Midweek Randoms

My sister's birthday was on September 10th, but we celebrated it a little earlier at my house.  It always seems to be a hectic time of year, with both school and dance classes starting.  It worked out so nicely ... a very relaxing day for us.  We had tacos and an oreo cake that Sophia helped me make from scratch.

Min and Louie:

The boys were "casual" in just their diapers because we stripped them down after eating lots of messy cake:

My kids each made Aunt Minnie homemade cards and they were so proud to have her read them out loud:

********************

It is a tradition that our neighborhood does an annual Glow Party down at the lake on the Sunday before Labor Day.  There is music, popcorn and LOTS of glowsticks for when the sun goes down.  Jack was able to hang out down there with me until 9 pm before we headed back home for a bath and bedtime (a full hour past his normal bedtime).  Steve stayed down at the park with the girls until almost 10:30 pm and they came home exhausted but excited to show off their glowsticks.

Necklaces, bracelets, hair accessories ... they used them in many different ways.

And the best part?  While the girls were in the shower, Steve took all of the glowsticks and made a path (in the dark) all the way up the stairs, through the hallway and into their bedroom.  They squealed when they saw it!

********************

Watermelon.  We ate our fair share of it this summer for sure.  My kids LOVE watermelon!

********************

Playing in the puddles:

********************

Aunt Minnie had some boring felt owls that she picked up at the dollar store, hoping to use them as decorations in her classroom.  She left them at our house one day and I decided to let the girls decorate them for her.  We used paint, feathers, jewels (Sophia can never do a project without a little bling added in) and some googly eyes.  They turned out so beautiful and Aunt Minnie loved them!

********************

I had a loaf of bread that got old before we could use it (I'm not even sure how that is possible -- we go through a lot of bread in this household), and I didn't want to simply throw it away.  So, I rounded up the kids, split up the loaf and let them feed it to the birds near the outskirts of our woods.

I'm pretty sure that the birds (and the squirrels) were appreciative.

And when you are in the throes of potty-training, it's nice to just hang out in your "big boy underwear."

********************

One Saturday morning when Steve was out of town, I surprised the kids and had them jump in the van as soon as they got up (in their pajamas, bathrobes and slippers) and took them to get donuts.  We never do this, so it was a COMPLETE surprise to them.  They got to go in the store, pick them out and then come home to eat them.

They picked out the messiest ones possible!

And then there was a small toddler meltdown because Momma wasn't moving fast enough for him.  What can I say?  We love donuts here.

********************

A quick game of tetherball before school?  Sure.

A quick ride around the driveway while Momma is loading the van with the girls for school?  Yup, every single morning.

And, posing for Momma right after school because she loves pink and purple so much ... especially her new outfit!

********************