Auntie Sheryl and cousins Andy & Karlie came down to help celebrate Auntie Greta's birthday at Papa Ken & Bev's. We enjoyed a huge backyard potluck and BBQ.
The kids went across the street for a wild water balloon fight, helping them cool off on this hot day.
To stay cool, we took the kids to Willow Grove park to dip their toes in the water (which was freezing). They spent most of their time being creative with some very long pieces of dritwood.
The kids went to the Castle Rock cemetary to help Papa Ken plant flags on the veteran's graves. There were quite a few other people helping, so it went quick. Afterwards, they got their traditional ride in the back of Papa's car back down the hill.
Tor wrote an animal research report on the Red Panda, and also created a diorama of its habitat. It was displayed in the school library, so we got to go see it today.
Bridget worked all evening, and even woke up early in the morning to work some more, on her costume for the school spirit week Superhero Day. She used cardboard to craft her entire outfit, not wanting to settle for the typical fare. In case you're wondering ... she's Captain Marvel.
Jillian had her first track meet against Cascade MS at the RAL stadium, and it was pretty successful. She won the 110 meter hurdles, and showed some nice form. Right after, she won the 100 meter dash going away with a time of 15.0 seconds. She also ran the first leg of the 4 x 100 meter relay, and did the long jump (but unsure about the results). We knew Sweetie-Pie was fast, and now we know how fast that is!
Well, that didn't take long. After struggling the first 7 holes, Tor drove the green on no. 2, then made a long, difficult putt to record his first birdie ... it made him a very happy golfer!
It goes to show what obsession can do. Tor has been spending every free moment practicing in the front yard, and it showed as he has gotten very consistent with his swing (it's just his putting that gets him in trouble). He also recorded his best course score of 28. With the birdie, we will now be going to a full-size course (his reward).
When he's not practicing, he's watching YouTube videos of professional golfers, or playing the PGA 2K21 golf game on the Switch.
Tor has been practicing his golf swing everyday in the front yard, and all that practice paid off. He scored his first par in dramatic fashion, a long chip from the fringe! He knew it was going in as he ran alongside it, and then jumped into Daddy's arms to celebrate. Here he is at the 3rd Hole where it happened:
This was his best round, by far, since he has typically scored several 10+ holes. Now his chipping is the best part of his game.
Jillian decided she wanted her own Spikeball set, so we ordered one (using her birthday money). The kids played amongst each other, then the neighbor girls joined in, and ended with Mommy and Daddy playing boys vs. girls.
Then we went to watch Brock, Cale, and Ty at JAL games. Tor watched with me but the others read. After that there was a stop at The Vault where they got ice cream and got to pick out a book As soon as getting home we found out the twins were here. They came down and were busy at the play fort for most of the time. After Jillian got a load of bark dust for me, they went up to Aunt Dianne's to play with the twins there. By then it was dinner time. While I was cooking it I was surprised to see Tor sitting a reading for a long time. He was really all tuckered out, same with the girls.
Jillian finished her final game of 7th grade basketball, playing against the 8th grade. They lost narrowly, but Jillian had some nice baskets as the point guard. Unfortunately, spectators were not allowed, so all we have are a few screen grabs from the live stream (Jillian is #3).
It was time for the annual Mothers Day BBQ in Castle Rock. We had hot dogs cooked on the grill (Jillian is now up to 3 dogs), and then s'mores cooked over the table fire pit. The kids gave Mommy some magnets that they had crafted.
The kids joined Mommy in bed this Mothers Day morning for breakfast in bed. Heather enjoyed her coffee and pecan roll from Adelaide's, while the kids ate pastries and watched the traditional Popeye shows: Sinbad and Alibaba.
The library at Ocean Park is now one of the kids' favorite places to go, since it has a lot of their favorite books. They use their new library cards at the self-checkout, and then read all of their books by the next day.
Not so nice today on the beach. The rain and wind forced us off after a few minutes, and we had to rescue Mommy from getting soaked on her walk.
As soon as we got to the beach, we went to the library where they issued cards to the kids, which they promptly used to check out several books each. Then, they helped unload and stack firewood in the shed.
It turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day (not expecting that), and we biked to the park after Mommy woke up from her nap (she worked the graveyard shift last night).
We had quite the football game, ending when Mommy crashed into the chainlink fence, receiving some scratches on her face and bruises everywhere else. Way to sell out for your team, Mommy!
