Aquarium

One of our last outings before school started was going with Grandma and Grandpa to the aquarium. The last time we had been here was when Olivia was born. The girls really enjoyed watching the penguins, the shark tank, and the monkeys. They never were very cooperative when it came to taking a group photo. A time when there was someone to get me in the photo and Abby and Kaitlyn hated to stand there!

Three Toed Sloth

Watching the penguins

Checking out the sharks

Oh What do you do in the Summertime...

When Texas is hotter than h*&%!

**Summer re-cap: Since I found that it was hard for me to write up things that we did this summer, I thought I do a quick highlight for me and the girls. This way when we look back on what we did we can remember.

-Swim Team with Abby

-Making a fort out of the dining room table and sleeping in it. Abby had all these fabulous ideas of things that the girls could play. They played this "jungle" adventure for a good week until I had enough of toys all over the front rooms and made them clean it up.

-Spending the night at Gma's and Gpa's. Just Abby and Kaitlyn were able to have a little get-away. They made muffins, watched movies, and looked for lizards.

-Museums

-Lots of movie watching. I think the favorite movies were Phineas and Ferb in 2D on the Disney Channel (probably watched 5 times) and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

-Reading Harry Potter to the girls for the first time. We're still working on finishing it.

-All the shows that were offered at the library- Creature Teacher, Magician, Juggler, Puppet Shows.

-The girl's making a library out of our front room. Wish I took a picture. They played this for over a week! And so much reading was done.

-Lots and lots of swimming!

-Going to Dad's work for the afternoon. Filled with Legos, face painting, crafts, and a balloon artist.

Olivia's arm

-Soccer camp. It originally started with just Abby and then Kaitlyn said she wanted to go too. They let us sign up for late registration and they both improved their soccer skills, sweated a lot (we had the hottest day, 110, during this week), and had a fun time listening to their coaches and their British accents. Kaitlyn said her coach was hard to understand and Abby's coach asked if we were from somewhere because of Abby's accent. I said she didn't have an accent but a little bit of speech difficulty (darn L's and R's!) He thought it was cute. We do too for the record.

Abby and her coach Gavin - he was a riot!

Kaitlyn refused to get a picture with her coach but here she is sweating!

Lemonade

Friday morning Abby had asked me if she could do a Lemonade stand. I was not really in the mood to set things up and try and make sure I watch her and Olivia who would most likely follow her outside. I was going to say no but I remember selling Kool-Aid in our driveway when I was a kid. I knew that Abby needed those memories too and I need to say "yes" more to my kids (with in reason!).

As we were setting up the lemonade stand, Abby said she was wanting to earn the money to buy Kaitlyn a gift for her birthday. I thought that was so sweet, melted my heart. This is the same sister that several times this summer she said she "hated" and of course all the fighting that they do. Abby sat outside for a good hour and a half trying to get anyone to stop by. She even made a really cute sign. Not a lot of people were out that morning but a few neighbors did stop and a couple dads told her to "keep the change". I stayed out of her way and let her do her thing. I was inside with Alec during all the exchanges but any time someone would stop, she would run up to the door, throw it open and was so excited that she had a customer. "MOM! A stranger bought some lemonade and said I could keep the change!"

It was also disheartening to see her try to wave people down and they just blew past her. A lesson I learned was to stop any time I saw a kid with a lemonade stand. It's amazing how much happiness a quarter will bring to a child.

Abby stayed outside until I said it was too hot and that she needed to come back in. She tried again later in the afternoon for about 15 minutes but it was too hot and no one was out. At the end she made $4.25 - she put a dollar of her own in but she and her sister drank practically a whole jug themselves. She counted up all the money herself, wrote the total and stuck it all in an envelope for Kaitlyn for her birthday so as Abby put it "she can buy whatever she wants". One of the sweetest things I saw. Abby was so happy that she could do something for her sister.

3 Months

Weighing in at 9 lbs! We have finally put the newborn clothes away and have pulled out the 0-3 month clothes. It's a big feat! I feed Alec every 3 hours to make sure he's eating enough with all his reflex. Alec loves to smile at you when you talk or sing to him. He's also starting to do more coo-ing.

Alec wants to be held all the time and does not sleep well in a crib. He usually wakes up around 2 or 3 in the morning crying. As soon as I put him in the bed with me, he turns toward me, cuddles as close as he can, and goes right back to sleep. He also loves sleeping in my arms. I'm afraid I've spoiled him too much and getting him to sleep in a crib is going to be a challenge.

All three girls are still great helpers if it's finding a blanket or burp rag, talking to Alec, or holding him. He is well loved!

Shark Attack!

Seeing how it's Shark Week on Discovery Channel, I thought I'd post about my Shark.

Abby was once again on our neighborhood swim team - the Wellington Sharks. There are 240 kids on this team and it's amazing to see how well these kids swim. The first 6 weeks of our summer was spent every morning at swim practice and Monday's at swim meets. The swim meets are killer because they are so long and hot. Abby improved so much this year from last year. This year at the meets (she could do 4 events a meet) she did the freestyle relay, 25 Yard Freestyle, 25 Yard Butterfly (which she rocks at!), 25 Yard Breaststroke, Medley relay and the 100 Yard Individual Medley (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle in that order - I'm tired just thinking of it!) Her times were good enough this year that she was invited to compete in the All-Star tournament. We are so proud of her hard work and accomplishments. She is very competitive too. She was upset if she didn't win her heat or place in a race, she always wanted to come in first.

Her best times:

25 Yard Freestyle 30.22

25 Yard Breaststroke 54.75

25 Yard Butterfly 32.06

100 Yard Individual Medley 3:02

100 Yard Freestyle Relay 1:58.76

100 Yard Team Medley 2:03.94

Book Review

Beyonders: A World Without Heros by Brandon Mull. My sister-in-law sent me a package of books while I was in the hospital and this was in the box. I loved Brandon Mull's series "Fablehaven" so I grabbed this first. I finished it in a couple days and if you liked the Fablehaven series you'll like this new one but you'll have to wait a year for book two. He says there are going to be 3 books in this series.

Again we are sent to a fantasy land created by Brandon Mull. This time our hero is 13 year old Jason who gets transported to another world, Lyrian. He gets himself involved in a quest to destroy the evil Wizard ruling over the land. Jason meets up with Rachel, another Beyonder who was also transported to Lyrian. Together they are trying to find the word that will destroy the evil wizard and hopefully find a way home. 4 out of 5.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave: I had heard the buzz (pun intended) about this book and every time I had it out, someone would walk by and tell me "Oh I loved that book!" Seriously, 10+ women told me how they thought it was so great. Really?! I didn't really care for it.

The book is written in two voices and I liked Little Bee's voice, I didn't like the other, Sarah. Little Bee is a Nigerian refugee in England who has connected with an English woman through this terrible incident two years prior to when the story takes place. The author has Little Bee and Sarah reflecting back about an incident that happened on a Nigerian beach two years ago. I was curious about what the incident so it kept me reading. We find out less than halfway through the book what had happened- it was brutal. After that, the suspense left. I really didn't like any of the characters except Little Bee. I felt they were shallow and selfish. The book is full of sadness and sorrow and no hope. There are better books out there, so skip this one. I give it 2 out of 5.

Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley I had to read this book years ago at BYU for my Children's Literature class. I loved it then and I love it now. It's a great retelling of the story. Great character development and detail. Fun read. 5 out of 5.

These is My Words by Nancy Turner: I read this a few years ago and stayed up way into the night to finish. I knew the story and as I re-read it, I again stayed up late into the night to finish. Nancy Turner loosely uses her grandmother's history and writes about her "life" in the Arizona Territories. Sarah is one tough woman and the story is full life and love. Very enjoyable read 5 out of 5 (This is a series - there are two more books after this too if you want to read more. This is the best of the 3 but they are all enjoyable.)

Turning 7

Our sweet Abby has turned 7!!! Where has time gone?

For her birthday Abby wanted a balloon party, so a balloon party it was. I don't think I've ever blown up so many balloons. They were/are everywhere!

Saturday morning we went swimming as a family, came back for presents and then watched a movie until Abby's family party with Gma, Gpa, and Aunt Monica that evening.

We played a few games - keep away with balloons and hitting the balloon in the air to see how many times we could do it without it touching the ground. Balloon faces were a hit and the girls pretended that they were people and talked behind them. Even Gigi got into the fun. Her balloon was named Agata Fanogledink.

Thinking hard about her wish.

Abby had given me specific specifications on what type of cake she wanted and how I should decorate it.

She wrote up a sheet that described what games to play, what she wanted for the dinner (roast and mashed potatoes) and a drawing of the cake. Abby was very thorough.

I was also given a type written note on what Abby wanted and who to invite:

What she wants

I pod

Magnfig glass

Real binoculars

Camra

Whos gona come

Grampa

Grama

monica

my family

Love:

Abby

Opening her presents, she did get one thing off her list- an I pod shuffle.

Friday was Abby's actual birthday. The morning started off with breakfast at IHOP with Gigi and Gpa.

That afternoon, to celebrate we went to Legoland that just opened this summer 10 minutes from our house. We spent a good 4 hours there and Alec was even great the whole time. We had a very fun filled weekend celebrating our favorite 7 year old!

WE LOVE YOU ABBY!

You bring life and energy into our home.