4th of July

We had our first rainy 4th of July where the days events were postponed.  We were concerned that the annual Tuxford parade was going to be cancelled since it could not be postponed until Saturday like the pool party was.  Thankfully there was a break in the weather and we were able to continue with our parade!

The girls were so excited about the event, and a little sprinkling of rain was not going to dampen any one's spirits.

Thanks in large part to our super cute girls, we came in 1st place for the motorized category!

After the parade we opted to have a rainy day at the pool.  The kids were going to be wet anyway, so what did a little extra water matter?  As long as there was no thunder the kids were able to swim in the pool.  When there was thunder the kids found the joys of running in the rain on the tennis courts.



To cap off our rainy 4th of July, Zoey & I went to see Despicable Me 2.  We had to go to two theaters since there were all sold out, but we were able to finally get tickets to a 4:15 pm movie.  All in all a rainy but good day.

Lost Tooth and Poop

Okay, so maybe not the both at the same time, but the title is accurate for our weekend activities.

Friday night we were up at the pool, enjoying the night, good food and good friends.  Zoey was playing with her friends, and next thing I know, she's crying and has a mouth full of blood.  Apparently she took a tumble and fell on her face.  Her previously wiggly front tooth was pretty much rady to come out.  In fact both top front teeth were pertty wiggly.  After some coaxing (and cuddling from mommy) daddy was able to convince her to let him have a go at the tooth.  Needless to say Zoey is now less one tooth.  We thought for sure the other one would be coming out this weekend as well, but it wasn't quite ready.

Sunday, during her nap, Riley discovered the joy of poop.  She thought it was fun to cover herself, her crib and her toys & books in poop.  Josh was completely grossed out, and I thought it was funny; probably because Nana was cleaning her up and I only had to throw in a load of laundry.

Yellowstone, here we come!

Josh, Zoey & I will be heading out to Yellowstone National Park bright and early tomorrow morning ... as in we have a 6:30 am flight.  We've been packed up since last weekend, and our suitcases are jam-packed.  We've been told that the weather really fluctuates this time of year and that we should layer.  Hopefully we have what we need, but we'll find out tomorrow! 

We're all really excited to see all of the wildlife and the geysers (Zoey especially wants to see some geysers).  Hopefully we'll have some great photos to share when we get back.

She did it!

Riley finally did pee-pee and poopy on the potty this weekend ... while sitting and reading a book.  She was so dang proud of herself (as was I!), it was so stink' cute.  Hopefully this is the start of a whole new world for us.  Aaahhh, to finally be free of diapers/pull-ups would be such a wonderful thing; and a major cost saver too!

Swim Meet

Zoey swam 3 heats in her swim meet last night, and she improved her backstroke by 9 seconds.  She seems to be getting the hang of this whole swim thing.  Josh & I were on ribbon writing duty, which allowed us (after Zoey was finished with her heats) to sit in the air conditioned clubhouse with good friends while sticking stickers on the backs of ribbons.  Zoey earned herself 2 second place ribbons and 1 third place ribbon last night.  Go Zoey!

What you can almost make out in the first photo is that the kids get their heat numbers and lane number written on their arms at the Thursday practices.  Riley had her own version written on her arm, which included hears and butterflies.  She was super excited to show me her arm when I got there.  Maybe we'll have a second swimmer in a few years.

First Swim Meet

Zoey had her first swim meet last Thursday at Martin's Landing subdivision.  She was in the first heat, and I was coming from work and had to park like 15 miles from the pool.  So, I ran ... in my wedges ... not my best decision ever, as I ended up taking a spill.  I scraped up my hands, banged my knee and landed right on my right foot.  It was swollen up after about an hour.  I was so close to the pool, I could hear them swimming and all the cheering.  Luckily Josh was able to take these videos on his phone so I could see what happened:

Zoey's group took first place in all the heats that she was in (Go Torpedoes!) and she received her 3 blue ribbons on Friday and she was so excited and we were so proud of her.  Although she practices with the 7-8 year olds, Zoey has to swim with the 6-year olds.  At first she was upset about this since most of her friends are in the 7-8 group, but she's come to terms with it.  It's to her advantage since this is her first time doing swim team.  We've got another swim meet tomorrow; this one at home.  Hopefully its another good event.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

One of the greatest thing about being a mom to two girls is watching them enjoy one another.  Riley's favorite thing to do is anything that Zoey is doing at that moment.  This is a clip of the girls cheering for the soccer game

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a very lovely Mother's Day weekend.  Despite the rainy weather, we went to one of my favorite festivals in historic downtown Duluth - the Barefoot in the Park Festival.  We got to enjoy the live music, and the kids tent which was full of activities such as the moon sand table

I think the favorite part was watching the Gwinnett Ballet Company perform.  Zoey sat engrossed up front and center, and Riley had a blast doing her own dance moves

Sunday morning Dawn & I went to massages & facials at Spa Sydell.  What a lovely, wonderful weekend for this mom to enjoy.

Soccer

Zoey had a great soccer this season playing on her team "the Kicks"

The were undefeated as a team and Zoey had a blast playing with all these girls.  Coach Bridgette honored Zoey with the Most Energetic award at the end of the year party.  Unfortunately there were so many games and practices that were rained out this spring season, but overall it was a good experience.

Busy Weekend

One of these days I'll have a smart phone and be able to post pictures in a prompt fashion (Josh this is directed to you), but in the mean time words will have to suffice.

Josh is traveling, but my dad is visiting (got to love having Grandpa around!).  Saturday was a very busy day, starting with a soccer game where Zoey got an assist on a goal and her team won (they are currently undefeated).  Next we were off to see The Little Mermaid performed by the CYT Theater for the Girl Scouts.  It was a great performance for a local theater and the kids had a great time.  I was super impressed with how well Riley did; I was fully expecting to get up several times with her but she was mesmerized and kept asking for "more boat".  We capped off the evening with a pizza dinner and a movie night watching Rise of the Guardians.

Sunday was a rainy day and Zoey didn't have the best day, but we ended it well and that's what matters in the end.