This month was a busy one, filled with parties, travel and new experiences. Flo's seventh birthday was on August 2nd, and we celebrated with a fairy themed party at home. She invited seven friends, and we did some crafts, played some games, ate some cake, and had an all around fun time. However, with all the planning that went into it on my part, I told Flo that she can only have a party every seven years. Ha!
On the 3rd, we headed into DC for Darren's annual work picnic. But, considering the temperature was around 103 degrees, most everyone opted out of the park activities and stayed at his work building. Flo went in earlier with Darren and spent some time with him, meeting the little daughter of one of Darren's co-workers, and having a grand time, until Joe and I arrived around lunchtime. So, it wasn't quite a picnic, but it turned out to be an enjoyable day, spent together.
We had a couple of animal discoveries this month, too. Firstly, my mom found a dead monarch butterfly and brought it to Flo in a container. So, we got out the butterfly book and read all about it. Then, much to her delight, a few days later, we actually saw a live monarch butterfly. Then, not long after that, Bruno (our dog) discovered a nest of baby rabbits in our back yard. I heard squealing coming from his vicinity and looked out to see him playing with something that, at first, I thought was a chipmunk or mouse, but turned out to be a baby rabbit. After some excavation, we discovered four more babies in a nest near our window well to the basement. We collected all the bunnies in a bucket, thinking we had to remove them from accessibility to Bruno. However, after some reading up on the subject, we realized the best thing we could do to ensure their survival was to put them back in their next and cover them the best we could, so the mother would come back. So, we did this, but this also meant keeping Bruno out of the back yard for over a week. That was a bit of a pain, but we managed, and it seems the mom came back, as wechecked on them occasionally and they seemed to be thriving. Then one day, they were gone…
On the 12th, the kids and I went into DC for the day, and eventually met up with Darren after he finished work in the evening. We must have walked ten miles that day. We started out down near Darren's work, and walked all over the city. We checked out a cool educational toy store called Tree Top Kids, which gave the kids a little break, before doing several more hours of walking. We walked by the National Cathedral, which is being rennovated, but is still rather an impressive, and made for a good backdrop for a picture of Flo. Starbucks stores are all over DC, and make for handy pitstops for a quick trip to the potty and a beverage. We brought out little "DC with Kids" booklet and read about various historical sites and tidbits of interest, as we past by, as well. We met up with Darren down in Georgetown at the Whole Foods store for dinner, before making the hour and a half drive home together.
Flo had her dental check-up this month, and was proud to have no cavities. I scheduled Joe for his first check-up, too, which he's excited about. One can never pay too much attention to dental hygeine…
On the 19th, we had our opening ceremony for our Spiral Scouts group, and celebrating Lughnasad or Lammas, the holiday that acknowledges the beginning of the harvest season. Thye played games, did some crafts and had a potluck afterwards. Flo had a great time, and Joe enjoyed the event, despite his disinterest in our reason for being there.
On the 21st, a fellow homeschool mom organized a "Sound of Music Workshop," giving the kids a chance to sings some of the songs and create their own little finger puppet play of the original. It was cute, and Flo especially loved creating the little stick puppets.
The rest of the month was predominately focused on getting ready for our trip to Boston for my cousin's wedding. It was a formal event, and it took us some time to shop for our attire and make sure we had everything we needed, as Flo & Joe were both asked to be in the wedding.
On the 28th, Flo got sick, and I was afraid it would make travelling very difficult, but she rallied quickly. We set off for Boston on the 30th, stopping in West Hartford, Connecticut, at yet another Whole Foods store for lunch, and taking a drive by our old house for a bit of nostalgia.
On the 31st was a pre-wedding gathering for friends and family at The Boston Harbor Hotel. The bride, Mina, is Indian, thus there was a henna artist on hand and Flo was thrilled to get a lovely design put on her hands. It was nice to see my cousins and family members I haven't seen in years, and for them to meet my children. The wedding day was an event, one which you'll have to wait until next month to hear about, as it actually took place in September, and this is August's entry. Stay tuned!