Relaxing

We've been taking it fairly easy the last couple of days - just little outings here or there to keep the kids active.  I've been reading through the stack of books I bought from the Bible conference.

Tomorrow is Nelya's birthday, so we picked up a few little things to create a party-like atmosphere.  At a party store we found a "Happy Birthday" button with confetti and ribbons, and today we bought a box of really nice assorted cupcakes.  We'll just be eating at a little restaurant with a playground for the celebration.

Last night I ended up giving Nelya a couple of her gifts early - a beautiful doll stroller from Pottery Barn Kids (from Lolo & Lola) and a lovely green-eyed Cabbage Patch Kid (from Chris, Carol, Mark, and me).  This was mostly in an attempt to fend off fighting between her and Taylor over toys.  It helped quite a bit, until the kids all got really tired and Taylor was snatching toys from everyone.

I also brought a couple little gifts for Leisan, to ease the jealousy over Nelya's birthday.  She went crazy over the Highlights magazine from Lolo & Lola, and was really excited about a Barbie Target gift card (i.e. a play credit card) I gave her that doesn't actually have a balance on it.

Leisan celebrated Deepavali (an Indian holiday) at school yesterday, which involved everyone dressing in traditional Indian clothing - including bindis.  Here are a few photos of the celebration and areas around her school:

Rice art

Leisan in her classroom

Cathe, Taylor, Nelya, and Andrea outside the school

The little girls enjoy the playground inside