Parks & Rain

One child started out their week in a not so fun chair.  Cavities were filled.  Blame was placed on their maternal genes (deep grooves).  Hopefully the pain and discomfort was just enough to prompt proper, regular brushing...

Said child also got a look at the bill so they could see their future if they didn't take care of their teeth properly.  

Caroline earned her last yellow stripe.  Next up is a new belt.  They have three different groups in jiu-jitsu based on height.  Caroline has hung out in the middle group for a long time now.  Most of the kids near her height were eager to move up to the biggest group, often just moving themselves up by standing in it one day.  Still, Caroline hung out with the mediums.  Even after days when the instructors would move her up, the following class she would put herself back in the mediums.  There was some comfort in knowing you could defeat every single kid in your group.  Alas, she has finally (permanently) graduated to the tallest group.  There are many her size in it, which gives her more of a challenge.  

Caroline also did not tell the boys she was earning a stripe, so when her name was called, they perked up.  They knew a treat was coming.  

Mid-week, we met Caroline's friend at the park.  The boys decided to come this time.  Henry spent a lot of time climbing the amazing oaks.  Josiah helped little kids on the zipline a lot.  Caroline and her friend walked around chatting for several hours.  We left when the hangry pains set in.

 

Later that day, the kids were invited to their neighbor friend's Kickstart Ceremony.  He warned us to get there early to ensure we got a seat.  We left the house 45 minutes before the ceremony which was just down the road.  By the time we walked into the gym, it was standing room only.  Caroline really enjoyed the young lady who performed with the num-chuks.  

The following day we met up with friends to get Italian Ice.  They had something called Gelati that was layered soft serve, Italian ice, soft serve, Italian ice.  Caroline chose vanilla soft serve with cake batter Italian ice.  I got the vanilla and strawberry combo and it was quite good.  After treats were eaten, we headed to a neighborhood playground.  Henry found himself another tree and sat in it the whole time.  Caroline and her friend made videos of themselves rolling down the grass.  Afterwards they were both incredibly itchy.  It was more than just rolling in the grass itchy, more like pesticides were on the grass itchy.  So we headed home to shower.  

After this second park, with all the mosquitos and the heat, Caroline said she was going to make her own park when she grew up.  It would be encased entirely in glass with an air conditioned playground inside.  Thinking about the glass walls, she noted, I don't know how many dead birds there will be.  The boys quickly dubbed it the Dead Bird Park.  Good concept, needs some tweaking.    

The next day, Caroline went over to the same friend's house for her 10th birthday party.  It was Caroline's first slumber party and she was equal parts excited and nervous.  She wasn't sure she wanted to do the sleeping over part.  When we got there, they had super cute tents set up.  All the friends arrived quickly and she was perfectly fine.  There was no late night phone call asking me to pick her up, so all went well.  

The next day, after a little resting, we asked Caroline about her time.  They stayed up until 2 or 3 a.m.  We couldn't fall asleep.  They painted on canvases, watched a movie, and talked a lot!  Needless to say, she had a good time.  

This weekend, we went to the Rain concert.  They are the Beatles tribute band that Todd and Josiah saw last year.  We went as a family this year.  Josiah was excited to go all week.  He kept asking if I was as excited as he was.  That excitement continued up until an hour before we left.  Because he started his week at the dentist, we have been encouraging him to eat more vegetables with his meals.  Strongly encouraging.  So, he had a little avocado and a little salad with his dinner the night of Rain.  He ate some, but said it was making him sick and he physically could not eat any more.  We got to the concert and Josiah kept saying how awful his stomach felt.  We found our seats and he said the stomach pains were getting worse.  Right before it started, he took a trip to the bathroom and instantly ridded his stomach of all the greenery.  After that, he felt much better.  I have no idea how a bland avocado and a few leaves of lettuce could prompt such a rejection.  He only missed the first song and a half and was able to enjoy the rest of the music.  

Henry was not keen on going to the concert.  He reminded us of this fact quite a few times in the days and hours prior.  We told him we would take note of that for next time.  He made it through. 

Caroline really enjoyed all the songs she knew.  She sang along and got into them.  But her lack of sleep from the slumber party was catching up with her as the night went on.  She finally succumbed to sleep the last 30 minutes of the show.  

The best t-shirt we found had written on it: I'm still pissed at Yoko.  

Before going in - the excitement was palpable with these three. 

Purged of all greenery

Henry is on his summer puzzle kick.  He picked the hardest one to start.  Josiah joined him, building one map puzzle after another on top of each other.  He did two different U.S. puzzles, one Europe, one Africa, and one of the world.  

The kids chose to sit three in a row on the way to church this morning.  It reminded me of when they sat three in a row a few years back.

We are grateful for another week.