Party in the Park

 Anna loves birthday parties.  The bad news is that her mother hates planning them.  The good news is that her big sister Joy LOVES planning them . . .

. . . so she helped Anna orchestrate a fun little gathering at the park to celebrate with her friends.  We ate lunch, made beaded bracelets (you can check out Anna's creation in the picture below) . . .

. . . and ate cute little birthday cupcakes . . .

. . . while Daniel and Todd led some sort of imaginary expedition at the nearby playground.

Happy birthday, Anna!  (And thanks, Joy!)

Birthday Ice Cream with Murphy

It's Anna's birthday today, and her big sister invited her . . .

. . . on a trip to Kimball Farms, so she could treat Anna to some birthday ice cream.

They brought Murphy along, because a goofy, pink elephant makes any outing more fun.

We stopped to smell the Murphy-colored roses . . .

. . . then enjoyed some creamy goodness . . .

. . . while Murphy held Anna's mask for her.  Thanks, Murphy!

Summer Treats, Just in Time for School

 Daniel finally finished his ELA essay this week, so I declared our family officially DONE with homeschool, and we went shopping for summer treats a week before summer vacation ends (for the second year in a row--maybe we'll actually shop for them in June next year).

Most of the kids chose their treats fairly quickly.  Here's Daniel posing dramatically with his Chocolate Life cereal.

Anna opted for some caramels . . .

. . . and Todd was really excited to get a big box of rainbow Mike & Ikes.  I chose some jerky for Daddy, and some rosemary artisan bread for me (to savor with Italian truffle cheese--yum!).

Then we all waited . . . and waited . . . and waited for a certain Hendrickson who takes her annual treat selection very seriously.  She wants something new and different, but that she's confident she'll like.  She wants something that will last a while, but that she won't get bored of.  And she wants to stretch the treat budget I gave her to its absolute limit.

I eventually told Joy she had five more minutes to choose something, or else she would have to come back another day.  After a bit of handwringing, she opted for a sampler of four pastries.  Alas, one of them turned out to be a tiramisu thing with coffee in it, so it ended up in the trash.  Thankfully, Joy has generous siblings who shared their candies, and which made her feel a little better.

Games and Hurricane Prep

Hurricane Henri was headed for New England this morning . . .

. . . so we took the net posts off our trampoline . . .

. . . and flipped it over again so it wouldn't go sailing into a neighbor's yard (or house).

Then we went inside to play spoons (dibs on the purple one!) . . .

. . . and chess . . .

. . . and Todd's solitaire variation of Dragonwood.

Oh, and the hurricane?  It swerved around us, so we didn't get much wind or rain in our area.  Better safe than sorry, though.

Posing at Kimball Farms

It was Todd's turn for a Mama date today, and he asked to go to Kimball Farms for ice cream.

When I asked him to stand by a sign so I could take his picture, he posed like Green Bomber from "Super Bomberman R" (a video game our kids are currently fan of).  Todd thinks Green is cute, and I suspect he feels a connection to Green because they're both the youngest in their families.

After our little photo shoot, Todd and I headed to the ice cream window to choose a flavor to share.  You can never go wrong with Cookies and Cream!

The Explorer

 One of Daniel's youth leaders planned a backpacking trip for the boys this week . . .

. . . so we borrowed a pack from him . . .

. . . and Daniel tried it on . . .

. . . then practiced hiking around our house with it, exploring the great indoors.

A Pilgrimage to Claire's

 Joy wanted to get her ears pierced before she starts high school next month . . .

. . . so we made a trip to the mall today (is there any mall that doesn't have a Claire's?).  They had a sign advertising "free piercing," but it doesn't mention that the special earrings they pierce with cost anywhere from $40 to $110.  Of course, the employee tried to convince us that the $110 diamond earrings were the best choice.

We opted for the $40 stainless steel ones, thank you very much.

Especially since Joy wanted to buy a bunch of other earrings to try once her ears heal up.  I like the donut stacks best.  Don't you?

Mom Shirts

 My hair . . .

. . . has been getting kind of long lately.  I briefly (like, for two milliseconds), considering cutting my own hair again, but I didn't feel like spending another four hours in the bathroom with a pair of scissors . . .

. . . so I called up my hair stylist friend, and she did a better job in 20 minutes.  Oh, and that shirt?

When I went school shopping with the kids today, they asked me to take a picture of it and send it to my mom, because they thought it looked like something she would wear.  Does the fact that I liked it and bought it mean I'm turning into my mom?  If so, I'm fine with that.  She's one of the best people I know.

We sent her a picture of this shirt too.  That definitely looks like Red Grandma's style!  She replied that maybe she should just hire us to shop for her. :)

Family History Help

Joy and Daniel want to learn more about doing family history . . .

. . . so Brother Carl from church came over to give them some pointers.  He helped them find some distant relatives they can be baptized for when they go to the temple later this week!

 

A Candy Date

 It was Anna's turn . . .

. . . for a Mama date today.

She asked to visit this old house that has been turned into a big candy shop.

After much deliberation, we opted to buy some mint malt balls, a few maple sugar leaves, and a little chocolate sampler.  The sampler contained the best non-See's chocolates I've had on the East Coast.  At least, so far. :)

We saw this cool-looking Ferrari on the drive back (Anna snapped the photo).

After we arrived home, Daddy used some of the mint malt balls to make a delicious milk shake.  That was even better than seeing a Ferrari!

The Butterfly Place

I used to take one of my children on a date each week before the pandemic, and we recently decided to revive that fun tradition.  It was Daniel's turn today, and he asked to go to The Butterfly Place.

Ironically, the first winged creature we saw in the greenhouse was this gal.  I only counted four limbs, so I'm pretty sure that's not a butterfly.

That is, though! Daniel and I were enchanted by the colorful butterflies fluttering and perching all around us.

Some, like this little Doris butterfly, were very active . . .

. . . while this big Owl Butterfly (whose wing was about the size of my hand) spent most of its time just chilling (or eating a banana).

The funniest part of our visit was when this butterfly landed on my phone and blocked part of my camera.  It's against the rules to hold a butterfly on your hand, but I guess the butterflies can perch on your phone if they want to. :)

Dusting Off My Mask

 When we arrived at the grocery store today . . .

. . . Anna put on her mask . . .

. . . and I put mine on too.  

It was really nice to set it aside for a while, but now the Delta variant is driving COVID case numbers back up again (we had over 1000 new cases in our little state today).  I'm not concerned for my own safety, since COVID symptoms tend to be mild if you are fully vaccinated, but I know a lot of immunocompromised people, and I don't want to put them at risk if I can help it.

If wearing a mask to the store helps keep them and others a little safer, then I feel that's a small price to pay.