Final Pre-preschool Fun with Friends

Before our week filled with preschool excitement, we celebrated our "end of summer vacation" by inviting three friends, and their children, over for a lunch playdate Tuesday.

Here are the four "big" girls - Mackenzie, Cora, Ella (front) and Maya. We've all known each other through Gymboree and/or Stroller Strides since the girls were tiny. No surprise, the girls all enjoyed dressing up and pretending to be fairies. And, running around screaming, waving their fairy wings/arms, pretending the younger brothers were grasshoppers.

It was way too hot to eat outside, so we took turns eating around the table. The kids got the first crack at our lunch of barbecue chicken salad (thanks, Stone Fire!) and macaroni (thanks, Juliana!). Sitting next to Cora is Mackenzie's little brother, Luke.
Ella's brother Jacob loved Cora's horse, while Maya's sister Natalia had fun on the bike. Both enjoyed playing with the kitties, too, before it got too loud and they escaped to the bedroom.

You can tell Ella is a great big sister! She was so good with Violet, helping her play with the toys.
A group shot of the mommy friends - Jen, Juliana, me and Jaimie. Mackenzie took this one...
...leading Cora to want to use my "big" camera too, so she took this cute shot of me and Violet.

We had a great day! You might think it would be a lot of work having eight children in the house, but their moms were all so helpful, cleaning up after lunch and playtime, my house was no worse for the wear. We'll have to do it again soon.