Another One

She's been battling to get a tooth out for two days/nights.  She wiggles and wiggles it, but it won't come out.  It's hanging by a thread and bleeding.  Having me pull it is not a welcomed offer (thankfully in my book).  Her teacher and friends have also been offering advice.  Hopefully it's out today!

Girl's Night Out

Kevin worked another double shift, so Camden went home on the bus to GaGa's until I got off work.  As I was pulling up, Grandpa was leaving for golf.  Camden and I invited GaGa to join us for dinner.

We wanted to go to Under the Arch, but it was closed on Monday, so we ended up at the Big Berry. 

Nothing beats their burger and fries (or onion rings if you are Camden)

Above photos courtesy of Camden.  She and GaGa decided "Girl's Night Out" is the best.

Especially when it's topped off with pumpkin ice cream with a dab of whipped cream!

Kids Planet

We had plans to go to Conner Prairie because it was the Smithsonian's Free Museum Day.  But it was too hot for us to want to be outside for several hours.  We decided to check out a new place to us - Kid's Planet in Brownsburg.  It has an admission cost for Camden, but this huge indoor play place is quite incredible.  It is four stories tall and had many features that aren't on other indoor places.

There was a large ball pit where you could gather balls to shoot from several air cannons above.

I really liked the moon (or kinetic) sand area.  This stuff is so cool! 

There were several slides, a toddler area, trampoline, tunnels, and more.

After about an hour of play, we did hit the arcade (of course!).  The giant Pac-man screen was fun.

This place was a bit of a stickler - have to buy/wear their socks (but once you have them you can use them each time you go) and coupons have to be printed out not just on your phone (who requires that anymore...this is the digital age, geeshhh!).  But we will go there again - especially on those extra hot summer days or too cold winter days.

Phases of the Moon and Other Work

Last night was a busy, busy night in our house.  In addition to her daily 20 minutes of reading, spelling practice, and fluency reading, she had an extra credit science poster to do and a student council election speech to write.   Kevin worked an extra shift so it was just her and I...we grabbed some Culver's for dinner and got to work. 

I printed the moons and earth off the computer and made labels with the phase names.  We bought pre-made stencil letters.  She simply had to cut everything out and glue/stick them down.  Easy!  And it looks very neat.

For her speech, she told me what she wanted to say and I wrote it down on paper.  Then she transferred it to notecards and practiced a few times.  It is very sweet and she does a great job speaking.  Her dad got home this morning to hear her do it for him one time.

"I want to be on student council to help Riley Hospital make money to help the sick children.
I want to listen to my class and make the school better.
I want to stop bullying and people being mean to each other. 
So we will have a nice, happy school that helps others.
So CHOOSE ME for student council!"

She gives the speech to her class only and they will vote on who will represent them.  I believe it is 2 people per classroom.

The night was more full than normal, but she did wonderfully.  We took a break in between everything and she even got a nice long shower/bath.  So proud of her!

Student Council Elections

Camden has decided that she wants to run for student council.  This is for 4th-6th graders and is a great opportunity.  There are lots of kids running, so we will have to wait and see.  Our first item of business was to create a poster to hang at the school prior to elections.

I did the cutting, she did the gluing, printing, placement and pasting down.  I think it turned out great!

Tomorrow is her speech!

Moana Hawaii Party

Camden's favorite activity at Olivia's party was digging in the sand for treasure.  She had a baggie full of items we took home.

 

Most people dressed in Hawaiian shirts and a few grass skirts.  Leis were handed out.  But one friend had the best outfit.  She was the pig at the Luau.

Aunt Carole (who is Olivia's Grandma or Monna) helped make the cake.  It is the heart of Tafiti from the Moana movie.

Olivia sure loved it!

It was so nice to see our family and celebrate Olive.

Birthday Presents

Camden received her own birthday presents at Olivia's party.  Her cousin Joe and Amanda (and their 3) were not able to come to Camden's party in July, but still got her a gift.  She was beside herself with excitement. 

She literally had asked me to buy Hedbands at the store this weekend.  That these were both Pokemon was simply perfect.  Can't wait to play!

Hawaii

Our niece, Olivia, had her 4th birthday party on Sunday.  The theme was Hawaii and they asked us to wear Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts.  Turns out my mom/sister had kept the dress my mom and dad had brought home from their vacation in Hawaii when I was in first grade.  It fit Camden perfectly!

My sister wore the shirt my dad had worn.

Such a great, fond memory to see these...glad my mom is a "keeper" of special things.

Show Time

We are becoming regulars at the Crawfordsville Public Library.  It is nice to live closer to town.

At our stop this past weekend, Camden was hanging out in the play area while I went to pick out a book in the adult area.  While I was gone, a teenager came in with a young boy she was babysitting.  When I returned, Camden was putting on a show for him.

After Camden performed for him, he joined her to put on a show for the babysitter.

Dinosaurs were involved.

Forgotten Adventure

A few weekends ago, Camden asked to spend the night with Gramma Pat.  Gramma said yes, despite the fact that she was already taking care of another...her great grand-puppy.  Ree Ree's dog was also there for the weekend.  You can only imagine how excited Camden was.

Gramma did survive.

Fall Swimming

Another round of lessons at Wabash.

We love her teacher this year.  He is only a freshman, but is an excellent coach.  He is really pushing her and encouraging her.

We are still only working on freestyle and backstroke, but he is really helping her with breathing and kicking techniques.

Diving is also on the list.  Trying to build up her courage to dive off the blocks so that she can compete.

She did two that were hands first, but most of the time she chickens out and ends up jumping in.

It's Been a While

We hadn't visited the Children's Museum in almost 2 years.  We were due.

All of our favorites were still there...plus a few new things.

Ditzler's Orchard

We were on our way to Terre Haute on Saturday and I suggested we stop at a small orchard on our way.  Camden and I have stopped here a few times over the years, but hadn't been for a while.  Boy it has grown.  It used to be just a small store at a small orchard that you could purchase some apples.

Now it's a large store with a u-pick option.  There were only 3 varieties available, but it was nice to walk through the orchard.  It also isn't overly crowded so we could enjoy it without battling people.

We only picked enough for eating, but enjoyed the experience.

Migraines

We have an official diagnosis of migraines.  It was a short visit to our new Riley neurologist, but confirmation that it is classic migraines.

Most likely get a little worse and more frequent through puberty, but she will probably outgrow them. She recommend we try the top dose of Ibuprofen at onset, but also prescribed some migraine meds if this doesn't work.

Since it was lunch time and we were on 116th St. in Carmel, I decided to take her to my favorite sushi restaurant on 116th in Fishers.  She thought it was the best mom and daughter time.

I think she was just happy I didn't take her back to school for the afternoon.

This is Why

A garden was impossible this year...We counted 12!

Lazy Labor Day

Camden and I had a bit of a stomach bug through the night on Sunday.  She woke up fine, but I was still pretty iffy on Monday.  We lazed around the house on Monday morning while Kevin slept, but then headed out for a few errands and swim lessons (which eventually were cancelled because of pool chemical issues).

So lots of time around the house playing games.  Camden and I played Monopoly in the morning.  She lasted longer than I thought she would.  We all played cornhole and some fierce games of Guess Who.  Camden skunked her dad!  It was pretty hilarious to watch.

We grilled yummy steaks, along with asparagus and pan fried turnips.  So delicious!  Later in the evening, Camden and I wanted something sweet to eat, so we tried our hand at a microwave brownie in a mug.  Only took about 5 minutes from start to finish...perfect amount for us to share...and delicious!  We loved watching it puff up in the microwave.

It was a great, lazy day around the house together.