Thursday and Saturday

Thursday afternoon we watched Parker's team beat Centralia.  They made a few mistakes but still managed to win by 20.

Thursday night we watched Auna's team beat Stevenson.  Papa did lines.  This morning we watched Auna and the Rockets play in the Mark Morris tournament.  We came home at noon to watch the start of Gonzaga vs. San Diego,

 we watched the first set then went to the RV Park where Rielee was participating in the Lil' Squatches Fun Run. 

She had a great time, got very muddy

 and ended up running it 6 times total, it was so much fun. 
We hurried home and I watched the rest of Macee's match, she was playing DS,  it was an exciting  but they lost in 5.  Papa headed back to watch the rest of the MM tournament, CR played well and tied for 3rd place.

This evening we went to Papa Pete's for James' 17th birthday party.  It was fun visiting with everyone. 

Mermaids

After their bath tonight the girls were being silly and had their pajama bottoms on with both legs in one pant leg so they could be mermaids.  Rielee came over and played with them after school, then stayed for dinner since we were having corn on the cob and blueberry muffins, she loves both, as does Ava, Harper doesn't like corn on the cob, but will eat it off the cob.

Rielee soccer/Emmy's birthday

Rielee scored a goal early in her game tonight and then asked her coach if she could be the goalie.  It was a boring time for her, with no action near the goal.  Just before halftime she yelled to her coach in frustration "I haven't got to kick the ball once!"  She got no sympathy, he answered "Hey, you asked to play there!"  They won 4-1.

Emmy's birthday is actually tomorrow, but with conflicting schedules, the only time she had to celebrate was tonight after Auna's volleyball game.  Laury made her apple pie instead of cake. Emmy got the funniest card ever from Sam (the dog) that said

 "Happy Birthday! Hope no one else got you a stick!"- so fitting since Sam is the most obsessed stick-chasing/chewing dog in the world. 

I can't believe our little Emmy Dolan is 23, honestly it just seems like yesterday that she was born. 

Rielee sewing

Since Rielee is taking sewing classes, I thought she should sew the curtains for her clubhouse.  We went to Joann's for fabric, then to Home Depot for some floor tile.  She picked out the tile and we got a curtain rod also.  I let her do the scanning at Self-Checkout.  The clerk monitoring the registers got a kick out of her when she scanned the curtain rod 3 times, then it fell over in the sack and scanned again!  When we got home we started right in on the curtains, she knew how to thread the machine and all the basics, even what a seam-ripper was, good thing, cause we used it a couple of times. I lined things out and she did all the sewing and did really well.  She got Papa over to the clubhouse to put up the curtain rod and I helped her finish up the painting that she and Mom started yesterday.  Her clubhouse is a nice peach color, she loves it and was really happy with her curtains.

Bridget's party

I took Rielee, Ava and Harper to Bridget's 4th birthday party today.  She had a "Frozen" themed party.  There were lots of cousins there and the kids had a great time.

Harper just had to try out Tor's truck before we left, although she was way too big for it.  Fortunately, Tor didn't seem to mind.

Luke football/Auna volleyball

 We watched Luke's team play at Liberty Middle School in Camas this afternoon.  Luke is #6 in gold.  He played great on special teams and defense and recovered a fumble.

 We had been there for awhile when we heard Harper and Ava running crazily towards us.  They had been sitting with Mom at the other end of the field.  They livened up the whole area playing with another little girl,  just being their silly selves.

 Luke lining up for yet another kick-off, they were ahead by a bunch and pretty relaxed at this point.  One thing I noticed about Luke-he is always talking to and encouraging his teammates when he's off the field.

It was a funny coincidence that Auna's team was playing Seton Catholic tonight at the same school where Luke played (Seton Catholic doesn't have athletic facilities of their own).  Being in Camas made it convenient for Auna's Grandma Mary and Aunt Susan to come and watch her play,  Emmy and Dan didn't have to travel far either.

Auna got a great swing on the ball for this kill.  They won the first two sets, then lost 2, but came back strong and won the 5th. 

Playing in the car

I went out to check on the girls this afternoon and could hear them but didn't see them, then I noticed some movement in the car and was surprised to find Ava sitting in the driver's seat.  She was waiting for Harper and Rielee to join her to go for a ride.  They were all dressed up, with heels on and had their purses, too. 

They played out there for the longest time, going from one car to the other, pretending to go on dates and taking their babies on trips.  Lots of fun.

Auna volleyball

Tonight we watched Auna play her first home varsity match.  Emmy called lines.  Auna is definitely following in Emmy's footsteps, she had 11 kills and 13 digs as they beat Onalaska 3-1.

Auna, CR Class of 2018 and Emmy, CR Class of 2009

Picnic and baby water slide

 Ava and Harper had a little tea party picnic today,

and later Rielee made a water slide for "baby" Harper.  Rielee and Ava had to try it, too.  They had a great time in the sand box and then came inside and made forts inside using every blanket we own.

a day of not-so-good pictures

Harper had a birthday party for Kitty Cat today (that's Rielee holding Kitty).  She made the cake out of Play Doh.  We sang Happy Birthday twice because Parker blew out the candles instead of Kitty, and Harper wasn't going for that.

We woke up this morning and decided it would be nice to see the twins, since it would be 6 days before we saw them again. Six long, quiet days. Fortunately, they weren't doing anything and got to come and spend the night.  Yes!  A fix of noise and chaos, dress-up and shows, scootering and a messy baking session, just what we needed. 

 The girls, that's Ellie, Rielee's friend on the left, posed in front of the Clubhouse, Rielee with her eyes closed.  Gabe finally got rid of the bees nest that was keeping her from setting things up.  The old tree house needs some work to make it fit for girls to use, but she got her sign hung up and desk moved in and took out Parker's old one.  She also got Papa started on some stairs and made Sam an "Official Watch Dog of Rielee's Club House" I.D. badge, too.

We got a visit from the entire Dolan family tonight.  They were all watching football and I'm not sure what Emmy was explaining to Parker.  Harper was showing Dan a game she was playing.

Car ride/James football

 Harper brought Kitty Cat along this morning for the ride to school.  The girls were thrown off by the long car ride and kept asking if we were there yet.  It was fun having them spend the night, they were so good, went to bed easily and got up happy. 

James, #14, waiting for a play from the coach during his game tonight against Columbia River.  James played a good game but Mark Morris came up short.  Parker went with us, we sat by Michelle, Mik, Alan and Vera and had fun cheering for James.



Little fashionistas

We picked the twins up from school today, they have early release on Wednesdays.  They had lots of time to play outside with Rielee, then she came over after dinner and watched the end of  "Barbie, A Fashion Fairytale" movie with them.  They had just delivered some cookies to the Dolans and were saying good-bye to Rielee in the driveway when she told them to strike a "fashion pose" for a picture.

Lexi's volleyball

Harper and Daddy before the start of Lexi's match at Prairie High School.

Of course Lexi was on the other side of the court when I was taking a picture, so it isn't very clear.  The Titans lost the first two sets but came back strong and won the match.  Fun to watch.

Luke showing me how cute he looks with braces!

Scooters, football and volleyball

Thursday-Ava and Harper came up to spend the night since they only went to school on Wednesday this week.  Papa broke down and bought another scooter for them, we messed up only buying one at Costco, they are twice the price everywhere else.  They were begging to go out and ride even before they had a bath and made several trips over to Laury's and to Rielee's house.  Harper is fearless and could use full body armor on the hills, she goes so fast.  Ava is more reserved, she walks hers part of the way down.
 

We went to Parker's first football game in the evening, a win over Mark Morris.  He did a nice job with all the kicking and played tight end and linebacker. 

Rielee wasn't there but her cousin Isaac was, so they hung out and shared the electronics with him.

Friday we headed to Spokane to watch the Gonzaga Invitational.  They beat Grand Canyon in 4, Macee started as libero and had some great digs.

Last day of summer vacation

Harper, Ava, and Rielee made the most of their last day together before school starts.  This morning Rielee presented the girls with I.D. badges for her new Club ( Parker's old treehouse is now her Clubhouse).  They were thrilled (well, Harper wasn't quite sure if she wanted to be a vice-president at first, but she warmed up to the idea) and wore them all day.  Their first official meeting consisted of a scavenger hunt, they had to find and either bring me or take a picture of 20 items in the neighborhood.  They completed it and each got a prize.  Rielee got a Whoopee cushion, which provided a good hour of laughter and silliness.  We also made cinnamon rolls,

 they made feather bird pictures,

ran races, and practiced their cartwheels. 

 

Tomorrow Ava and Harper start Kindergarten full-time and I have Grandma-style empty nest syndrome X 2.  Papa and I are both full of emotions.

We'll miss seeing them every day.  Of course we don't want them to stay little forever, but it's been such a fun time!  We're proud of how they've grown, from preemies to smart, strong, happy little girls, full of personality-they'll do great in school.  We're grateful for the opportunity to have had them in our lives on a daily basis these past years.  Twins are so unique, to be able to experience their development and see their bond grow-it's been a blessing and brought us daily doses of joy.

   The journey doesn't end here though.  We'll be around them, along with the rest of the grandkids, nieces and nephews, as much as we can, whenever we can-with never-ending love and support.  Bring on the fall sports...