Another Hodgepodge Post

Emily and Grace have been getting in some good outside time this summer.  I liked the lighting in this shot that Emily took of Grace!

Emily picked out this sweater a few weeks ago at a yard sale. I would never ever ever have picked it out for her, but she really likes it (and the colors are pretty.)  Well, fast forward to last week, I was putting something away in the big girls' closet, and the sweater was on Alice's rack!!!  I thought maybe Emily had tried it on, and thought it was too large, so had given it to Alice. But no! It was Alice who liked the sweater so much she stole it from Emily!  To me, this sweater looks sooooo old and dated and I wouldn't ever wear it, but both of my teens (well, teen & tween) love it.  Who knew*?

William, Grace, and Juliet had swim camp last week!  It was 5 hours a day, for 4 days (M-Th) for only $60!!  They loved it, and came home so tired.  

Monday, after drop off, I spent my 'childfree' time hanging out with Zoey's mom!  We spent 3 hours chatting and digging through the bins at the 'cheap' Goodwill, then enjoyed some coffee, and even had time for a dollar tree run, before it was time to collect our dear ones!

On day 3, Grace passed the deep water test for the first time ever!!!!! She is excellent at setting goals and making it happen! = ) I was so proud.

I love filling the 'party tray' with fruits and veggies, for the kids to snack on throughout the day.  It also looks really pretty. = )

We went to the library to redeem summer reading prizes, and since the 'meet up and eat up' was only an hour away, stayed on for lunch!  A few days later, I got a call that Emily had won one of the grand prizes (a Target gift card!) 

I wanted a basket for collecting veggies from the garden.  At Goodwill I found this basket, with a collapsible handle, for $2.50.  I agonized over it the duration of the trip, but ultimately decided to buy it.  I've been loving it, and it does a fantastic job carrying all the produce inside from the garden.  I love it so much, I tried to repurpose it and use it for shopping at the farmers market.  Sadly, the bottom felt vulnerable with the purchase of potatoes and honey (and then a side trip to Carl's for coconut milk and vegetable stock.) = (

So, I went into the next few days in the market for a studier basket.  I found a larger one, with reinforced sides and collapsible handles for $2!!!! Then, since Avia wasn't able to go with us in the morning, we went back for a second look in the afternoon, and I got another one (to help me carry all of my purchases) and then one more, because it was adorable, and only 50 cents and I'm on a kick.

Well, then I got home, and suddenly had 3 baskets without a home, and one that was slightly in the way.  So, I brainstormed a home for my collection: the mudroom wall!  Upon observation, I found that I would only have to make a single hole in the wall, since there were existing holes for the other three. = )

We had corndogs for dinner last night, and I thought everyone might like 'fancy' stadium containers.  I think they did make them taste better!  (Admittedly, I didn't have one, since I had just made a German Salad, and I'm the only one who eats on it.)

3 of my summer chores involved painting outside, so last night I pulled out all my supplies, and this morning (after a rocky start of driving the big girls to camp because their bus broke down.) Grace came out and helped me pain the shed ramp and step!  Sadly, just those items took the rest of the paint.  So, we needed to go to Menards and get another round, which of course meant loading up WGJ.  To make it more exciting, I promised donuts, but then Grace reminded me that her ear was still hurting, and so I called the doctor and got her a late morning appointment. (Turns out she has swimmers' ear.)  

But after the appointment we went to Menards, but by then the big girls were home, and my mom was over for birthday cake and presents!!!  Once we celebrated Avia to the fullest, and she went on with her day, I went back out to finish the side porch and basement entrance.  I kept running into branches between the two, and so broke out the branch cutters, and trimmed the offending bushes (which needed to be done, but felt like just one more delay.)  As I was finishing up the brush work on the basement door, Emily and Grace came out wanting to help with the roller.  They did a pretty good job, but got bored and came in before the job was finished. = /

I did finally get done, and cleaned up.  Tomorrow (or soon) I hope to go seal, at the very least, the back porch. But I have sewing that needs tending, so we'll see.  Sadly, this was the last week that I'll be getting up early to get the big girls ready for camp, and then having the rest of the morning to knock out a 'summer chore' since EGJ start at nature camp next week!

I mentioned celebrating Avia's birthday, and I took a picture too!

We got to celebrate with my mom this year, it's a toss-up where she'll be each summer, so we only get to celebrate with her sometimes.  This year she got 5 cards from my crew and a shadow box for her grandfather's arrowhead collection from us as a group.  Emily and Grace helped her put together the display, then EGJ helped her sort some coins.  Emily also made her a German chocolate cake, but since AE had summer camp in the morning, we didn't get to have it for breakfast, as is tradition.  I think she enjoyed her time here, hopefully she had a great day!

There's this meme floating around:

And I am feeling it!  August is coming so, so fast!  We have tons of fun things left to do this summer, but August is just so close!  I'm not ready for summer to end!!!

later days

 *So, I actually posted the picture on FB and asked for opinions and they were overwhelmingly positive toward this sweater, so I guess I'm the odd man out.  

Grace and Juliet turn 9!!!

This was the first time the twins had the opportunity to celebrate their birthday at school with their friends and so we didn't really know what to do!  Since their birthday was on a Sunday, should one of them bring treats on Friday and one on Monday? If they split it up, who got to go first? Did they want to do it together?

Ultimately, we decided on a joint endeavor, the Friday before their birthday.  But, we made enough cupcakes that they could each give one to each of their classmates!

I happened to be working that day, so I was able to watch them as they proudly gave some of the extra special ones to some of their favorite staff members (like their kindergarten teacher!) and yours truly also got a special delivery. = )

Saturday night, I took one final picture of my babies as 8 year olds!

Sunday morning everyone woke up ready for Easter and birthday cake for breakfast and ready for all of the excitement of the day!  This was the first time that their birthday had fallen on Easter, so I wasn't sure how exactly it would play out, but I think they felt special, despite the day being a shared one!

We had to wait a few weekends before we could celebrate with a party, but I think they enjoyed their special day!!

later days

you can check out pictures from their party here.  And Grace's answer to her birthday survey here.  And Juliet's answers here. Or see pictures from last year's birthday here.

edit: written 6-17-23 backdated for continuity.

Emily Answers Her Birthday Survey: 12 years old

A few weeks late, but Emily's birthday survey at 12 years old!

I am 12 years old. 1️⃣2️⃣

My favorite color is: Purple. 💜
The coolest person on earth is: Mutti 😎

The thing I do best is: Play Alto Saxophone. 🎷
If I could change my name, it would be: Emily. 👱‍♀️
My favorite toy is: My computer💻 (Is that even a toy?)
When I grow up, I want to be: A mother. 🤱
I like to watch: Idk. 🤷‍♀️
My favorite song is: Idk. 🤷‍♀️
My favorite book is: Hatchet 🪓
3 words to describe me are: Optimistic, Happy, Smiley😁
When I was little, I used to: Idk. 🤷‍♀️
My favorite season is: Summer. 🌞
The food I like most is: Baked potatoes with a bunch of toppings. 🥔  
One food I really don't like is: Olives. ⚫🟢
My best friend is: Abby. 👩

For my birthday I want to: Be old enough to sit in the front seat of the car. 🚘
My best memory is: Bowling on the school field trip. 🎳

She specifically included an emoji with each answer, I'm not sure if they will show up in future versions of this post, or even in the printed book, but they all match her answers. = )

later days

you can see her answers from last year here.

and her birthday post from this year here.

Alice turns 13!!!!

We have a teenager in the house!!!!!!

My little, bitty, baby, first born is now almost as tall as I am!  Alice turned 13 this year.

One final picture as a 12 year old:

Cake for breakfast!!

She turned 13 just days before returning to school, but we were able to sneak in one final trip to the ice cream shop (they closed for the season the next day!)

For her birthday, Juliet bought Alice a pinata.  We filled it with some tasty candy and strung it up in the back yard.  I only got in two pictures before my phone died. = (  

So, here is missy Grace:

And William's swing took it down, but didn't open it up.

I hope our Alice enjoyed her special, low-key day.  And may her 14th year be her best one yet!!

later days

You can see pictures from last year here.  And read her survey answers here.

Note: Written a few months later, but posted closer to the event date for the sake of continuity.

Other Fun

So, what else did we do?  Just lived as much as we could in the moment.

They built "giant lego blocks and stood in the same position as their lego avatars.

Before cousin summer, we went to a new park, which just happened to have a library event going on, and a book sale too!

Emily and Grace were "melting."

We blew up the pool for one week, then found out about the "pool party" schedule at the Charlotte Aquatic Center and haven't used it since.  It's still out, and on the porch, but empty.

We got to check out the Oldsmobile car show in downtown Dimondale.  I think it was back a two-year hiatus.

Father's Day was pretty quiet, but everyone was around to wish Daddy a happy one!

We read the "story walk" posted at the basketball court.

Grace and Molly got ready for camping.

I took in our bikes (3 at a time) to be serviced at the bike shop. Grace's had to be totally replaced with a new one.  

Grace set two summer goals for herself: 1) ride a bike without training wheels.  2) swim without a floaty/pass the swimming test at the pool.  She's making great strides with both and is close to mastering #1!

During Grace's trip, we left Alice and William home, since they didn't want to come, and hit a really pretty bike trail we found one day.  Then, we went to a second bike trail, but the girls were tired, so we went home.  The next day, Billy and I went out and did 10 miles on the trail in Lansing.  The direct sunlight was pretty brutal, but there were several pretty parks on the way.  Next time, we go downtown!

Grace has been feeling a little sad without Juliet, so she's been my go buddy, since Emily is also at camp this week.  She got a cookie the size of her face at BJ's!

She also went with me to snag some on sale school supplies.  Staples had a $10 off any $20+ purchase coupon, so we picked up the 3 things that they had on sale that I had on my list. We also scored some fresh headphones for the big girls for their school supply list.  Spent $12, which was not bad considering I was able to get everything on my list and two pairs of headphones!

Avia was in Texas this year for her birthday, but we didn't waste a chance to celebrate!  The cake was good, sadly, I was trying to schedule a package pick up when the kids got everything ready, so this was the only picture I took.

Emily didn't have time to grab some and eat it before camp, but she got some when she came home. = )

We met up with the Cornishes at the Magical Realm Festival in Charlotte.  Despite the warmer weather we'd been having, it was cold and rainy.  

They had a scavenger hunt that everyone, except for Alice, thought was delightful and fun.  And Grace has now tamed her fair share of rocks! ; )

Billy paid for the kids to be jailed.  I think they might have liked it! = 0

Their "warrant!"

I feel like I must include an Alice interaction here as well, so that she can read it later.

Bought this sweatshirt for Alice (even though it was like 90F.)  

When we came home:
M: I bought you a new shirt!
A: <eyeroll>
<But reads shirt and works hard to conceal smile>
M: well, what do you think?
A: <reaches for it, and feels edge> at least it's soft...

It has been such a great, but busy summer.  And somehow, we've managed to fit in doctor visits, grocery pickups, new glasses, karate, and even some Latin, math, German, and reading!  

Maybe we'll get some rest once school starts.

later days