More Swim!

Today was our third swim lesson. Abby and Emily are both doing really well, although Emily still tends to have stage fright during class. She bravely does everything that she's asked to do, but there are tears throughout the entire experience. The other Moms laugh because every time she gets out of the pool, she blows me a trembly kiss and whispers that she loves me. They tell me to enjoy it while it lasts - sooner or later she'll become a teenager and stop speaking to me! Ms. Betsy is extremely patient and kind - even when Emily repeatedly asks how many minutes they have left in the lesson. Speaking of, I've got to have a talk with her about that before Thursday! Enjoy the pictures of our watery afternoon.

Floating - her favorite part
All lined up and ready to go!

Ms. Betsy had to keep telling her to let go of her finger. She had a death grip.

Second attempt

She loves her "rock star" bathing suit

The look on her face breaks my heart - or cracks me up, depending on my mood.

Swimming across the shallows with a little help

Abby dives in for some noodle swimming

Deep breath!

Practicing knee dives

I love the way Ms. Betsy uses the backs of their swimsuits as a handle

Fresh strawberries!

We are trying our hands at gardening this summer and are so far impressed with our results. If the deer don't get to our plants first, we can look forward to some delicious watermelons, peppers, tomatoes, and other goodies fairly soon. We also have strawberries and herbs growing up on the patio. It was wonderful to drink tea with mint from my own garden with supper this week! Emily is very sweet to help us go out and water everything and loves to check to see how all the plants are growing. Tonight, she was excited to discover that one of our strawberry plants had produced its first strawberry. She's pretty "itchy" like her mom and dad and couldn't wait to pick it and eat it. At this rate, I don't know that we'll ever accumulate enough to make strawberry ice cream this summer, but she sure did enjoy the first fruit of her labor!

Swim Lessons

I took both of the girls to swim lessons for the first time this week. They were both really excited to swim - but not so excited to have to wear the mandatory swim cap. Thankfully, Miss Betsy showed us the easy trick to getting the cap on without pulling all of their hair out. Too bad I didn't know this trick before I put the caps on them for the first time! Abby had a great time on her first lesson and was swimming around like a pro without any floaties by the end of the hour. Emily, in true Emily style, had a bit of stage fright and "missed" me for most of the lesson (even though I was only ten feet away the entire time!). Fortuntely, the second lesson went better. She must have started believing that absence makes the heart grow fonder. At any rate, swimming makes for a wonderful nap time later- good sleep for the girls, quiet reading time for me!

Graduation Ceremony

I cannot believe that our little girl is ready for kindergarten! We celebrated Emily's graduation from preschool this month. The students were so sweet and peformed all their songs and dances like little sweethearts. Now, if anyone has any advice on how to get a four year old up, dressed, fed, and off to school by 7:15, I'd appreciate any input you might have. Keep in mind that all outfits have to pass a rigorous series of criteria, including "Is it purple?" and "Does it look like a rock star?"

Hello, family!
I hope she didn't inherit Mommy's poor vision.

A little blurry, but the hair was too much fun to leave this photo out!

She loves learning sign language with the songs.

We learned the letter E!

Rocking out on the numbers song.

Getting a hug and a diploma from Ms. Jamie

Just beautiful! And so proud of her very first ever flowers from Mimi, Papa, Yam, and Abby.

Thanks to Yammy for a great family photo!

Posing on stage before heading downstairs for snacks.

A little fun in the grass on the way to the car

Excited about her graduation gift - her very own box of nail polishes in crazy colors!

Shrek Party

Amy was recently the winner of an online contest to promote the new Shrek movie that's coming out. She won a huge gift card from McDonalds, a copy of the Shrek the Third DVD, loads of McDonald's Shrek toys, cups, plates, decorations....I can't remember what all! We had a fun time with friends celebrating this crazy event. Amy and I backed up the McDonald's staff for quite a bit as they tried to fill what had to be their biggest order ever. I think my car smelled like Big Macs for about a week! Fabulous Shrek decor. And yes, those toys make noise when you poke them.
Dig those purple fingernails

Woohoo! McDonald's for supper - and breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week!

Yum! Mim and Amy made dirt sundaes for our little ogres.

Movie time!

I love this picture. Emily had the slow blinks by the time the movie was over!

Spring Fling

I took Abby and Emily to my school's Spring Fling this week and they both had a blast. Kids are funny - although they had a string of tickets each, as well as armbands to get them on the rides, they were most interested in playing on the school's playground equipment. It's the simple things in life that matter most!
Emily has always loved to dangle.

Taking a break for a sugar recharge.

Whee!

Picking out some books at the book sale

Sugar recharge number two

I didn't realize how accustomed I am to seeing Abby in her glasses until I saw this picture!

Concert Time

Emily and Abby love to stage "shows" for anyone who is willing to watch. They've recently fallen under the spell of Kesha's Tik Tok. Although the language is a bit scurrilous, it's pretty funny that they've learned all the lyrics. They're also big fans of Ice Ice Baby. Some things just never go out of style. I'm looking into buying them each a pair of Hammer pants for back to school. Here are some picture from their latest performance!