Bridget's Friends Party

With Bridget in third grade, she finally got to invite her school friends for a birthday party. To say she was excited would be an understatement ... she's been looking forward to this for years (at least since Jillian had one). Her friends Elizabeth and Khloe came, and they played a game of Pictionary for fun.

Then, there was singing, cake and ice cream, and presents.

Bridget was already looking forward to next year's party when it was over.

Mary Poppins

While I was cleaning downstairs, they discovered a dress-up box they haven't played with for a long time. Since it was raining they got creative and decided to do Mary Poppins with the umbrellas outside. I'm not sure what Tor dressed up as but it looks oriental. Also I'm sure he has never heard of Mary Poppins but he was willing to play along. They did this until Bridget got stung by a bee-the third time, so finally we found the bee's nest and Papa took care of it.

New Tub of Chalk

It was nice outside, so when they got here after school Friday they did a lot of chalk art. Jillian wrote out all she had learned in science about good and bad bacteria. That was good reinforcement of that science lesson.

 Tor worked hard on his house or football field or ?

 Bridget also wrote about school but hers was about the kids learning in school. They wrote a lot after I took these pictures. The stories went all the way down the driveway. After working so hard they came in for dinner and not long after that there was a rain storm that washed everything away. So sad.

 On Saturday they had a busy day with Ava and Harper. Ava had to be careful of her broken arm as she was in a soft cast and wouldn't get the hard cast until Monday so Bridget, Ava, and Harper did a lot of crafts and painting while Jillian and Tierney worked outside on volleyball skills for Jillian. Tor was the shagger and happy to do it for a few cents.

Whenever I mention getting rid of something like Play-Doh (which they haven't played with in months) they all get it out and made everything from cookies to spaghetti. Bridget made real cookie owls that are one of Papa's favorite cookies.

Raining!

Aunt Julie came down to give Jillian some drills she could do in the house when it's raining all day like it was Sunday. Julie told Jillian that these were the drills she did in the house when she was playing volleyball. Thank goodness for a higher ceiling so they set against the beam, did sitting drills, deck drills and Julie ended up giving her about 10 drills to do. 

Later it was still raining but not as hard so they were outside with the umbrellas for quite awhile and then they took out the umbrellas and music and were inventing some dances. They had Tor video their dances that included twirling the umbrellas, etc. Here Jillian sees me watching them out the window. Guess they were working hard enough that they didn't need jackets.

 

Bridget's B-day Party

It was a big gathering of family and friends at our house to celebrate Bridget's 9th birthday (and Papa Ken's 73rd). Mommy cooked up make-your-own tacos for everyone. Bridget decided on an ice cream cake with an aqua-colored fox decoration.

Note Tor getting ready to help blow out candles.

As usual, everyone was very generous with gifts, with Bridget saying afterwards that this was the first time that she got everything that she really wanted.

Middle School Picture

Here's Jillian's 6th grade school picture for Monticello Middle. She decided not to give a big smile, instead going for a "grin" (her words).

Bridget is 9!

Today was Bridget's 9th birthday. First, she celebrated with her class at school with some cupcakes. Next, she celebrated with her soccer team at a game with some brownie bites. Last, she celebrated with us at Guadalajara's with some Mexican food (and ice cream and singing).

The Tigers

Bridget played a soccer game yesterday. She got to play forward, and was mostly focused on passing the ball to teammates.

Cello Practice

Jillian brought home her cello this weekend. She spent most of the day playing "Hot Cross Buns".

Two Goals!

Tor's soccer team (The Legendary Sharks) won their game tonight 3-1, with Tor contributing 2 goals. His second goal came while he was a defender ... he just charged right down the field and shot. When his coach reminded him about playing defense, he said "But I just want to score!"

The second pic is right before his first goal.

Papa's 80th & Tierney's 25th

The Vault in Castle Rock was the site of the birthday celebrations for Papa Bob (80) and Cousin Tierney (25). Lots of family showed up, along with some friends, too. The kids spent a lot of time playing in the vault, but they did come out for cake, ice cream and cookies.

Saturday Night Fort

While Jillian was at Grannie and Papa's, Bridget and Tor built a fort to watch their evening show in.

The Big Field

This is as close as Jillian came to the camera. The adult-size field in Vancouver made her work extra hard, especially as a midfielder covering both ends, but she played well, and her team won 1-0.

Our Little Gardner

Tor had planted some pea vines in another spot and he was excited to see they had grown since he planted them a few days ago. So he worked up the soil in an empty spot and planted some more seeds. (I'm not sure what this time.) He worked for a long time on his hobby.

Monticello Open House

Jillian gave us a tour of her new school. We checked out each classroom, and met all of her teachers. She also showed us the cello she plays in orchestra.

With everyone watching, she was able to open her locker on the first try.

Bike Park Mayhem

After church, the kids saw the bike park and asked to go. So, we made the trek over and the kids rambled on it for about an hour. They were a little unsure about the size of jumps, but once they went over them a couple times, they picked up speed. Bridget was the energizer bunny ... she didn't want to stop riding.

Tor won the award for most crashes (about 4 or so). He had to lay down for awhile after the last one.