Beach Day

We spent yesterday and today with Todd's mom and had such a nice time together.  Today we all spent the morning at the beach along with Bryce's family and some more of Todd's family (Uncle Jeff and Aunt Deb).  It was beautiful, and afterwards we enjoyed a picnic lunch and some playground time.

Such a cute smile :-)

Evan and Chloe kept venturing out into the deeper waters together.  Chloe was too nervous to go out alone so she held on tight to Evan.  They didn't hold hands, she just just grabbed onto his wrist ;-)  I always love to see him protecting her and her depending on him.

The water was mostly calm but it was nice and breezy.  It was perfect for visiting and watching the kids play.  Bryce's boys were especially fun to watch.

The kids convinced Todd to take them out in the water to touch the buoys.  He had them laughing a lot!  They played in the water for so long they came out shivering and decided to just dig giant holes and hunt for seashells.

Water and kids... such a magical combination.

Then we came back home to relax for a bit before saying goodbye to Gramma.... until next time.

On Our Walk

We try to get out and take a walk every day, more than once a day if we can.  We just wander around our own neighborhood most of the time, which has become more fun the further we go.  I usually don't bring my camera but I am starting to because we have found unique trees, collected seed pods from all sorts of plants, inspected lots of insects, and discovered some really pretty (for the city) flower gardens.

Our latest favorite place to walk by is the house with the Chinese Lantern plant by the front door.  We are certain this house is abandoned or something and that no one will mind us taking a few lanterns home each time we go there.  The kids love to stuff their pockets with a few.

Of course in the summer it's also helpful to find shady places to rest on long walks, so we park in someone's front yard by the sidewalk until we cool down.  We have some pretty silly times watching people and cars and goofing around with each other.

I think it's time for us to head back out right now :-)

Outdoors

The summer has been so pleasant with the weather not too hot and even bordering on a bit too cool sometimes.  The sun shines nearly every day and we love being in it. 

When we are here at home the kids still get out on their bikes a lot, but I rarely take pictures  because they ride too fast and everything just turns out blurry.

She makes the craziest faces while bike-riding.

Even with the camera flash they aren't really that great at capturing the fun but you can see that Evan never sits down to ride and Chloe is way to big for her tiny bike (she refuses to upgrade). 

These two zip up and down the sidewalk and bump over the tree roots in our yard, laughing and chasing each other, shouting inside jokes and giggling, racing and dodging to avoid crashing.  It's such a fun time.

They also play with RC trucks all the time (Evan's truck now goes 40mph!) and they get out in nearly every rain shower to play.  I love that.  They are really busy all day and by night time they drop into bed yawning and stretching and needing a foot rub because they rarely wear shoes.  The way summer should be, I think.

When there is a still moment I sneak in with the camera, amazed that they have stopped moving.

I also spy on them from a distance with the zoom lens. 

Chloe loves to catch raindrops on her tongue :-)

I just love watching them grow up and I'm so thankful for every day we spend together.  Especially these summer days when it feels like time just goes on and on and on.

Pet Cicada

Evan and Chloe found a barely moving cicada under the backyard tree last week.  They were able to hold it and study it up close.  We found out in our pet bugs book that cicadas usually start to die off in August and September so if you find one it has a couple days to live.  They don't bite but their front legs are extremely grippy so that can be an issue with some kids.  We put it in a box and kept it until it finally stopped moving, and  now it's on the kids' bedroom shelf for a decoration :-)

A Little Party

Chloe had picked out some pretty tie-dye decorations for the party and Todd bought her flowers so the table looked really pretty -- just her style!

Evan was totally ready to focus on Chloe and her desires today, even though Jed was coming over and he knew there might be some RC truck driving going on.  He really loves his sister.

Some of our cherished friends were unable to come to the party today, but even though only half our invited guests were able to come we still had a lovely little party together.  These awesome kids (all quite a bit older than Chloe) really honored her by coming and celebrating.  This sort of love runs deep among homeschooled kids -- the age gaps just don't bother them the same way and it really just feels like a family.  We are so blessed to know this loving group.

For the party,we kept things simple because that's how I roll.  I don't do themes or games or fancy cakes so what's left after that?  Well, we worked it out and it was quite nice I think.

First we did a paper horse craft that got the kids talking and goofing around.  (That's what they are doing in the above photo.)  Then we went outside to play with giant bounce balls in a fun free-for-all that even got Todd involved.  Back inside for extra-large helpings of blueberry cake and vanilla ice cream.

Chloe had hurt her foot outside and came in almost in tears, but after a happy birthday song and some candle-blowing she was good as new.  After that I sent the kids on a candy hunt through the house to find mini chocolate bars, which they all had a lot of fun searching for.

Finally Chloe opened her gifts and we finished things up with a fun hangout time with our friends who came to pick up their kids but stayed a while longer.  Evan was thrilled because he got to drive RCs with Jed.  Everyone left with a giant bounce ball, a bag of chocolates, and a smiling face (plus lots of hugs for the birthday girl).

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Following the party, Todd promptly fell asleep on the couch while the kids had a wild laughing time on their bounce balls. They bounced all over the house on them.  Eventually they wore themselves out but wouldn't part with those balls.

We had a really nice time with our baby girl today (who of course is not a baby at all,but always my baby.)  She had a grand time and wants to do this every year. 

Chloe is Eight!

Birthday girl!!  Up early, diving right into presents....

She worked her way from smallest to largest.  Ruby heard the rustle of wrapping paper and joined us immediately.

Evan bought her a wolf, a turkey, and a bald eagle.  She LOVED them.

All she ever asks for is Schleich animals so that's what we got her.  She was so cute opening each gift with a serious concentration... ripping paper and tossing bows and boxes.... then she was ooohing and smiling from ear to ear over each gift.

Of course, her Dad knows she likes other things besides just animals, so he added a Looney Tunes drinking glass and Monopoly game to the mix.  She was so thrilled with everything.

Lastly she opened a special package that came in the mail from Gramma:

 Such a pretty dress!  Thanks Gramma!


The annual measurements:
    Height:  4 feet 0.5 inches
    Weight: 41 pounds
    Clothes size: 6 or 6/7 in shirts; 7 slim in pants (still a bit too long)
    Shoe size: 11

Tomorrow we have a small birthday party planned with a couple friends.  Chloe is non-stop smiles about this whole event.  She just wants to celebrate with everyone and she's so excited to be eight!!