August 2012

We did lots of relaxing and hanging out at home during August, enjoying the rest of our summer before school started up.

We’ve had this big space station toy up in our attic since we moved here.  I had been planning on giving it to Henry on his birthday, but I forgot until a few days later.  It was a perfect place for all his new Avengers toys to live.                                                                                                                               

Here’s Rachel writing down the days’ events in her new birthday diary:                                            

And Tristan putting together a lego movie on the computer:                                                        

He’s actually pretty good – I don’t know how he figures this stuff out.

Other fun summery August things included scootering around the kitchen:                        

Making elaborate set-ups with tiny Star Wars guys, blankets, and hundreds of pieces of paper (“for snow”, they said, and I said “maybe next time just use a blanket”):                                                  

Balancing tricks:                                                                                                               

And magic card tricks:                                                                                                     

I showed the kids the “Somebody That I Used to Know” song, and they thought it would make a good background to their magic tricks, so while I was listening to it in the study they came in and performed for me.

Tristan the magician:

And Oliver, his apprentice:

There were also some not-so-fun summer things, like shots for Henry.  He was a good sport, though, especially after getting a dot-to-dot coloring book from the doctor, and an ice-cream cone at Chick-fil-a.  I think he liked the book better than the ice-cream – I guess I had never taught him about dot-to-dot pictures, and he was amazed that such a fabulous thing existed.  He blew through the whole coloring book in one day, and he kept following me around, exclaiming “Mom, I just never knew there was such a fun thing as dot-to-dots!  How did someone make this dot-to-dot book?  Isn’t it so amazing, Mom?  It’s just so great how the numbers connect – ya get it? Have you ever done a dot-to-dot, Mom?  I just really love dot-to-dots!” 

When the dot-to-dots ran out, there was also just regular coloring to do:                             

Or dressing up like creepy guys to scare Henry and Cindy.  I’m pretty sure that’s Oliver in there:                                                                            

Or doing jobs around the house (have you ever seen a more cheerful wall-scrubber?):

The kids also played a lot of games, which I love.  Here they are playing Bang, one of their current favorites:                                                                                          

Cindy isn’t old enough to join the games, but she keeps herself busy making set-ups all over the house:

Even her books usually get arranged in fancy lines or stacks before she reads them:                                        

She loves to start with a giant stack on one side, and then as she reads, she moves the books over to a new stack on the other side:

She also loves reading on blankets (while being pulled around the house):

 

And in the bathroom (I’m not really trying to toilet-train her yet, but she loves to be like the big kids, so she asks to sit on the toilet all the time, and she always makes sure to grab a book):                           

And whenever the kids make her forts she has to bring her books along:

I had taken the carseats out of the van for some reason, and she loved sitting in Henry’s seat, all strapped up.  Rachel and Lizza were pretending Cindy was a queen in her throne (with a “C” for Cynthia taped above her head), and they got her all set up with snacks and everything:

Also in August was Oliver’s 10th birthday.                                                     

Everyone crowded around for the opening of presents:                                    

Happy boy with new lego sets:                                                                                        

And a paint-by-numbers tiger:                                                                       

And a giant magnifying glass from the kids:                                                    

Cindy trying to steal one of his lego sets – she thought for sure it should be hers, because it had a toy Gollum in it:                                                                                                             

Lego building (Ollie was nice to let it be a group effort):                                        

Coconut pancakes with peaches and whipped cream for breakfast:                                       

We went to the pool for lunch and swimming.  Nobody was there when we got there, so it was like we had our own private swimming pools. 

Oliver wanted “a salad bar like they have at restaurants” for his birthday dinner.  Not the usual request, for sure, but everyone loved it.                                                                    

And an ice-cream cake for dessert.  Oreo crust on bottom, then chocolate ice-cream, then caramel, then more oreos, then mint-chocolate chip ice-cream, then fudge, then whipped cream, then more oreos and caramel on top.  But it was a complete melty disaster at first (it took way longer to refreeze than I had guessed), so we gave everyone a few bites and then stuck it back in the freezer.

Then it was time for some late-night Madden football games and later some more still kind of melty ice-cream cake (it finally refroze by the next morning):

School started on the 28th.  I can’t believe I have four in school now.  Tristan is in 6th, which is in middle-school here.  I feel like he’s not old enough to be in middle school, but I guess I’m wrong.  Oliver is in 4th, Rachel is in 2nd, and Elizabeth, on the happiest day of her life, finally got to start kindergarten. 

So now that little goofball in the front is the man of the house:

We made sure to still have lots of fun at home while everyone else was at school enjoying their first day:

Reading on the couch with Cindy.  I’m so glad these two are such good friends – it makes my life a lot easier:

And Henry got to start reading lessons:                                                                              

And we went to the pool with just the three of us, and ended up being the only ones there again.  Cindy must have remembered the pictures we took on Ollie’s birthday, because as soon as we got there she ran and got on her stomach in the water and said, “take picture, Mama!  Right now!” (she ends most of her sentences with “rightnow”, as if it’s one word that means “this is what I want and you have to obey”)

I like going to the pool with just these two now.  It’s like a second summer, only much more relaxing and quiet than the first one.                                                                                                               

The end.