July 3 Wednesday with the gang

Wednesday:  We had a very nice time together today. The kiddos were busy, busy, busy--but it was a good kind of busy. They/we built and drew and colored and laughed and played games--I am very thankful to get to be even a small part of their lives.

Here is Aidan constructing a marble run ...

Erin sharpening her pencils and using stencils to make pretty pictures ...

Brendan, with a freehand drawing of ... I think some video game character (I'm sure he told me, but I can't remember!).

Cal wanted the race track assembled and then enjoyed the "blue" car for awhile, racing around it.

Look how tired our small Callaghan looks in this picture! What a little cutie he is.

The kiddos still enjoy the tree house every week and make up stories about the animals and people all the time.

Aidan, using the Spirograph ...

Brendan doing more drawings -- all of these guys are such artists! Young Cal hasn't begun quite yet with drawing and painting--I'll get him doing it this fall perhaps when it's just the two of us here.

I got out the Tetra Tower game for Brendan and I to play. Aidan and Erin just used the blocks to make towers and buildings. But I think they thought the game was pretty interesting too. Brendan won!

It was ice cream time at about 3:00 when I got out the Oreo Cookie ice cream cones ...

Little Cal! You look half asleep, dear little one!

After our ice cream snack, Brendan brought out my "Jungle!" game, which I had entirely forgotten about! It's just a variety of "Chutes and Ladders", kind of 3-D; but it was fun to have the three older kids play. I'll play this with Cal in the fall. He's a funny little guy--he just watched the others play and didn't complain about NOT playing. It was difficult enough with the older three--we had to keep turning the game so that each of them could see their pieces and do the counting, etc. I'm pretty sure Erin won first, and then Aidan came in second. It's all really the "luck of the die" as far as winning or losing is concerned.

I had ordered the video: "The Gruffalo" combined with "The Gruffalo's Child", so we watched just the first story, which is so well done. The kiddos remember the story because they have the book; and Brendan remembered the video from when he was very young. 

We drove back to their house by about 4:00 in the afternoon and played there until Dylan returned home at 5:30-ish. He brought us sad news about Kelly's father dying Monday night--he had not been well this year, so it wasn't a shock or anything; but still--I could tell it was sad for the kids to hear, feeling especially sad for their mom. Love this family so much.