We had a weekend filled with all sorts of busyness and sunshine.  I’ll start by telling you about our “Chewbacco” experience.

First of all, I feel like I should say…I think I’m reminiscing about my days as a youth, maybe a little too much.  Remember how I told you that I bought bubble gum cigs for our boys?  Well, I’m continuing to be that fine mom and well…I bought them shredded beef jerky in the ‘chew can’ on Friday.  I can’t explain what came over me.  Seriously.  Maxim and I were at Theisen’s.  One minute, we are looking at toy lions and bears and bucks.  And next thing you know, we’re standing in the checkout line with not one, but TWO cans of beef jerky chew.  Or Chewbacco as Maxim calls it.

He was so excited, that as soon as we were in the parking lot, he was trying that stuff.  And this is what you might have seen…

Getting ready to sample the beef jerky

This is AWFUL!

No, he wasn’t pretending to spit.  (That’s what Hubby thought Maxim was doing when I sent him the pics.  He thought Max was ‘really getting into it’.)  No.  He was gagging.  Apparently, shredded beef jerky isn’t appealing to all kids.

So, when Nate got home from school, Max and I were so excited to show him what we bought for him.  And this was Nate’s before pic.

My own beef jerky chew!

And his thoughts once opening the can…

Ewwww…this looks gross!

And his after picture…

Mom! I’ve gotta spit this OUT!

I guess our boys just don’t appreciate the finer things in life.  Like Jack Link’s Jerky Chew.

Saturday, Maxim had a t-ball game.  We won.  I was so proud.  And so did the other team.  And they were so proud.  (In t-ball, there are no losers, folks.  Everyone’s a winner and everyone’s happy.)

Then, with the sun being full-on HOT.  We decided to head to the pool for our first swim experience of Summer ’14.  We were all excited and most of us were ready (except what mom is REALLY ever ready for swimsuit season??  The things we do for our kids…).  I did break a very serious rule though.  I made the boys eat RIGHT before we left.  Hey.  Call me crazy, but I was making sandwiches like no other and had the boys eating them up…I was NOT going to stick to the “Don’t eat for before you go swimming”/One-Hour Rule.   They were so excited that they scarfed their sandwiches down in no time flat.  Just look at them…

Goggles, check.  Sandwiches, check.  They could NOT wait to go swimming!

Nate took along a friend and there was a lot of swimming, splashing, playing in the sand, and eating at the snack bar, of course.  I was super nice and bought all manner of snacks  because PEOPLE.  It’s the first day of swimming and this is only May 31st!!  That alone was enough to make me want to celebrate.  (Typically, I’d still be teaching and NO ONE was going to have fun until school was out.  And because I was usually doing report cards that last weekend, making the thought of even going to the pool out of the question.)  So, popcorn, snow cone ice cups, nachos, and Dr. Pepper were purchased in honor of First Day of Swimming And It’s Still May.  Of course, I had a big swim bag that may have had a few bags of chips in it, too.  Because nothing screams swimming pool fun like a delicious bag of Funyuns…

Pool+Funyuns=Summertime Fun

Sunday, we went to church, played outdoors with some friends, Nate swam again, I got groceries, Nate swam again, and then had some tears and melt-downs from all of the swimming and sun and going, going, going.  (Which is why I wrote another post today…)

A fun weekend, but a learning curve for this mama.  Because summer isn’t going to be all fun and games and sun and fun and run and run and run.  Somehow, sometime soon, we’ve gotta get used to the new normal for summer and make choices that will allow for fun AND structure.  Otherwise, I may go crazy and revert back to childhood…just sit in a corner sucking my thumb AND have a diet that consists of ONLY beef jerky chew and Funyuns.

For our children’s sake, I think I’ll “man up” (or woman up.  Whatever.) and start setting some new summer rules.