A meet, soccer, and games…

"Cards are one means of bridging differences in age and habits, drawing children and parents, old and new friends together in fair and friendly competition."
-Florence Osborn

Isla’s meet season started and the first one was at our home gym.  Isla’s group moved up to level 3 not long before the meet so they weren’t expected to have all the skills down.  They still did a great job, and Isla said she had fun even though she doesn’t have everything mastered yet.

We’re also approaching a string of soccer games and the first was this weekend as well.  The team lost, but James had some good moves in there and enjoyed getting to be back out on the field after all the practice.  Or he just wanted ice cream afterwards, sometimes it’s hard to tell.

As we get into some of the hottest days of the summer we also had to find things to play indoors.  Board and card games are becoming popular choices, and we’ll play when it’s just us or when we have guests over.  This week, Grandma and Grampa stopped by to visit and play some cards.

Cards, snow cones, and bears…

"Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high."
-Arnold Lobel

A friend James knew how to play the Pokémon card game and taught James how to play.  He’s already a big fan, and insisted we take him to the local game store to buy some more cards.

James likes to read, and he reads fast.  A trip to the library resulted in a new pile of books being brought home.  That was after James and Isla spent some time playing in the library’s kid area where they were able to practice some engineering skills.

A lunch with Sadie or a trip to get snow cones is a great way to spend an afternoon, both for the kids and the dog.  I’d say that it was spending time with their siblings that made it so enjoyable but let’s face it, it was the snow cones.

Isla’s newest fascination is Care Bears. She can’t get enough of them, and one of her favorite things to do is line them up and pose for picture with them.  This isn’t even all of them, her collection has grown by six since these pictures were taken.

The end of summer and the first day of school…

"In school they told me Practice makes perfect. And then they told me Nobody's perfect,
so then I stopped practicing."
-Steven Wright

Cooling off in the hottest part of summer is easy when you’re standing on ice.  Standing may not be the right word, awkwardly sliding around is more appropriate.  Still, it was a fun and cool activity for the kids.

Bowling was another good indoor activity for the kids.  Ashlyn was excited about breaking 100, and Isla took the opportunity to pose for pictures.

The big event of the week what was kids have been (not) looking forward to all summer: the first week of school.  While they might not have been looking forward to it, they got ready for their first day with a good attitude and were glad to see their friends again.  So long summer, until next year!

Isla turns 7!

"We don't grow old. When we cease to grow, we become old."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The week started with the kids getting together with their friends to swim.  The water felt great and everyone took full advantage of it.  It’s definitely been a summer for swimming.

 

On her actual birthday, Isla asked for Boba and donuts from breakfast.  It’s hard to say no to a birthday request, so Boba and donuts it is. When she got home, it was time to open presents.  Bears, unicorns, and Legos were the theme of the day, and as you can see from the pictures it seems like Isla was happy with the gifts.

Isla wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday, and the gang was happy to join her.  Cousins Ben and Sydney were able to join as well, which made it even better.  After games and pizza Isla was able to get a Chuck E. Cheese plushie, which she was very excited about.

We went back to the house afterwards to enjoy cupcakes and open presents from the friends.

Grandma and Grampa came over on Sunday to play games and wish Isla a happy birthday.  She was excited just from the cake, but the balloons, cards, and presents sealed the deal. 

It was a busy birthday week for Isla, but a fun one.  Happy birthday Isla, we love you!