The Aftermath of School's Out

Our camera is broken, so no new pictures!! Sorry. But hopefully I will have some soon. It apparently wasn't working when we got to the lake, but then yesterday when we were backing the boat into our driveway (after driving 2 hours home from the lake) I saw that our camera was hanging by it's strap from the pole of the stair handle on the boat trailer. I think it's safe to say it is officially broken now.

School is over! I'm so super happy. Thursday we went to swim practice and rested. Friday we went to swim practice, packed and left for the lake. We had fun at the lake with all our cousins, we swam, went out on the boat, we ate, and then ate some more, went shopping, we saw Indiana Jones (which was kid of a let down). Charlotte had some sort of reaction (either poison ivy or a reaction from putting Tori's lip gloss all over her face and body on top of her sunscreen and then being in the sun for an hour or two "baking" it into her skin on Saturday). We had to give her Benadryl which knocked her OUT for about 3 hours solid. She is better now but had a pretty awful rash most of yesterday.

Sarah-Grace is swimming exceptionally well. Friday she swam the freestyle completely unassisted across the width of the pool 3 times!! Today she swam it the length of the pool twice. I am very proud and she is very proud of herself. It's amazing how quickly kids learn. Sarah-Grace and a friend will begin horseback riding lessons soon and so we went and checked out the first place we were "interviewing" today and then went and had them fitted for boots and helmets. We can't wait to begin buying them their pants, shirts and blazers - they are going to be adorable!! One of the horses was named Crash and my friend (whose little girl will be taking lessons with Sarah-Grace) said she didn't want her daughter on a horse named Crash!! I thought that was so funny. I've just suspected for a while that Charlotte will be a horse lover and today the riding instructor watching Charlotte look and interact with the horses said the same thing! If she was old enough to take lessons we would be in real trouble, but thankfully most places won't take them until they are 6.

My hydrangeas are finally blooming and so I've been cutting them all day and putting them all over the house (the den, the kitchen, the foyer, my room, my mom's room, the girls' rooms, and some for friends). I was on my last arrangement and I asked Tad to go and cut me 2 more blooms. The girls followed him out and Sarah-Grace remarked on her way to the bushes that we really need to be careful that we don't touch the poison ivy at the bottom of the deck stairs (yes these would be the ones I passed oh I don't know 7 or 8 times today)!! Ever since Tad informed me of Sarah-Grace's discovery I can't stop itching all over. I don't know if it's because I actually have poison ivy or because I think it could possibly have it. I will now probably be taking the Benadryl we bought for Charlotte!! AHHH...

Over the weekend a neighbor two doors down screamed a coyote away that was trying to jump her fence to get to her dog. I bought the girls' a night vision, motion sensor camera for the backyard a few months ago for Tad to set up. I was hoping we would you know get pictures of birds, rabbits, squirrels even maybe a deer that are very common to see in our neighborhood. Tad never had time to put it up, but tonight he was like a little kid getting that sucker set up in the back yard so he could possibly get a coyote picture. At least one of the cameras we own still works!! We might not have pictures of the girls over the next week, but we will of whatever creeps around our yard at night.

Catch Up

One more day of school and I am sad and excited all at the same time. I will miss my friends and the girls' teachers so much. But, it's time to move on and I definitely won't miss the drama and all the hours and hours of work!! I enjoyed volunteering and I really enjoyed all the amazing people I met and being able to give in such a big way. I know we made a difference in the lives of not only the students but also the parents this year and it makes it all worth it!! If you haven't served at your child's school you really should. It will make you appreciate your teacher's and your school staff more than you could ever imagine. I will also say that I worked in some pretty competitive cut throat corporate jobs and I learned more in the past 10 months than I ever learned at a paying job!

Sarah-Grace started swim team yesterday and I think we are really going to like it. It fits us well, it's practice every weekday from now until the middle of July plus swim meets once a week and then it's over. If you know me at all you know this is right up my alley - intense, hard work for a short period of time!! Charlotte wants to join the team as well but considering I have taken her to the pool 4 times in the past few weeks and all she does is look at the water I see swim lessons in her future rather than swim team. I told her the other day I don't know why I go to the trouble of putting her in a swim suit, lathering sun screen on her, packing the towel, the toys, the swim cover up and more just so she can run around on the cement and scream at Grace!

Tori graduated last weekend. I just still can't believe she is moving away in 7 weeks!! She is such an amazing girl and Kevin is such a lucky guy!! I just hope he brings her home someday - to live here!! I would be a total mess if I were David and Jeannie and they have been really wonderful and holding up (I think) incredibly well. Charlotte is convinced she is moving with Tori. She told me the other day that she was going to miss me but that she needed to sleep at Tori & Kevin's house since it was so far away from here. I explained that she would be visiting Tori & Kevin but that she was going to continue to live here with us. I still don't think she quite understands!! Mother's Day was nice, hectic but nice. We went to church, then home to change, then Old Town Tavern for lunch with 1,000 other people, then to Jeannie's, then home, then out to BiBa's for dinner and then home at last! Below is one of the 8 slide shows we made for all the women in our family from the girls. I thought they were precious!!