Reading and parties…

"Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him."
-Maya Angelou

Isla is about halfway through her reading lessons and she’s still going strong.  She seems to genuinely enjoy learning to read and if she keeps this up she’ll be a strong reader before she starts Kindergarten next year.

Isla is in the pre-team group at gym and was nervous about moving to level 1.  After watching the routine on YouTube her response was “I can do that!”.  She has since memorized the routine and asks us to watch her perform it.  Every day.  I suspect she’ll be moved up soon.

We went to a birthday party for a friend Friday after school at Chuck E. Cheese, one of the kids’ favorite spots.  They had the unlimited play pass so the kids were able to run everywhere and play while the adults chatted and tried to keep them from running in to one another.

A week of parties and games…

"I'm not in a party. I am a party."
-Kid President

This was a weekend of kid events and games.  We had so many I can barely remember the order.  I think one of the first places we went was good ‘ol Chuck E. Cheese.  The kids still have a lot of fun with the unlimited play option, especially when they find a game that consistently pays out tons of tickets.  The prizes are still only worth a fraction of what we paid to get the tickets, but it’s the fun the counts.  Or so we’re told.

The kids had a day off school thanks to a teacher in-service day and took a trip to a new bounce house place to work off some energy.  They had some activities we haven’t seen before and the kids enjoyed running bouncing off everything.

James had three birthday parties this weekend, two on Saturday and one on Sunday.  One of them was at a Michael’s for an art themed birthday party.  James chose to make robots.

The Sunday birthday was at It’z, which is what you get when you combine Ci Ci’s pizza, a small bowling alley, and Chuck E. Cheese together.  We took the girls too so they could play some games while James played with his friends at the party.  Many games were played, many tickets won, and yet more incredible prizes came home to fill the nicks and crannies of our couch cushions.

A birthday and a gymnastics meet…

"Competing in gymnastics is the greatest reminder of being alive as a human being."
-Raj Bhavsar

Ashlyn went to her first state gymnastics meet this weekend in Lubbock.  We decided to fly instead of drive by Ashlyn’s request and she was excited to be off.  Bags were packed, and we headed to the airport.

The meet itself went well, although Ashlyn didn’t place in any events.  She was just on the edge placement for each one, and ended up scoring 4th out of the 10 girls from her gym who went.  Some events were incredibly close, so close in fact that in two events she was .05 away from placing.  It was all about details, and while she would have liked to have done better she’s still excited to start learning the next level’s skills.

Back at the airport (and a stop at a candy store for spirit lifting purposes) we played games for a while and then guess what, there was more gymnastics.

We were traveling on PePa’s birthday but the kids wanted to see him this weekend to give him the cards they made for him.  After a nice breakfast of waffles and hashbrowns the kids gave PePa their art.  Happy birthday PePa!

Halloween, soccer, and a birthday party…

"I'm going to go to every house and take all the candy and then eat it all at once."
-Isla

This year on Halloween some friends and their kids came over so the group could go trick or treating together.  This made it a lot more fun for the kids, in fact there wasn’t a single complaint about the cold until the very end.  As usual they got more candy than they’ll be able to consume over the entire year.

James had his last soccer game this weekend and all the kids were able to go.  They played a tough team, but James had fun even though they lost.  James really enjoys soccer and has asked to join a club team.  This means he’ll be practicing the next few months with an experienced coach and will begin playing games in January.  Hopefully indoors!

Cousin Ben turned seven last week and we got to celebrate with him this weekend.  Ben’s friends and family joined him at a trampoline park for bouncy fun and it was great watching the kids bounce around with each other.  We were hoping it would wear the kids out, but a good dose of sugary cake at the end of the party ensured they continued to bounce after we got home.  Thanks for letting us join you Ben, happy birthday buddy!