Weekending, Father's Day and Fike Swim Bag edition

This was the longest regular two day weekend ever. I mean that in a good way, it was super fun and even lazy in parts, I'm just pretty sure it was 4 or 5 days long.

pregaming

It started on Friday afternoon when my parents drove into town and we all went to the kids' swim me in Burleson, about 20 minutes away. It was CRAZY hot- about 115 with the heat index, so they pushed the meet back an hour to begin at 6:30. My kids all go to bed by 8 p.m., and we planned to go out to dinner after the meet was over, so the delay was obviously great news. And they canceled all the adult events so James couldn't swim, which was a bummer, though it was also nice to have him stay dry and watch the meet with me.

The big kids swam really well, and even though it was one MILLION degrees and there were no bleachers to sit, my parents appeared to have fun. They love a swim meet. The kids were obviously thrilled to have them there, and not just because they packed each kid a super thoughtful goodie bag filled with our favorite childhood swim meet card games and candies. Because back in the day, the concession stand sold donuts and candy and you ate all of it to fuel up between your handful of 30-second swims.

They gave Cora some sparkly purple shoes she adored until they broke (we discuss the broken shoe daily; #neverforget) and pom poms and a megaphone to cheer on her big siblings. Cora found the pom poms suspicious, but the card games were a HUGE hit with all the swimmers and it made my heart happy to see them playing games just like we used to do in the olden days before personal electronics.

I had the great idea to sign Landon up for the 100 IM because I thought he needed the challenge (he swam against the 11-14 year olds), but turns out that's the last event, so challenges are overrated. He finished (first!) at 9:30 p.m. and I quickly yelped a nearby restaurant with frozen margaritas that promised to serve food as well. We raced over, hoping they wouldn't be closing up, and found an adorable Main Street bustling with people and a boisterous half-full restaurant that didn't even roll its eyes when we walked in with children at 9:40 p.m.

Cora judges us

The kids were perfect, the margaritas tart and freezing, and the food very delicious (the number one is the best quesadilla I've ever had; I didn't even order it, but I ate half of James's and will get it next time). Should you find yourself in Burleson, I highly recommend Fresco's. We got home around 11 and tucked all the kids in the girls' room as fast as possible. And then tucked ourselves in too. The sun saps my life force.

My parents, looking much fresher than I felt on hour 3.

On Saturday my parents left early to head to Colorado, so we had friends over to swim. We were having so much fun I almost missed my own barre class- the one I was teaching- and had to tear out of the driveway a few minutes before. It was great to be back at the barre and all the extra Saturday time made the Friday swim meet extra worth it. That afternoon friends had us over for bbq and yard games, including watermelon margaritas and four square. James played games for 4 straight hours and had the best time ever. There was an unusually large contingent of former college athletes, so competitive game players were in abundance. I played the bean bag game and enjoyed a watermelon margarita. I stick to my strengths. But I did wear clothing that does not wick sweat and was not sold at Lululemon even though it was crazy hot, so I think I get extra party points for that.

The evening ended with water balloons, a concept our kids were entirely unfamiliar with. Cora hugged hers like a baby, Claire was shocked to find herself wet when one broke by her foot, and Landon thought they were made of magic. Also, after much internal debate and playing hard-to-get, Cora fell in love with a trampoline. But only if she could be in it alone.

On Sunday morning the kids got up early - despite our two late and crazy nights - to decorate the table for James, as is their holiday tradition.

Landon made him a tiny Brick out of clay and it made my heart squeeze a little every time I see it.

We went out for a local brunch buffet because the only thing James loves more than brunch is endless amounts of it and then took everyone to see Finding Dory because James loves a movie. He usually prefers to watch new releases on our couch with less 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, paper thin plots, and lots of running from people with guns and also explosions (Saturday night's selection was London is Falling and you guys it was SO bad, yet I find it oddly endearing that he's always giving the rotten ones an enthusiastic chance), but he found Dory to be entertaining. The kids loved it and Dory is Cora's new best friend.

Our day continued with a nap for Cora, workout time for James, card game time for me and the kids (they are now obsessed with the classics of Spoons and Crazy Eights) and swim time for all.

I also made dark chocolate cake but forgot to flour the pan, so I was forced to frost one layer still in its pan and then eat the other layer with a fork over the sink so no one would know there was supposed to be two. It was delicious.

Last year I found a card that said simply, "The only thing better than having you as my husband, is our kids having you as their dad." and it remains the best, most true, most perfect Father's Day card ever. Because James is an amazing, supportive, affectionate, funny, and hot as hell partner, but the kids might be even luckier than I am.

I love him and our chaos.

And speaking of James's babies- he has a new one! After many prototypes, ENDLESS obsessing, and nearly having his factory fire him because of the millimeter adjustments he kept making to each of the pockets, multiple times, his swim backpack is done!!

It's beautiful and so well made, with more pockets (including inner pockets! why do swim bags never have those?), big sturdy zippers, and lots of thoughtful extras from someone who has swum a million hours over the last many years. Along with the bag, he also made a commercial!

I'm super proud of him- this is a really great product, and one of hopefully many more! Assuming we can find him another pool to keep the swim school funding his prototypes.

t-shirts coming soon

But that's a problem for another day. I hope you all had wonderful weekends, that you maybe need a swim backpack in your life, and that all the dads out there had a great Father's Day!