oh, summer

We've had two trips to the beach so far this summer. The first one was kind of a nightmare. Morgan was still deathly afraid of the waves and wouldn't go anywhere near the water. There were a couple of times where she made it halfway, but then turned around and bolted back to home base. Then there's the ride home where everyone complains about having sand in their butt. The clean up at home isn't much better. They both whine the entire time they're in the shower. But there's alway fun moments. Like lunch. 

This child of mine. She did not want to have her picture taken. This is the look I got. The lip, the turn, the arm. I could do nothing but laugh.

She came around once she had a Sprite and some Pringles.

Our first Summer 2013 beach picture. There were only minimal sun burns like the top of my feet and the two spots on my back that Addison missed. Morgan was a little red on her arms and I cried that night. I'm such a horrible parent.

Our second trip was so much better. We went with a big group of friends and there were a lot of kids. Before I even had the stuff unloaded Morgan was down at the water getting her feet wet. Then her and Lucas dug a hole. Morgan has a thing for digging holes at the beach.

Morgan kept a hat on most of the day and even played in the shade under the umbrella. The sun damage was a lot less this trip. I kept my hat on the whole time as well and remembered to sunscreen my feet.

The best part of the whole trip was using our new beach cart that we found at Costco. That thing is fabulous! The chairs, the umbrella and all the toys on one cart. All of our friends were totally jealous of our fancy new wheels.

Here's to summer!

field day and awards

Addison had her field day the week before school was out. The weather turned out to be great. It wasn't too humid and there was a light breeze in the air. One kid threw up, but most handled the heat pretty well. Michael and I were both able to go and spend some time with her and her friends. We watched her spin on the bat and master the shot put. 

Water break.

Addison with her friend Scarlette again. I'm so happy that she made some really good friends this year.

Let's be honest. I take a lot of pictures. But for all the good ones you see, there are more that look like this.

I take the bad because every once in awhile I get the good. This is the screensaver on my phone. One of my faves. 

The day was jam packed with activities. I went to work, then to field day, back to work and then back to the school that afternoon for the last awards ceremony of the year. I'm so proud of Addison. She worked really hard this year and got E Honor Roll all year. She also logged 200 books read for the year and got a gift card to Chick-fil-a. A lot of it comes naturally to her. She loves to reading, writing and math. She really just loves to learn. They asked all the kids that day what they wanted to be when they grew up. Addison said an author.

I remember the first day of school and how nervous I was about everything. What did she do all day? How did she handle it? What would her teachers be like? Over time I really got to know Addison's teachers, both in and out of school. I fully believe it takes a special kind of person to be a teacher. This past year we were blessed with two of the best. Ms. Pomeroy and Mrs. Sambito helped make Addison's Kindergarten year fabulous. I also gained two new friends that I hope will be in my life for many years to come. We love you both!

father's day 2013

The festivities began on Saturday. My dad arrived early Saturday morning and the girls kept him busy all day. They played Barbies and Squinkies and even did their own make-up. While I was cooking they asked me to paint their fingers and toes. Since I was a little busy, Grandpa stepped in. The girls seemed pleased with the results.

Later that afternoon I hosted lunch/dinner for my dad and siblings. We had wings from Hooters, but I made most of the sides. We had a nice lunch and then cupcakes outside. Look at all these girls. My brother's daughter M is getting so big. She's probably bigger than Morgan. My sister's daughter Aleyece is the cutest. She lets me hold her whenever I want and the chunk on her legs gets me everytime. The older ones enjoyed the treats while Aleyece enjoyed her cup.

Then we did some fishing in the pond/lake behind the house.

See this. Just as big as Morgan.

Then I took these pictures of Aleyece and Courtney. I love being an Aunt to these two girls.

We had a great time spending Saturday with family. My dad left early Sunday morning and then we went out to the park for a little bit. They had this new swing there that the girls loved. It was the weirdest thing. I could even fit in it.

Then we headed to the mall for a few minutes. I let Michael have 10 minutes in Banana Republic while the girls and I rode the train. Side note: $4 per person to loop around the mall parking lot is a little ridiculous. And parents should get to ride free. I mean, am I really going to let my kids ride alone? Robbery I tell you.

Michael decided he didn't need a big fancy lunch so since we were already in there, we had lunch at Costco. A piece of pizza, turkey provolone sandwich, and a hotdog/drink combo cost us $8.01. And then we had another course as we tasted all the samples. Michael is easy to please.

Some days he plays castle and Morgan makes him be the evil wizard. Other days he's Ariel's prince. But he's a great dad everyday! The girls and I are very lucky. Happy Father's Day Michael. We love you. 

school happenings

The last six weeks of school were filled with a lot of fun things. Back in April they had Eric Carle week. On Friday they had crafts and snacks so I went by to visit for a little bit.

Author and illustrator Kevin O'Malley visited the school. I went to the library and checked out some books of his before the visit. Addison and I read them and then she wrote a nice letter to him. She got to hand deliver to him, evidently while he was eating lunch. Her teacher sent me this picture.

The Friday before Mother's Day Addison's class had a special treat for us. We were greeted with muffins and juice and then they played the sweetest video with pictures of the kids with their moms. Then they were all interviewed and asked why do you love your mom. It must have been taped soon after our trip to Disney because Addison loves me because I took her to Disney World. 

Much to my surprise, Addison's Science Journal was on display outside the classroom. I was so excited to see her work and to read all of the nice things her teachers had to say about her.

This sweet girl just loves school. I hope to still be saying that in 10 years.

color run

I'm still running. I can run a 5k without much trouble and I enjoy it - a little. Back in April my friend Magaly asked if I wanted to do a color run with a bunch of girls. I've seen them, but have never done one. We came up with a team name - Kicking Asphalt - and decked out in pink and black. Here's me, Magaly and Kelly (below) all nice and clean before the race.

I found those ridiculous looking pink camo shorts at Marshalls the week of the race. The socks came from Target. They came in handy since it was a cool April morning.

The race was held downtown in and around the football stadium. They had us going up the ramps and then coming down the other side. You ran through the field and the guess what? You had to go up another set of ramps and then down again. I don't know about the other girls, but I don't train on an incline. That's why I live in Florida. I like that everything is flat. Those ramps were BRUTAL! Good thing this wasn't a timed race, because at the end I was nearly crawling up those things. But it was worth it. We had a great time getting blasted with color, which is just corn starch.

After several failed attempts at this picture with an iPhone, a photographer walking by was nice enough to take it for us. I stole it from Facebook. Credit to Philip Hertz Photography.

 Here's our crazy group. I only knew Magaly and Kelly, but it was fun running this with a group of girls.

And my favorite running picture of all time. If you're going to pose for the camera, go big! It's no fun if you're not making a fool out of yourself.

The next color run is in October. I can't wait!