Diving In

Way Behind

I am so far behind. It's not that I haven't been wanting to blog it's just we've been really busy. Here are a few things you can look forward to seeing posts and pic's about in the very near future

• Summer at the public pool. Chiggie is doing flips off of the diving board!
• The girls new bike trailer, a gift from Great Grandma. Trust me this one deserves a post all to itself. They love, love, love to go for rides and we have a pretty fun story about this.
• The pool we bought for the backyard and put together just this weekend. I have a whole new respect for my parents and the summers they put pools up for us. Much harder than it looks.

Until then I will share a couple of shots I got of crazy, crazy hair. Seriously where did this come from?

Summer Kick Off

Last Day

Today was Chiggie's last day of Kindergarten. As of 10:55 am she was free from teachers, homework, and waking early in the morning. Free to fantasize about summer. Trips to the pool, library, camping, and all of the other stuff she is so looking forward to. That's one of the greatest things about parenthood. You get to live your own childhood all over again!

Zoo Trip

Today was Chiggie's field trip to the zoo. We had an absolute blast. The weather was fabulous. Blue skies and temperatures in the 80's. We left the school at 8:45 and our first stop was City Park. The school had reserved the park and the kids got to ride rides for over an hour. Here is a picture of Chiggie and her best friend Tater.As you can see Midge and Tea enjoyed themselves as well.We ate lunch at the park and then the kids got a little bit of time to play on the equipment. Midge got a lot of attention from the Kindergarteners.Tea felt really grown up in their company.Boo kept everybody cool with offers of water.
Penguins were a huge hit!In the end we were all exhausted!

Temptation

When it comes to stuff like this I admit it, I am weak. Summer is quickly coming upon us and I know keeping the weight off will be a constant challenge. Some people struggle around the Holidays. I don't seem to have a problem then. First of all it's only a month long season really. In the summer time there's more than 3 months of barbeques, camping, and all kinds of tasty ice cream. I know, moderation is the key. I think I can, I think I can....

Pond Completion

This is where we left off yesterday. We had finished installing the pond and had even planted some flowers at the top of the waterfall. Today we added rock and three colorful bushes as accents. I am very happy with the way it looks. I didn't really know what to expect, but I'm pleased for sure. Now, once the seed comes up, we'll have a lot less grass to maintain and I hope that makes a difference. Tonight we added two water plants but the lighting wasn't good enough for a picture of that. They'll take several weeks to bloom.
I also hung several flower baskets around the front porch and back deck. I think this one is my favorite.

Two up Top

Boo got her two front teeth. Literally over night. She woke up this morning and they were just there. I did have some hints. Like this And this...
Now she's back to her sassy little self.

Hodge Podge

Friday was Chiggie's Birthday celebration at school. She was thrilled to get to wear the birthday crown and share treats with the class. Per her request I made fruit kabobs and the kids went nuts over them. It's nice, and rare, when they actually request something healthy.

The King is home this weekend and we spent all day today working in the yard. We had to change our plans when we discovered, much to our dismay, that everyone in town was entirely out of sod. Drat. We did buy seed, but we bought more expensive seed than we have in the past and we actually went to a nursery and got some advice on what to do. We shall see how it works out. We also decided to downsize the amount of grass and focus on other types of landscaping. We bought and installed a pond and plan to have our own little eco system. The girls loved helping, but Tea was especially disappointed when she found out we couldn't swim in it.

All the work pretty much tuckered Boo out. She fell asleep as I pushed her in the swing. Don't worry though, I didn't leave her sleeping outside in the 85 degree sun. I tucked her safely into her crib where she rested for the next couple of hours.

Midge was also napping during much of the pond installation so she isn't in any of the pictures. So here is a shot of her and the King playing before bed. Tomorrow I will be sure to post pictures of the flowers I planted and the finished pond. All we have left to do is activate the waterfall and add some flowers and fish. Keep your fingers crossed that the grass seeding works fast and the temperatures stay warm but don't get scorching. Seeding is such a pain, but hopefully in a few weeks we'll have a lawn.

Buddy Day, Again

Remember this? Where does the time go, seriously? Today Chiggie got to be a buddy. I think she was more excited about this than she was about going last year. They also released the butterflies that they have been raising and finished the day of with popsicles. Only 5 days of school are left and one of them is the field trip to the zoo. I know I 've said it over and over, but sheesh this year went by so fast.

Organization

In an effort to organize the jumbled thoughts that are revolving through my head at about 100 mph I have decided to try and make some sort of a list. A list of things that I would like to try and accomplish this summer. Now that we actually have a school age child I think I feel more pressure. There is definitely a "time limit" now where as before our summer began when it got warm and ended when it got cold. I know I said my goal was to relax, that's why I'm making this list.

• Sod the yard


• Set up the new pool and enjoy


• Go camping 3x (this is iffy and very much depends on the King's schedule)


• Take the girls to the beach at the lake


• Ride our bikes


• Take a trip to GJ


• BBQ as often as possible


• Paricipate in the Summer program at the Library


• Go to the public pool once a week


• Eat lots of popsicles and ice cream sandwiches


• Help Chiggie work her way through a K-1 Bridge Book


• T-ball and gymnastics for Chiggie and Tea

That's all that I can think of right now, but I'm sure there will be more to add. I can't help it. I'm getting really excited!

Remembering

Tonight I spent some time browsing my own archives and was very surprised to read my posts from last year. First of all some of them I can remember typing very clearly. It seems like I published them a week or two ago maybe, but a year? I was also surprised to see how much my life hasn't really changed. I have a tendency to remember only the positive things from the past and to conveniently forget the mundane day to day stuff. It's really funny to go back and see that while yes, we were in the process of planning a really fun Memorial Day Weekend ( as we are now) I was also busy with cleaning, laundry, sick kids, etc. In a way I found it encouraging. I remember last year very fondly despite the setbacks we experienced. I think sometimes I forget how good things are going. I over analyze every little detail and seek perfection to a fault. That will be my goal this summer, to relax. I just want to enjoy some simple time with my family. It will be a challenge, but I think I'm up for it.

Better

Our day got much better. We weren't able to go to church, everyone was just too tired. On the bright side we all got to sleep in and then went over to my Mom's house for an awesome brunch. By the end of the day Midge was taking steps with only a slight limp. We had a lot of fun just hanging out. A good Mothers Day no doubt.

Happy Mothers Day

We stayed true to form and rang in Mothers Day with a bang this year. Just before midnight Midge and I were leaving the local ER. Poor Midge suffered a fall resulting in a foot injury. Surprisingly her deformed foot was not broken just sprained. She is not able to walk and demands to be carried from place to place. Also surprisingly she thoroughly enjoyed the hospital visit, x-rays, and the popsicle she was given. The things these girls will do for a little one on one time sheesh!

Little Tuna

That what Tea calls our kitten. Her real name is Klover or Kloe for short. I'm glad we made the decision to keep her around. Fiona is happy having a buddy to play with and the girls of course adore her. Now we just have to make sure that both of them stay inside....

Future Blogger?

It's on Now!

Lord be with me. Boo is walking. I'll try to upload some video this weekend!

A Girl and her Wii

Addictive. The Wii is perfect in every way. We've had so much fun as a family playing the games. The girls love to bowl, golf, and all of the Carnival Games. I'm more of a tennis fan myself. The King is really into Cabella's Big Hunt right now. I find myself up at 2 am saying "just one more game." Gotta get a higher score you know. Next on my list, Guitar Hero III.

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Happy Blossom Weekend!