4th of July Weekend

Another eventful weekend for the girls... We have been staying very busy, mostly with swimming and shuffling these girls from place to place. I'm about to start teaching my summer class, so I've been doing some of my planning for that. I am looking forward to teaching, summers are kindof a different feel. Hopefully my class will be involved in the learning process and we'll have a very positive experience.

The 4th weekend was a lot of fun. We were sad because MeeMaw Geni was not with us. Grandma Shirley (Geni's mom) who lives in Iowa, had to have en emergency back surgery. Yikes! So Geni went to be with her and make sure she began recovery well...so we began with a picnic and Aunt Pam and Uncle Dale's. They had it all hooked up! With a 50 foot long slip n slide! The big kids played for like two hours and then the little kids got a smaller version later on. The girls were hilarious. Not to mention that I think it is so funny to see people slip around and fall down! Not as much as my friend Kele of course, who laughs hysterically when someone falls or throws up while running 5 miles....

But anyway, they were a little slow to warm up and of course we had to make Maddie be the one to be an example. No one was hurt!

We had some dinner. I made a weight watchers apple slaw that took me at least an hour of slicing and dicing. I need some kind of machine or tool to do that from now on, but it was good. Only one point per serving. I also made a fruit pizza...a few more points per serving, but people love those. I made sure to leave it and not take any leftovers home. After dinner, the fireworks began. The little ones had sparklers...and papa Bruce....well, let's say...no, say nothing...those fireworks were huge!@!!@!

It was so cool. I tried to do a few camera tricks to see what kinds of pictures I could get. We had s'mores afterward and of course my girls loved that, they are chocolate-hounds!The next day, we went for another cookout and swim. Geni's friend has a pool and it was a perfect day for swimming all day long. This was Maddie's first time to dive off of a diving board ever!

Pretty good, then John goes for some of his fancy moves. He loves to flip...This is neat...then Maddie thinks she can go ahead and go for that...However, you can see how close her back is to the water...she does not have time to flip much further. You might say, it did not go over well. She thought she had died when she hit, smack on her back. Of course, I had a little of my nervous laughter from seeing such a sight, she did not like that either. But she recovered, only to try it again later and do the same exact thing!
Here's Sue, she has not been much for getting all the way into the water lately. She just wants to run around, get on the steps, and not get her face in. We'll give her some time!

Summer Vacation to Houston

Our summer vacation was a success despite the amount of driving. Three young children in a minivan are quite a challenge but lots of music and movies helped, along with frequent stops. Houston is quite a ways so we stopped at our aunt and uncle's house in the middle and spent one night each way. It was so nice because they prepared an air conditioned room for us and cook breakfast for us. It was nice to get to visit with them mostly. As we approached my mother's new home, this is what we drove up to... Of course, we had to deal with some upset tummies and slight fevers on our trip. The girls have been battling a virus that seems to come and go and have many different symptoms. So on our first day in Houston, we took our time getting ready and let the girls rest before we started going out. We went to a place called Panda Bear for lunch. Hannah was certain it was the same place that Kung Fu Panda would be at, so they were thrilled to be there...It was good Chinese food, John would love to have one of these at home. As you can see, Hannah also prepared her own table with her blanket. She loves to make special spots for herself and no one is allowed to mess them up.
Our first excursion was the Houston Children's Museum. It was a bit of a challenge driving through the city but I had called before we left and asked for specific directions which were perfect. We are not used to driving in such traffic and having so many highways to get lost on...
They loved the museum. Every exhibit was interactive. Our girls tend to be very fast when going through museums, like they are looking for the one thing that will actually capture their attention. Then they don't understand why it's over so soon...so, of course they started out this way in this museum. However, John and I quickly noticed that it is not that big of a museum so it is important to slow down and experience each area to it's fullest. So we put on the breaks a little and helped them really look at what was in front of them.
They loves this pulley system, where you sit on a seat and pull yourself up (or your parents do it). Maddie kept going like 5 times before she had had enough.
Then they found the mother load of all experiences...painting yourself! This is not a new experience for them, as they do this at home on almost a daily basis. Ella is the worst with drawing on herself every time she finds a pen. But the other girls are getting more into hearts and rainbows. Very nice.John painted faces first, then you can see they had the opportunity to go free..The next morning, we went to the Houston Zoo with my mother while John and Greg (my mom's new boyfriend) played golf. That made John happy. But the zoo was fun...hot...really hot and it is humid in Houston, very different than what we are used to.
Instead of feeding the goats, the children brush them...I think this is a great idea. They had a blast going around and brushing every goat. We found one goat hiding out under a bench who was actually smiling. He was probably pleased to get away from the mounds of children trying to brush him!

We made it to the beach at Galveston on Saturday evening. We really did not have a whole day to go and spend at the beach so it was actually perfect to head out when the sun was going down. The wind was blowing so hard that it sprayed salt water all over us and the waves were huge compared to what they are normally. Nonetheless, the water was warm and it felt so good to be out there.This was Hannah and Ella's first time to see the ocean and the beach so that is really special. At first they were a little overwhelmed with the water and the wind but after a few minutes they were running around and looking for seashells. They could have played for hours.

This is our last morning, we left around noon. Nana Nancy made everyone blueberry pancakes and the girls ran around like crazy while we packed. It had been great because we had a room that had a bathroom attached and a little vanity between us, just like in hotels, so we were super comfortable.
In the last leg of our journey, the girls got a hold of some make up and this was the final product. I was a little worried about the white on Hannah's lips...but we got it off quickly. These girls love make-up.

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.