Mystery (solved)

Greta dropped her piece of watermelon and can't find it and he's not saying anything.

First Day of School 2013-2014

Sweet girl gave me hummingbird earrings for the first day of school!

By the looks on their faces, you would think it was a 7:00 a.m. start.  I assure you we are not crack of dawners here.  Honestly, I am not sure what I would do if we had to be out of the house and at school by 8 or 8:30.  These kids do not move fast.  We are usually pretty good at starting our own day by 8:30 and all of the big kids (and usually myself depending on how much Greta and Henry have needed) are dressed with chores done.  I always want more of a military schedule, but I can't get anyone to cooperate with it.

A few new supplies and a berry coffee cake and here's to a new school year!

Time to partay!

The cupcake bakers

 The gold fish eaters

 When we moved on the block it was Olivia, Joe, and August...and a kid at the end of the block we never saw.  Now there are 10 in addition to those 4!  Most of them are close to Greta's age, so for her birthday we invited them to bring their favorite yard toy and come hang out.

 Linda (in the pink) owns a sushi restaurant.  Her daughter is Amanda (in the truck above with Greta and Lilly).  She offered to have her sushi chef make a couple of trays for the party.  It really was a work of art.  Every been to a 3-year-old's party with sushi?  Me either.

 The party started nicely in the back with a little truck sitting and beam walking and sushi eating.

But it wasn't long before the big kids were offering rides out front and the back yard emptied.

 Every kid, on every vehicle...

 Some monster bubbles

 These are the newest additions to the block.  Ben and Jamie and their son Big Henry - he's in the wagon behind Olivia two pics above.

Everyone went home for sweat shirts and we picked up a few more folks out front.

You think my kids are deprived, Big Henry had only had juice for the first time this week.  You should have seen him staring at those cupcakes.  

And then the sugar kicks in

Sweet, sweet friends.  Always up for celebrating a McBride birthday.  Michael and Lor, August's parents.

Birthday Girl :: #3

She probably makes my life the most complicated and the most fun right now.  

 The birthday crown.  Everyone was supposed to have their own. With a button sewn on for each year. I finally just decided everyone got the same crown, only Olivia's name was the only one that ever got sewn on and apparently she is only 4 years old.  I doubt this will be one of those things that scars them. But it does annoy me sometimes.

 You could probably sing Happy Birthday to her right now, two months later, and get the same look.

Serve you.

Fame and Fortune

You can guess who is who.  (That's Lilly, by the way.)

Balmy, bikey evening

We need to do this again.  There is about an 11 mile bike path out by the beach and it is so peaceful this time of the evening.  And with the exception of getting creamed by a few skate boarders, it is a pretty safe place for the kids to ride.  We are now a completely biked out family - two friends gave Mike and I bikes and then a buddy from Joe's baseball team gave us a Burley...or fiacre, as we cultured folks call it.  (Mike has been reading Les Mis and speaks french now.)  I'll post pictures of that soon.  But I will say I was practically immobile after pulling Henry and Greta to our soccer games and back on Saturday.  I need to work on my biking muscles.