The Sass Sircus

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Summer So Far

Well, well, well, could it be! Kristen writing a blog post? I think so! Finally! It's only been since April; I figured it's about time.

Our school year went so late this year due to that blizzard we got back in February, so we didn't get out of school until June 26th. To top off our extra-long school year, all 6 kids also came down with strep the last week of school! I don't think any of my kids have ever had strep, whereas I remember having it a bunch as a kid. But it was wild to say the least when all 6 came down with it at the same time. They've all caught the same illness many times over the years but usually its staggered one after the other, this time was different because it was all at once. Saturday night Smith started complaining he didn't feel well. He spiked a fever and told me it hurt when he swallowed. I didn't think much of it because that's how all viruses tend to start at our house. But Sunday morning he woke up really miserable and when I looked in his throat it was very obvious to me this wasn't just a viral thing. Off to the pediatrician we went and sure enough, strep throat. Then Wednesday morning Logan, Kensington and Tenley all woke up with fevers. Logan's spiked really high twice throughout the day so they wanted to see him to make sure nothing else was going on. And wouldn't you know it, I no sooner pulled into the parking lot, and Kamryn texted me telling me she wasn't feeling well. Luckily when I explained what was going on with everyone else our pedi decided to put them all on antibiotics. All except Archie. They said he probably wouldn't get it. Well....dinner time rolled around and I'll give you one guess who spiked a fever? Yup. Archie! 6 kids all on antibiotics, all on different doses, it was pretty stressful! Archie didn't sleep much, and he was just miserable because he didn't understand. I was beyond exhausted. Over the next 10 days it became very obvious to me, I could never be a nurse. LOL!

Needless to say, I didn't get my typical last day of school pictures to show how much the kids have grown. Sadly, Logan ended up missing all of his 8th grade end of the year activities, including his graduation. It was such a bummer!

Kensington was able to go to her graduation from 5th grade though! Hers was before everyone got sick.

It's hard to believe she's going to middle school in the fall. She's still such a peanut! But we know she's going to do fabulous! She started elementary school smack dab in the middle of covid, and I remember being so concerned about how this would affect her not only academically but socially. And wow! I truly had nothing to worry about! She has far exceeded any expectations I would have for any kid, but Kensie blew us away. School has always just come naturally to Kensington regardless of the obstacles in her way. Proud is an understatement. She's not only a great student, but a great friend too!

Once Smith was on antibiotics for 24 hours, we got him to school for his kindergarten graduation!

He still wasn't feeling 100% (you can tell by his eyes in this picture) but we knew he wasn't contagious anymore. He got to school at 9am and we dismissed him to come home and rest by 10:15, but he was happy to not miss his special day. Smith did so great in kindergarten! He definitely had one strong case of senioritis by the end of the year, but he really enjoyed school for the most part. He made such great friends, learned so much and is so ready for 1st grade!

This is the only picture I got of Logan on his last day of school.

Logan worked hard, earned great grades, and always makes us proud. One of the things I admire most about Logan is his integrity. Even when he falls short, he takes responsibility for his actions and is always the first to apologize. Middle school is a tough 3 years, and we truly couldn’t ask for a better kid.

I still can’t believe he’ll be a freshman in high school this fall! He’s decided to give freshman football a go, and we’re so excited to see him try something new and cheer him on.

Once we wrapped up the school year and everyone was feeling better, it was time to celebrate my 40th birthday!

This theme could not be more perfect for me. Yes, I am a grown woman with 6 kids, 2 of which are teenagers themselves, but I also loved The Summer I Turned Pretty. My family did such a great job putting this all together.

3 things to know about me. I really love to be at home, I love hibachi and I hate being the center of attention. So, what did my family do? Hired a hibachi chef to come to my house with just my family and our close family friends. It was perfect!

It all came together so perfectly, it was so me and I'm so grateful for everyone who made this night so special!

We celebrated the 4th of July the same way we always do, at Peege and Dee's house.

It was so. freakin. hot. The 4th fell in the middle of a crazy heatwave but we all survived. Barely... Since the 4th the heatwave broke, and the weather has been so comfortable! Even with a couple of rainy days. Yes, I'd rather rain than heat. Truth be told, I'd be thrilled if summer was only a few weeks long and fall lasted about 6 months. I could do fall forever; I love being cozy in the winter and the spring always makes me oh so happy as well. But summer...ugh! I'm convinced we were brainwashed as kids to believe it's the best season solely because we aren't in school. LOL!

Usually, I am a fan of taking it extra easy all Summer but this year we are extra busy. I mentioned above Logan has decided to try football so we have him in a conditioning camp that a local gym runs at the high school 3 mornings a week, Tenley is doing tutoring 2 days a week and Kamryn will be starting summer practices for cheer soon as well. Busy busy busy! I just wish time would slow down just a little bit. We are going to blink, and school is going to start up again. Boo!! for a short summer!

Friday, April 17, 2026

Life Lately

Hello! Hello!

I'm not sure why but I don't think I'll ever fully quit this blog. You see if I had my way, I'd get in a time machine and go back to 2013. Kamryn and Logan were toddlers. Kensington was born in 2014, Tenley in 2016 and then Smith in 2019. I'd just really really love to live the twenty teens all over again. Back then I blogged a lot, I read a lot of blogs and motherhood and the world in general just felt different. Anyone else feel like ever since 2020 it's like everything just shifted? I won't get into my conspiracy theories (LOL!) but really, if I had my way I'd go back 13 years and then skip 2020-2021 and I think we'd be all set. It would just reset everything back to normal. Maybe? Hopefully!

But since that isn't possible, here we are. Living in what feels like a totally different reality than we had a decade ago... Only in this one, I have my Archie.

Let's do a little life lately...and what we've been up to.

Tenley turned TEN! She kept calling it her "diamond birthday" because she has "ten" in her name!

If you haven't heard, we had a pinhole leak that started in our upstairs shower and made its way down into the main bathroom and then down into our garage. Leaving us with a huge mess! This seemingly tiny leak did a lot more damage than we anticipated and we had to demo everything. It's going to take a while to build it back, as we're planning to do most of it ourselves, but there is a silver lining... It's making us tackle some overdo updates! We had to take out the wall between the bathroom and kitchen so we're going all in! Because why just redo your bathroom when you can also update your kitchen?!

It's been a family affair! I don't have many pictures, but my dad and Zack have been helping too!

We had to rip out everything fast while we had rented a dumpster, so we'll be living in a construction zone for a bit while we do this on weekends and weeknights. You know with all that spare time that people with 6 kids have. LOL! I'm sure it'll be frustrating, but I know it'll all be worth it when it's done. I'll try to keep you updated as we go.

The weather finally turned and we've been enjoying a lot of time outside. Perfect timing since our house has been turned upside down. Archie is BUSY so I don't see much laying out for me this summer as I'll be chasing him around, but he really really loves being outside so it'll be fun.

The kids get out of school today for spring break and we are really excited for a chill week and even sleeping in for a few days. :) Other than that, we don't have much planned. Which is TOTALLY FINE with me!!

Happy Friday!!

xoxo

Kristen