Back to Life

The days are falling back into their normal summer pace now that the kids are back. They got back last Tuesday and on Wednesday we had the boy at the doctor to look at his ears. He had inner ear infections in both ears and an outer infection (swimmers ear) in the right as well. He was on 4 medications and really only started to feel a lot better on Saturday. He went to Karate on Thursday, but had to take a break about halfway through when his ears started to really bother him. I think he healed a lot on Friday because they really didn't do anything. We did go to Chili's for dinner, because we hadn't gone grocery shopping and the food choices at home were very slim.
On Saturday we had the normal Karate Saturday: 4 classes stretching from 7:15am through 12:45pm. They had water balloon kicking at the park, which was a lot of fun. Then we had our hair appointment and went grocery shopping. It was very overdue.
My dad & I went to Pearl Street in Boulder on Sunday. We used to try to go every year before the weather starts to get cooler, but we've missed the last few years. It's a nice opportunity to just hang out together. My dad says it's like Venice Beach without the water. There are street performers and the shops range from pricey boutiques to head shops. Tourists and locals share the street with hippies and the homeless. It's something to see. We were there for a couple of hours and then after taking him home, I joined my family at a birthday party/pool party for Dana's mom. They had a blast. Then we went over to Dana & Jeannie's to play Catchphrase and then home. It was a busy weekend.
Shell took the kids yesterday to buy their school supplies. They start school on August 19, but we got their lists last week and a lot of stores had sales starting this week. So we now have everything except for backpacks. Next is to start shopping for clothes. Their school has a uniform policy; navy or khaki bottoms and white shirts. It makes getting ready for school every day really easy, but it is usually a challenge finding enough of the right sizes to start the year. So that will start soon I'm sure.
This weekend is my boy's pre-test in Karate. Next weekend is the big 2 day test for getting into Prep Cycle, but this Saturday they will decide who gets to earn a spot at the big test. The one next weekend is in front of the Master instructors, so they want to make sure that they are only sending the ones who have a good shot at passing. I am very confident that he will make it through the pretest, as long as he doesn't get too nervous. Being gone for so long has left some little holes in his memory that he needs to concentrate on, but I think he's going to do fine.