Fortunately, she is still the sweet girl we know and love even with her increased responsibilities. She has earned the right to stay at the house by herself for short periods of time and even "babysits" her siblings on some of those occasions. Honestly, she's more fun than I am, planning out crafts and activities for her brother and sister.
Elsa continues to do well in school, managing multiple teachers and different classes. Not only has she continued in chorus, she also performs in the recorder ensemble. This means four early mornings a week, which has proven to be a good motivator to get out of the house. (Thankfully, Lena likes to tag along and hang out in the library.) Her school has added both a climbing wall and a climbing club as well, which is perfect for our spider monkey. Watching her in action during their monthly climbing gym meet-ups is impressive. Between those school activities, ballet, and basketball, Elsa is one busy girl!
Not too busy for a fun birthday celebration, however. May 10th fell on a Friday this year, so after a week of ballet, chorus, and recorder performances, it was time to shift our focus to partying. In fact, her morning started with an end-of-the-year chorus/recorder party at which the birthday girl was serenaded by her fellow musicians.
We were able to squeeze in a call from Grandma and the customary socks-underwear-book combo (this is the year for Anne of Green Gables!), saving the rest of the birthday activities for the afternoon and evening.
 |
| So glamourous |
Elsa chose to have a sleepover again, and as a part of the party, I took Elsa and her friends to the AMUSE Adventure Museum. AMUSE is kind of like an escape room, but rather than one room to solve puzzles in, there are a number of rooms with different puzzles and challenges. Your admission is for a certain amount of time, so once you are inside, you can try as many games as you want, as many times as you want. The girls were so excited that I had a hard time just keeping up with them, let alone trying to play the games with them. Needless to say, we all had a blast.
The whole family enjoyed an 11-shaped chocolate cake (my easiest creation yet) before the regular sleepover shenanigans ensued. We are fortunate that Elsa has chosen some sweet friends, so besides staying up too late, there were no parental complaints.
The rest of Elsa's birthday weekend was spent preparing for the big DC trip (with Mother's Day thrown in there as well), but we did get to enjoy some freshly baked cookies delivered straight to our door as we sat on the porch opening presents and watching an impromptu (to us) movie at the park. Not a bad way to celebrate turning eleven!
 |
| It's not every day giant cookies get delivered to your door |
No comments:
Post a Comment