The funny thing about this watercolor that Tad created in art class?  He really didn’t enjoy the randomness of it.  According to his teacher, he really didn’t like the initial “drawing of the shapes” first phase.  But when it came to actually coloring it in with watercolors?

That, he did enjoy.  Abstract still isn’t his favorite art form, though.  Tad prefers his pictures to tell a story.

When the cousins are nearby, birthday parties are much more fun!  We got to celebrate Little Hawk’s 7th birthday this last weekend (seriously, I cannot believe that he is seven now), and he picked a dinosaur theme.

And when Auntie gets a theme, she goes all out on the cake.

Auntie even staged a “dino egg hunt” in the backyard for the kids, stuffing plastic Easter Eggs with little plastic dinosaurs.

The party was lots of fun, and Little Hawk got a ton of dinosaur stuff – and LEGO sets.  Because that’s what he loves!

So, Halloween is next week!  Yes, we are doing another group costume.  You would never be able to talk Tad out of dressing up to go trick-or-treating, even if he is taller than I am.  Which means that Ane goes along as well – not that she objects to getting candy, but she doesn’t feel the same drive to “dress” up.  But she is a good sport and goes along, mostly because we trick-or-treat in our own neighborhood (where everyone knows us), my parents’ neighbors (who also know us), and a few select other places (where we are also known).

Last year’s costumes were completely Ane-approved because she was warm and toasty.

We had a lot of fun with these Star Wars costumes!

And Tad’s costume is getting a second showing at the youth group costume party this weekend, which is more bang for my buck!

I finally made it to one of Ane’s swim meets, and it was the last one of the season.

Ane has worked really hard this season, shaving seconds off her best times on a consistent basis.  The team is still small and in a rebuilding phase, so while they didn’t win any meets, they put their best effort forward.

And of course, Ane is going to be spending plenty of time in the pool teaching swimming lessons, so I will still be doing swim laundry on a regular basis.