Swimming

The kids went swimming with Jadon, Malia, Hunter, and Brooke. We stayed all day. If the kids had their way we would have stayed all night!

End of Summer

Summer vacation has been a blast. Aside from some minor setbacks like the air conditioner dying at a really inopportune time, thankfully we bought another A/C before the temperature sky rocketed back up, and it only cost a mere $2000 to replace, insert sarcasm wherever, things have been fast and entertaining.

The girls have spent the summer between dance and soccer. On the days we seem to have nothing planned we still ended up finding something great, free, and enjoyable to do. We have seen a movie every week, we have been to countless water parks, played with neighbors and friends, BBQ'd, went swimming, you name it we've most likely done it. It has just been wonderful. But as always things have to change and another transition is upon us...school. And let me tell you I am so glad I enrolled Liv in the middle class starting at 10:40 because she has become a sleeper. Today in fact she woke up at 10:32 A.M. Who does this? I was up at 7:30 when the dogs wanted to go outside. Ava was up by 8 A.M. Apparently Liv needs her beauty sleep. So in a week school begins, the girls have their dance recital, and soccer ends as well.

I found a place that gives free dance lessons to kids under 5 and it is actually taught by the girl's hip hop teacher so Ava will still dance on Wednesdays after we drop off Liv at school. Ava's really excited she gets to dance in a class all by herself this time. I am excited that it is free.

So my last post was about packing to go to Grammie's house. We got there and swam all day for 4 days from sun up to sun down and then even at night under the stars. We are all really tan. Here's a few pictures of our vacation:

And yes at my mom's house Ava still squeezes into a high chair that she calls the queen's chair. She likes it because during the day she can sit in it and paint since it has one of those preformed cups in the tray to hold the water and it is high enough that she can see the TV over the back of the couch while she is doing it.

Breakfast outdoors after the first morning swim.

Livy the diver.

Trying to jump out as far as possible.

Dave's cannon ball attempt. He made a huge splash. We were slightly surprised there was still plenty of water left in the pool:)

Ava's cannonball.
Digging for carrots in Papa's garden.
Deciding who gets to hold the shovel.
And then after 4 entire days of swimming at Grammie's house we came back only to go swimming at my friend's house with her two kids.
Ava being chased by Jay.

And then we had soccer practice again. Liv's a fast runner. A lot of parents comment on how quick she is and how well she can manipulate the ball.

Training.

There are countless more pictures of the play date at the park with Nick and other activies we have done but those will have to wait for another day. I am done uploading pictures.

I am really glad that the girls are going back to/starting school. Olivia's brain seems to be exploding with knowledge. She watched a shark show on TV and is now obsessed with predator verses prey. Her vocabulary astounds me and her abstract train of thought is booming. We are so proud of her. She just sucks up knowledge every where she goes. Ava is smart as a whip too and as stubborn as me. She does what she wants when she wants otherwise look out. She has had the fortune of having the big sister to emulate so she is super smart already and ready to go to school. She practices her spelling words in the car and tries to read books. I know that she has them memorized but it is still cute watching her fake read.

I am also really proud of Dave and I. Last Saturday was the 7 year anniversary of when we met. We have had a great marriage so far, we hardly ever argue and if we do it is over something totally stupid like not leaving the dog out long enough so she craps outside instead of inside on my rug. We love each other, we talk to each other, and we truly enjoying being with each other. I hear a lot of our friends talk about money and how they hide it from their spouses. This has ever been an issue for us. We both know how much we have and what it is being used for. Also a friend of mine showed me the coupon trick and now I spend 1/3 on groceries and toiletries. It is amazing to see the total ring up to $250 and after the coupons I end up paying $46. Dave is proud of me for saving the dough and I am happy we have more money for other things. I see us as, "We're doing it. Without the help from anyone else, we made it." It did hurt to shell out $2000 for the A/C that I had saved for property taxes but at least I know that WE bought it and somehow WE will come up with the property tax money too. I don't really know from where... but we are in it together and together we will have to make it happen. It's hard being a one income family but I'm proud of us and proud of Dave for being a great husband, father, and provider for his family. I love you Dave and happy anniversary of when we met.

Packed

Unpacking & packing. Packing & unpacking. Is that the main job of the mom?

It seems like I spend every day either putting stuff into bags to take the kids somewhere or the next day I have to put it all away. Maybe we should just stay home. That would be so much easier.

Tomorrow I have to pack AGAIN to go to my mom's house. I'm transporting my kids and the two neighbor kids up there Thursday morning for a long weekend of swimming. When Dave and their mom get off work Friday night they will drive up and hang out too. Their dad is going out of town so he won't be coming and this way we all get a break from being here in the neighborhood.

Thankfully I only need to pack a few things for this trip. We already have all the dog supplies, toiletries, books, toys, and movies up there so we just need clothes and swimsuits and Ava's lovey. I can't wait to relax and sit by the pool. Wish we were there already.

Busy Bees

Well it seems like we've been practically everywhere. We left Wednesday for RV camping at Lake Siskiyou which was fantastic. The girls loved sleeping in the RV, swimming, fishing with Daddy and Papa, and finding giant pine cones on our nature excursions. We roasted weenies, smores, and more smores... it was a blast.

Then we headed to Grammie and Papa's house Saturday to swim in their fancy pool. We literally swam three times a day and we are now officially tan. The weather was beautiful, the pool was warm, and the BBQ was always going. I even stood in my bikini and flipped the ribs over on the BBQ and then went back to swimming until they needed to get flipped again. Honestly, for our family it just doesn't get any better. Dave and my dad went one day to Lassen for some MAN fishing on my dad's boat. Dave caught a huge fish and the girls were so proud of him. My dad came home empty handed. So sad. Then we watched the big fireworks show and eventually we had to go home. I did contemplate staying another week but the ladies have their activities...


Tuesday we went to dance class. Miss Renae added in a few more moves and the girls were loving it. Ava is a great dancer. It is as if she were made for dance like Olivia is for running. Man, that kid can run. Yesterday we went with friends to the movies and then met up with another mom from preschool for a play date at the water park. It was very hot for me but since the kids were wet they didn't mind. Today we went to see ET at the dollar theater with some other friends. This was the girls first time at seeing ET and since it was not a cartoon I questioned how long we'd stay but they LOVED it. They asked a million questions along the way but Ava said it was her favorite movie. Tomorrow we have another water park play date and then soccer on Saturday... Somehow I thought summer meant sitting around doing nothing...I have yet had that experience. Next week we have a movie/water park play date with about 10 of Liv's friends... When does school start anyway?

So here's a few pics of last week's adventures...




Ava uncovering a dinosaur skeleton.

Liv hangin' with her friends.

The soccer star... look how fast she runs.

Liv's best friend Nick who is also in dance class.

Capture the flag. Then what? Give it back!

Ava playing soccer with Daddy.

She's fast too.

The fishermen...

Pine cone collector.

Giant cone.

Dave at his best!

The ladies playing Connect 4 with Grammie.

Roasting the marshmallows for smores.

Dinner.

Driving in the RV back to Grammie and Papa's house.

In the pool at last.

Floating on her back. One of Ave's fave's.

Livy and her Grammie.

Yes, Olivia can swim by herself across the pool. Superstar!

Father's Day Camping

Camping pretty much speaks for itself. The girls loved swimming, building sand castles, and fishing. They ate smores, slept in a giant tent with the dogs, played with the kids next to us that ironically were the same ages, and slept in late like usual. I was actually shocked when we woke up and it was 8 A.M.. Princess Olivia woke around 8:45 like usual.









These next pictures are taken at night in the tent eating the smores.



Faces by flashlight:


It was a fantastic Father's Day weekend. Just what the Daddy wanted.