A Treat Train and a Whistlepig

I feel like our summer vacation lately has been one continual round of laundry, grocery runs, and other mundane activities, so today I was determined to get out and go to a park.

We got to the van and discovered that Daniel had no shoes on.  It reminded me of the time my family drove someplace for a vacation, and arrived to find that my brother Rob hadn't worn or packed any shoes.  At least today I only had to jog a few hundred yards back to the house to get Daniel's flip flops.

At the park the three younger kids had a fun time on the jungle gym . . .

. . . while Joy and her toy Creeper made a beeline for the nearest climbable tree.

At one point, Daniel told me he had seen a "beaver," and when I went over to have a look I discovered that he had seen a marmot (also known as a woodchuck, groundhog, or--my personal favorite--whistlepig).

At home this evening, we set up our big electrical train . . .

. . . and delivered treats to each other.  It was a nice way to wrap up July.  On to August!

A Bolivian Birthday Party

After chores today . . . 

. . . we headed to our friend Ketty's house to celebrate her birthday.

Anna got her face painted . . .

. . . then it was pinata time!  Ketty's mom is from Bolivia, and apparently you don't smash Bolivian pinatas open.  Instead, each child grabs a dangling ribbon and pulls on it, and one of the ribbons opens a trap door that lets all the candy spill out.

As Joy can tell you, there are definite benefits to being tall.  She got a ton of candy, which she kindly shared with her younger siblings (Daniel says he has an awesome big sister).

Rainbow Girl had a lot of loot to take home.  I think she was most excited about the pink balloon.

Farewell to the Mahaffeys

This afternoon we attended a farewell open house for the Mahaffeys, a family from church who is moving this week.  It amazes me that people we've known for just over a month can already feel like close friends we're sorry to say goodbye to.  Brother Mahaffey was Daniel's Primary teacher, and Daniel gave him a big, long hug before he even ate a bite of cake.

Alas, I didn't get a picture of the hug, just some shots of the kids playing Foosball in the party host's rec room . . .

. . . while Todd hung out by the pool table (don't tell the folks in River City).

On the way home we stopped to admire a big flock of Canadian geese.  Maybe it's because we're Californians raised in a concrete jungle, but we think the geese and fireflies here in Maryland are pretty cool.

Summer Picnic

I asked Joy what fun activity she'd like to do today.

She proposed a picnic out front, so we packed up protein poppers, chips and salsa, and other nibbles to eat on our picnic blanket.

Squirrel!!!  (When your daddy rides a motorcycle, you notice every single one that buzzes past you.)

While we didn't see any actual squirrels during our picnic, but there were some mighty strong ants out there.  This one was hauling a bread "crumb" about five times its size.  Impressive.

Cub Scout Olympics

Tonight's cub scout pack meeting was a mini Olympics.

Anna and Todd were way more into the competition than Daniel the cub scout was (Joy was at Activity Days, so I have no data about her).  They loved the pool noodle javelin throw . . .

. . . and the triathlon relay race.

Todd needed a little help with the cycling portion of the triathlon.

Daniel did join in for the balance beam event . . .

. . . and the shooting competition.  And of course, he was an enthusiastic participant in the donut eating event at the very end.

Birthday Sprouts

I am very happy to report . . .

. . . that my little garden is coming along very nicely out front.

The baby pumpkin plants are flourishing . . .

. . . the pea and chard seeds are starting to sprout, and the habanero plant has a big pepper growing on it.

My garden, my family, and my faith are among the many blessings I count on my birthday.  The cookie cooling rack "wrapped" in that big box was a nice perk, too (thanks, honey! :)

Summer School

I'm glad that, in addition to all of their make believing and tree climbing . . .

. . . my kids like to spend part of their summer vacation reading.

Joy also introduced Todd to Khan Academy today.  He mastered all of the kindergarten lessons in an hour, then moved on to first grade.  And he's not even in preschool yet.

Pancakes, Fireworks, and Snails

Happy Fourth of July!

We kicked off Independence Day eating pancakes at the church . . .

. . . then playing some games out back.

Back at home, Daniel donned some festive attire to play a solo game of Snail's Pace Race (it takes a truly masterful player to defeat himself) . . .

. . . then the Martins invited us to join them for dinner and fireworks.  Phillip and Joy also got to try their virtual reality games.  Phillip enjoyed swinging a virtual light saber, and when Joy tried to lean on a virtual table she fell over.

Toy Picnic and Summer Treats

Joy has wanted to open a restaurant for years . . .

. . . so she let her toys do it today.  We ordered our lunch from an ocelot at the front window, then a creeper and horse delivered our grapes, crackers, etc., . . . 

. . . which we ate on a picnic blanket in the front room.

We later headed to Trader Joe's to honor my tradition of letting the kids each pick out a treat at the beginning of summer.

We usually do that on the last day school, but this year we spent that afternoon loading a van and leaving for Maryland.  Fortunately, the kids didn't mind choosing (and trading) their treats a few weeks late.