Lyla is 7!

It has become a tradition in our house to put streamers all over someone's door on their birthday so that they have to bust through it when they wake up on their birthday morning.  I didn't mean for this to become a tradition, but now the girls always remind me to do this the night before, so I can't disappoint them!
















Lyla busted through the streamers and quickly went into the dining room to open her presents.  I can't believe this little girl is 7 years old!  How did my youngest become a 2nd grader?!  It blows my mind that time has gone by so quick.  Nevertheless, here she is all big and 7.  She opened presents from family that morning and had the rest of the morning to play with some new toys!

Then it was party time!  She wanted a "Summer" themed party so we got the yard ready with all kinds of games and fun (and messy) water things to do.
 The kids played on the trampoline of course.  The girls have discovered that if you fill a normal balloon full of water and put it on the trampoline without tying it and jump, that lots of fun ensues.










One of the games Lyla picked was a crazy hairdo game.  The kids were supposed to wear a swim cap and their partner would use silly string to create a silly hairdo.  The cap didn't last long.  Then they just decided to put the silly string straight on everyone's hair so it would stick better.

They then got out the shaving cream to make better hairdos.

Which then became a "paint your face" with the shaving cream game.

Which then became an all-out shaving cream/silly string war.

Naturally then everyone needed to wash off.

Because then it was time for the watermelon eating contest.  No hands of course.

 And finally the water balloon fight.  I told everyone they could get as many water balloons as they could carry and take off into the yard.  Then after a count of twenty everyone could start throwing.  Lyla had the great idea to stuff her bathing suit with as many water balloons as she could so she could carry more.  She looked like a sack of taters!

Water balloon fight never last long, even with over a hundred balloons.  So it was time to go inside for cake!  

Happy Birthday to my spunky, smart, mischievous, sweet, beautiful Lyla River.  You keep us all on our toes and we love you very much!!

One plus some

We took Gwyn and Celee to Camp Conowingo next.  They also had a lice check and got to proceed to camp.  Celee chose Camp Hogwoods and Gwyn chose Choose Your Own.  We knew that Camp Hogwoods was supposed to be Harry Potter themed.  We weren't sure what to expect from Camp Choose Your Own, but Gwyn liked the idea of picking her own activities.  



















Celee was very excited to go to a Harry Potter themed camp.  She had already set her heart on being sorted into Raveclaw House and going by Buckbeak all week.  Thankfully, the camp delivered!  She had a blast and made lots of new friends, all who love the Harry Potter world.  They did all the usual rockclimbing, swimming, archery, etc.  But they also made wands and "potions."  Celee had a terrific Hogwoods week!

 I don't really know what was "Choose Your Own" about the week Gwyn chose.  She said that they did rank some activities in order of preference, but it ended up if you picked things that other people didn't, you had to take what spot there was.  But she still got to do lots of super fun things like horseback riding, swimming, rock climbing, and archery.  And she made a lot of new friends too.

Meanwhile, Lyla was on her own at home so we were happy to have some friends over a couple of days.  I took them all to the 4-H Fair one of those days.  We saw a pretty funny magician.  I chuckled several times, so I consider that a funny magician!  The kids got to see all the livestock waiting to be judged.  They also played games, got their faces painted, and ate ice cream.  It was children's day so everything but food was free so that makes it even better!

Later in the week we went on another ParkQuest.  This one had us fishing at North Point State Park which is on the Chesapeake.  Evan was the only one who caught anything, and that was only a tiny fish that slipped off the hook before we could get it all the way in.  But it was fun to learn about the tide and temperature of the water and how that affects fish.  And the fishing only lasted for around 30 min. which was about the extent of the kids' attention span for it that day anyway.  Then they played on the beach of course.

We also did a second History ParkQuest while we were down there that was supposed to teach us about the British invasion of the peninsula prior to the Battle of Baltimore in 1814.  It was a little disappointing as the descriptions of the places we were supposed to go were dramatic and exciting, then we'd pull up to a litter-filled soccer field, or an abandoned lot surrounded by apartment buildings.  We were all psyched to see the actual battle field where the defenders held back the British - hence the holiday Defenders' Day.  I realize that things can't always be kept the way they were, and a lot has happened in the past two hundred years to that particular patch of ground, but it seems like it should be commemorated with a little more grandeur than a sign next to a bus stop.  Oh, well.  The kids did learn a little more about the War of 1812, and that's a good thing.  Oh and there was a rope swing, so that made the driving worth it for them.

We also went to a science program at the library put on by the Westminster Astrological Society.  The kids helped the astronomer "make" a comet and they made their own hovercrafts.  They also learned about sublimation and got foam dumped on them.  It sublimated, so no worries.

And finally our two Camp Conowingoers came home.  Then all three of them could give us camp song concerts.  We'll be singing about stinky feet, cheese, and marrying the weiner man for the rest of the summer.

Oh, and our chickens finally started laying!  Yippee!  Eggs Eggs Bea-utiful Eggs!

And then there were two...

Lyla got to go to resident Girl Scout camp this year.  We made the drive up to Camp Conowingo for her to attend "Be Brave" camp with two of her friends.  I think it's funny that they do a lice check before they'll let anyone actually stay at the camp.  I know it's a good thing, but there's always a little anxiety - "What if I have lice and they make me go home!"  Lyla did not have lice and so got to go to camp.  :)

I'm so glad that the camp takes pictures and posts them to a parents' facebook page.  That meant that I could see pictures each evening of what Lyla was doing each day, and grab the pictures to keep.  So each day I sifted through pictures of the 150 girls there looking for Lyla.  Apparently she had fun because she's happy in each shot!

We picked Lyla up on Friday and she was a bit emotional.  I think it was tough being away from all her family for a whole week, but after a bit she perked up.  Then she couldn't stop talking!  She had to tell us all about painting a horse, climbing the rock wall, the meals, the camp counselors, the songs, so many things!  And like I thought she would, she fell asleep in the van on the way home.  Camp Conowingo wore her out!

Meanwhile, the rest of the family went ParkQuesting.  We got a demonstration of how a loom works at the Stepping Stones Museum.  It would have been a "meh" tour of the museum if this guy hadn't given us a personal tour and told us so many stories.  

We also had friends over during the week and played in the river a good bit.  The kids discovered a treasure trove of golf balls that someone is hitting in to the woods and river.  So now I have a bucket full at my house waiting for someone to think of something to do with them, as none of us play golf.  We also got out the bows and had an archery contest.  I must say that I need some practice!  I'm glad no one counts on me (or the kids) to shoot something for food.

Gwyn and Celee also caught up on some reading this week.  Then they got to pick up some prizes at the library as part of the summer reading program.  The good prizes are raffled off and every book you read gets you a ticket.  Gwyn is hoping for the Kindle and Celee is hoping for a pass to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.  :)

We went on another ParkQuest to Patapsco State Park with friends.  Once again, a might have been boring quest turned interesting after we bumped into a wonderful man with lots of stories.  We learned all about the B&O railrod, the river and bridges, and the various industries that used the river before it was a state park.

Then of course we had to go play in the river because man it was hot!

The river wasn't enough though so after we finished another quest, we went back to the neighbor's house to swim!

Celee is still helping out at the horse riding place.  She is really getting good at putting on bridles, feeding and grooming the horses, and getting in and out of the saddle by herself.  I'm so glad she has this opportunity to gain some experience and confidence with horses!

And since she has to get up early to work at the horse stable, she also got to go to the farmer's market with me.

Like I said, Camp Conowingo wore Lyla out!