157 months old

Britton has started 8th grade, and is adjusting well to her new classes.  She got library aide for an elective, and absolutely loves it!  She's also in art, instead of band this year.  She's got a ton of algebra homework every night, and is not so happy about that, but she's keeping up and understanding it quickly (unlike her mother).  She's also in National Junior Honor Society this year, and also on Student Council.  

Softball is starting back up this weekend!  That is, if the rain stops and actually allows the fields to dry out.  We've had rain all week, and I think we're going to be seeing a delay in the start of the fall season.  But Britton is excited to get back out there, and even after feeling not so great after her flu vaccine today, she still went out and practiced with the hubs.  

 Likes: softball, baking (she's made a marble bundt cake and sugar cookies this week!), having friends over

Dislikes: the local library's volunteering policy - high schoolers only (she has to volunteer for Honor Society, and really wanted to get her hours at our neighborhood library)

barrett: 111 months old

Here's Barrett in his Disney cruise captain's uniform!  He loves wearing it on cruises, and I think it mainly has to do with the fact that when he does wear it, everyone calls him "Captain."  Including the actual captain of the Disney Magic, Captain Robert, who we met at the captain's reception!

Barrett is gearing up for 4th grade!  He loves school, not so much the homework, and we find out on Monday who his teacher will be.  He's decided to play soccer this fall instead of baseball, and I'm fine with whatever he picks, so long as he's getting exercise and having fun.  He'll probably go back to the neighborhood weekly tennis lesson, which he stopped over the summer due to swim team commitments and our vacation schedules.  Barrett loves all things Lego, and got the International Space Station set in Copenhagen - he's completed about half of it!  He's also really interested in ships, especially cruise ships, and could recognize every cruise ships in ports before we could see the names.  

                                                   

                                                   

Likes: exploring all the new cities on our cruise, waving to people in the port with his giant Mickey hands

Dislikes: jet lag

13 years old!

Dude, we've got a TEENAGER!  We were on our northern Europe trip during Britton's birthday, so our fabulous Disney cruise folks helped us celebrate.  They delivered a cake at dinner, and sang to Britton!  Our room was decorated with birthday signs and banners too.  Britton's birthday fell on a sea day, so we didn't have any excursions or new towns to explore.  Instead, we spent the day on the ship watching the new Thor movie and trying out the hot tub in the family pool area.  

Britton is starting 8th grade this week, her final year in middle school.  She's in all KAP (pre-AP) classes, and decided to stop playing the clarinet and instead take art this year.  Softball starts up in a month, and she's moved from only playing outfield to also liking first base.  This will be Britton's third season of softball, and she while her middle school doesn't have a team, she's hoping to play in high school.  She loves listening to music, especially Broadway musicals - for her "big" birthday gift, we're seeing "Mean Girls" this week at the Hobby Center!  She's also discovered live music, and loves going to concerts as much as the hubs and I do.  Britton loves languages, and really wants to learn another one - it's deciding on one that's the hard part!  She's leaning towards Danish now - I think she was inspired on our cruise.

Likes:  her new purple lunchbox, peridot earrings Memaw and PawPaw gave her for her birthday - she's hasn't taken them off, snuggling with Nella the cat

Dislikes:  not having her schedule for school yet

barrett: 110 months old

We're into July already - where has the summer gone?!  I always run into the same conundrum every summer - enough activities and camps for the kids so I can work, but not too much that they feel like they never got free time to do nothing/play on an iPad all day.  Next week, Barrett is headed to drama camp, and is doing "RockstarTopia" and "Harry Potter."  Then he's off for a week, hanging out with Memaw and PawPaw, then we're on vacation!  Barrett is pretty excited about our upcoming cruise, and it'll be the first time both he and Britton go to Europe.  Definitely a bucket list trip!  Making it through a 10 hour flight will be a challenge for all of us, but I've promised they can watch as many movies as they like.  I'll try and sleep (now where's my travel pillow?).

We cooked some hot dogs for the 4th of July, but couldn't do any fireworks because it's been too dry in our area.  The kids were ho hum about going to see the fireworks show, so we played a 3 hour game of Monopoly.  Ugh, I cringe when they want to play Monopoly because the game.goes.on.FOREVER.  I finally start making "mistakes" and spend all my money so we can wrap it up!  But Barrett went all in, and he and the hubs were the last two players standing.  

  

Likes: Harry Potter series - we finally started reading them together, Air Force One he got in Roblox

Dislikes: this brutal summer heat

155 months old

Britton dyed her hair - well, half of it!  And for the first time, she did it all herself.  She did a great job, and got exactly half of her hair dyed red, just like she imagined.  We're all firmly in the middle of summer vacation, and Britton has always been inclined to dye her hair fun colors over the summer.  

Britton spent two weeks at sleepaway camp, and then a week at YMCA adventure camp.  She's also going to do a local theater production in a few weeks.  We're trying to maintain a balance between Britton having something interesting to engage in with wanting time off to just enjoy the goal of summer vacation - do whatever you want!  Swim team is over for the season, so we're striking that balance between sleeping in and getting things done.  And we're all gearing up for our trip in less than a month!  While we're looking forward to a big family trip, none of us are wishing away summer vacation.

 Likes:  snuggling with Nella the cat, experimenting with make up, painting Barrett's nails

Dislikes:  putting away laundry

barrett: 109 months old

Summer is in full swing!  Barrett is in his second week of tennis camp, and doing so well.  He won the return contest at the end of last week's camp - he returned 17 hits, the most of anyone at camp!  He's also doing swim practice every morning at 7:00 am, and just had his first swim meet of the season last night.  It lasted until midnight (ugh), and I really hope the rest won't be these 6 hour events!  The next one is Saturday, and I'm afraid it's going to dominate our entire day - and with temperatures topping 98 degrees this week, it's a long day in the sun.  Luckily, more of Barrett's summer camps (stop motion animation, Roblox development, and drama camp) are held indoors.

Ready for the swim meet (mom and dad are already tired)

Likes:  Roblox, hanging out with swim team friends, snow cones, anything airplanes

Dislikes:  backstroke and butterfly

                                    

154 months old

Britton is off to camp tomorrow!  She's really excited to go back, since the majority of the girls she bunked with last year are coming back for the same session.  She's signed up for jewelry making, leather works, piano, archery, pottery, and a host of other activities.  For the first time, horseback riding isn't mandatory, and Britton is relieved because she hasn't really enjoyed horseback riding.  I feel like the two weeks will fly by, and we'll be right back picking her up.  When Britton is away at camp, I like to take on a project for her room - she isn't there to complain that I'm messing up her room, and I can get done what desperately needs to be done.  Last year it was installing her bookcases.  This year, I'm cleaning out her closet!  I'm going to take all the clothes she never wears and put them in a box for 6 months - if she doesn't ask for them back, they are getting donated!  I also got a tower to put in her closet to hold her sweaters and sweatshirts - they take up way too much room being hung up.

Swimming is going well this year!  Britton's a natural swimmer (she didn't get it from her mother, let me tell you), and prefers freestyle over anything else.  She'll miss two swim meets while at camp, but she'll be back for the last two.  Unfortunately, missing meets means she won't be eligible for the Meet of Champs (she can't make up the point deficit), but she absolutely refuses to move her camp session because she already knows everyone in her session.  

Likes:  Nella the cat, missing two weeks of swim practice

Dislikes: packing for camp