among the pines | whimsy | swimming

Gwyneth attended Among the Pines camp again this year. We’ve had a girl scout at that camp for the past 3 years and I’m pretty certain we’ll keep signing up for a few years to come. It’s a pretty great camp and the girls have had such wonderful experiences. Annabelle took this year off, but after seeing all the fun that Gwyneth was having I think she was wishful that she had signed up again too.

It was a week long camp and Gwyneth came home worn out at the end of each day. During those days I had some special one on one time with Annabelle. We played and we worked and we certainly kept busy.

Gwyneth and her camp buddies:

One of the days Annabelle joined her friend, Karsen at Whimsy. They painted these grumpy cats. I love it and it’s hanging in their playroom in our basement. Annabelle nailed it – her cat sure does look grumpy!

We grabbed lunch at Hu Hot and the girls enjoyed some Smores for dessert.

Annabelle and Karsen played at our house while we waited for Miss G to arrive home. She was pretty tired after camp but agreed to go for a swim. On the way to our neighborhood pool I got an update that the pool was closed because of a poo accident. Yuck, yuck, yuck. We quickly changed our plan and headed to the indoor rec center pool. Turned out to be a lucky change because it started raining not long after we arrived.

More fun with the underwater photos:

painting and cupcake wars: gwyneth style

The girls are hooked on painting and crafts and have spent a lot of their summer time working on art projects. They attended a class at Whimsy this morning painting jellyfish. They love the freedom and the creativity and spending a few dollars on soda and snacks.

Gwyneth invited friends to the kitchen for a cupcake wars party. It was a full house and there were lots and lots of cupcakes. It was so great to see old friends, new friends, girl scout friends.

whimsy

I fulfilled two big summer requests today for my ladies. Art and basketball. Although I enjoy both, teaching them these skills does not come naturally to me (I can play a mean game of HORSE or PIG, but true basketball chops are not in my repertoire).

The girls went to Whimsy with their allowance carefully placed in their purses to buy themselves snacks. I love that they get up every morning and get themselves ready, clean their rooms and complete their chores. They earn a dollar a day for completing their entire chore chart. They don’t always earn their allowance (I’m pretty strict about those chores), but when they do, they are so excited to save that cash and spend it on special occasions likes treats at a painting class. Annabelle informed me that Skittles taste so much better when you buys them yourself and she is generous with her money and bought her sister extra treats too. I am proud of the character that we are developing and growing and nurturing this summer.

Each of the girls painted their very own giraffes and had a fabulous time!

After a busy morning of painting, Annabelle went to basketball camp. This was a four day camp at the high school near our house. It was run by the high school girls and their coach. Annabelle LOVED it. She thought the girls were so very, very cool and learned so much. It’s been fun watching her become so passionate about basketball and she’s working hard to master these new skills.

While Annabelle was at camp Gwyneth worked on her sharpie tie dye shirts. She has been quite obsessed with these too. She really does love all things artsy and crafty.

Annabelle was so tired after a busy day she barely had enough energy to finish up her shirt. That’s a lot of dots though…kinda makes me dizzy!