Vroom!

Pinewood Derby race...yay or nay?

I admit that I was a bit of a nay.  At first, I was excited at the idea, but that was gradually replaced with my go-to emotion of annoyance. I was annoyed that the block of wood sat untouched on Michael's desk for weeks, I grumbled at spending money on the extras like weights and graphite powder, and I was generally discontented about the entire idea. Okay, okay...I'm a jerk. Ya got me.

Actually attending the event? YAY!  I had a marvelous time cheering for the cars.  It was such a fun evening that I had some apologizin' to do at the end.  

Kitty designed her car all on her own and Michael made it come to life.  Complete with a cockpit so one of her Hatchimal friends could be the driver.  

Kitty didn't take home the prize but we sure had fun racing.  And she scored 2 ice cream sandwiches; much better than a ribbon.

3 cheers for the Pinewood Derby!

Bubba

When your niece literally lives all the way across the country, and you don't get to see her because the distance is so great, you should invite her to travel literally all the way across the country for a lengthy summer visit.  

Trust me, it will be great.

Sure, she and Kitty will have some intense arguments.  Sure, she and Kitty will fight over the remote control.  And the cat.  Sure, there will be homesickness tears.  

But - she and Kitty will chatter incessantly about tween-girl things.  And she and Kitty will laugh and sing together.  And she and Kitty will sleep in the same bed.  And she and Kitty will be best buds because they both want a sister close to their own age.  

Trust me, it will be great.

Bubba was a delight to have around.  She is pleasant, obeys quickly, has east-coast attitude, and filled our space with happiness.  And she loves the song, "deja vu" by Olivia Rodrigo.  Trust me.  We listened to it enough times to make my brain melt.

We did fun summertime things with Bubba around.  We even took her on our annual summertime trip to Idaho, where she celebrated her 10th birthday surrounded by cousins and grandparents.  It was wonderful.  

And then her mother wanted Bubba to come home.

What a chump.

In-dee-pen-dence Day

You know what I'm going to say.

During the week of the 4th of July, I only want to be in Idaho.  There's a whole feeling about being there for the holiday.

It's S'mores in my parent's backyard.

It's finding treasures in Grandma's playroom - like rollerskates.

It's a popsicle as long as your arm from Aunt Chris.

It's watching your cousin's baseball game and play, and spending time together.

It's Lava Hot Springs.

It's the Aquarium and the Bar J Wranglers.

It's my first bike ride with my siblings and niece.

It's the parade, the carnival in the park, and fireworks in the evening.

It's perfection.