The Days Are Just Packed, to quote the title of a Calvin & Hobbes book I loved in college

It might appear we live inside a pinball machine on a day like this, but it was a good day.
From last swim lessons
(yay! Gabe's swimming now!)
and playtime in the water.
We saw this funny sight on our way out.
We went to see Carmen again at soccer camp
but I didn't see her much in action. Actually she seemed to prove herself early in the week, getting on a "good team" (they may group the kids by skill level, but I didn't see enough to know for sure). But what I saw was a less-aggressive Carmen than I usually see. I wondered if that's because David wasn't there for her to try to impress. She took to this coach (above) instead.
That's my girl. Covered in mud from squirting her water bottle on her dirty hands and face.
And then we have the girly girls in their princess hair!
Everyone sitting on the sidelines (all of the parents and siblings) thought Zoe & Maya were twins or at least siblings.
Nesha gave them these fancy hair-dos.
And then she brought the kids to the park to see us and let the kids play.
We were there for 3 hours so they eventually got hot and wanted to rest in the shade.

Maya and Zoe went running to see Carmen when she was finished with soccer.
Their long-lost cousin...
They played on the playground for a few minutes, but it was blasted hot in the sun, so the kids wanted to go on a nature walk.
We'd done this last year.
They stopped at another bench to pose together.
After we let them go down to check out the creek bed, it was time to turn around and head back toward home
(time for lunch and naps). Sorry, Nesha, you had to be in this one, since Paloma was whining about walking and you picked her up.

Later in the day, Gabriel was playing with some shape-sorter blocks when he said,
"Look, Mom, a mobile home!"
At about this point I was trying to blog or do something on the computer when Eva started smiling and cooing at me like this, and I thought,
How could I possibly do anything on the computer when she is talking to me like this? Which explains why I am so far behind on everything... I am trying to appreciate her and live in the now and make the most of our days together.
A little while later I heard and saw Carmen and Gabe giggling together over a book: Junie B. Jones, Aloha-ha-ha! I love that.

After naps it was time to take the kids to Gigi's so we could go to our yearly appointment with our financial advisor, Jeff. ("You're taking my picture?")

Afterward we went to get the kids. They were playing outside and Gabriel had drawn markings for lanes on the driveway and initials for each car: H for Hidy's car, G for Gigi's, and L for Lauren's.
Hidy took a turn with Eva (who had gone with us)
and we watched the kids play. P-Lo fell off this thing on her bottom while we watched
and Gabe whipped around on his scooter
while Maya and Zoe petted Eva.
After dinner I had one more event of the day: my VBS planning meeting
where the music group met to talk about the music, sign language, choreography, games, costumes and songs we'd sing in chapel.
That's Connie holding Eva... she went to that meeting with me, too.
I was a little sad that the rest of the kids were asleep by the time I got home.
I felt like I hadn't seen them much because of the two meetings.
(But good job, David!)