Today, we were all excited (well, maybe just Brandon and me) about Brandon’s invitation to his friend’s birthday party. He was going to participate in a laser tag type game. I think he was nervous, since he kept asking to leave, even well before it was time to go. We did a little work this morning, learning homophones and their spellings. They took off about 1115am for the 1145am party. Peyton and I just hung out, since she was tired. Though she didn’t really say she was tired, she kept asking me, even at 1030am, when naptime was 
First, she asked for lunch, then nap. So I fed her soon after the boys left. We read a book together, then she happily agreed to go upstairs to bed. Dave called while we were reading the book to tell me that only those with a laser were allowed inside. There were other parents inside, but he was invited to participate, so he stayed outside. I told him not to leave, but I was a little worried about Brandon being “unsupervised” inside. Dave said the laser gun was pretty heavy, so I was worried about Brandon’s behavior with it. I took a nap with Peyton, and shortly after 2pm, we both awoke, just minutes before Dave and Brandon got home. Brandon rushed up to tell me about it. He was excited, but told me he had negative points on the second of two games. OOps…that meant he got hit more than he hit someone. To be fair, his friend is at least 1, if not 2 years older than Brandon. I think the last time, Brandon said he was 8, so he may be turning 9? It’s someone from afterschool, and I’d not met him prior to this summer. The summer kids are pretty tight, since they are together all day long, so there were a bunch of other afterschool kids there, too. He had pizza, juice and cake (on Dad’s watch). He was told to take a rest while Peyton was nice and energized. We were headed out to see Jennifer and her family for dinner. We met up at the restaurant right ahead of Bond and his family. Kathy showed up along with the Kao’s shortly after. We sat at the table, and Mckayla shared her worksheets with Jesselyn and Peyton. Brandon and Ian, dubbed “The Brandon Whisperer”, sat together. They were so self-sufficient, Michelle commented that she didn’t even hear them! Jesselyn was a bit miffed that “Ian is only talking to Brandon!” but she did fine with the girls. More people arrived, and were seated at the other table. Before dinner, I’d told Brandon to be on his best behavior because my boss was going to be there. He said, “He must know a lot.” I asked him why he said that, and he said, “Since he’s your boss.” Haha…I’m sure he’d LOVE to hear that! He does have 4 kids of his own, so I know he knows lots about raising kids, especially boys, since he has 3 of them.
We cleared out the table when food arrived. I purposely kept Peyton a bit hungry, not feeding her after nap, so she’d sit still at the table. And sit still she did! She kept asking for more noodles, green beans, and even MEAT! She usually doesn’t eat a ton of meat, but this meat was saucy, so she enjoyed it. After dinner, the kids went back to the worksheets. When we had settled the tab, we headed out to try to take a group kid picture. “Try” being the operative word, but we did our best. After the photo op, we headed to get froyo down the street. We got there first and got the kids situated, along with securing seating for all of us. The kids got to eat dessert and then get a little bit of energy out as well. We stayed until it was almost dark, then took our cue to leave. We got home about 845pm, which is late for us, so fortunately, we’d already given the kids baths and they were already ready for bed after a tooth brush and floss.
Here are some of the photos taken! The kids had a great time.
Brandon’s first friend 
Group picture (L-R): Mckayla (4.5 yrs), Peyton (3.5 yrs), Brandon (6.5 yrs), Ian (10.5 yrs), Jayden (2 yrs), Kira (3.5 yrs), Jesselyn (6.5 yrs), Marcus (2.5 yrs), Andrew (almost 3).