Raia's birthday

I just got back from a long weekend away, but before I write about that, I wanted to record Raia's eighth birthday. She turned eight on Friday.

We started the day off with a lovely surprise: Bogdan's butterfly came out of its chrysalis!

Then, while I was making...

...birthday pancakes...

...Bogdan started yelling "butterfly, chrysalis, butterfly, chrysalis!" I kept nodding and agreeing, but then I noticed he was pointing in a different direction. There was another one!

After breakfast and butterflies, we set out for the beach. We had lots of fun in the water and sand, followed by a yummy picnic.

After the beach, everyone rested a little, and then we went to the grand reopening of the little store near us. Their special day just happened to be on Raia's birthday, and they were offering free ice cream and games and prizes. We had fun there, and then came back home for...

...tea and games with Vera.

And that was how our day of celebrating Raia ended. Happy birthday, Raia!