Tea Parties & Puppet Shows

This morning was particularly hard for me to get out of bed.  As any of you who have been 8 months pregnant know, your sleep at this point is not what I would call high quality.  I get maybe 45 minutes at a time until I am either uncomfortable or need to use the restroom, and thus wake up.  Last night was particularly bad because in the midst of all that, I suddenly couldn't fall back asleep for several hours in the middle of the night. Uhg.

Of course my most cheerful and adorable child was up and ready to play bright and early, but she very sweetly brought the adventure to me.  We ended up having a tea party in my bed for almost an hour this morning while I gratefully got a bit more rest as she served up cake and crumpets.

Impromptu tea party in mommy's bed.

 After I finally gathered the energy to get up for the day, I was really excited to take her to her first theater experience (and a bit nervous about how she would behave). Luckily, it was a fairly low-pressure situation: a kid-oriented puppet show at the Roswell Arts Center, which only costs $5 to attend, so if she flipped out or refused to sit still, no big deal.  I was thrilled to find that she loved it and was so proud of how she sat through the entire thing, entertained and engaged and asking to come back again when it was done.  I have great memories of my parents taking me to see Les Mis and other classics at the Fox Theater when I was growing up, they were such special occasions, and I am really looking forward to doing the same with my girls.  So this was good training.  =)

The seats provided plenty of entertainment before
the lights went down!

Child Labor at its Cutest

We have been berry picking twice this summer, once for strawberries and once for blueberries.  I enjoyed the blueberry picking a lot more, mostly because it was a more scenic local and - more importantly - I didn't have to bend over. That's an important detail when you are 7+ months pregnant. 

Those bushes are really low down.

It took a while for her to understand to only pick the red ones,
but she quickly got the hang of it and we had a full bucket!

Please note how the blueberry bushes are all quite tall,
unlike the low-to-the-ground strawberries.
Makes it a lot more enjoyable to go pickin'

They may or may not have eaten 5 for every 1 they put in the bucket.
I can't really blame them.

EJ and her friend Matteson had a blast together. 

Running through the blueberry patch!

Climbing the fence to look at some horses. I wonder where she gets that from.

As usual, my child was the bad influence on all the other children.
Consider this my public apology to their mothers!

We ended up with 3 pounds of strawberries and 5 pounds of blueberries. That's a lot of berries. And oh-so-yummy!

Highschool Lake Trip 2013

Best friends for over 20 years

Over the past few years, the Dott family has been nice enough to allow us to take over their lake house for a highschool reunion of sorts.  This year, for the first time, we were able to schedule it during the summer when it was actually warm enough to enjoy the lake - what a novel idea!

From left to right:
Everett (2.5), Sierra (1), Ethan (5), Elliott (2), Peyton (almost 2), Brayden (4)

EJ and I drove up on a Monday to join Amy and her boys Ethan & Elliott, and Kristen and her crew, Brayden & Peyton.  Whitney and her little one Sierra joined us later in the week, as did Omar and James.  Unfortunately Pete and Joe were not able to make it this year, but there is always next year!

We chased children, ate, swam, boated, played, laughed, and talked late into the night for an entire week and it was fantastic.  I can't wait for next year!  I wouldn't say it was relaxing, per se, as herding toddlers for a week is basically an exercise in futility, but it was a ton of fun and I love watching my child become friends with the children of my closest friends. Great memories were made!

Elliott & Everett in the baby pool.

Because a lake doesn't provide enough entertainment, the Dott's also have a ridiculously awesome blow-up water slide. Which my child LOVED. As in, she did it over and over and over and over again, while the rest of the kids got bored and moved on to other things. 

Please note in the picture below that her bum is nowhere near the slide. This is because she would take a running leap from the top so that she landed halfway down the slide. No one ever accused her of being timid, that's for sure.

 

EJ and Brayden had a blast squirting each other with the water cannon.

Or more accurately, Brayden squirted EJ and she laughed hysterically.

 

Time to re-fuel

What do you think, is she having a good time?

Amy gets in some good snuggles with Elliott.

 Kristen's two adorable kids are growing up so quickly!

 

Enjoying some watermelon out on the deck. 

Ethan chows down.

One morning it rained. This did not diminish their fun.

Everett blows bubbles.

Whitney & sweet Sierra. Such a happy child!

Mmmmmm, popsicles!

How cute are they?

Sweet-P

 My little boater.

Captain Ethan gives First Mate Brayden some tips.

Miss Beyla watches her baby float away.

A literal boat-load of cuteness.

Beyla goes for a swim.

This is her happy place.

Turns out EJ is quite the water baby.
This kid could swim for hours!

Partners in crime!

Loved spending this time with my girl.

Resolutions

I am making a resolution to try to keep this blog more frequently updated. In addition to trying to keep up with current events in our lives, I will also try to do a "throwback Thursday" entry each week to catch you up on all the things that happened in the past 6+ months that I have been so negligent. We will see how long this lasts, but at this moment my intentions are true and honorable.  =)