mason playdate

mason's bus seat mate lives walking distance from our house and today we reunited them to have fun while the rest of us took some friends to the neighborhood pool. 

i loved getting these pictures from his mom. love.

friend fun

mason's seat-mate on the bus lives walking distance from our house. who knew? these two are thick as thieves and just a little silly. i think we will see a lot of him this summer. love.

trading kids

in a difficult to explain swapping of kids between three households, mason went to a playdate at a friend's house and madelyn had a friend come over to play on this day off from school.

pearler beads have become the go-to activity around here. and none of madelyn's friends have ever seen them before! we are SO cutting edge.

madelyn and her friend used madelyn's (school issued) chromebook to look up some minion templates, then made key chains of their own design to hang on their backpacks.

it's hard being this cool. love.

after school playdate

today was a first, bringing home a friend from school for a playdate! we have found ourself with an empty carseat so it is super easy to bring home a friend after preschool. it was so much fun to hear them chatting on the car ride home (and how often they called each other "buddy"). lunch got pretty silly too...

manning wasn't too sure about being the odd man out. so he came to hang with me. in disguise. love.

summer bucket list - arty playdate

i have failed to make any attempt to arrange playdates this summer. so, with one week left, i have been working on it. earlier this week we met mason's friend at play land and today madelyn had her friend over to play and 'do some art.' we were going to have her friend's family join us at the pool afterwards but it was only going to reach 70. oh well. the girls were delighted to make "t.v.s" with each other. (they also made remote controls and some headphones out of paper cups.). the mom of madelyn's friend was in the same boat i am so she invited madelyn over to their house for monday! it is still "summer," right? love.

school playdate

where we live now, everyone knows everyone. for several generations back. being new is a little challenging to say the least. people are super nice, but there isn't a lot of room in their lives for new people. as i have shared about this during pto meetings (more about the general assumption that people know where the "middle school" is when no name is given, etc. instead how closed a community this seems to be), some of them have been inspired. they are creating a 'new family' night for people who are not just new to the school, but new to the area and provide a packet with coupons, maps, favorite parks, kid attractions, sports, etc. to further our ability to 'connect' with other parents from the school, some of the pto members put together a schedule for the summer of planned 'playdates' at three local parks on a rotation. they sent home the complete schedule last week before school got out. today was the first one - fittingly, at the elementary school. there was a pretty good turn out and the rain stayed away.

manning's favorite word - "no"

i just love his little smile.

maddux is pretty excited to be able to swing on his own and was getting a little more courageous with his 'tricks' today. first, he was dipping his head backwards and kept hanging upside down. then, he started swinging on his belly. and then he ate mulch. literally. if he wasn't so obviously hurt, i would have laughed and taken a picture. he had a huge piece of mulch under his upper lip like it was an enormous buck tooth. he did cut his lip a little and wanted "go home and look in my mirror." once i cleaned him up and he got a drink of water, he was much better. he even wanted to go back to swinging on his belly.

these park playdates are a such a great idea! i was able to meet a few of madelyn's classmates and it is all very relaxed. and madelyn was super excited to take the boys to play at her school. love.

first school friend playdate

i want to say that this was madelyn's first playdate at our house ever.  at least one where it wasn't just kids of a mom i was having over.  she chose her friend sarah to come over and swim, but it was way too cold today (i wore a sweatshirt and pants) so we just had her over to play.  it was like there wasn't enough time to say and do everything they wanted to!  sarah is one of madelyn's friends from her kindergarten class.  they will find out on friday if they will be in the same class next year or not.  and she was at vbs last week too.  madelyn has been so excited that she has told everyone who would listen (or was at least within earshot) that sarah was coming over on wednesday.  even mason and maddux were super excited and preparing and they didn't even know who sarah was!  

this morning madelyn and mason were dressed before i was even up.  we spent the morning straightening up and sarah came over just before lunch to play and eat with us.  after lunch i let them choose some craft supplies and make whatever they wanted.  (i was trying to figure out a planned craft and decided that i didn't need to stress about it, they are both pretty artistic and creative.  so i let it go.)

they ended up using toilet paper rolls to make 'carriers'.  they covered the hole on one end to give it a 'bottom' and then hole punched the top and strung line or yarn through the holes to wear it like a necklace.  it can easily hold pens or small toys.  they were both thrilled with their creations.

they are already planning their next get together.  love.