so meaningful). That was a quick turnaround between getting there and coming home.

I took a week off of work (sort of) to hang out with my parents, who were visiting from Florida. I even played pickleball with my dad one morning, that was truly enjoyable! I did a weekend trip to Sioux Falls to visit family and give Joel some time to himself to play lots of pickleball and spend some time with his friends since I was gone so much.

I got back from Sioux Falls on Sunday and then jetted off to Boston on Monday morning. We were initially planning on staying the whole weekend, and Joel was going to fly out to meet me so we could explore the city together. But flights and hotels were crazy expensive, so we decided to save our little getaway for another weekend when it’s a bit more budget-friendly.

Hailey woke up just after 4 AM needing to use the bathroom, and I went in to help. She was a bit disappointed because she wanted to surprise me in the morning, though I’m not quite sure what she had in mind. We cuddled for a bit and she fell back asleep until a little after 6 AM when Miles came bursting into the room. Joel took the kids to the gym while I quickly removed my old nail polish and put on a new coat (it definitely looks a bit rushed). I picked Hailey up from the gym so we could head to a princess tea party! Miles didn’t even seem to mind staying at the gym; I watched him play in the child area with some new friends – they were running full speed between different “home bases.” It was adorable to see his little legs trying to keep up with the other kids, especially since he was about half their size.

We met Hailey’s preschool friend at the tea party and the princesses were fantastic! It was the same group that entertained at the park and Hailey’s birthday party. The event was amazing, and Hailey was thrilled. She said her favorite part was hugging all the princesses.

Joel met us at Costco and dropped Miles off with me, and we spent a couple of hours there. We had lunch and wandered around, but Hailey needed to use the potty three times, and Miles had a diaper change, so there were lots of bathroom breaks.

The kids played with their new costumes (Hailey was adamant that she is going to be spiderman!) and watched some TV before Joel left for pickleball, and I loaded them into the car to go to the park. I let my friend’s dog out on the way and then we unloaded the bikes at the park. They completely redesigned the park near our house, which was a bit surprising because it wasn’t really set up for little kids anymore.

Hailey did great on her bike with training wheels! She almost fell once but managed to catch herself. We got home and I put the kids to bed, and I fell asleep almost instantly.

Sunday morning, Joel went to play pickleball at 7 AM. He let me sleep in until right before he had to leave, which was wonderful because I was still exhausted from the long week. We relaxed at home and the kids had breakfast and watched cartoons before we headed to the gym.

I was disappointed because I stopped at Caribou to get my pumpkin white mocha and it was awful. I usually don’t ask for a remake, but I couldn’t even drink it. I stopped at another Caribou on the way to the gym and they were kind enough to make me a new one (which is good because lattes are over $7 now! I really need to start making them at home).

The kids played at the gym while I blogged and chatted with Joel. Then Joel took them home while I went to a diner to get my hair extensions put in. What a process but, man, do I feel pretty!

Joel took the kids to a park to play and got donuts while I had my hair appointment. After the appointment, I took the kids to another park. We picked up some pizza for dinner and had a relaxing evening for a big work week.