Seven

July 18th fell on a Saturday this year, so we had a birthday party for the kids with a lot of their friends and a lot of family. There was a threat of rain but just before 1:00, the skies opened up and we had a beautiful sunny day for swimming in the pool. Hot dogs, fruit, snacks and cake. We kept the food simple but everyone seemed to be good with that.

We kept the present opening until after the friends went home and had an after party with family. The LeMons made the journey up from DC, so we got to spend time with John and Joan, Christopher and Rachael, and Josephine and Beatrice. Nora and Josephine are like peas in a pod whenever they see each other. Missy made the trip up too with the boys and they had a good time playing with Jack and his toys. And no birthday would be complete without Num-Num, Pop-Pop, Ashley and Scott. A mighty collection of presents was waiting in the living room and the kids had a great time opening all of the gifts. Nora got some records, dolls, lots of craft projects, jewelry, clothes and many other great gifts, and Jack got a CD player, Legos, Bey Blades ( a spinning battling top ), an RC car, clothes and lots of other gifts too.

We had planned to got to a fireworks display that night but found out they were the night before. Although there was a touch of sadness, we stayed in and relaxed which was probably best since it was a long, exciting day. The kids got to bed at a normal time so they could get up early the next day to play with all their new toys.

The last week, the kids were in half day gymnastics camp and had fun tumbling and balancing at a place called Power and Grace. This week will start with a sleepover at Num-Num and Pop-Pop's. I am sure they will have a great time.