To Fill My Time

I finally decided that I needed to finish the London Bridge.

First Grade Playdate

Some smart mom from our school set up a summer play date schedule for the first graders. So each Wednesday we go somewhere and meet so that the kids can play. Last week we went to the park and it was crazy windy so we did not stay very long. This week a mom volunteered her home for a pool party. Only about 15 kids came this week but it was perfect. I took Haley as well and our cousins were there as well. It was a fun picnic lunch and swim in the salt water pool.

Fourth Of July

Every year on the fourth we go to a luau with our friends. The kill and roast a pig and 15 rabbits. Everyone brings a side dish to share. this year I made mini cheesecakes decorated for the holiday. I made 2 pans of them and all 48 were gone before I could get one.
Abigail had a great time hanging around...

I like this picture even though my head looks strange...

and as for that scratch on Lewis' face, I did apologize for that, I promise.

We left in time to go home and do a few fireworks in the driveway. It was sprinkling so the girls got out their umbrellas.

Adam smiled but not happily. This is obviously a fake smile...

but Jason (for once) smiled willingly.

Happy Independence Day!

Fourth of July: 1K Race

On the fourth of July we got up very early in the morning and the girls ran in a neighborhood 1K. They both finished and had a great time. Here they are with their "swag bags".
Here is Abi coming into the finish. She was pushing so hard to finish. She said that she had to walk a little because she was having side cramps.

And here comes Haley. She ran the whole thing. She tried so hard and that is all that we can ask.



They both did a great job. I am proud of them for running. they got up early and had a positive experience. There was an adult run but there is no way that I was running the adult 5K, I am just not ready for that.

Planking

This is Lewis' new pastime.

Look it up. People apparently die from this when they do it on balconies. Adam calls it Parkour for slow people. Ha! I guess he does have a sense of humor.

Vacation: Heading Home

On the way home we stopped in Vegas again. We stayed at The Hotel. It was very nice. Because it was Sunday night and slow we were able to get 2 suites connecting for a very low rate. We just opened the doors between them and had a large apartment. We had 4 rooms and 4 bathrooms so everyone had plenty of room to spread out.

Once there we took the kids to see the Shark Encounter at Mandalay Bay. It was about $75 for all of us to go through and it was alright. It took less then an hour to walk through. Maybe if we had not just gone to the zoo 2 days before it would have been better. They have lots of good things to see but many we had just seen at the zoo.

Christmas card? I think not! Look at Jason's face! Ha!!

After looking at the sharks we changed and went to the pool. It was great. They have a lazy river that is faster then any of the other ones that we have been in. There was a large regular pool, a huge kiddie area, and a wave pool, that the kids really enjoyed. You have to be 48 inches to go into the wave pool and Abigail just barely made it! They also have a beach with chairs.

After swimming we hit up the buffet at Mandalay Bay. My advice, pay $5 more a person and go to The Bellagio. Mandalay Bay was tiny and questionable.

The next morning we stopped to get fireworks on the way home. This is always our last stop before we cross the border to get home. The vacation was amazing, as always. We learned a lot which will make next year;s trip that much better.

Vacation Part 5: Zoo

One of the days that we were in California we went to the zoo. About three minutes after being there one of the cousins took a bad fall and had to be taken to the First Aide center. Yikes. She was fine, just a little scraped up and sad, but fine.
Maybe I am old. Maybe I a cynical. Maybe I am just a grumpy lady, but I remember this zoo being WAY better. We saw about a million monkeys and birds and a little of everything else. Here is Abi being a monkey! As you can see she has on a sweatshirt. We decided to go tot he zoo on the coolest day that we had in San Diego. It started out very cool, and ended up really hot and people got sunburns!

Abigail and Michael were always together.

My boys and me. I just want you to notice how tall Adam is compared to me and Jason, and Adam is only 13. Jason is growing on the exact same line Adam was at his age so in about 3 years they will both be much taller then me.

We had to stop at one point and use the foot massagers. The kids feet were "killing" them. I think that they just wanted to play with the seats.

Christmas card picture?

And by the ends of the day Abi could no longer walk, or look at the camera. She was so tired! So we went home. I made mac & cheese for the kids, put them to bed and the adults went out to a nice dinner.

Jason... Or is it Gibby?

Jason LOVES to have his shirt off. So while on vaction he was in heaven because it was hot and he could be shirtless all of the time. If you don't know who Gibby is, look him up. At least he made the most of his vacation!