Monday: birthday party

Today was the birthday party with the Grandparents, but there were several things to do first.

We picked blueberries for the party.  It was the best blueberry picking I've ever had.  The berries were big and plentiful.  Isaac picked more than I did!  We got 2.5 buckets in 30 minutes.

We picked up the desserts: Crumbl Cookies for Joshua and an ice cream cake for Isaac.  Turns out, if you go on Monday you get twice the options at Crumbl because they're finishing up last week's options too.

Then we cleaned a bit.  Joshua had started a little cleaning before I woke up, but everyone put in a good 30 minutes.  Joshua and I were hungry, so we had lunch on the early side.

After nap time/screen time I felt on top of life.  I did a little more cleaning, but also finished the globe puzzle.  This puzzle summer has been interesting: the kids are happy to help at the beginning and end, but not in the middle (or for hard parts).  That's ok.  I'll take what I can get.  Anyway, I stuck my hand in the globe to help put in some pieces and Joshua found it really funny.

Since we were on top of life and, Joshua especially, had helped so much without being asked, I let Joshua do a baking powder volcano that he's been asking about.  I originally told him Tuesday, but he was happy to do it today.  The day of the party can be hard because you can't make a mess and you're just waiting.  He did most of the prep and clean up by himself, so it was a win for everyone.

Finally!  Party time.  The cats were being rather territorial over this box.

Joshua got several 10s.  Some candy, keychains, and $1 coins for his 10th birthday.  

Ben and I got each kid some assorted Lego and a UV flashlight.  Several of the Legos glowed under the light, but the light was a hit overall!  They were bringing it all over the house to see what would react and there were some weird discoveries.  (Like one leg of a minifigure glowing and not the other).

(The kids don't love having the same birthday party, but it can be hard getting everyone together in the summer.  The only reason they 'allow' it is because they can each have their own birthday dessert.)