We were invited to one of the school parents’ house last evening for swimming and BBQ.  Logan and Connor both told us that they did not want to swim before we headed out, but shortly after we arrived, they both wanted to go into the pool.  They were happy to swim and walk around the half of the pool where it was shallow.  Connor was having a great time swimming back and forth too.  Later Connor started to come out and jumping back in the water.  Surprisingly Logan later followed his lead and both of them took turns jumping into the water.  They also played with pool toys and with other kids too.  Connor finally had enough and wanted to come out to eat.  He placed his towel in the sun and enjoyed some food under the warm evening sun.  Logan continued to stay in the water and enjoyed floating around in the deep end with a noodle.  The adults were relaxing with some drinks and BBQ while watching the kids in the water.  It was also nice to get to know some new folks.  It was starting to get a bit cooler and Logan finally came out to have some food too.  After the kids all dried up, Logan and Connor went inside the house to play video games with the older brothers.  Everyone migrated inside the house for coffee and desserts later as well.  It was a late night for us, we all finally packed up to go home close to 9pm.  The boys told me that they would love to go back since they had a good time swimming and loved the video game they were playing too.

    The boys were at CDC last week.  The number of participants was lower this time, but the boys did not seem to mind the small group.  The few boys who showed up early in the morning all liked to play Yu Gi Oh cards, so Logan and Connor were excited about that.  They both wanted to be drop off early and they brought their cards to battle and trade with the other boys.  Playing the cards seemed to be the main highlight of the week.  They also had a walking field trip to a local park on Thursday; they had fun there but Logan did say the walk was long. 

     We had a busy day on this holiday.  We headed over to the cabana for its festivities after an early lunch at home.  Once we settled down with our small tent, Logan went to check out the kids’ activity tables and got hooked at a spinning wheel table.  He went through the short line over and over again to get small toys.  I thought Connor would be excited for the cake walk, but he was totally not interested and did not even care to go watch.  He later joined Logan at the spinning wheel until we eventually pulled the boys away for other activities.  After some snack, we did some swimming.  Then it was time for the greased watermelon battle.  We watched the entertainment, then we wrapped up to go home.

    After dinner, we packed up the car to head out for fireworks.  We knew it would be crowded, so we decided to park just a few minutes from home near the hiking trail.  We brought the wagon for the boys and we hiked the 1.8 miles into the park.  It took only 25 minutes, shorter than we expected, and it was a nice hike.  We found a patch of grass and settled on our picnic blanket.  The boys were so comfortable laying down that they were too lazy to walk with me to check out the festivities.   There were a lot going on at the park, a band playing on stage, many showcase tents, and food trucks.  I came across someone selling some homemade blankets.  Stuart and I were worried that we were not prepared for the cold evening, so I was happy to buy a blanket.  It was the best money I spent as the boys were so happy and comfortable under the blanket the rest of the evening.  When the sky turned dark, we started getting excited for the fireworks.  We were able to see some other events fireworks from faraway, then by 9:20pm, our show finally started.  There was a tree in the way a bit, but it did not dampen the show for us.  The fireworks was wonderful, and everyone cheered at the finale.  Then the crowd all packed up to leave.  The boys got back in the wagon and had their flashlights ready for our trek back.  The trail was quite packed, but a short way later the crowd lightened.  Stuart was able to pick up speed and the boys enjoyed sitting in the wagon passing other people.  We made it to our car in good time and headed home to end the late evening.  We were definitely happy with this celebration outing.

     We planned to watch Finding Dory on Sunday.  Logan initially said that he did not want to go to the theater and wanted to stay home with Stuart.  But after learning that Rohan would join us, he changed his mind.  On the drive there, Logan asked to sit next to Rohan and Connor wanted to sit with Logan.  We met up with Vrinda and Rohan at the theater.  Surprisingly the theater was relatively quiet on this Sunday afternoon.  We got popcorn and situated ourselves in good seats quickly afterward.  It was an adorable movie and we all enjoyed it.  Rohan and Vrinda came back to the house with us, so Rohan could play with the boys.  The three of them stayed quietly in the game room taking turns and playing XBox the whole time.  This was a fun afternoon for them.

    We bought a Monopoly card game for Logan’s birthday since the boys were into Monopoly board game.  Once we learned how to play this game, we have been addicted to it, and playing it most nights of the week.  As in with the traditional Monopoly, this card game is based on some luck, but it also requires some thinking and strategy, thus Stuart and I like it.  The boys are quite good with it and often win the game.

    Stuart mounted the new TV on the wall last week.  We had chosen the opposite wall of the room for the TV, therefore we had to rearrange some of the furniture and toys.  We are happy with where the TV is now.  We certainly need to do some decorating of the room one day too.