The first day...

I decided today needed to be a day that was completely full. Not just busy, but really FULL. I think I succeeded. We started out the day by going to mass at 8:30, which was interesting and different.

It was interesting and different for two reasons. Reason number one: the church is being repainted, so we had mass in the Social Hall. This shouldn't normally be a problem. However, reason number two, today the early mass was packed. And when I say packed, I mean to say that there were no more than 2 seats together anywhere. I guess people were leery of the bona fide summer temperatures we've been having lately, so they all hauled out of bed early for the first mass to beat the heat...which meant the 5 of us had to figure out how to sit in 2 folding chairs. Fortunately, one lady was kind enough to move and let us have 3 chairs together, so with Little Dude happily hanging out in my lap, the other 3 could share 2 chairs.

I guess I should say that the kids are good, but not necessarily angels. I eventually had to send one child to fend for herself and sat between two boys with LD in my lap to prevent the inevitable poking and prodding siblings seem compelled to subject each other to. I'm thankful it was different and an adventure. It was a great way to start off our new year.

The next thing we did was take a 5 mile bike ride. We stopped at a playground about 2/3 of the way through and I let the kids play. We're so fortunate to have the Santee Lakes only two blocks away! Lunch was rather mundane, but afterwards, we played Mario Kart for a bit until it was time for a meeting.

Normally, I don't do a whole lot of "work" on Sunday's. It's my rest day. No laundry, no chores, no housework. I enjoy having one day a week where I don't feel obligated to do anything in particular. However, today's meeting was on a whole different scale...it was the camper meeting for the summer camp LM and MB will attend in 2 weeks. It was fun and the kids ate lots of cookies...I'm pretty sure one had enough to ruin his dinner, which helps explain his mysterious lack of evening appetite.

After our meeting, we headed over to the neighbor's house to cool off in the pool for the rest of the day. It was a good way to wind up a wonderful day. And if the kids don't sleep in tomorrow from all the activity today, I think I'll find another job. I'd like to see my hard work pay off some dividends!