Happy Father's Day!!

I just want to wish my husband, my dad, my grandfather, my father-in-law, my brothers-in-law, etc a very Happy Father's Day! We are going to Ocala tomorrow to spend time with family as all three brothers will be in town. It will be a good day for everyone (cousins to play with for the girls, good food, good company, and if they're lucky...golf to watch for the guys). I hope that my dad and grandfather have a good day. Both of them are great people who love me and were always there for me as I grew up. I now have a wonderful husband who is there for me and our girls! Thank you Doug for all that you do for us and making it possible for me to be home with Kamryn and Riley.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

Forts and Memories

Riley and Kamryn decided they wanted to build a fort in Kamryn's room this afternoon. I said OK and let them have at it. Well, when they were done and had me come and look, it was really just a big pile of little blankets around some chairs, but there was no room for them. They tried hard, but missed the mark. I told them I would help them so they could build a bigger and better fort that they (and myself) could fit under. So, I put back all the small blankets and got out their quilts and bedspreads. I realized the chairs they had chosen were no where near big enough so I put those away and we grabbed chairs from the dining table. Now, I used part of Kamryn's bed and then spread the covering out over the chairs. The girls then brought me their "reindeer on a stick" as they call it and I used the to prop up the middle. It looked quite fun and they went in the room off and on the rest of the afternoon and played in there. Both of them are now sleeping in there fort. I can only hope they don't knock down the pole otherwise it might collapse!

Building this fort with them brought back great memories for me. From the time I was 5 or 6 until I was around 9 or so, I would spend the summers with my grandparents in DC. I had great friends who were neighbors and we would play together all day, every day. We took swim lessons together, swam on the swim team, always had sleepovers, played dolls, played in their tree house, etc. We also played Barbies, but we really liked building forts so we could play without being seen. My grandparents had a huge great room and had an oval table in one corner. We would use that table and chairs and build an awesome fort. We could sit under there and play anything. We could watch TV from under there and we could sleep under there. When we were at their house, we used the living room and built the fort using the couch and chairs from the dining table. This one worked just as good, except there was no TV as it was their "formal" living and dining rooms. These two sisters and I were inseparable when I would be in DC and we remained good friends even as we headed off to college. I have lost touch recently, but will now have to try and contact them again. I'm just glad my daughters will have fun fort memories too. We'll have to keep working on building them so they can build them without my help when their friends play at our house!

Dance Recital '09

The girls have danced all year and it was finally time for the big recital. We were at a new venue this year (we outgrew the old one) which was newer, had better lights, etc. It also meant that we could only have the recital on Friday and Saturday which worked out great for us! Riley's classes were in both of the big evening shows and Kamryn's was Saturday early evening. Both girls did great and enjoyed being on the stage! I worked backstage for all the shows they were in which usually isn't bad, except the AC at the school had broken in the wing housing the dressing rooms. It was SO hot, but we all brought fans and did the best we could. Due to the several costume changes, I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked.

Riley and some of her friends getting ready for hip hop (somehow I missed ballet, tap, and jazz costumes)

Riley and one of her friends before they went on stage

Kamryn with some of her friends chillin' before tap

Kamryn (and her flowers) in her hip hop costume with her FAVORITE dancer and babysitter

Little Fishies

As I think I mentioned before, Riley and Kamryn were signed up for swim lessons right after school got out. I wanted them done early in the summer so I wouldn't have to worry about it later. They both did great! While they both LOVE to play in the water, they do better for their lessons when they are in deeper water where they cannot touch. As long as that was the case, they were awesome. It didn't take their teachers long to figure that out. We were very proud of how they both did. Since they're only taking the one lesson this summer, it'll be up to Doug and I to keep practicing with them so they continue to improve over the summer.

Riley practicing her kneeling dive

Kamryn floating on her back

Kamryn trying to swim freestyle and breathe to the side (hard for a 4 year old to do)

Thank you gifts

As the school year was winding down, so was dance. We try and give our teachers at the studio an end of year thank you as well. This year, we had more teachers than we've had in the past, so I wanted to do something fun and cool that wouldn't cost me too much money. I also wanted it to mean something. An acquaintance of mine from home (someone my mom goes to church with) had a great idea that she was using for her school teachers. She posted it on her blog with the contact info and everything. After a lot of looking and thinking, I decided to order these for our dance teachers. I decided to use frames and went with the studio colors. Even though these went to dance teachers, the message is the same. I hope (and think) they all enjoyed them.

Catch up

Ok, today I finally got caught up with my blog. I've been busy (no real excuse) but the weather hasn't been very cooperative either. Sometimes I would sit down and get ready to blog only to hear some thunder. We try and turn the computer off during our thunderstorms in hopes that our computer will stay safe. So, rather than do one VERY long post, I actually posted as the events would have happened. Due to that fact, there are 6 posts below this one. I always laugh when one of my friends does this, but sometimes you just can't help it. Enjoy catching up with us!!

Summertime

Summer is here. Well, at least it is because school is out. Now we have a few months of trying to figure out what to do with the girls. At least we have a start. Yesterday, Riley went to a pool party thrown by one of her friends' moms. She had a pool and pizza party for everyone in Riley's class, plus friends of her other children. Even though it rained most of the time, all the kids had fun. Too bad I couldn't take Kamryn anywhere due to the rain, but she helped me around the house. Starting tomorrow, they both have swim lessons in the morning (I'll try and get pics this time) for the next two weeks. Then, we have dance almost every day next week as we get ready for recital next weekend. After that, I'll be looking for activities and summer camps for the girls to keep them busy. I'm sure Kamryn will go to camp at her school sometimes and Riley will go to the camp the city of Clermont is running. We also have dance (national competition) and movies to see. Plus, lots of friends to try and see. We also need to make sure we do some reading, keep up with our writing, practice our math, etc. For Kamryn, we can work on writing her letters and her blend sounds as she'll be learning to read next year. I'm sure we'll also have to hit Disney a few times, not to mention the water parks. Plus, Riley wants to play some golf. I guess I already have a good list of things to do with the girls. Let the summer begin!!

End of the School Year

Another school year has come to and end. This time, we had two kids ending their years with programs. We are so proud of Riley and Kamryn and the work that they put in this year. I borrowed an idea from a friend and made a crayon wreath for both of our teachers and they loved it. We also had each girl write a note and draw them a picture. We're thankful that they both had great teachers and learned so much, especially Kamryn.

Riley and her awards

Riley finished up all her stuff and spent basically the last two and a half weeks of school just playing around. She had an awards ceremony were we found out that she made the Principal's honor role (all A's) for the nine weeks and the year. We have a deal with Riley that she has to keep her grades up to get the Christmas present she wants (a wii). She had also gotten little awards for reading and math as school was ending. I think she read the most books or scored the most points on AR tests (questions on books they've read they answer on the computer) for her class because she got a really nice hat from her teacher and she said she was the only one. We can really see a difference in her reading. She's always been a good reader, but we weren't sure she would make that leap to chapter books since they take longer to read. So far, it hasn't been a problem. Hopefully, we'll be able to keep it up through the summer. I'm up for suggestions on books she might like.

Her class had a great end of year party. We had a luau theme and one of the moms had awesome decorations. The girls all had grass skirts and some of the boys wore Hawaiian print shirts. They made bracelets or door hangers, colored pictures, ate pizza and chips, and played games. Then we went outside for ice cream and the limbo contest. I do have to say that I did as well as most of the kids, but had to eventually stop as they got too low. They really enjoyed their day and it was a fun way to end a wonderful year. Even Riley's teacher Mrs.Powell had fun!

Kamryn was in an end of year program at her school on Friday (the last day of school). She learned all kinds of songs, verses and poems to perform. Her class (pre-k 3) was very cute and they all knew their parts. I'm sure it's daunting to be up on the 'stage' in from of all the parents for their class and those for k-4, but they did great. Kamryn was in the center and was the loudest it seemed like (taking after her sister I suppose). It's amazing how much kids can retain! While Riley would always do the whole program for us in the weeks leading up to it, Kamryn would only do parts and pieces here and there. Actually, it turned out that she knew parts from the k-4 class presentation as well as hers.

Kamryn and her class saying a poem

Singing a song

Kamryn with her best friend Taylor

Kamryn getting her awards.

She received an award for Bible, letters, phonics, numbers and counting. She also got one for getting all 'outstanding' in her subjects all year. Then, she got a surprise award - the citizenship award. We are very proud of her for this. This particular award only goes to one student in each class. Kamryn's teacher. Mrs. Wise, said that Kamryn was the recipient as she was most teachable all year, was a good listener as well as a good student, and was a good friend to all in the class.This is one area where she is definitely diferent than Riley.

Old Friends

the old gang and their kids

May brought several old friends of mine from NC down to Florida. Well, actually, one lives in Tampa with her family. Due to Facebook, I've reconnected with lots of old friends and as they've come to Orlando we've been able to get together. My kids think it's funny and really only have fun if my friends have young kids too. Thankfully, some of them do. The most recent visit was from Stephanie and Brian and their sons Turner and Will. Our mutual friend Britt lives in Tampa with her husband Doug and son Cole. These are women I have known since I was in 8th grade or so. We were in 4-H together, we all rode horses and we all went to the same junior and senior high school (they were all younger than me though). They are Britt and Cole came over one Saturday and we met Steph and her family at the Polynesian where they were staying. We spent the afternoon in the pool catching up with each other. Mostly it was me catching up since I had gone to college out of state and then moved down here. I hadn't seen Britt until very recently and didn't even know she lived in FL until a few months ago. Steph was down here on business but I hadn't seen her since our wedding in '96. It was so fun to meet their kids (Turner is Riley's age, Will is 15 months, and Cole is 23 months) and spend time together. I hope we'll be able to get together again. It would have been even better if Steph's twin sister Jenn had been able to come, plus our other friend Wendy. I'm excited for the next time I go home as I have even more people I need to see! Plus, I'm sure living in a vacation hot spot, I'll have even more opportunities to get together with old buddies!

Steph and her family

Britt's son Cole
Turner and Riley - once they got over being shy and the whole boy/girl thing they got along great and had SO much fun in the pool and on the slide

Memeorial Day

Memorial Day was pretty uneventful for us this year. Usually we go to the beach with friends and spend all day. We used to spend the night, but have had to stop that now that the kids are in school. We've had this tradition since before we had kids so it was sad that we couldn't make it this year. The main reason was that Doug had to work. Plus, most of our friends had other plans or no longer live on the area. So, our day was spent hanging out at home so the girls could play with friends, doing a little shopping, and seeing a movie (Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian). Not as great as the beach, but still fun. Sunday, however, we had a wonderful evening with friends. There are several of us who used to work together at Disney at the Brown Derby who still get together. Times have changed since we all have kids now. We've gotten together a couple of times and it's really fun just to hang out, catch up, let the kids play, and trade fun stories. We're really lucky that Nancy has become quite the entertainer, and that Kristine's husband James entertains all of the kids (basically they attack him and he puts up with it). It might be a little more difficult when the two youngest start joining the mix - right now it's 4 on 1 but it will eventually be 6 on 1. We're thankful that we're all still friends and enjoy each other's company since it's been almost seven years since we all worked together.

Kamryn the fish

As summer is fast approaching here in FL (already here if going by temps), the girls are getting ready for swim lessons. Kamryn will take 2 sets of lessons and Riley one set. Kamryn's first set were in May and were twice a week for four weeks. Somehow, we managed to avoid most of the rain and only got rained out once. Of course, that was the last lesson and the make up day even got rained out. So, a full week later they finally had their last lesson and took their "test". I wish I had some pics to post, but alas, I was a bad mom. I'll do better next time. The American Red Cross changed their lesson criteria this year so I wasn't sure how it would work for Kamryn. She did great!! She passed "Pre-school Level 3" which is the highest they have for that age group (3 &4). I have no idea what that means for her summer lessons, but I'm anxious to find out. She can swim the whole way across the pool (25 meters) as long as she flips on her back to rest and breathe. She does breathe by lifting her head up, but then she starts laughing which makes her swallow water sometimes. I think it might take a bit to learn to breathe to the side, but I'm impressed with what she can do. She is definitely further along than Riley was at this age. Of course, if she's in water where she can touch, she just puts her feet down as she breathes. They both have lessons starting soon (June) and will go for four days a week for two weeks. then, the rest of the summer will just be for play and for me to push them to continue to get better. I guess I really better pay attention during their lessons so I know what to work on with them.

Kamryn's Soccer

Doug and Kamryn before a game

Kamryn played soccer again this spring (her third 'season'). She had fun on "Team Cars" and there was even a girl from her class on her team. This wasn't the best team she has played on but all of the kids enjoyed playing and tried their hardest. Isn't that all you can ask of 3 and 4 year olds? It was fun watching them run around at practice and at the games. The season lasts eight weeks and that is just long enough. Fortunately, it didn't get too unbearably hot during the season and we only had one practice rained out.

Kamryn and Coach Matt


Kamryn and Jordynne (her friend from school who was on her team)



Dribbling the ball



Going after the ball