First off we celebrated Ariel's official 7th birthday on the 14th. Its amazing that our first born is already 7... that seemed to happen so fast. She has had an amazing year and we are eager to see what this one brings our little social butterfly. She is so excited for school to start that she is driving us all a bit crazy. I guess its a good problem to have. I did a little look back at her over the past 7 years, such a cutie!
The weekend of her birthday we decided to take a trip down to Seattle for some outlet shopping as Ken needed some new work clothes and Ariel had money to spend at American Girl from her birthday. Ariel and I had a fun time having lunch in the bistro, getting her doll a new hair do (including a tiara which she was most excited about so the doll can be royalty like her)
During our flower pot pudding desserts, they sang happy birthday and gave her a candle.
Following our AG time we met up with the boys and got clothes for Ken. This was also our first trip down using our our Nexus cards. Can I say how much I enjoyed driving across both times at the border in minutes vs sitting in our car for over an hour. Worth every penny!!!
We had a chance to see Ken's cousin Bobby and his wife Kate when they came up briefly for a visit while on a vacation. All of us went to dinner in Vancouver and had a great visit. We don't get many of Ken's family in our neck of the woods so it was very special. Then a few days later Ken's Aunt Nancy, Uncle Bill and cousin Trevor were in town briefly as they boarded a cruise ship, due to schedules I couldn't get the kids downtown early for breakfast so Ken went and had a lovely visit.
Some other exciting things to share. We found a second hand bike for Ariel on the Ladner Swap page. Brand new, used twice for $50. Ariel was so excited, as her old bike was too small for her now. Every night Ken would take her to the park to practice riding it and she is now a pro... but had one minor setback one evening when she wore her flip flops and caught her toe. This resulted in lots of blood under the nail bed, and there was no way she was going to let me do the make a hole and drain it. So it looks like she may lose the nail and need to grow a new one, it feels loose, but we will find out soon enough what happens. Upon telling her what would happen she actually took it really well. Live and learn.
Ariel also got her royalty jacket! She was very excited to finally have it and wear it to events. We have a big pageant in October that she is practicing for. Its a broadway theme and she has an amazing new routine that is going to be so cool, but I can't share until afterwards as its a suprise.
The quilt and car show came to town again and our friend Tessa's Dad had a car both kids loved... wonder why eh? Xander felt like he was meeting a celebrity. He was totally amazed by it, and it makes up for the fact we won't be going to Disneyland this fall now. We need to wait as Xander is too short for the McQueen ride by 3 inches, so hoping next fall.
Ariel is starting grade one ballet this year, which means new shoes for class. She still uses her regular ballet ones but will start character work this year and needed the character shoes and skirt. We are hoping to get the character skirt at the swap but if not, Mommy will be sewing one. Can you tell how excited she is for heels! So she will be doing 2 ballet classes, in preparation for exams next year. This year she will take part in a 'presentation' which is like an exam but not as strict. Gives the girls a chance to experience what it will be like and what to expect.
Along with ballet she is doing 2 jazz classes, one is her competition group from last year and the other is a new competition group which is a mix of older girls and younger girls for a production number. Very exciting. Then finally she is adding lyrical this year, which she is most excited about. After getting our copy of the recital dvd from the spring, we really do see how much this is her gift. She shines on stage, and I am thankful we can let her grow in this.
Then it was time to celebrate our little man's birthday. He turned the big 4 and wow has he grown this past summer.
We are having his party with his friends soon but in the meantime we had a mini family celebration at Dad and Rita's. Xander got a new scooter, pretty excited I think.
Xander is also ready to go back to school. He has been doing lots with his letters and numbers this summer. He can now spell his name out loud which is awesome... and in his spare time he likes to try on dog Halloween costumes... yep that is our boy!
Speaking of Halloween costumes, the kids have decided what the theme is this year. I will say its actually easier for me, so that is a plus... so I will be starting those soon.
Yesterday we did a massive clean up in Xander's room, rearranged things and sold a bunch of toys on the swap page. Xander was very excited and loves the changes, which give him more room to play.
We are starting to look for a big boy bed for his room. He has said he doesn't want the car anymore, so I am trying to find something that would work well. Maybe a mates bed with the storage underneath. Either way, it will be fun to start looking. He is really growing up fast too these days.
So this week Ariel starts school and then next week Xander does, and activities start again. I will be taking some photos, not just phone ones, yep I have been lazy, but I was enjoying my time this summer vs trying to capture everything perfectly. I am excited for fall and cooler days. I have more to say but I need to get going so I will blog soon, bye!
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