I can't believe my baby is 6!

     Lyla turned six this past Tuesday.  It seems so crazy that my youngest child is this old!  In my head they are all three younger than that.  Se la vie.  She was very excited about her birthday.  (What kid isn't?).  She wanted a My Little Pony birthday so we made her a banner to ale up to.  Then she had a nice pile if presents and cards to open.  Jason and I broke down and finally got her her very own American Girl doll.  (Really mostly because I got it for half price). She had been borrowing Gwyn and Celee's to play with for a while, so we thought she could handle having her own now.

    Tuesday was also Art Club so Lyla got to go spend time with friends and paint on her birthday.  Marta always has the neatest ideas for them to create!  They made dragonflies and lily pads and popcorn flowers this time.  I love how free these projects are for them to imagine and create!

     Finally it was time for the party.  We had planned to have it at Oregon Ridge Beach so we would have a table and the kids could swim and play in the sand.  It ended up raining though so it was all iffy.  It did atop raining so I told everyone the party was still on and we loaded up.  When we drive up however, the beach was closed.  I guess the light rain cause them to close it for the day.  Not to be dissuaded, we skirted the fence and went in anyway.  It was too cool to swim (and no lifeguards anyway so you aren't supposed to swim) so I figured the kids could play on the sand and still have Lyla's party. It was misty rain the whole time!  Thankfully the few little friends who came's parents didn't think me too insane to leave their children with us, so the party went on.

     They all had a great time!  Kids always want to play in the rain and the sand so double win!  Lyla requested a chocolate cake (not my best decorating job), root beer floats and watermelon.  We played Pin the Wings on Rainbow Dash.  And best of all, everyone just played in the wet sand and got dirty.  And because the beach was technically closed, we had it all to ourselves.  So Happy Birthday Lyla!  You are so smart and spunky!  You definately make our lives more interesting!

Cat club and Ironbirds

I didn't take a while lot of pictures this past week for some reason, so I'm having a hard time remembering what we did! I know we rode all over northern Baltimore county, and parts of Harford and Carroll counties trying to get a feel for the distance to some outlying towns and the houses on the market right now. We actally fell head-over-heels for one property only to find out it was full of black mold.  :( The girls spent the night with friends one night.  We went to the theater and saw Despicable Me 2.  (So funny!  But I wouldn't recommend paying to see it twice in the theater - Lyla and I had already seen it during her only child week, but that's what the friends we were with wanted to see).  We met some new friends this week.  Gwyn met a new friend who happens to love cats. (Do all 10 year old girls love cats?) So naturally said girl got invited to cat club.

     Cat Club met at Oregon Ridge Beach this time.  Once again they had a craft planned and Gwyn made fish cookies (cause that's what cats would eat).  But mostly everyone swam and played on the beach.  All the older girls could pass the swim test so they stayed out on the platforms a good bit.  Lyla and her friend (representing Dolphin Club) stayed in the shallow and in the sand.  I live these clubs because they girls really have taken full responsibility for it and so all I have to do is get them there.  Then I get to chat with the adults present.

     Celee had tickets to the Aberdeen Ironbirds game this weekend.  Her troop was one of the ones chosen at the campout in June to sing the National Anthem to start the game.  She practiced a lot!  When we actually got there I noticed she had left her paper with the lyrics in the van, but she assured me that she had it memorized anyway.  She sounded good too!  In the clip she is in the center of the crowd.  I don't know why the crowd yells "Oh" at that point in the song unless that's an Orioles thing.  That's the only thing I could think of.
     The girls also got free hats at this game.  Lyla kept asking me if we liked the Ironbirds and I just responded, "I guess we do now."  So the girls have officially declared that we will root for the Ravens, the Orioles, and the Ironbirds.  They have no college favorite at the moment.
     The Ironbirds won.  Yay! There was a pretty impressive fireworks show at the end of the game too. Not in the choreographed Disney type way, but in the lots of fireworks constantly for a long time with lots of noise type way.

     We officially told our apartment management that we are not renewing our lease, so the pressure is on!  God has really been kind to us and me specifically lately.  I just keep getting reminders that He is with me, He loves and delights in me, and He has plans for me and my little family.  So I would love continued prayers for patience and discernment as we look for houses and try our best to be faithful with what He has given and what He has planned.  

They came back!

This past week was a little weird.  Gwyn and Celee went off to a resident Girl Scout camp so Lyla was an only child for the week. It was quiet for the most part and Lyla got her way more often than usual but we all missed the older two.  She did get to go to art club by herself .  She also helped me make peach jam.  Anything where you get to mash food is fun.

     We covered for another zoohelper this week who was on vacation and Lyla's friend got to come along. I was a little worried that I'd end up doing all the work without Gwyn and Celee there, but the little girls did their work well!  Lyla even enjoyed cleaning up the poop, cause she's a big girl.

     Lyla and I also went to the dentist this week.  She was crazy nervous for some reason.  She's been to the dentist before and even had a small cavity filled, but she was really upset this time for some reason.  But she got to wear the sunglasses and pick out a princess toothbrush.  She even let them take x-rays.  So it all ended up being fine once she got in the chair.  And no cavities!  I on the other hand apparently have the teeth of elderly people and an ugly crown.  Yay for me.  I also got the impression that the dentist thinks I'm bulimic.  Which I am not.  But thanks for continuing to ask several times.  Great self-image booster - My teeth look like an elderly bulimic.

     I decided to make these little felted animals for the girls while they were gone.  We had checked the book out from the library and bought the materials, but never had the time to start them.  They came out kinda creepy.  Just for clarity's sake, it's a koala, dog (I was going for a husky), and a cat.  I wasn't too impressed with the outcomes so I tried to make Lyla a Rainbow Dash. I think it looks much better than the attempted realistic animals.  After the girls got home they requested a Fluttershy and others.  I made the Fluttershy and a Minty, but I ran out of the right colors for the other ponies.  So now I had roving wool to find and My Little Pony orders to fill.  ;)

     We went to pick up Gwyn and Celee at camp on Friday.  They had such a good time!  Thank you Camp Conowingo!  The camp counselors had posted pictures each day and I sifted through them all and found some with Gwyn and Celee.  They got to ride horses, climb a rock wall, do archery, canoe, swim, crafts, games, holiday celebrations and a whole lot more.  Gwyn said the bows were crappy that they had to shoot with, but everything else was super fun.  They both made some new friends (although I don't know if they know each other's real names because everyone used "camp names" all week).  Celee even chose to sleep in a tent with other girls rather than in a cabin with Gwyn, so I know she made new friends and got to do some things on her own.

     Saturday we finally got to do our trail ride at Happy on Hooves in Hampstead.  I had bought a groupon back in April I think and after we got rained our on our original date, had to wait until July to finally go.  This was the first time that Lyla has ridden without someone holding a lead for her.  She did really good!  The horses are used to going in order so she didn't really have to "control" the horse much, but it was good practice for her.  She looks so tiny up on that big horse!  We rode for a little less than an hour down some wooded trails.  I would definately do it again.

     Everyone was back to work this morning on the farm.  It's so pleasant out there.  All the animal noises and a cool breeze.  I could stay out there all day.  The geese are a pain though.  Just look at this one - he just looks like trouble.

     The girls found some baby rabbits out at the farm and we managed to catch one.  These aren't the zoo rabbits.  They are the offspring of rabbits that got loose from the zoo a year or two ago.  We have a friend whose pet rabbit died last week, so we're bringing her this one.  I *think it's a girl.  She's sooooo cute!  They are all having a great time with her for today until we give her over.  I keep telling them to be patient.  We'll have enough animals soon enough.

 
     On that note, I'm feeling a little nervous lately.  We got the notice that we have to tell our apartment manager whether or not we want to renew our lease within the next week and a half.  That's about a month earlier than I had expected to need a decision like that.  So prayers for discernment are always appreciated.  I know God has a home for us.  I just want to make the right decisions in the meantime.  So we've talked to a lender (that was promising) and we've been referred to a realtor, and I already know of several interesting properties on active listings right now, but we need to know if the timing is right.  I feel like I'm needing a "handwriting on the wall" moment.  I know it's ok to pray for what you want, I just want my heart to want what God wants and to be content with the blessings and timing He already has planned.