Last year Finn didn't have a birthday party with friends OR extended family due to Covid. This year we planned an outside party for him with friends, and then the morning of his party he woke up sick. SO, we rescheduled for after our road trip, and everything worked out great. He had a great time and got lots of cool Star Wars and Minecraft themed gifts, along with playing a version of capture the flag that took about 2 hours to organize and 30 minutes to play, haha.
Kellan was in a reeeeeeeally crabby mood and so I thought it would be funny to take some photos together. He was not amused.
Finn and his BFF of all time, my cousin's kid, Tomas.
Here are the girls hanging out in Cora's tent inside the back porch...
The last guest at the party, a kid named Liam who all the kids call "Potato Guy." I...got nothing.
Spring baseball started for Finn. He has a practice every Monday and a game every Thursday for 8 weeks. It's his first official time playing, so I was a bit worried he might be too old to start at age 10, but turns out all the kids are relatively bad and learning. So, win! He LOVES it and is so excited for this.
Here he is at bat in his first game...
They showed up to the first game, and turns out, my cousin was the coach of the opposing team (in green) and Finn's BFF Tomas was playing too!
Cora has also started spring soccer (well, really, just a 6 week soccer camp), and she also LIVES for this sport. I may have to sign her up for fall soccer as well, if this continues. (She is in the orange shirt here)
Jonas brought Finn and Kellan along last time to play at the playground while Cora practiced. It was HOT.
I took the three youngest to get their summer haircuts this past Friday. Kellan and Finn have to get cuts somewhat more regularly, but Cora only gets one cut a year: in the spring, where she gets a super short bob for summer. She detests having hair on her neck and shoulders when the weather is warm, and man do I feel that pain.
Cora's eyes are all the way to the left because she is trying to still watch the movie at Kids Hair while keeping her head in the asked-for position...
She LOVES this cut and the rainbow color hair she is allowed to get once a year, haha. It all washed out 2 hours later in the pool.
Little man here is the chattiest, friendliest little kid who every got a haircut. He makes up for what a haircut-terror Finn was at this age.
I also got a rather rare haircut for myself on Saturday, thanks to my birthday gift from Sue S! My stylist cut my hair dry this time, so she could better follow the curl patterns, so by the time she was done my hair was a bushy mess, but great volume and freed curls! Photo for posterity.
The pool is officially up and running! This past weekend was "season opener" at the Schaefer backyard. If we charged money for the neighbor kids to come, we'd be RICH by September. Kellan could barely contain himself as the pool slowly filled.
We get more use out of the trampoline year-round, and I really do love it, but man this pool. It's so so awesome. I love how it makes our backyard the Mecca of the neighborhood, so I'm not being asked to cart the kids all over for fun in the summer. But also for the great fun and exercise they get for hours and hours every day. Best large chunk of change spent in many a recent year!
Kellan is riding in his fire truck car. It has a working fire hose gun, so that's awesome, but Finn also has a fire truck boat with a working fire hose cannon. Cora has a unicorn. All the April birthdays get at least one new floatie a year to replace the popped ones from last season.
Kellan has been VERY into Spider Man lately.
Three of the "Four Musketeers" of the local girl gang...all live within one block of each other.
Rachel Sheild's oldest came over to hang out with Layla for a while, and then Layla went to her house to play basketball. They had a wonderful time. I'm so glad that the oldest daughters of two good friends can ALSO become good friends!
Jonas replaced the guts of a window a few weeks back. The boys were quite taken with the process.
Cora steals tomatoes. Especially cherry ones. She just can't help herself, it's true love, especially if there is any balsamic vinegar around.
