Dog Days of Summer

(Isn't Maddie the cutest!?!)

 

It really has not been hot enough up here to call it "the dog days of summer", but our days have been quite mundane. We are lacking in excitement around here. But sometimes that is a good thing!

Since the weather has been so nice, the girls and I have been spending a lot of time outdoors. We have a lot to do right in our own back yard.

Kate and Tori swing.

Alli climbs the monkey bars.

And she catches butterflies.

She is really good at catching them. She keeps them in her little bug box for a little bit. And then, reluctantly, she lets them go.

They all pick raspberries.

We have a ton of raspberry bushes in our yard. They are yummy!

We look for weird bugs.

We feed the fish.

Next week Alli will go back to school. And the the following week Tori will start preschool. This is Alli's first year of all day school and Tori's first year of preschool. She will go to school two days a week. I am glad to be getting back on a schedule and routine, but I will miss my girls! And I am sure after about a month of running around to gymnastics, ballet and soccer practice, I will be wishing for those mundane days with nothing to do!

Oh- Mr. Bear has shown up around the hood a couple of more times. I had actually just started running with a neighbor and the day before we were scheduled to run the bear was in our neighborhood. My neighbor was like, "It will be fine. I have been running for a long time and nothing has ever happened." I gave in and went for a run with her the next day. I prayed before we ran that we would not run into Mr. Bear. So as we are about halfway into our run, a truck that was coming towards us slows down and then stops. The gentleman rolls down the window and tells us that we probably don't want to go any further because he just saw a bear down the road! Thank you Lord for sending this man to keep me from having a heart attack!! Seriously, I don't know what I would have done if I would have seen that bear! Could you imagine? I know some people think it is silly to let a bear keep me from running outside. They say the bear is scared of you and doesn't want anything to do with you. But this momma is not taking any chances. My neighbor and I made it back home in record time that day! Our running relationship was short lived......maybe we'll start up again when Mr. Bear is hibernating.

Virginia Beach Vacation

We had a great time on our vacation. We went to Virginia Beach with Pete and Jami Manternach and their two kids, Tyler and Carson. Pete and Jami are great friends of ours from our Army days. Pete (my Pete) went to school with both of them. It was about an eight hour drive for us. We were a bit nervous about how the drive would go, but it went very well. In fact, it went so well that we are actually considering driving home for Thanksgiving! I was also a bit nervous about being at at the beach with the kids for a whole week. Especially since we were not at a resort with a ton of other things to do. But the kids did fantastic. It was awesome to see them enjoy themselves so much. And vacationing with our friends was great. Tori was always referring to Pete M. as "the other Pete- not the one your married to". It was so cute.

We rented a house that was right across the street from the beach entrance. Location was key.....there were a lot of bathroom trips! The house was.....er, not so great. But it worked and we really did not spend a ton of time in the house. Our daily schedule was as follows:

* Wake up

* Eat breakfast

* Get sun screen and suits on

* Go to the beach for hours

* Back to the house for lunch

* Back to the beach for a few more hours.

* Back to the house

* Shower children outside

* Make and eat dinner

* Put the kids to bed

* Drink margaritas and play cards

* Go to bed

Yep, that pretty much wraps up our vacation! We did not do a whole lot more than hang on the beach! And that is my kind of vacation!

We did manage to exercise on a few days.

We adults got one night out! Pete and Jami go to VA Beach every year so they have a babysitter there.

The kids also had a couple of nights out. We let them ride their bikes down the boardwalk to get some ice cream one night. On our last night, we went to a little carnival type amusement park. And, of course, we spent some time in those overpriced souvenir shops!

Here are a few pictures from this past week.

Pete caught a little sting ray.

Alli and Carson are mermaids. They had a lot of fun together.

Tori spent hours building sand castles and decorating them with sea shells.

Run Katie Run! Katie loved to run into the water. She would lay down and splash around for about a minute, get back up and run back to me. She would tell me how cold it was and then turn around and repeat this- over and over again.

Tyler is really good at boogie boarding. Next year he gets a surf board!

Pete had a great beard by the end of the week.

What a nice way to end our vacation- Go-Cart racing!

Pete V. vs Pete M.

Vacations are always learning experiences. I am always leaving a vacation and saying next time we should do this or next time we wont do this. As always, I learned a few things from this vacation:

1.  Ultimate Margarita Mix must be refrigerated after opening......major intestinal problems will result if it is not refrigerated.

2.  Kids can be entertained for hours upon hours on the beach with nothing more than buckets and shovels.

3.  You can never have enough snacks for a day at the beach.

4.  Kids will still eat their snacks even if it has sand in it.

5.  No matter how long you leave windows and doors open, you can never really get rid of the moth ball smell.

6.  Never do all your laundry before leaving a rent house that smells like moth balls. When you return home and open up your suitcase, all the clean clothes will smell like moth balls and need to be rewashed.

7.  The sand is never completely gone.

8.  While going to the beach with your kids there is no need to bring a book........unless your name is Pete.

9.  Digging holes in the sand is considered a workout when you are on vacation.

10. Not all kids will pee in the water.

VA Beach

Eight hours in the car to spend one week on the beach.....I hope it is worth it!


I'll let you know!

The Never Ending Breakfast

It is 7:30 am. The girls and I make our way into the kitchen. Tori immediately goes into the playroom to dress-up or color or play with ponies. Katie has been asking to eat since I took her out of her crib. So I get her breakfast first- a Health Valley cereal bar or cold cereal. She chooses cereal this morning.

Alli helps herself into the fridge. She stands there for 5 minutes before she asks if she can have pudding for breakfast.

Me- Sure. It has calcium. Tori, why don't you come and eat some breakfast.

Tori- Ok, Mama.

I pour my coffee. Make Pete's coffee. (He works from home most days of the week.)

I put a waffle in the toaster oven. Take a sip of coffee. Start to spread the peanut butter on my waffle.

Tori emerges from the playroom donned in her princess gear- a princess crown, a princess dress, princess shoes, and a wand.

Tori- Oh! A waffle with peanut butter! That is what I want for breakfast, Mommy.

Me- Sure. Here you go. You can have this one.

Alli- That looks good. Can I have one?

Me- Sure.

I put two more waffles in the toaster.

Katie- I bite. T-E! (This is how she says Tori) T-E! I bite!

Tori- Mom, Katie wants a waffle.

Me- Ok.

I take the two waffles out of the toaster. Spread peanut butter. Cut them up and give one to Alli and one to Katie.

I see Pete poking his head out of his office door.

Pete- Honey, would you mind putting two waffles in the toaster for me?

Me- Sure.

I put two more waffles in the toaster. I wait for the "ding". I put peanut butter on them. Alli and Tori want to play waitress. Alli carries the plate. Tori carries the napkin and fork.

Katie knocks over what was left in her cereal bowl.

I clean up the mess and promise myself that I will remember to pick up her bowl as soon as she is done tomorrow.

Tori- Mom! You did not give me a drink.

Me- Sorry, Tor. Do you want a sippy or a big girl cup. 

Tori- I want a big girl cup because I am a big girl.

Me- Yes you are.

I serve Tori her drink.

I put the last waffle in the toaster. Make it and quickly eat it before anyone needs anything else!

It is 8:55am.

Alli- Mom, I am still hungry. Can I have another waffle?

Me- Sure you can. Just make yourself, okay!

Tori- Mom, I need some more orange juice.

The breakfast that never ends!

A Missing Tooth

I took the girls to the dentist the other day for their cleanings. This was Tori's first dental appointment. She did great. My girls are always excited to go to the doctor or dentist.

Alli's teeth are looking great.

Tori has a little cavity right between her two back molars. Bummer! I really could not believe it! She is so good about letting us brush her teeth. But what surprised me more is that she is missing a tooth! She only has nine teeth on the bottom. One of her bicuspids never came in. They x-rayed her mouth to see if there is an adult tooth, but it was hard to tell. Probably because her mouth is still so small. How did I not notice? Well, I guess I never have actually counted her teeth. I just assumed they were all there!

Showing off their sparkling clean teeth.

Wrapping Up Texas Trip

Kimberly's Night Out

My night out was spent with my two favorite cousins

 

and my BFF.

 

Melissa and I headed to Austin, checked into the hotel and got ready for our night out. Sammy picked us up to start our night at this AWESOME sushi restaurant Uchi. It was such a neat place and the food was SO GOOD.....my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Next, we went to hang out with my brother He bartends, manages and is part owner of a bar down town.

It was great to see my bro and meet some of his friends.

And great just be able to spend time with people I really miss!

Texas Trip- Part 3

Family Time!

COUSINS

 

The Girls love spending time with their cousins...

  and so do I! (and my sister too)

This is my cousin Vince. His band just happened to get their first San Antonio gig while I was visiting. This was one of my favorite nights while in SA. Most of my family came out to see him. I love that everyone in my family is so supportive. I stayed out until 2am!!! Something I have not done in years!

 

And visiting Great Grandpa and his dog, Daisy, was also one of my favorite days. I love being in his house. And I love sharing stories with the girls of all the great times I have had there. 

Texas Trip- Part 2 Week One

The first week in Texas was quite busy! I wanted to hurry up and see everyone!

Alli lost her tooth the day after we arrived to SA. She has lost a total of 3 teeth and 2 of them have been lost in San Antonio. Tooth number two was lost while we were there for my brother's wedding. This third tooth is her first one on the top to come out. The one next to it is a little loose.

We spent the next couple of days spending time with family. And we celebrated my niece Jenna's third birthday.

Before Jenna's birthday party, the girls and I went to our old church Oak Hills and then to lunch with our friends from our Life Group. Tori could not have been happier to see her two "best friends" Josie and Emma.

I needed to get to Austin as soon as possible. There is this little baby boy that I have been waiting to meet!

So the next day the girls and I headed up to Austin to finally meet Jacob, Sammy's baby boy! I was just thrilled to meet him! Our friend Lisa and her two boys came to hang out with us too. These boys are so cute! We met at Sammy's mother in-law, Kathy's, so we could swim with the kids.

We not only met at Kathy's to swim, but also to see my first love, Sam Beau. If you knew me in college or before we had Alli, you know who Sam Beau is. For those of you who do not know, Sam Beau was my little chihuahua that was my "baby". He became very depressed after Alli was born. I felt so bad for him and so sad because I knew that we were no longer the right family for him. Sam Beau needed to be in a home where he was the center of attention. Long story short, Sammy's mother in-law is now Sam Beau's mommy. He could not be in a better home. He will be 13 years old in just a few days.

My First Love...

Later in the week, I met up with my sister in-law, Morgan, who just happened to be vacationing in San Antonio. It was a real treat to be able to see her family. The girls were excited to meet their little cousin Bailey.

And to wrap up week number one, I met up with my best friend from high school, Amber, whose daughter, Paige, happens to be Alli's "very best friend in the whole world". It is so great to see Alli and Paige together. I love that they are such good friends! Alli wears half of a "Best Friends" necklace that Paige gave to her.