Summer Fun

This year has been extremely busy and summer shows no signs of slowing down.  June found us in Montana and August will find us in Oregon.  But this didn't leave July as an inactive month, as we recently enjoyed some house guests.

The Eastman’s (Chris, Jillian, Reina, and now Kaiya) recently made their annual return trip to the states from Japan. It’s always the perfect time to catch up and have fun when they visit. Sydney and Reina are only weeks apart in age, so their interests are pretty similar. They also tend to Skype every few weeks, so having her actually here (in person) is quite exciting for Sydney.

For lodging purposes, the two girls elected to sleep in tents in Sydney’s room. No one really knew what to expect from that. After they were put to bed the first night we were curious if they were actually sleeping. If you listened closely, you could hear two little high-pitched voices talking about whatever it was they were discussing. It was the 3-year old version of the slumber party. Bed time for most of the nights after that evolved into a marathon of requests, questions, and other excuses to be out of bed…I need to go to the bathroom…I need a drink of water…I need to be covered up…I’m too hot…I’m too cold. In the scheme of things it wasn’t too bad, but it was entertaining to see the dynamic of two 3-year olds and the logic they employed.

This trip also gave Sydney a taste of (and a little practice for) being a big sister. Kaiya gave Sydney the chance to experience what it would be like to have a baby in the house. Overall I thought she did well when she interacted with her, but obviously her attention was primarily on her peer.

The 4th of July also provided an opportunity for the girls to celebrate, eat good food, and use sparklers. They both approached it very differently but had fun and asked to do more.

In the next post I'll share one of Sydney's new endeavors.  I'll give you a hint, she's joined a team sport.  It also happens to be the best sport on the planet!  Stay tuned...

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

 Year 4

The girls having fun at the park!