Weekend

Last weekend was one of little intentional plans, but ended up being quite full of fun. Along with our foray into bowling, Addie and I headed to the fourth birthday party of her pal Max.

Max, and his 1st grade big brother Jake, live a little over a mile away and are quintessential boys. They love basketball and football and polliwogs and dogs. They both are rough and tumble, but also incredibly sweet and fun loving. Addie and Max are about a month a part in age, and met through my exercise class when they were only a year old.

They shared strollers while us mommies ran laps. They play dolls and cars together and, before Nicholas, Max was her original prince. While they are not in the same classroom this year, they will be across the hall from each other at preschool and I am sure that I will get daily updates about Max when I pick her up from school.

I snapped this picture on Addie's 2nd birthday of the two playmates:

And this over the weekend celebrating Max's 4th birthday:

My how they've grown! They continue to be wonderful friends to each other and all night Saturday Andy and I were told time and time again how fun the party was at Max's.

Sunday was a lazish day - Andy made a delicious breakfast, we lounged around and drank coffee. Soccer was watched, naps were taken, books were read. Late in the afternoon we headed off to a church festival - a hallmark of summer in Cincinnati.

Church festivals here aren't picnics with potato sack races and egg tosses. No, church festivals in Cincinnati include beer tents, gambling, carnival games and ears of corn drowning in melted butter. One of the last festivals of the season is the St. Ignatius Fest, just a few miles from our house. Before Andy's volleyball game, and a scrumptious dinner of steak, potatoes and blueberry dump cake, we headed off to our first, and probably last, festival of the season.

With a stack of ride tickets provided by Gramma Patty, Addie and her cousins were in heaven. The spun on the twirling pumpkins, climbed the wizards castle multiple times, flew helicopters and airplanes and raced horses on the carousal. A perfect end to what was unplanned, but not lazy, family weekend

Helicopter pilots

Carousal races

The boys - Ry and Liam

Flying high above Cincinnati