Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Settling In

Well, we've finally been able to get the girls to school for 3 days in a row! We can only hope the trend will continue. This is also the first week that the girls will have all of their activities in addition to school so we'll see how they do. so far, so good. Of course, it's just been Riley and her activities (dance & cheer) until today. Kamryn has dance and soccer practice this afternoon. She is excited for both of these events! Fortunately, Kamryn likes to stay at school, eat lunch, and take a nap. We're not sure why, but we're happy that she'll rest somewhere because she seldom naps at home! Riley's favorite time of the school day is still lunch I think, but she also really enjoys the enrichment classes (music, art, computers, science and PE). Friday will be her first "test day" as she'll take a test in spelling, math, reading, and fluency (whatever that is). Doug wants me to make sure that I put in that he loves the girls! What a great dad!! Check out his picture when the girls played beauty shop with him and had him channeling Hannah Montana! Quite funny!!


Friday, August 22, 2008

Waiting

Well, this has been an interesting week. Tropical storm Fay played havoc with the school schedules. Riley got to school twice this week and Kamryn got there three times. So, I guess next week will be like starting all over. Fortunately for us, the storm wasn't too bad and we were able to get out and about all week, even the days they didn't have school. I think that helped keep all of us sane, plus the girls got extra play time with their friends. We're lucky that we haven't been hit by flooding since we're on top of the hill. We can only hope that this will help fill our lakes up some (they were getting really low again). Hopefully the storm will finally move out of the state so we can return to normal!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Working on the Blog

Ok, I've been working on the page today since we're stuck inside our home for a storm that is not here. Long story, but better to be safe. Anyway, I was checking out pages of some friends and figured out how to add some other features. Hope you like them. We're hoping the girls get to go to school tomorrow. Lake County initailly cancelled school for today and tomorrow, but Kamryn's school already called and said they would have school tomorrow. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens with the rest of the county.

Monday, August 18, 2008

First Day of School!




Today was the first day of school for Riley and Kamryn. Although Riley wants to ride the bus, we compromised and told her that we would take her to school and that she could ride the bus home on most days. She is still really pushing to ride the bus all the time, but I don't think we're going to give in. We dropped off Riley first and this morning was interesting as there were a TON of cars in the drop off line. Also, since it was the first day of school a lot of parents weren't just dropping off, they would wait to try and park somewhere in the small visitors lot and then walk their children into class. There were also people parking in the grass on the road (country road in front of the school) and walking in. It made for a BIG traffic jam and a long process. Hopefully it'll get better and easier as school progresses. Riley, of course, jumped right out and took off to class. She definitely didn't want us to go with her even though it was a new school. I guess she is already too cool for us. I don't know what she's going to do when we show up to volunteer! When asked what her favorite part of the day was, she said lunch. Her class also got to go to art today and she was very excited about that.

Kamryn was dropped off second. At her school, we have to walk her into class. She was more reserved than Riley, but then we got there just in time for class to start. We think we're going to have to drive separate for a little bit to make sure we can get them both there on time. Kamryn found where to hang up her backpack and knew right where to sit. We were anxious to see how she did and couldn't wait to pick her up at noon. She did great and learned about the letter A and numbers 1 & 2. She also got her first Bible verse today, but doesn't seem as excited as Riley did about learning them. Hopefully it was just because she was tired.

Now that school has started, they get two days off for Hurricane Fay. What an interesting and crazy start to the 2008/2009 school year!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Open House

Last night we went to Riley's school to meet her teacher. She'll be in first grade and going to a new school. She really liked her teacher and knows at least one girl in her class. Two of her good friends have class on one side of her and two others are in the class on the other side. She found out that they'll probably see each other at lunch and at recess. We're kind of glad that she doesn't know many people in her class since she tends to like to talk. We already let the teacher know that we would volunteer to do things and we also told her how much Riley likes to read. She's a little ahead of some of the people in her class, but hopefully that will be a good thing and the teacher can keep her challenged. Riley is excited because this school has separate classes for art, music, computers and science (these are in addition to what they already get in class). We're excited for her, but a little bit nervous or anxious about her riding the bus. We're going to let her try it because it has been something she has wanted to do since she started pre-school. Plus it helps that she'll probably only be riding home and we're the first stop! we'll see how it goes.

Kamryn went today to see her school. Yes, Kamryn will start in pre-k 3 this year. Scary!! She'll go five days a week just like Riley did at this age. She is SO excited to get to go to school every day like her sister. We can only hope that continues as school actually starts! She'll have the same teacher Riley had and Kamryn already knows the teacher from summer camp. she was quite happy to go and find her chair today. We can't wait to see if she how she does in school. Will she be friendly and outgoing like Riley or will she be quiet? I guess only time will tell.

Right now Doug and I are excited about them both being in school, even though Kamryn will be done by noon. When Monday gets here it might be a different story. We'll see. I don't think we'll be emotional, but who knows! Dance also starts next week for both girls. so, in addition to getting used to school, they'll be thrown into dance as well. Fortunately, they are both looking forward to dance as well as school! We'll keep you posted!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Fishing



While we were at the beach, my mom took the girls and I on a fishing trip. We chartered a boat for four hours and went into the bay to catch some fish. Riley and Kamryn have wanted to go fishing for awhile now. We all very excited, even though we had to be there at 7am! We firmly believed we would catch some fish for our dinner that evening. It didn't quite work out that way though. We all caught fish, but none of them were the size or kind you could keep to eat. I caught the first fish, a trout, but it was too small to keep so back it went. Then, my mom caught a fish that our guide said they called a snake or lizard fish and we didn't want to eat that kind so back it went. The girls would get a little restless, but fortunately Riley got some bites to keep her interested. They took a little break to have a drink and some snacks. Then, it was Kamryn's turn to catch a fish - a mangrove snapper. But alas, it too was too small to keep.



We had some fun then because we had to outrun a thunderstorm. Fortunately, it was pretty easy and fun since we got to go fast! Riley caught our last and biggest fish of the day. Right before we had to head back, she caught a channel catfish. It was probably at least 5-8 pounds and took her and me to get it in. Unfortunately, you can't eat those fish so we had to cut him loose. At least, we all caught something and had fun doing it! the girls look forward to fishing again!






Sunday, August 10, 2008

Family fun

My mom came down and the girls enjoyed showing Mimi all the things they can do in the pool. She also got to watch their dance recital on DVD since she wasn't able to attend. They really like showing off for her. Riley started cheerleading and will soon start school and dance. Kamryn likes to think she is a cheerleader and she too starts school and dance soon, plus she'll be playing soccer.

Then, we took a quick trip to the beach. We went to Siesta Key and stayed in Grandpa Richard's condo for about 4 days. Doug was able to make it down for a little bit. We went to the beach where the girls buried dad in the sand, played in the gulf, and built sand castles. We also enjoyed the pool at the condo, eating at our favorite restaurant there, and riding their bikes to get ice cream. Even after Doug left, we still enjoyed the beach and the pool. We got lucky in that it usually rained in the evening when were all done with our outside activities. The day we were leaving was pretty much a bust as we had thunderstorms all morning and I loaded the car in between the storms.

I have another cool story from our trip, but I'll blog about that tomorrow. The Olympics are on and it sounds like something I might want to watch! Plus, I have to down load the pictures I took so I can add some too!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Finally

Ok, I think I basically figured out how to do this. I'm sure I'll be updating and changing this as I get better. Several of my friends have blogs and it is a fun way to keep up with them and their families. Since we have a lot of family and friends that do not live close, I thought this would be a good way to keep them informed. I cannot promise how often I'll get this updated, but I'll do my best.

Currently, Mimi is on her way down from NC for a visit and we're going to go to Grandpa Richard's condo on Siesta Key for a few days. Also, cheerleading starts Monday for Riley (and also for me since I'm a coach). Last year was fun so we're looking forward to this year as well.

The girls have been busy this summer with camp, swim lessons, and dance. Riley was on a competition team at her dance studio and they went to a National competition this summer. Needless to say, we spent time practicing this summer. All their hard work paid off as all the numbers did very well and the one Riley was in actually won. I don't think she realizes that she is a National Champion!