Park

The babysitter has been talking the kids to the park a lot this summer. They went again yesterday, as evidenced by Tori’s dirty hands and face. It’s been a while since I have seen her that dirty. Lucky for me, she and Eli took a bath without complaint and stayed in there for over an hour. They played with bubbles and cars, pretending to be all kinds of things. Then, they got out and continued the games, running all over with sunglasses, purses, hats and cars. I even got a picture of Eli in Tori’s sequined pink hat.

 

PARTY!

Tori had a her 7th birthday party this past weekend.  She had 6 girls come to the party and 4 stayed the night.  They played games, jumped on the trampoline, watched a movie while camped in the living room and smashed a Barbie pinata.  They all seemed to have a good time and Tori did well not to get upset at anything.  There weren't any fights (except for fighting over who gets to hold the cats).  Sassy was smart and hid for the evening after the pack of hands came for her.  Junior was a little smarter and went outside to get away from them.  Poor Squeaker had to be the baby.  He was consistently put back into the baby bed and covered up.  He had a hard night.  The girls stayed up until 11 and were up and ready to go for donuts the next day.  Squeaker was once again the baby, but lucky for him everyone left by 10.  All in all Tori had a great party and she is excited for her next sleep over.  Here's a few scenes from her party.

Front Tooth Out

Tori has had a loose front tooth for quite a while now. It finally came out on Thursday morning. She was flipping it around with her tongue and Huts pulled it out. She has quite a large gap, and she looks so cute without a front tooth. Christian never had that large of a gap. She got a couple of dollars from the Tooth Fairy and is happy to have her tooth out.

Skyping

This week the kids are at their grandparents’ house in Kansas City, and we are staying in contact with them by skyping. Christian is the master. He gets it up and going every night around 6 and the kids tell us all about what they are doing in KC. While Christian knows how to work it, Tori is the one who takes over the talking. She bumps the boys out of the way, sticks her face on the screen and starts chatting about any and everything!

She is very excited to be there, spending time with her cousins and aunts and uncles. She is so excited she can barely stand still. Usually she skips around, leaving us with glimpses of her face! What a silly girl!

Second Grader

Tori is now a second grader and is looking forward to having a woman for a teacher. She hopes for Mrs. Evans. We’ll see. Christian has Mrs. Evans and loved her.

Tori can’t wait for the trip this weekend. She wants to see my farm. I keep telling her there is nothing there but land, but she has to see it for herself. She wants to see the shed with the tree growing up through it. Hilarious.

Tori is also looking forward to time at Grandma and Grandpa’s. She is also taking some money to spend at the aquarium if permitted. She will have a ball there and will no doubt come back tired. She also has a week of summer camp when she returns, plus another week in July. Lucky girl!

Green With Envy

Tori turns 7 next month and she cannot wait. She wants the whole kit and caboodle, a backyard party with games and a movie and a slumber party afterwards inside. Huts and I think we were tired from this weekend…Anyway, she got a bit upset when Christian’s turn for a sleepover came this weekend. She started off the party all misty-eyed until we told her to straighten up and fly right. With the threat of having to go to bed early hanging over her head, she got her act together and played some by herself and some with the boys. I let her sleep in the living room with the boys, but on the couch. She, too, was al l ready for bed come Sunday night. She actually cheered when we told her it was time for bed.

Next weekend, Christian has a scout campout. Tori and Eli are staying home with me, and we’re having our own little campout indoors. Wish me luck. The green-eyed monster will probably take hold of Tori then too. Hopefully, she behaves tomorrow on her field trip to Wildlife Prairie Park.

Looking Forward to Grandma's

I have to do one last thing to settle my grandmother’s estate, and since we are traveling to and from St. Louis anyway, we thought we would ask Marie if she wanted the kids for a week. She does, and Tori, of course, was the first one to sign up! She has no qualms about going to Grandma’s, even if she had to go alone. Lucky for her, Christian has decided to come. He is looking forward to Legoland, while Tori can’t wait to see the aquarium. We are sending their birthday money with them so they can shop. As for Eli, the jury is still out. He says he is going but gets a little anxious when we tell him we won’t be there.

Speaking of birthdays, Tori has been planning her sleepover for months now. She has got all kinds of things in her little head as to what everyone can do. Christian, on the other hand, could care less. He did not want a party, just the kid next door to sleep over, until a few days ago. He decided he wanted a party/sleepover, and Huts and I have been hopping to get it together. We just sent out the invitations today—keep your fingers crossed that at least one kid can come!

In!

This week is Spirit Week at Charter Oak, and Tori is living it up. Monday, she wore a Hawaiian shirt for Hawaiian Day, Tuesday she wore a hat for Hat Day, Wednesday she wore totally mismatched attire for Fashion Disaster Day. Thursday she dressed like a teacher for Career Day and Friday she wore spirit wear for Spirit Day. She is having a ball! The week concludes on Friday with the carnival. Hopefully, Tori can last that long!

On another note, we have a play date next weekend with friends and their grand kids, and Tori is over the moon! She cannot wait to play with Jacey and has been asking me why it couldn’t happen sooner. She told me this morning she would have to play with her dolls this weekend to take her mind off the fun next weekend. She is such a hoot!

54 Lalaloopsy Dolls

Tori got a lot for Easter, another Monster High doll, plus a ton of mini LalLaLoopsy dolls. She now has every mini LaLa made, minus three holiday editions. The only thing left that she wants it a LaLa blanket for her birthday—Angry Birds blanket envy. Christian got a blanket, and now she wants one.

Tori played with Christian and his friend, Matthew, most of the weekend. She also went to see “Mirror, Mirror.” She colored and hunted eggs as well and helped me toss them into the gully for the raccoons to eat. She practiced more on her bike riding. She has got it down pat, minus the turning and getting herself off. She is working on that now, and you should see her, flying down the parking lot with the wind whipping through her hair and a big smile on her face. Eli ran into her and they crashed, but other than that, she has been doing well!

And She's Off

Unlike her brother, Tori is all excited about learning how to ride a bike. She has practiced considerably more and is about to get there. That’s our Tori girl. She tries, tries and tries again, giving it her all until she finally gets it. For two weeks now, she has been taking an advanced reading test every day in order to catch up and meet her goal. She has four tests this week, and if she meets her goal, we have told her she can have a little something. She is excited and ready to get her tests taken this week. She is also working hard on learning her spelling words. Every week, we practice and practice and practice some more. She is getting better at learning the words quickly. I admire her tenacity. Her kindergarten teachers used to tell us that they never worried about Tori because they knew she was going to get it, and they are right.

Sweet

Tori went to her brother’s scout banquet, and unlike her younger brother, she was sweet. She watched everything, asked some questions and told us she had a good time. She never fussed once, not even when it got boring or when the boys got to do things she couldn’t. She was a doll!

On another note, Tori has decided to try swim class again. She is also working hard to get all of her spelling words right this week. She is determined!

Valentine's Day Meltdown

Huts ran the party in Christian’s classroom this year, while I ran the one in Tori’s. Tori was happy to see me, but wouldn’t you know it, she was the last one to get a cupcake, and there were no more left with pink icing. The tears begin to flow from there, and it took some finagling to get her in a better mood. I had to remind her that she needed to help show her classmates how to make the monkey bookmarks. Eventually, she cheered up and everyone had a good time after that.

Did Tori love the waterpark last weekend? Absolutely! She was the last one out every time. Her poor little eyes were bloodshot from all of the chlorine, but she kept going and going. She also had a great time on the rides, one in particular that took her up high. I thought she was going to try the really scary ride that shifted you high in the air, around and around in circles. She thought about it but backed out at the last minute. Maybe next year.

Next week, Tori is showcasing her Lalaloopsy collection at school for an hour. I typed up a list of the doll names, and this weekend, we are deciding how many she is going to show. She has over 40 minis and 6 regular-sized dolls, not to mention all of the houses, cars, etc. There is a cultural theme this year, and the dolls work for that, as they are of different races and cultures. Wish us luck!

Shy GlobeTrotter Fan

Tori wasn't sure what to make of going to the Globetrotter's game.  Like Christian, she didn't know much about them either.  She liked the show, but her favorite part was half-time when local dancers came out and did flips, hula-hoops and tumbling.  When I asked her after we got home if she wanted to take a class to learn how to do that, she said no.  She's just as shy as her brother.


This was demonstrated the most during the game.  Flight Time came and wanted to sit by her.  At first she didn't scoot over and he almost sat on her, but I pulled her over in time so he could sit between her and the kid next to her (seen here - Best viewed as an image download).  Flight Time asked her name, she didn't answer, so I told him as Tori leaned farther away from him.  A few seconds later he asked if she could help him!  Tori could be part of the show!  What kid wouldn't want that?  Tori is that kid.  She said no, so Flight Time moved on down the aisle to another girl.  After Flight Time and the girls segment was over, I asked Tori if she wished she had done it and she still said no.  She could've skipped with them, gotten a ball and had them spin the basketball on her finger.  The little girl also ended up in the paper, but none of that mattered to Tori.  She was happy not participating.  


Like her brother Tori talked about the game for 2 days.  They talked the Before Care's supervisor's ears off.  It seems like it was a good experience all around and next time, I'm sure they'll enjoy it more.

Improving In So Many Ways

Tori is the Student of the Week this week. We found out before break, so it wasn’t much of a surprise. What is surprising is her vast improvement in skills. Her handwriting has improved tremendously, and she is catching on to her spelling words much faster. She is reading better, too, and she is now doing a lot of her homework on her own. By the time second grade rolls around, she should be much more self-sufficient as far as homework goes.