The Scooter Gang

We bought the kids scooters for their birthdays. I was a little worried that we were going to have lots of falls at first, but I was shocked to see that they immediately knew what to do with them and the scrapes were minimal.

They all have them in their favorite color-orange (Abby), pink (Marie), and green (Will).

We make sure they are in the appropriate safety gear-helmets, elbow and knee pads, and gloves.

Here they are modeling their safety gear.

Abby got on and started riding like she had been on a scooter every day of her life. By day 2, she mastered using the brakes.

Will hunches over on his like a little old man. At first, Marie couldn't figure out how to push with one foot and keep one on, but after a few minutes, she got the hang of it.

July leftover pics

They love arts and crafts. Michele bought them some Popsicle sticks, glue, and letters, and they created these masterpieces.

Will's project is not pictured above because in typical boy fashion, he just made a mess, ripped up his paper, and ran away laughing. He could have cared less about the finished product. He probably crapped his pants right after just to illustrate what he really thought of the activity.

Abby and Marie got new outfits for gymnastics. They wear them a lot--not just to gymnastics. Will also got a new muscle shirt for gymnastics because his huge guns felt so confined by shirts with sleeves. :)

These are from the farm where we went to pick blueberries. The blueberries had been picked over, and we ended leaving after an hour of hot, sweaty picking with exactly 51 cents worth of blueberries. We ate them in the car on the way home within 5 minutes.

Where to sleep?

Some nights, the kids will sleep anywhere but in their own beds. I often find Abby in the hallway, her doorway, our bedroom, etc. Here are a few of the ways I've found them in the past couple of months....

This is Abby's frog that she sleeps with. She positioned him in the hall outside of her room, but he has a pillow and a blanket. Hilarious.

The Gymnastics Party

The kids had a fun-filled birthday party at the place where they take gymnastics last Saturday. We had a huge turnout--20+ kids! They all had fun tumbling or just running or crawling around.
Three birthday cakes, compliments of Mimi. She took each child out to pick out their respective cakes. Abby selected a princess themed cake. Marie went with Minnie Mouse, and Will wanted "movie Cars" cake.

Here are Will and Marie in the midst of the tumbling action. These two are always together. When I ask Marie a question, she wants to know Will's answer. Examples: Me: Marie, would you like to wear shorts or a skirt? Marie: What's Will wearing? Me: What would you like to eat for dinner? Marie: What's Will eating? These two are so funny.

Here's Abby showing off her cuteness. She does her own thing. I think she thinks she's too mature for them. Now, she prefers to sleep in Will's room alone. If the other two try to wander in to play with her, she promptly calls me and asks me to lock them out of her room. She'll say, "Will and Marie are bothering me."

Notice the super cute shirts that match their cakes?! I bought them on Etsy for the occasion. I had everything so well coordinated!

The kids could not keep their mouths and fingers out of the cake. A couple of times, they just bent over the table and chomped on them! I guess they were claiming their own pieces.

We had a great time. I think the kids all went home tired and well fed. I'm glad we only have to do birthday parties once a year. It's a lot of work! How will I top that next year?

Spanish Camp Numero Dos

They spent another few days learning espanol at Spanish camp. This time around, Marie had developed some separation anxiety so she was not quite as excited about attending camp. She's been clingy with me and has refused to spend the night out for a few weeks. She's missed her rotation at Mimi's house and at Pop-pop Bill's place. I guess it's just a phase, and I'll stick close while it lasts. It has been nice to get some one-on-one time with her when the other two decide to take off for weekend visiting.

Marie looks like she's been crying. Will and Abby are perfectly content.

Marie looks puffy again. Will is thinking, "Seriously? Is she crying again. Geesh."

Will is trying to make eye contact with this young lady. She's getting the stare down. I'm stalking you....

It was "cooking week" at camp so they made different food every day. I think they made Rice Crispy treats this particular day.

Playing with play-dough is always a good past time.

Happy Bday to my Trio!

My sweet babies are 3! Where does the time go? We had a little family celebration on the 10th at our house, and they have their big party this weekend. They are super confused about what day is their birthday since we've been celebrating for a week.

We had leftover birthday cake, and they have blown out candles and sung every night since Sunday. When the cake is eaten, they are going to be very disappointed!!!

Spanish Camp

The kids went to Spanish Camp last week. They were scheduled to go 2 mornings, but Will got sick Monday night, and he had to stay home Tuesday. He threw up a couple of times overnight. They have all had some mucousy cough going on, and I think he swallowed phlegm, and ended up puking it out. He was fine otherwise. He woke up threw up, and immediately started talking. He was like, "Oh, Will threw up. Will threw up in mommy and daddy's bed. Is Will sick? Marie threw up downstairs yesterday. Is Will going to school tomorrow? Do mommy and daddy have to clean the sheets now?" OMG! At 2 a.m. I just wasn't ready for the Will interrogation.

We got him calmed down and back to sleep and about an hour later, he vomited again, and the obvious questions and statements resumed. "Did Will throw up again? Is Will sick? Is Will going to feel better soon?"

Back to Spanish Camp. I took Abby and Marie to camp and Will stayed with Michele. I was terrified that drop off was going to be awful since they had not been going to school regularly. I walked them into the school, and when I got to the classroom door to check them in, they ran into the classroom and shouted, "Bye, mama!" That was it. When I picked them up, they were all happy. They came home and told Will all about it, and he vowed he would go to Spanish Camp next time.

BTW-Spanish Camp is an immersion program-the teachers speak all Spanish to the kids and encourage them to respond in Spanish. That's what I want--for them to speak it. They understand it completely, but there are only select words they use regularly in Spanish. The theme of the week was "the beach," and the teachers talked to the kids all about things related to the beach. They played with sand, colored pictures of the beach, made little fish crafts, had sun shines painted on their faces, etc.

On Thursday, they all went to Spanish Camp. When we arrived, Marie turned to Will and said, "Will, I show you where is Spanish Camp" and held his hand to the door. The girls started darting down the hall towards their classroom shouting, "C'mon, Will!" They all marched in, sat down at a table, and started painting. Again, no drama...they barely said good-bye to me. When I picked them up, Will said "I like Spanish Camp. I want to come back here." Good thing because they are signed up for 3 days the next session. :)