Busy Two Weeks

A package came for Kelby a couple weeks ago...and I thought to myself, why did my gramma send Kelby a package. I hit myself in the head when I realized...wait a minute...her birthday is a week away! I can't believe it snuck up on me this year. I had to quickly make party plans for her and luckily she was easy to please. We invited a few Sedro-Woolley friends over for a sleepover the night before her birthday. Then we met the family at the church pool for hours of swimming fun on her actual birthday. She seemed happy to spend the day in her natural habitat. She is a fish!

Speaking of fish...that is what Mike decided to get her for her birthday. She now has two new friends, Jumpy and Bubbles, in her room. She likes her new pets. Though what she really wanted was a horse!

The slumberparty was fun. Only two friends actually got to come, but with Tegan and Anika it was still a party. I think we'll try one friend at a time sleepovers every now and then. The girls haven't really done much of that. That way they can have the one friend sleep in their room and don't have to share her with the sisters. In our house all friends are community friends it seems. They should have the opportunity to have a friend for themselves.

On Saturday we went out to the Tesoro refinery for their run. Mike ran a 5K race and the girls ran their 1/2 mile. They had been looking forward to this run this year and even practiced a couple times before hand, running a half mile in the evening with Dad. Anika got a trophy for being 2nd in her age group and so did Michael. There are more kids running in Kelby and Tegan's age group, so it is harder for them to get tropheys.

After that we went to the beach for the rest of the day. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed relaxing...and some actual real sun for a change.

I have been fighting major allergies for the last week and a half though, so I was barely functioning that day. I get better and worse with the weather. I wasn't sure for awhile if it was a cold or allergies, but I'm pretty sure it's the allergies now.

I have kept working on my bathroom project throughout these last few weeks. It keeps being one more step every time I finish one. I got the wallpaper off...then there was no texture underneath and I had to repair the wall from gouges made when removing the paper. I did that and then rolled on some texture. Then the texture was too pokey, so I sanded it down. Then I painted the wall the gold color I had picked. I don't like it! Now I bought a lighter color yellow to wash over the top and hope that can tone it down a little. I need to get a light fixture up and some tile for a back splash before I can call it quits. I hope to do that this weekend. It might be awhile before I take on another house project. The next one on the list is painting all my trim white, so that's a big one!

On Wednesday we hit the church pool again. I had other errands to do in town, so we made a day of it. That night we took the girls to the All-comers Track meet at the Burlington High School. It's a community track meet for all ages. He had taken them the week before, but I didn't go that time. This time I got to see them run their 50 meter hurdles, 100 yard dash, 800 meter (1/2 mile) and Tegan also ran the 200 meter dash. They are so motivated to try their best so I am very proud of them! Mike even beat the all-time record for men his age at the 100 and 200 meter dashes! They all came home with a place ribbon in something and so many participation ribbons that we could wallpaper a bathroom with them...except I will NEVER wallpaper anything ever!

On Thursday my friend offered to watch all three girls so Mike and I could go on a date! She took them early in the day so I even got to go get my toes done at the new local nail place. I got cute little flowers! A pedicure is the best way to get pampered. Mike and I went to a matinee (the first in two years! Mike won't got to movies anymore since we got the projector.) We saw Hancock which we both liked. Then we got to go out to dinner.

Friday was the Fourth of July and it was packed full of fun. We started out at the Sedro-Woolley foot race. Mike did another 5 miles. He got third in his age group. While he was running we staked out a spot on the parade route. We stayed for about an hour and a half of the parade. I think it went on for another hour after that! We went home and started up the BBQ. Some friends and family stopped by and we had a great time playing games and eating my favorite family foods like baked beans and seven-layer salad. I had to have a party just to have a reason to make those yummy things from my memories. Mike went and got a few fireworks and then when it got dark we went out in the cul-de-sac with the neighbors and lit them off and enjoyed everyone else's burning money! The girls stayed up until 11:00! They are tired today, but they did well and had a great time. They enjoy having people over for parties like me.

The weather has cooled off again and we are getting a little rain now. I think we'll take it easy for the rest of the weekend...but I might go finish painting my bathroom instead. This next week I'll be preparing for out Girl Scout Twilight camp which will be happening the week after that. Always something to do!