4 Years Later

9 days ago my big kid got even bigger. She is officially 4 now and is blazing into this new age with ferocity I did not expect. She is loud and proud about being 4. Every day she asks daddy "Do you have any more 4 things for me?" By this she means things she had to wait to do until she was 4. We're gettting creative. Buckling her own seat belt, showering on her own, and unbeknownst to her..chewing gum. We're saving that gem for a moment that counts.

In a moment of poor planning I committed to a camping trip with friends on the weekend of Kate's birthday. For a bit I stressed about her not having a party and being hurt that we weren't celebrating the way she wanted. Turns out, she's more mature than I gave her credit for. And turns out, camping was pretty much all about her hanging out with friends and expanding her independence (a gift for all of us!). We did manage to throw in a little birthday fun. Kate loves the Rainbow Fairy chapter books. I bought her the Pet Fairy set and scavenged our Playmobil bin to find the pet featured in each book. Using bento boxes I hid the pets with clues around the campsite for a magic filled treasure hunt. It went off better than expected and Kate was pleased with the "treasure" of books at the end. She had a couple of pretty great clue helpers (nice work Claire and Abby). With cake pops for dessert around the fire and an outdoor theater setup to end the day it turned into a birthday to remember.

A few pics from the happy day:

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Whoa! Clearly I have been off the blogging radar. Here's a bit of catching up on the last week and then some. Sorry!
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The girls and I (plus some friends) went to Guemes Island for two days and made it there in time for a quick beach explore before dinner.

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Leia practiced her balance beam work she has been learning in gymnastics class.

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On the way home from Guemes we stopped to celebrate Claire's 3rd birthday. Woohoo!

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Car sleeping. Comfy, no?

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A day at the arboretum with (most) of the Scrivner's. It was a great fall day for a hike along the bridges.

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Sounder's win the U.S. Open Cup!!!! Awesome night to be at a game.

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SO excited about her new swim suit from Gigi.

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Hanging with Uncle Chuck and using tomatillos as an educational tool. Counting, color identification, sorting....

I will make a better attempt this week to blog regularly. =)

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I am going to make an attempt to take a picture a day for the next 365 days. I do not promise to post a picture a day but will try to stay as caught up as possible!
Meet 3 members of the USA team for World Cup 2026:
Claire is on offense while Kate and Leia take care of D.

Leia receiving some unappreciated instruction.

Bonding with the coach.

Cookies with Claire!!

We love weekend playdates with CJ and Claire. This one was extra sugary. The girls "decorated" Valentine cookies. They were very liberal with the sprinkles, and the taste testing. It was a great afternoon.





The spoils were quite good.