Maddie's First Swim Meet (Aley Pool)

How can parents be more proud of a little girl who is scared to death to compete in something she just started, but does it anyway? Oh this Maddie girl is brave! Today she had her first competitive swim meet and College Hill has a huge team that just rocks. They all wore these bright orange caps and were so awesome! Maddie competed in 3 races today, all for the girls 8 and younger.
Friends were there who also swim so that makes it even more fun. Vivian and Annabel on the left are daughters of my friend Kate and behind Maddie is Madi Malone.
This is her first race. She swam the breast stroke. She does not quite have her legs and arms in sink so she uses a ton of energy to get down the lane. But she is beginning to feel it.
This is her second race and she swam butterfly. It was her choice as to what strokes to swim and she chose the two hardest ones. But her dive is looking pretty good! She just has to get down a little deeper and push off from the side more.
Here she is with Ben, from school and who lives down the street. This is his second year so he placed in all of his races. However, he was mostly interested in getting Maddie to "go long" so she could catch the ball he was throwing...

This is her final relay race. They swam a 100, so each girl had one length to do. Her team was really far ahead as you can see the other girl not even to the turnaround.Here she is finishing first in the relay! She thought she was so far behind that she actually took off again and swam to the other end. She had no idea she had won! That was a perfect way to finish. All of our kids placed in at least one race today so everyone felt great. It was really exciting.

Ella's First Haircut & more Summer Fun

We were back to the salon this week so the girls could get their hair trimmed before our trip to Houston in a couple of weeks. Ella has been getting heat rash or some reaction to pool water or something, so I really thought it was time to get her hair cut considering I cannot keep ponytails in for longer than an hour. So here they are getting a wash and cut.

Earlier, we had gone to gymnastics class then straight to Maddie's swim team practice. While Maddie swims the little girls play at the park. It rained alot the night before so there were puddles in the sand. Both little girls had on dresses. First, Hannah put her feet in the puddles and they were having fun. Within 10 minutes they were both tummy down in the puddles, completely soaked with dirt and sand in every crevice!

Luckily we were at the pool so I asked them to use the showers and I hosed the girls down and being the prepared mother I am, I had extra outfits in the van. Maddie said, while we were getting gas, that people might think we were "traveling" from all of the stuff we had in the van... no sweat for me, I once went on a Spring Break vacation with no place to stay, I know how to shower in public bathrooms and change in the car! I also don't mind sleeping on beaches, but I have not forced that upon my children...yet!

So here is Ella, with a new "do." She was really happy to get it short, she was running around yelling how she felt free and could fly! The stylist bought her some m&m's to bribe her keep still, I think it worked well. In the mean time, I had Maddie getting a trim and a few layers and Hannah getting hers trimmed.
Charlotte, our neighbor, was also with us and she said she wanted to get her hair cut too. Her mom had dropped her off while we were at the park earlier and she does not have a cell phone so we tracked her dad down at work to ask permission. Charlotte had not cut her hair for years, sot his was a very big deal.Maddie is also having a few more girls join her at Hula class. Charlotte is one of them, because I can just get her in the car with us without having to drive to get her. But the two other little girls are part Hawaiian also. Their grandmother is native, I wondered what took them so long to get there! They said they just didn't know the class existed. So that is exciting to get to meet more Hawaiian people in town. I can't wait for the next show.





Maddie and Hannah are doing great in gymnastics. Since swim team has begun, Maddie is not quite as excited about gymnastics, but it is good for her. Helps her move her body!

This is the LOVE sculpture at WSU. I have been wanting to get a picture with the girls on it, I think I will plan someday to have cute outfits on and get a really good picture.
I had to include this picture of Aly giving Maddie her birthday present. It was so funny, she made a gift bag full of books and a necklace and bracelet and it had candy in a little plastic dish in the bottom. Maddie loved it all but when Aly was describing each thing, she said that the candy was all the ones that she did not like, so she thought she would pass it on! Look at her smile as she told her!

This is Maddie's first night of swim team. We went at 8pm and she was kindof nervous in the beginning. There were lots of teenagers and only 4 kids under 10. The coach said not to worry if they didn't understand what she was talking about in the beginning, and that they would catch on. Then she says...OK...swim at 350! Hello! 350? That is like 20 laps or something! And of course, Maddie is like "what's a 350?"

So the kids started diving in like turtles going back to sea and there was Maddie...she dove in like she had done it before!!! And proceeded to start swimming laps. For an hour they swam and I was so proud of her. She didn't quit or cry and considering she just learned how to swim 25 yard continuously in her last swim lesson session, she is awesome. And she fell in love with it. Immediately she was talking about when we go back and what times she could do this, how fun!

Johnny Boy had a gig this weekend. Softie http://www.softierockmusic.com/ played to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday. It was at a bar I had not been to yet called Lucky's. But before hand we went out for date night to a restaurant called Sumo, a Japanese grill where they cook at the table. And when we came out, our cars looked like this!

This is my friend Danna's car. Our van was down the lot and it was still covered in mud. Someone had gone through a muddy/grassy lot and just covered a row of like 15 cars with mud. The story gets better though...of course, Danna and I leave because she needed to run by the mall to buy a purse she'd been wanting. We call the guys and say "what did you think about the mud?" They are in the process of a verbal "incident" with the management...and they are getting the cops called on them....oh my gosh, it was crazy because they did nothing wrong, but when they went inside to complain about it they were insanely defensive and just started yelling that 'They f-ed up and they were calling 911." How we all f-up, I am not sure, but no cops ever came, John & the other guys never did anything wrong. But I must say I was worried because I know John can run his mouth a little over the edge sometimes...especially when he has a reason. But his friend Jason was actually the one running his mouth about customer service...they made it to the bar safe and sound but talked about it the rest of the night, and the next morning!
I thought some of you might enjoy seeing ol' Kevin Kunce! Look at that long hair and belly! We went over to his house afterward and he and John had a little bonding time! Would you know that these guys have been best friends since they were 14! Dorks.

Wild Weekend of Parties Galore!

Oh my Gosh! This weekend had one child party every day! Friday was Maddie's big party, it was her 8th birthday and 7 girls were invited for a girls night out. They started at a salon with Mini-makeovers. Each girl had their hair done, mostly curled, then got their nails painted and make-up put on. They had so much fun and felt so beautiful. I made sure to get before and after pictures...

Starting at 2:30,. I decorated the van with birthday signs, bows on each seat, a hanging streamer thing, and even some bows on the top of the van! Since it was the afternoon, we made the rounds a picked girls up from day camp, home, and vacation bible school. Went to Sonic for "Happy Hour" (Half price slushies...) and off to the salon. This is Alyson, Maddie's cousin. They have been best friends all of their lives. Aly is a little younger (6 months) and they really love each other.

Maddie

Charlotte lives across the street from us. She is 10 and Maddie and her get along well. This was a really big deal because Charlotte does not wear dresses, hates to brush her hair, and says she does not enjoy girly stuff. But today, she wore a dress and seemed to really like getting these curls and make-up...Madison has been Maddie's friend since they were 3 at Montessori school. Her mom Pattie is one of my best friends and is an awesome support and inspiration for me. They love being together, having sleepovers and going swimming. Madison is an awesome girl (alot like her mama).This is Jaden, she is the daughter of one of our oldest friends, Justin. John and he have been best friends since they were like 18. Jaden is Maddie's age, a little bit tomboy, but still loves to get fancy. She is used to being around her dad and brother and all of their guys so she has learned to hang with them. She is a wonderful little girl, great humor, very laid back. Adara is the daughter of Angie, one of my oldest and bestest friends. She is a year older than Maddie and they have known eachother all of their lives, celebrated all birthdays together and have sleepover fun often. She is another good girl. She rode in the front seat with me and has good conversation. Sweet girl, we really love her, her parents, and her brother Adin.As they finished up their beauty treatments, they were hungry and ready to move on...we went BG Boltons for dinner, one because they have kids meals, but most importantly they have TV at the table that hooks up to video games! They loved it. After dinner, we headed to the opening night of Kung Fu Panda. The place was packed but Pattie had joined us for dinner and was able to go over and save 10 seats before we could get the girls over there. They laughed out loud and had a great time. We ended the night with ice cream cones and parents picked up kids at our house. John had a nice atmosphere waiting for everyone to arrive and it was just a wonderful party.

On Saturday, I went to my doctoral class all day. It was an intro to research and writing but mostly an intro to the thinking process associated with this program. Once again, I was totally validated in my choice. It is right in line with my values and what I want my doctorate to do for myself and others along the way. Our research will be benefiting school systems who have applied to have students study their issues and help create improvement plans. Then we choose our dissertation topics according to our own specific interests and make the research big enough that it can impact people and open doors for us. How exciting is that? We talked about our dreams and our strengths and learned about the basics of a method of research called Appreciative Inquiry. I am with it and interested...fun, fun.

At 5pm, class ended, John got the children ready for party number two. And one really must have strength to attend class all day then step foot into a place like Chuck-e-cheese! The girls were psyched, they love that place. All that food coloring, plastic pizza, and sugar. What a dream! It was TJ's birthday...Hannah's future husband. He is Pattie's son, Madison's little brother. He and Hannah were born a month apart, she is the older woman. He has decided he loves her, but she has not come around.

Here he is, kissing her hand. He then gave her a kiss on the cheek, but she was not too happy about it. She gave him a KU outfit, basketball shorts and tshirt, along with a transformer. He was thrilled about the clothes, plus his dad is a huge KU basketball fan, like John.As for Sunday, the fun never stops. John left to play softball in the morning and said he would be back in the afternoon. But he did not return in time to head to the third party of the weekend. This was for Hannah's friend Willow. They go to Montessori school together and she will be going to first grade in the fall. The party was at a city park and the children had their faces painted, made tie-dye t-shirts, ran under a parachute, silly string, and played on the playground. They had a blast.

Maddie loved this little 7 week old puppy, teacup something. They said it was a mix of some kind. BUt she walked around with it, held it while it slept, and was just in love with it.This is Hannah with Willow, she is a beautiful little girl and so smart. She is so considerate of others. Like Ella wanted to not only have her face painted but also her arm and Willow overheard her tell me that and went over to her mother and made sure Ella could be in line for that. How sweet can a little kid be, especially on their own birthday! She is also good at boundary setting...Hannah kept blowing a whistle and Willow turned to her and said "Hannah, quit blowing that whistle, it is getting on my nerves!"

Summertime Fun

Oh these babies, I love them so much! We've been having some fun getting out, playing in the sprinklers, going swimming, and getting ready for Maddie's 8th Birthday party. Ol' Sue Sue is so fair skinned and I am really trying to be careful so she doesn't get a sunburn. We've been experimenting with spray on sunscreen, but I am not convinced it works as well. Our yard is great in the front because we have a huge tree that provides alot of shade, so I don't worry too much out there. Hannah is very creative in her play. We had the sprinkler out and she loved it more than the other girls. When she got tired of running through, she used the spouts to fill up the wagon and used it like a little pool. Then I pulled them down the street in the wagon full of water, they thought that was fun.

We had a little birthday dinner for Maddie over at Granny's. She made chicken and dumplings and a sugar free cake, that way Grandpa can eat some... Maddie's part is on Friday so this was to celebrate the official day. Her birthday is on the 2nd and I always tell her the story of her birth and how happy we were to have a baby on this day. After two days of labor, the waiting room was filled with family and friends and finally she was born by c-section because she wanted to stay in her mommy's tummy. She then asked for the list of who was there... This year she likes Hannah Montana, even though she kindof acts like she doesn't because she has a friend that is 10 years old and who is over it. But she got a card that plays a song as well as an official Hannah Montana dress from the Disney store This is going to be so cute for her party. She has jeweled flip flops, and perfectly matching necklace (That I got on clearance at Target for 2 bucks) and an amazing pair of HM sunglasses. I'm not sure if she knows she is lucky or if she just expects it at this point...
Granny made the little ones matching dresses. We had to fight them to try them on but finally they did and they look very sweet. Granny and grandpa gave Maddie two summer outfits and a little decorative dish for her room. Aunt Linda gave her two WebKins so she is stoked about that. Now she has 6, which is the max of what you can have on the Webkins screen at one time...
These are Maddie's invitations that I made from scratch. I know I am not a scrapbooker but these turned out cute. They are for a Diva Style Birthday. We are having mini-makeovers then a girls night out, dinner and a movie. Should be fun, we'll see if my patience holds out with 8 little girls in tow!

Yesterday we went tot he pool for the second time. We are able to walk over and we've been taking our neighbor Charlotte with us. Maddie saw her friend Aryanna yesterday and that was fun. Her mother looks so good in a swimsuit, it is sick. My friends Pattie and Kate have been going to Weight Watchers (even though they don't need it too bad) but we all are at some stage of working on our weight. Although I can do these crazy physical activities like Bootcamp and cycling and I continue to struggle losing weight, I know it is because of portion control. So they have talked me into it and I need that kind of support and accountability. So Wednesday I will start Weight Watchers and along with Bootcamp, I hope it does it and I can become who I really want to be, or at least look like the person I feel like inside...skinny and beautiful.

Hannah is a great swimmer, getting very confident. Ella of course, does not have a fear, at least she didn't until she just walked right into the big pool. I was right there so I pulled her up but she got scared. I want them to be scared of the big pool a bit so they don't just jump in. Maddie is doing great with her swimming. The swim team starts next week. It will be cool because there is a set of friends that will be a swim team with her as well as vacation bible school in two weeks. So she'll have a good time.

We also signed up for Hannah and Ella's school in the fall. They are going to Grace Presbyterian church http://www.gracepreschurch.org/Grace%20Web%20Page/children.htm they have a wonderful school and day care so the girls will have a combination each day. We are happy about this choice and the girls have visited twice. Vacation Bible School will also be there so Hannah can at least have more time there. She transitions a little slower than Maddie so I have to give her some time to warm up.

This baby blue jay was on our porch for a couple of hours. John got really close to take pictures and it screamed at him. I was waiting for the mother to attack his head or something...