Cadence's 10th Birthday

Ten years old.  An entire decade.  Two whole hands.  Wow, Cadence is ten years old.  I was bummed that she didn't get the big party that she deserved.  She wanted to have a pool party with all of her friends, but due to COVID-19, it just wasn't something we should/could do.  She handled it well and totally understood.  

This past year has brought a lot of firsts for Cadence: she played softball, started the school year at a brand new school, made the travel softball team, and started playing basketball.  Since softball was offered this year through the BW organization, she decided to give it a try.  She enjoyed it, learned a lot, and even surprised us when she tried out pitching and catching.  The travel team needed some more girls to join the team, so they asked Cadence to join.  She'll be practicing all winter and will begin games in the spring.  We're eager to see her excel in this sport!  I'm also so proud of her for trying out basketball this year.  She enjoys shooting baskets with Colin and his friends from time to time and thought she'd give it a try!  She's only had one practice so far, but I think she'll enjoy it and do well!  Fifth grade has brought new challenges, but Cadence is keeping up and holding her own.  She likes her teacher and has made some new friends.  

Cadence is still uber creative and loves making things.  She gets excited about school projects, she enjoys making her Valentine box every year, and she does a daily drawing in her Ohio State notebook.  She can whip up anything using yarn, felt, or cardboard.  She's so bright and we're pretty sure she'll be on the debate team in high school.  Boy, is she stubborn!  She's an animal lover who's constantly telling us how many pet's she'll have when she grows up.  She loves a good joke and always has a trick up her sleeve - her favorite is taking the sticky tags off of her new clothes and sticking them on your back when she gives you a hug.  She's got a big heart and I know great things are in her future.  She's our little "Rae" of sunshine!

Enjoying her favorite doughnuts for breakfast.

We had a small party at the house with our family and the Marinellis.

She LOVES Goldfish crackers...still!

She's such a goof!

The kid gang - love 'em!

 

Colin's 7th Birthday

It's been exactly 4 months since Colin turned 7 years old - I'm just now writing a blog post about it!  Shame on me!  I tried my best with his 7th birthday - we were supposed to have a big bash at a a sports barn with friends from school, friends from basketball, friends from baseball.  They would be able to play basketball, dodgeball, you name it.  When public places started shutting down, we weren't sure when they'd open back up.  We thought, for sure, we'd be in the clear by the time the end of May rolled around.  Boy, were we wrong! When the governor started letting businesses open again, everyone had to keep gatherings to 10 or less.  That wasn't the birthday party we had planned.  It wouldn't be worth it to have a party with such few friends at a sports barn.  Plus, I wasn't comfortable asking families to bring their kids to a birthday party in the middle of a pandemic.  Colin understood and he handled it all very well.  

I was so disappointed that we couldn't give Colin the birthday party I felt he deserved.  Colin has grown so much over the past year.  He's matured immensely.  He tries so hard on his schoolwork.  He's still so sweet, and is definitely still a mama's boy.  Don't get me wrong - he can still have his moments, but he's come leaps and bounds!  If I'm around when he's brushing his teeth, he'll always come into my bathroom to give me a hug.  One of my favorite times of the day is bedtime - we talk, we act silly, I rub his back before he falls asleep.  He LOVES sports - currently he's playing baseball on 2 different leagues, he plays flag football on Saturdays, and lacrosse clinics are on Sundays.  He enjoys all of them, but I think his favorite is still basketball.  Hopefully he can enjoy that again in the winter!

Danny and I decorated the house while the kids were asleep, so Colin was surprised when he woke up on his birthday.  One of his teachers made a special trip to our house and brought Colin some Dairy Queen ice cream sandwiches (the same kind he would give him at school) that morning.  Our buddies, the Marinellis, also swung by the house to give Colin a gift and make him feel special.  My parents, as well as the kids' Uncle Mike and Gina, spent the day with us - we hung out outside and had fun in the pool.  It was a nice day being together, celebrating another year beginning for our big boy!  I hope he felt as special as he is to us.

Big sis was the only kid around - good thing he adores her!  He thinks she's hilarious looks up to her.

Cadence drew a picture just for him.  I think he got a kick out of it

Uncle Mike got him a cool water bottle.

He had so much fun opening his gifts.  My friend, their "Auntie" Erica, sent him so many gifts.  He sure is spoiled! 

Can you tell he was shocked by the pizza float?!

We were so excited to let him open this gift.

Such a ham

May all your wishes come true, sweet boy!

Quarantine Saga - Odds and Ends

We're lucky that we had to stay home while the weather was warming up.  Quarantine would've looked much differently had it happened during the winter months!  Check out some more fun we had outside...

We found another bunny nest!  This one was tucked in the pine straw near the trunk of a pine tree in the back yard.  Of course Cadence came up with names for them all!

We kept our eye on them as they got bigger and they began leaving the nest.  Cadence somehow caught one!  The kids kept it as a pet for a day.  They put it in a bin and made sure it had water & vegetables.  They even did their schoolwork outside with it nearby.  I convinced them that it belonged in nature and they finally let it go.  It was fun while it lasted.

I had to compare this bunny encounter to the last one!

Bunnies 2017

Mom painted some cute rocks - we put them outside in the landscaping.  She figured the kids would get a kick out of them since they love bunnies so much.  Aren't they cute?!

Scarlet loves hanging out in the sun - lucky for her we found something that worked on her allergies this spring.  Fingers crossed we can use Cytopoint again next year and it will work!

The kids had fun taking turns wearing my glasses.

And Danny found a snake in the yard.  The kids sure are brave!

Yup, that's a goldfish cracker up his nose...

Dad called us over one afternoon because one of his hives had swarmed!  We watched all the action up close and personal (but not too close!)