Seaworld 2009

This is the first time the kids and I have been to Seaworld. Randy had gone years ago when he was about 6 or 7. I was so excited! We had a great time. It was a little overcast in the earlier part of the day and of course I felt the burn on my shoulders. I was so amazed on how smart these beautiful creatures are. Shamu is amazing!!!! We will be going back before the year ends for sure.

Fourth of July 2009

For the past couple of years Randy and I host 4th of July. Last year we had a party with Randy's band. This year it was mellow and quiet....just the way I like it. I don't mind a big party but this year I wanted it to be simple. I had my mother and brother over. We did the usual hot dogs, hamburgers and salads. We live on a small cul-de-sac and we have a (so called) block party. All of our neighbors are very nice. Next year I am determined to have a house with a pool. I will keep you updated.

Last Day of School

The last day of school is always bittersweet for me. I love that school is out but I also dread the long summer. It is always hard to have a daycare out of your home during the summer. My kids just don't understand why we are stuck at home. It is not easy trying to explain to a 6 year old that mommy does not have the patience to drag 6 extra kids with us. This year the kids only had 8 weeks off, which is just fine for me! Adam had a 5th grade promotion and Sam had father/daughter day at the end of the year.

Dance Recital

Sam just had her dance recital and I am so proud on how well she did. My good friend Trisha teaches the dance class and Sam's class learned three dances. Trisha is brillant when it comes to coreography and music choice. Oh and also Trisha makes all the costumes herself. Way to much talent there. Anyways...Sam did an outstanding job. This is the second year I have helped with the costumes back stage. It is very caotic and rushed but I love it. I don't get to see the performance until I watch it on video when I get home. This year I took a camera back stage and took photos of the girls getting in costume. I HAD some great shots. Notice I said HAD....when importing the pictures to my computer something went wrong and all the pictures were erased. I actually cried about this. So instead I took my camera to the photo shoot the next weekend and got some good shots.

Sam Is Tiger Cub Of The Week

So I am a little late in posting this but Sam was Tiger Cub of the week at school. This means you have a special week of sharing things about yourself with the class. She also had special duties in her class. She was so excited and waited all year for this. She had to color a poster about herself and all her favorite things. Her favorite part about Tiger Cub of the week was taking home "Roary" the school mascot. She slept with it, dressed it up and watched Dancing with the Stars with it. I shouldn't call Roary "it" but I'm not sure if it is a boy or girl. In actuality I do know who is under the costume for our school mascot and I know it is a girl...but I think you assume it is a boy because it is a tiger. It's our secret!!!! Sam has no idea who is in the costume....one day she will find out....and what a shock she will have.

Gymnastics

Sam started gymnastics a few weeks ago. The first session went great. The second session was way too crowded and very discouraging. The teacher decided to break the class up and that made a huge difference. There was only 10 girls instead of the 30 last week. She is doing good but we need to practice. She had a little accident on the balance beam but she was a trooper and got right back on (after she cried a little) and finished activity.

Dad's Route 66 Party

So today was my Dad's 60th birthday. We decided to have a Route 66 birthday party for him because he is going to travel Route 66 from beginning to end. He is leaving in June and we decided to make all his gifts Route 66 related. We all wore Route shirts. My stepmom Martha decided to buy hers and I made ours. Thanks to my dear friend Kristine, she made the patterns for me to iron-on. I made route 66 brownies since Martha was bringing the cake. It just so happened that the cake had and accident on route to my house. It was still edible. We had my dad's favorite pizza and lots of snacks. It turned out to be a good party.