We came home from Boston so exhausted. The next couple of days looked a lot like this:
Grandma and Grandpa had come back to Virginia with us, too, and it seemed like for a couple of days we just found bodies asleep all over our house, on any surface semi-comfortable for sleeping. Everyone was pooped! But we did make sure everyone was awake for at least a couple of hours the next day so we could attend the Summer Reading Kick-Off at the library. It was so fun! There was an animal balloon artist, face-painting, glitter tattoos, squirt-painting, and a stuffed animal/pet parade - with kazoos! And in-between all the fun we managed to squeeze in a few minutes of signing up for the Summer Reading Challenge. They organized it so families could do it together this year, so we all signed up.
The next day was Sunday. We went to church together and tried to have a quiet day until Abby went to bed...and then all the work started! Because the next morning at 10:00 a.m. was Abby's birthday party, and I was definitely not ready!!!
Right about now you're probably thinking, "Rebekah, why on earth did you plan Abby's birthday party for right after you took this crazy trip to Boston?!?! Why don't you ever slow down and plan things so that you can occasionally have a break?!?!?" Well, around 11:00 p.m. that night as we were baking cookies and mixing frosting and putting together fairy skirts and glueing flower crowns, I was thinking the same thing. But there's always a reason for the crazy, and in this case I planned the party for the
only day when we could have both sets of grandparents and all of Abby's closest friends attend. So we all pushed through the exhaustion and tried to create a magical day for Abigail. I think we succeeded.
We had a Fairy Tea Party for her party this year. It was
so fun. All the little girls were delighted (the boys...maybe not so much). We dressed up together, made mini pizzas, danced fairy dances, played "Fairy, Fairy, Mushroom" (Duck, Duck, Goose) and Musical chairs, and went on a scavenger hunt for Fairy Houses. While we were gone the magical fairies (Jacob and his mother) set up the tea party in the backyard. We stuffed ourselves silly before coming inside for cake and ice cream (because the wind kept blowing out the birthday candles). And then we opened presents and played together until it was time to go home.
[The pictures are all out of order here, but you get the idea.]
The next day Grandpa had to unexpectedly leave very early in the morning to get back to work. We missed him! But we also realized that soon Grandma would say goodbye, too, and we still had so many things to show her! So we all went to the (lake) beach together that day (we are very lucky that this Maryland state park is only a thirty-five minute drive away from us. We visited it often this summer!)
The next day was Abigail's actual birthday. Look at this beautiful four-year-old! I can't believe she's already so big. Time flies.
 |
| Birthday donut for breakfast! |
 |
| Grandma brought her lots of pretty dresses! |
 |
| Jacob and I got her a Cinderella dress |
The last few days had been packed full and her actual birthday was stormy (just like the day she was born!) so we opted for a quieter day. Later that afternoon Grandma and Jacob took her to see the new Beauty and the Beast, her first time seeing a movie in a theater. Jacob says she applauded when Belle and the Prince finally kissed.
 |
| I love this picture, random though it may be. Thomas woke up early on Abby's birthday. I took him downstairs so he wouldn't wake up Abigail or Jacob, but Grandma was asleep on an air-mattress in the dining room, so I had to contain him in the playroom. Here he is, talking the situation over with Mouse. |
We said goodbye to Grandma soon after Abigail's birthday, and then we had a couple of quiet weeks.
 |
| Thomas loves pasta, and I love his face when he's eating pasta. |
 |
| Thomas went through a brief phase when had to have his popper-toy in bed with him. When he thought I wasn't looking, he would kneel on his bed and push it a few times. Because he thought the noise wouldn't give it away?!?!? |
 |
| A new favorite hang-out spot for Thomas |
 |
| Aw. Adorable. |
 |
| Oatmeal face |
For months the Library collected recycled milk jugs so they could build an igloo, presumably one that would last for the entire summer. We spent three hours on a Saturday afternoon putting it together (I'm sure my two little children were
really helpful), and then one of the librarians finished it himself the following Monday morning. We visited soon afterwards. The igloo lasted about long enough for us to take a family picture, and then Thomas busted through one of the walls and it was a tumbling mess for days afterwards until they finally took it down. Yes, it was my son who did that. ***[Hide face in shame]***
And this is Thomas in nursery at church.
On a totally different note, I mentioned in March that I have started clogging again. I love it! For a good portion of the summer I was dancing over five hours a week. Right now I'm dancing more like three hours each week. But the barn where we hold practices is at the end of a long, beautiful drive-way, and the sunsets are always sensational:
Of course, we always have lots of trips to the library throughout the summer to visit Daddy and break up the days a little bit. Jacob always lets Abigail water the plants, a job that she takes very seriously.
And then some oversized boxes made it to our home, and the kids enjoyed hours of...whatever they do with boxes.
 |
| This is Abby pretending to be an alien, one of her absolute favorite games of this summer. She walks in like this while I'm occupied with a task and quietly waits for me to notice her. Of course, I always act totally surprised to have an alien in my kitchen. If you look closely, you can see her eye peeking out of the top hole. |
 |
| Abby and TomTom jumped on these boxes - literally just jumped on them - for like twenty minutes one morning. At one point Abby shouted, "This is the best day EVER!!!" |
 |
| Sometimes we just hang around |
 |
| Thomas is the only kid I know who makes licking a spoon look like he's playing the flute |
Jacob and I were so excited to finally have a backyard where we could garden. We planted LOTS of things in the beginning of April, and in mid-June started having a tiny little harvest. I don't understand how people manage to get a significant harvest from their home vegetable gardens because we certainly didn't, but it was fun to have the kids pick fresh peas for an occasional snack or fresh basil for homemade pesto.
 |
| In my naivety, I noticed the long stalk of this carrot and thought it must be nearly done growing. I was so shocked after I picked it and saw how tiny the root was! Lesson learned. |
 |
| This is the caterpillar of a monarch butterfly. I was so excited to discover it in our garden! |
 |
| Little hands loved helping us pick vegetables |
 |
| Look at how enormous this basil leaf is!!! I've never seen basil like this before. It smelled amazing. |
 |
| Totally unrelated to our garden, here's the family walking home from the library one day. Abby is laughing at Thomas sitting on her shoulders. |
Pretty soon it was time for July 4th festivities! Our little town actually celebrates Independence Day on July 3rd, which was kind-of fun because it spread out all the fun. First we went to the parade, which went by really close to our house. The kids loved it! They also loved how much candy they got!
After the parade we went home for dinner, and then I took Abigail out to the community center while Jacob took care of putting Thomas to bed. The community center had tons of carnival-style games and booths set up to pass the time until it was time for the fireworks to begin. Abigail and I had a great time.
 |
| We saw some teenagers with cotton candy and Abigail begged me for some, and then was totally unimpressed after she actually tried it. Ha! |
When we were done playing we found a cozy spot from where we could watch the fireworks show. We ate treats and talked. She was so excited. She had no memory of ever seeing fireworks before, and I tried to explain to her what it would be like, then gave up with a lame, "You'll see. It's amazing." And it was! Really, for us being in such a small town, they put on a great show. She thought it was awesome. And when it was over, we walked home. It took five minutes. And that's one of the things I love best about our small town!
 |
| Waiting for the fireworks to begin |
Abigail came home from the fireworks totally hyped up. She told Jacob all about it (luckily it turned out that he could see most of it from our house, so I didn't have to feel guilty for leaving him behind) and then refused to go to bed. I think she was really, really sad to have to say goodbye to such a fun day. I just said, "Remember that in the morning we're going to the pancake breakfast." She ran up the stairs faster than I've ever seen her go and was asleep in minutes. So cute.
But then by breakfast the next morning, Thomas was vomiting (this seems to be our trend. Abby was throwing up on July 4th last year), so this time I stayed home with him while Jacob took Abigail to the ward breakfast. I heard it was a hit. Then Jacob stayed home with Thomas while Abigail and I went to a BBQ at a friend's house. And when it was
finally dark outside and we were all home together, Jacob pulled out some sparklers that he had bought that morning. Thomas was already asleep, but the rest of us went outside and lit sparklers for almost an hour. It was so lovely.
Independence Day was followed by a couple more quiet, slow weeks. We passed the days at playgrounds, the library, friends' houses, state parks, and sometimes just in our own little cul-de-sac.
 |
| More pasta face. And chest. |
 |
| We brought back the old favorite, colored rice. It never fails to impress the kids. |
 |
| One morning I let the kids wash all of their toy dishes. They always love it and I always love the reminder of how much they love simple things. |
In one weekend Jacob switched out all of the old lights in the bedrooms...
...for fancy ceiling fan lights (because our upstairs is
so hot and the air conditioning can't keep up. The fans were a lifesaver this summer). I was totally flummoxed by this and spent all weekend saying things like, "But do you know
how to switch light fixtures?" Apparently he does. I'm still in shock that we've been married ten years and I so totally misunderstood how good he is at fixing things.
On July 11th (which I like to call "Shameless Day") we went out with friends to BOTH Chick-fil-A (where we dressed up like cows to get free entrees) AND 7-11 (where we got free slurpees). My kids thought this was just about the best day of their lives.
And we'll take another break there. *Phew!* Blogging about it is almost as exhausting as living it.
