A big swing into summer
June is almost finished, and I seriously can't even tell you what happened in May. What I can say is that this is the first full week I've had in the month of June. I left for a quick trip to Wisconsin on May 30th, returned to Lisbon on June 3rd, and haven't slowed down until now. Sort of. The month has been packed with discoveries, visits, friends and family, and trips outside of Lisbon. Here are some highlights and perhaps a few new places to check out!
The month started in Plymouth, Wisconsin, cheese capital of the world. As I learned from a news segment my dad was interviewed for, 15% of all of the cheese in the U.S. passes through Plymouth at some stage! I was home for cheese-related reasons, but more importantly, I had a long weekend with my dad, brother, his wife, and their son. We discovered how much we could pack in to entertain 1-year-old Henry, enjoy our favorite restaurants, and continue the decade-long saga with our shared storage unit. I took out a storage unit in 2005 when I moved out of my Chicago apartment and stayed in Paris. Josh moved stuff in, Jon had crates there, my dad circled in and out with a few odds and ends, and upon this final trip out there, I think I have officially cleared everything out. I also found the old wooden dollhouse my dad had built me when I was a little girl. I loaded it into the trunk, and one afternoon while everyone was napping, I scrubbed it as clean as I could and ordered wooden dollhouse furniture on Etsy. I have no doubt my kids will enjoy it this summer!
After a few days home, my cousin, Shelly, and her 13-year-old daughter, Molly, arrived in Lisbon! We spent a day in Comporta, and they did a horseback ride with Cavalos na Areia. While in Lisbon, Shelly and Molly came to the horse barn, we did yoga together, toured different parts of the city, tried out some of our favorite restaurants, they toured on their own, and most importantly, celebrated the festival of Lisbon's patron saint: St. Anthony. In the meantime, I finished my last Portuguese class. For now, anyhow.
After five days in Lisbon, Shelly, Molly, my kids, and I went to Paris for a long weekend. Molly, had never been to Paris before, so we did some touristy things. The kids and I also had lots of time with my girlfriends and their kids, which is really why I love returning to Paris as often as I can. I want my kids to know the kind of second family I have in Paris--and to know my friends' kids as their friends!
When the kids and I returned to Lisbon, we had three days before our camping trip with another family we are friends with. Léoni had told us that she didn't want a big birthday party with all of her classmates but just something small with a few good friends. When several of those friends' families weren't available on her birthday, we suggested a camping trip with her best friend's family instead. She loved the idea (and we definitely preferred camping to throwing a big class party!). But that gave us three days to plan all of the birthday details, including the goody bags she wanted to give her classmates with cake on the Monday after her birthday; organizing the picnic lunch we'd have on her actual birthday upon returning to Lisbon after camping; and making sure gifts were bought and wrapped. We camped "glamping" style (probably no need for quotes around that word anymore!) at DreamSea Portugal, a surf camp for people at least half of our age! The crowd was surprised to see us with our kids, but they were extremely hospitable, sweet, playful with the kids, and pretty wholesome considering what a 20-somethings surf camp on the beach could have become! On the last night while the crowd was celebrating the Swedish tradition of Midsummer where everyone makes flower crowns and dances around a Maypole, we all joined in. We returned to our table laughing and full of a different kind of energy. I asked our friends if they felt younger or older to be among that crowd of people at the beginning of their adult lives; all of us agreed that being around their energy and optimism made us feel younger.
On Sunday, June 24th, we celebrated Léoni's sixth birthday! The day before, laying in a hammock at the campsite, I told her about the day she was born. That morning we had a French toast and fruit breakfast, opened presents, and then had a party in the park near our house. We managed to pull together a really nice party and thoroughly enjoyed getting to see friends and their kids that day. We spent the whole afternoon and evening at the park.
Finally, in the days between, we've had some other beautiful moments. The kids performed in their end-of-year school presentation, and Léoni graduated from kindergarten. We had a number of stay-at-home sick days with one or the other having a fever, which turned into moments with just one child, which I realize I need more of. Léoni also had her final ballet class, and was able to show off a huge improvement in her posture and coordination! Or else that's just how fast kids grow and develop!
I am not asking for another month like June anytime soon, but when I look back at what we did and see the evidence of how the kids have grown--and we've grown as a family--I feel like we are wrapping up a pretty awesome month.
