The Lazy Days of Summer

I woke Cruz up from his deep sleep on our bed this afternoon when I heard Brian Williams' voice on NBC Nightly News.  It's true I put him down for a later than normal nap (interrupted by a later than normal trip to the pool), but it seems a 3-hour nap is how he rolls lately.  I don't mind, as spotting that tan little back nestled in a mound of comforters and snuggling face-to-face for awhile is one of my favorite summertime occurrences.  

August is here and we've officially hit the lazy days of summer.  We're busy indeed, and my to-do list is once again filled with my regular August essentials --- meal plans, closet organization, school shopping, hair appointments, etc.  We're see-sawing back and forth from busy to sleepy, productive to lazy, and it creates a comfortable balance to end the season.  The weather has finally provided a little relief after what seems like more 100-degree days than I remember from any other summer, and we're trying our best to squeeze in as much summertime as we can in the days we have left.
  
So what have we been up to lately??? 

...I baked a rhubarb pie.  The vodka crust turned out even better this time, and the pie was melt-in-your-mouth amazeballs.

...We spent Sunday's perfect weather outside on an extra long bike ride to George Wyth, a break at Pfeiffer Park, a visit from Gabe and Gina, and beers and pizza on the sunny patio at Mulligans.  It was the perfect way to spend such a beautiful day outdoors, and my legs are feeling our miles today.

...We put Cruz in his new room, and he's been a champ in his big boy twin bed.  He loves it, and has given me a glimpse of what life will look like when he's sixteen.  The room is still in progress and I hope to share more pictures soon, but I'm loving his cozy space upstairs.

  
...I moved into my new office.  The UNI Schindler Education Center is my new home, and while my office space is small, I made it homey with some lighting for ambiance and wall decor.  

...I organized my closet and donated three massive garbage bags to Goodwill today.

...We had a Henrichs family reunion, the first one since 2003.  A lot has changed since then, and instead of talking about high school graduation, we were chasing our littles around a playground and cutting up grilled hotdogs into bite-sized pieces.

...We ate sno-cones at the pool.  We can't go to the pool anymore without stopping for a sno-cone on our way out (or as soon as Cruz spots the concession stand, which today meant five minutes into our trip).  

...We watched a lot of Olympics.  Cruz is a fan of beach volleyball.

...We wore bandanas.  Cruz needed a couple for a craft at daycare, and Beau insisted on buying a couple more for him and Cruz to wear around the house.  Cruz actually fell asleep wearing one the other night :)

...Cruz had a major meltdown in JoAnn's Fabrics yesterday because the check-out associate wouldn't let him play with the credit card swiper.  I later had to leave in the middle of waiting in line to buy books at Barnes & Noble because Cruz wouldn't stop removing magazines from the rack.  I guess A Sick Day for Amos McGee will just have to wait...

...We had an impromptu overnight stay in Omaha to celebrate the life of a very special person.  Our good friend and neighbor, Windee, lost her mama to cancer last week, and we felt the nudge to go and be at our friends' side during this difficult time.  We stayed in a nice hotel room, to which Cruz has grown quite accustomed to, and took him to the Omaha Zoo before hitting the road home on Saturday.

Cruz loved the zoo.  He spotted all the animals, said goodbye to each of them as we pushed him along, and helped groom some goats in the petting zoo.  It was the first 70 degree day in more than a month, so the zoo proved to be the hot spot of the day, however, we took our time, enjoyed the beautiful weather, and stood by the gorilla cages far too long.

Few words and lots of pictures to document our day in Omaha...

  

I love posts that end with a bunch of penguins in a firing line.  They stood tall and proud like this for the entirety of our aquarium tour :)