Lighthouse Festival

A couple weeks ago was the Lighthouse Festival here in town. I love the annual reminder of how much I love where we live. Nothing like a family festival along the beach right down the road from where you live!

 

Every year since Ailey and Parker were just a few months old, we have done the parade in the morning and the fireworks at night. We've also gone to the pancake breakfast and the salmon feed, and since the kids activities have been sporadic over the years our participation there has been sporadic too. But this year we seemed to hit it all.

 

We started Saturday at the parade with friends and cousins and lots of familiar faces. (Silje, Ailey, Luke, Marin, Levi, Parker)

Then the girls and I headed down to the beach for the fun - they got their faces painted at the Girl Scout booth...

All three were butterflies! (Is that an awesome background for a festival, or what?!)

This year, in addition to the bouncy houses, there was also this ride, The Wrecking Ball. Now, let me tell you, when you hear your kid yelling from a crazy ride "My tummy hurts!" your mind goes in two different directions. 1) Oh, my poor kid! And 2) Oh, those poor other riders! Needless to say, Silje didn't ride this one again. But Ailey and Marin did a few more times. :)

The girls each got to choose a treat...

Silje enjoyed shaved ice.

Marin and Ailey had "Fairy Floss" (cotton candy).

And all three created some lovely crafts to take home - crowns and homemade rain sticks.

The night before, Andy and I went down to the beer garden and live music with Sarah and Winston. That was a first for us. (Thanks, Tony and Sue, for watching all the kids!) And on Sunday I hit the artist's booths with a friend. Another first since moving here nine years ago. As the girls get older it definitely gets easier to enjoy these things.



Piano Lessons

Ailey started piano lessons last week. She has been asking to do it (a good sign!) and has been so darn excited ever since I scheduled them. One of the main reasons it's going over so well is probably because she is taking the lessons from our friend, Debbie. Debbie's son, Corban, was in Ailey's preschool class for two years, and her daughter Caeley was in Marin and Silje's preschool class for two years. They are very good friends and that has taken away the anxiety of a new setting and teacher to get to know.

 

Ailey is supposed to practice once a day, but so far it's been about three or four times a day, and only because I've had to say no a few times! You know, like when she's supposed to be getting ready for school, or during dinner, or when it's time to go to bed.

 

She can't wait for her second lesson tomorrow. And the rest of us are looking forward to Ailey learning more than three notes. :-)

 

First lesson with Debbie

Practicing The Balloon Man



Prince the Betta Fish

We said good-bye to Prince Eric, the Betta fish today. Ailey got him about a year and a half ago and he kept us company from the kitchen counter until yesterday when he went to the bottom of the tank to take a nap and never came up.

 

It was the girls' first experience with a pet dying, and while it was really hard on them all evening, I think they handled it really well. They would cry that they missed Prince, but follow it up with something they remembered about him. I think it's a testament to the imagination of children that they could come up with so many ways to miss him considering he was a fish in a tank that they barely gave a glance to most of the time. But they did always know he was there and they did like to talk to him and feed him. And while they eventually gave up on asking if they could "hold him", they did like to draw him pictures for his tank walls.

 

This morning we buried Prince in the backyard because they couldn't handle the idea of "sending him out to sea" -- either via the traditional toilet funeral, or taking him down to the beach to let him go. So now he will forever fertilize be remembered with a visit to a certain spot by the fence.

 

Ailey and Prince Eric

Since I didn't know how the loss would go over with them I decided to let them guide us on how to handle it. I was surprised, though maybe I shouldn't have been, that all three girls responded almost immediately to the news of Prince Eric's (The Little Mermaid, Ariel's, true love) death by asking if we could get another fish. So, soon after burying him we took a trip to the pet store to pick out a new Betta.

Meet ... Prince Charming. :-)

Suggesting naming our new fish after another Disney prince seemed to help the girls with both moving on from Prince Eric and assuring them that they would not forget him. Prince Charming is now getting cozy in his new home and (hopefully) enjoying the girls' fly-by greetings.

 

 

This has sure consumed us for the past 24 hours, but I'm sure life will settle very quickly now. Excuse my long, drawn-out introduction to our new pet, but it was kind of fun to write about. :)

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round



And all through the town the wipers on the bus were swish-swish-swishing this morning. But rain or shine, after watching Ailey get on the school bus the past three years, Marin and Silje finally got to ride it themselves today. I think they were more excited about the bus ride than anything else this week!

 

 

Ailey got to sit with them on the bus, and she helped guide them to their class at school too. I think Ailey was just as excited about playing the big sister and showing them around.

 

I spent my first morning of school out to breakfast with a friend who also sent her Kindergartener to school today. Not surprisingly, our conversation was almost entirely about school.

 

Tomorrow I'm going to hit Target during the school hours ... because taking all three girls with me is such a scary idea that I have put it off far too long. :) But I am hoping to spend most of my mornings NOT running errands. I have good intentions toward exercising, keeping the laundry baskets low and the floors clean, and tidying the house on a daily instead of a monthly basis. But I am familiar with where good intentions can lead, so I'm not holding my breath for stay-at-home-mom-perfection. We shall see!



 

Marin and Silje also started back up with gymnastics classes this week, which they are very excited about. We do love Coach Annie!



 

 

And Ailey starts piano lessons next week. Gosh, we're growing up! Cheers to all things fall!

Back to School

The girls were back to school today, with a bit of a slow start. Ailey took the bus to 3rd grade, but Marin and Silje and I had Kindergarten orientation mid-morning. They will go all morning tomorrow. Everyone was up and ready to go, but tomorrow will be the real beginning -- all three girls will get on the bus together.

 

Marin and Silje are in half-day this year, so they'll be home for lunch. But while it will definitely leave an empty sort of feeling to have them all get on the bus, I am looking forward to my mornings. ;)

 

 

Ailey, 3rd grader

Marin and Silje heading to Kindergarten together - same class!

Silje showing off her new backpack

Marin showing off her new backpack

Neighbor Lauren will join us in the mornings again this year

Ailey getting on the bus. Hope to get a picture tomorrow morning of Marin and Silje getting on their first school bus!