Sleepover

Eli had his first "real" sleepover last week. I say that with quotations because Eli has technically slept at a friend's house twice before. However one time was after bedtime when we basically threw him across the street to the neighbor's house as we raced Maddux to the ER and the other was with a friend, but Uncle D was with him. This time around it was planned in advance, and it was just Eli and Drew, his best friend. It sounds like the boys had a great time: Drew planned a special dinner and many activities for the evening. When I picked Eli up at swim the next morning he was quick to tell me about the pancakes they'd just eaten and that they were better than the ones we make at home. Perfection.

Florida

Eli and Maddux's great-grandmother went home to Jesus a few weeks ago, so this past weekend we went to Florida to celebrate her life with other family members. The kids have handled it very well, realizing that Nana lived a very long, FULL life and was able to choose to spend her final days at home with family and friends. They have many fond memories of her and randomly brought them up several times during our trip. A few were eating drumsticks at her house, Nana playing 'hoops' with Eli at our house, playing in Nana's pool and reading books before bed. We are so glad they were able to share so many special moments with her!

After a service at Nana's church on Saturday, we went to the beach with family. The kids had a great time on boogie board and playing in the ocean. Eli loves the water and can't get enough of body surfing and chasing the waves. Maddux does ok with the water, but prefers the sand for castle building and seashell hunting. After several fun hours they were worn out so we showered off in preparation for dinner. On the way, we stopped at Ron Jon's and each of them picked out a Florida souvenir. Eli got a skin board (to use on Sunday) and Maddux picked a sparkly palm tree necklace. (That was very fitting because Maddux totally associates palm trees with Florida. On the drive back home, both kids were totally engrossed in movies. After the first one finished, Maddux took her eyes away from the screen and asked, "Are we in Georgia yet?" Then she saw palm trees out her window. "Oh. Never mind...we're still in palm trees. We're not in Georgia.") Dinner was with 15-ish family member and long, but the kids did great. They kept themselves pretty well entertained talking to relatives and whatnot. Eli and I split a crab dinner - that boy loves his seafood! All of Nana's family met the kids for the first time this weekend and loved them; most even commented to me how well-behaved they were.....life is good!!

Sunday morning we woke up and went right to the beach. We started at 5th Avenue, a place Lehr and I frequented in our high school days. Eli had SO much fun practicing with his skin board and the weather was amazing. After a few hours we walked up to the pizza place we grew up with and ate an outdoor lunch. Awesomeness.... We then drove back up to the Cape to go to the beach with Grandpa Ed. The kids were still totally enthralled with the ocean and the sand....they could have stayed all night. We took Grandpa Ed to a birthday dinner at a fun outdoor restaurant and watched the boats. After dinner we parted ways; it was already close to 8PM. We told the kids to close their eyes and try to get a snooze so we could go for a fun treat. They complied and both fell asleep (HARD) on the hour drive to our favorite ice cream stop. We woke them up as we pulled into the parking lot; they were zombies! We all enjoyed a sweet treat to end our trip and then went home to bed.

Blues Across The Board

What a Swim Season it's been! Maddux has really blossomed into a swimmy little fish; she even does back stroke by choice sometimes! And when we go to the pool outside of swim practice, she brings the flippers and moves around the pool like a mermaid - so fast!

Eli is enjoying a very fun year. Just as he was at the top of his game in baseball, he is doing very well being one of the oldest kids in the 6-and-under age category for swim team. This week he earned three blue ribbons: one for each race and all in heat 1! Quite the 6 year old year he's having...

CYT

Maddux just finished her second session of Christian Youth Theater Summer Camp. Last summer she was on the young side, so she only had the option of a half-day Veggie Tales camp (which she loved). However, as a rising Kindergartner this year, she was able to be with the big kids and do the full-day, "Little Mermaid" production.

Each day last week we packed a lunch and snack and Maddux went to church with an older friend from the neighborhood. Six whole hours each day - WOW! She did great though... Even though she was a little tired around dinner time, she held up very well! Every morning they would sing and dance and do crafts related to the theme and production. And while she didn't have any solo parts, Maddux did get to sing and dance in two sections of the final product; SO exciting. Eli and I were able to see her performance on Friday afternoon - she was ecstatic to see us in the audience!

Still Swimming

Maddux is still trucking along, starting off each Meet with a lap of freestyle; she only got a ribbon after that first one, but she is still very interested in 'racing' each week.


Eli is getting faster and faster. He LOVES practicing with the 7-8 group; they learn Butterfly and Breast Stroke as well, and he feels very 'big' now that he knows those strokes. In his racing category, he is killing it - HUGE advantage of being at the older end of the group. Last week he easily won all three of his races and brought his 25Freestyle time under 30seconds. I love my little fish! And I love that I get to take pictures of the whole team each week :)

Weekend Staycation

This last weekend Lehr and I slipped away to celebrate our 13th anniversary. Aunt Megan and Aunt Liz were happy to help out by coming to our house to watch the kids for two nights. Eli and Maddux had a blast; they went to a pool downtown, they got ice cream, they rode in a Jeep, they played games, and they were spoiled the whole time. The kids were so excited to tell Lehr and I all about it, and they were quick to ask when it would happen again.

Maddux: Social Ease Personified

Lehr and I comment on it very often: Maddux is so social able, aware, and competent. We know she didn't get it from us, so we're baffled. Once again this week she proved that she knows how to handle herself in social situations, without any help from us.

We were at the pool and Maddux was playing with her friend, Davis. She saw an acquaintance from school (Mac) playing in the baby pool alone. After a moment she made her way over, chatting and laughing with Davis the whole way, and entered the baby pool as she said, "Mac, this is my friend, Davis. He's a goofball." (She and Davis were being especially silly that day.) So calm, so nonchalant, so easy. She knows how and when to introduce people in the most perfect way....all of that even with a mom who is slightly socially inept.