Other Fun

Over the last month, we've had all sorts of little fun events and moments, which were not big enough to merit a separate post, so I've grouped them all together here.

First up was William's robotics party.  They had a smorgasbord of food, presented awards, and did a round robin style gift exchange.

 

Grace found all the sizes of cereal in one of our cereal containers, and ordered them for fun.

We got to have Kennedy over one night.  Juliet was one happy girl, since they aren't on the same team, and don't get to see much of each other at school.

On one of our day dates, Billy's beer had a cherry in it!  It's unusual for him to have a garnish!

During the Christmas break, the twins set up a warm, snuggly pallet, using Daddy's new heated blanket.

After seeing me taking a picture of the twins, Emily also wanted her picture taken.

The very first weekday of break, William had a doctor's appointment.  He first had an x-ray, then we went up to his appointment.  Thankfully it was just a follow up appointment, and things are looking good, so we won't return for six months.

After his appointment, we ran some errands, like dropping of Juliet's clarinet, since a piece came off of it, and went to the thrift store so that he could find some gifts for his sisters.  He found this 'um bro' hoodie, and thought it was funny.

I'm not entirely sure where the crepe paper streamers came from, but the girls had fun playing with them before they went into the trash.

 

For Kristy's birthday, we met at Starbucks, so that I could buy her a birthday coffee, and then we headed to Goodwill for some thrift store shopping.  We decided to go most expensive to least expensive, which is a nice way to do it, I think!

At our second stop, I found a stash of my reusable bags!!!! I'm super excited to add some of these smaller sizes to my stash!  And the whole pile was only $4.50, which is just over the cost of a single one!

I found a rainforest cafe parrot cup at our final stop, but Billy said he didn't want it.  Since it was almost $5, I wasn't about to buy it without his confirmation!

   

Kristy showed me some coordinating shirts on the free table during our last mom's meeting, that she had cleaned out of Zoey's closet.  The twins were excited to wear them the very next day!  If their hair is looking a little short, it's because I trimmed it.  Grace's came out awesome, but Juliet's middle area kept coming out short, apparently because she kept looking up while I was cutting. lol.  She likes it well enough, and Grace actually wants me to take some more off of hers, but it is so bitterly cold, it's going to be a while.  One of them asked for bangs, to which I replied with a laugh and a no.  I'm no cosmetologist, but I can cut a (mostly) straight line.

To celebrate his birthday, Billy wanted to take the kids to Zap Zone.  Since it was a long weekend, we took the kids the Sunday after his birthday.  Zap Zone honored every coupon that we brought, and the kids enjoyed their all-day passes.  Billy joined them for bumper cars and laser tag, while I held down the table.

The girls got some blue slushies, though they weren't as good as McDonald's apparently.  They did come in cool cups though!  Alice and William just got bottomless sodas, so no fancy cups for them.

Bumper cars!

Yesterday morning, before we left for Zap Zone was a tough one!  As I was getting dressed, I accidentally knocked my hairbrush into the toilet.  Thankfully, it was old and falling apart anyhow, but still a slight annoyance to have to replace it. Then, when I went to boil my tea water, I found that the hot pot was dead. = (   I can always boil the water on the stove, but it's not nearly as convenient, since it won't automatically shut off, if I get distracted doing something else.  I was able to order another one from Amazon, due to arrive Thursday, which is not too far off.  The final annoyance of my morning was when I went to look something up on my computer, and had no internet!!!  It took downloading an update and restarting twice, plus plugging in and unplugging the wireless card numerous times.  In helping me troubleshoot, Billy found that he had to complete the same process.

At the mall, once Alice was finished playing, she recruited Grace and Juliet to go shopping.  Knowing that there was a Claire's nearby, I asked them if they would be willing to purchase a replacement hairbrush for me.  They picked me out a very pretty one, which will hopefully last me as long as my previous one!

With many exceptionally cold days in the forecast, we will be staying inside as much as possible!  Hopefully, we can still find some fun things to do!

later days

Maycember

Grace made a nifty multimedia sign for Juliet using the 'marquee' letters in the mudroom

Grace also painted her hand very vibrantly.

Kennedy's mom, bravely, hosted a sleepover party at a hotel for her 11th birthday!  I hung out a while, waiting for Emily to finish up her final track meet of the year, and it was easier to leave the party than to leave our house. lol.

A bunny outside of the pool.

Hot tub time!

About a year ago now, the blog printing service that I've used for all of my blogs announced that they were going out of business.  Naturally, I ordered As many blogs as I had published, which got us through the end of 2023, possibly halfway through 2024.  Either way, I needed to find a new publisher for 2024, and I am so happy with this new blog!  I import the whole year and it divvies it up into equal volumes, and makes it look super sleek and modern!  But, I just know it's going to look so dated in 15 years. lol.

The posts below were chosen because I was texting with Kristy, so both of them are because she is featured in them. = )

Old and New.

Cynthia sent me the most beautiful collection of classic German wood cuts!  I did have to ask Christin for assistance because I couldn't translate it and the internet failed me on at least one of them, but they are beautiful books, and I love them so much.

Billy has finally talked me into doing the nerdiest thing that I've ever done: make a DND character.  Honestly, I'm excited, but I know, deep down, it's so nerdy.  Oh, so nerdy.  I'm a dwarf with a two-handed axe, btw.  Steve is going to be our DM at our next meetup with the Cornishes, in July.  We decided to set up our characters at the conclusion of our last get together.

Emily made baklava for Avia! (Finally! The ingredients have been collecting dust since February!)

William was invited to spend a Sunday afternoon with his friend Jacob, so we stopped in at the Looking Glass Brewery, where I got some of the amazing Crab Rangoon Nachos, and took a picture of a flower that looks as though it has been spray painted!  His friend lives five minutes away, so we collected him and headed home afterward.

William made his teachers some goodbye cards for the last day of school!

Picking out and making dinner every night during summer is so hard.  So, I had Grace and Juliet each pick out a meal to make last week.  I liked it and 100% will do again. = )  Juliet made a beef and pepper dish that everyone enjoyed!

Grace made a crockpot meal that we also enjoyed!

While the twins cleared out their American Girl Doll toys, I emptied their "upcoming" closet, reclaiming space and hangers!  We now have room in both closets, and a huge box of get rid of clothes for their yard sale this weekend!

Latin practice has looked a lot like homeschool this summer.  On the first day, they wore swimsuits in anticipation of a playdate with Heleena, and on day four, they worked in a box full of 'garage sale' bound clothes. <3

William recreated a picture from last year at the orthopedic doctor.  He's a little taller this go round. ; )

His hat had a little bit of a face going on at the same appointment. = )

So, what this post told me is that we have been super busy with big things, and not much going on in the catchall post.  This year is the first year I've heard the phrase "Maycember" but just know, it may be here to stay, as it is so a propos!

later days

Other Happy Little Things

These pictures don't really fit anywhere else, so I will collect them here, along with their stories. 

Warm enough for these crazy kids to suit up and play with water balloons!  Then it got cold again, so they couldn't play the next day.

For Juliet's birthday, she got a clay jewelry kit.  On day one, she and Juliet made some cute jewelry, and I used up excess to make some beads.  I hadn't read the instructions, so I thought it was an air-dry kit, but when the clay was still squishy the next day, I read that it had to be cooked.  The beads didn't quite fill up the shallow bowl she has for her craft show display, so we made some more beads the next weekend, but it was late, so they were on the stove, ready to cook the next morning.  Emily was the last one up and I woke up to a cute little bead display the next morning.

With the warmer weather, cold fruits and vegetables are appetizing once again!

During the course of April, I think all five had their annual check-ups.  Grace and Juliet were paired, as usual, and whined about missing recess for this appointment. 

Since they did end up getting shots for this appointment, we stopped at a park afterward.

I took a picture of this bridge after I had crossed it.  The natural course of the walking path is clockwise, and you can see how warn the used path is.

In contrast, this bridge, that runs from the parking lot to the playground has an equal use in each direction.  I hope I explained that well, I found it mildly interesting, and wanted to share.

The twins wanted to read the book walk, and both of them participated in the activity at each station.

They really wanted to touch the water, but the banks looked really muddy, and I did not want a child to fall into the water.  They attempted to touch the water from the dock, but it was too low (or their arms were too short.)

So, I allowed them to go down just outside the dock, as long as they were holding on to the railing. = )

On the day that I subbed in Grace and Juliet's class, Juliet took first place in their Blooket game!

And, somehow, for a third year in a row, I managed to sub on the ice cream day of teacher appreciation week!  This is also Grace's third year on student council, so she served me ice cream for a third year! = )

The new water bottles look so pretty all lined up!  But I can't convince Alice to switch over.  I also can't convince her to load her water bottle each night, so the one pictured is the backup, into which I put her ice, so that she can refill her actual bottle each morning.

I guess that's it for this round, but one day I hope to look back and remember something that I may have forgotten.

later days