{farm 2012}

 Last Saturday we made our annual pilgrimage to the Farm for our Family Reunion. And of course, we weren't there but five seconds when Paige made her way to the pile of sand. And there she remained for most of the day. Thankfully, we brought a change of clothes because oh man, those kids sure do get themselves dirty. I think we took home half that sand pile.

 And of course, after lunch, there was bat ball. It's very hard to play bat ball and take pictures at the same time. So bear with me. Here's Kelly at bat. We played Alderman vs. Lashbrook this year.

And Hayley.

 And this year, Emily didn't chicken out. She hit the ball pretty well and even made a fly ball out - all by herself. She called off two people to catch it. It was AWESOME! Go Emily!

Sue was pretty happy about it!

 Paige and Emerson spent lots of time running around the pond.

 Hayley spent lots of time running around the bases. Any guesses as to where she will be going to college?

 Julie sped around the bases as well. I love this picture!

 Who's that?

 The girls found an ant. I think Emerson eventually killed it. Paige wasn't too happy about that....

 Emerson doesn't look to concerned.

 Sue hit the ball well.

Uncle Denny pitched a great game. Even if he did get me out a couple times.

I think Joe hit the ball farther than anyone else. Wow!

 Matt took precautions so he wouldn't roll his ankle again. No major injuries this year. Yea!!

 These girls discussing our win - Alderman 22 - Lashbrook 11

 The girls kept scaring us at the dock.

 And then we took some family pictures. My Uncle Ed took this one.

 Of course, I had to take a jumping picture.

 And I took this one of my Aunt and Uncle.

 And I took this one of the most photogenic family.

 And I kind of love this one.

 And this one too.

 Well heck, this is my fave.

 And I really, really love this one.

 This one would be good if Eric was looking at the camera......oh well.

 The cutest boy ever.

 They played volleyball for over two hours. I was tired just watching them.

 Emerson.

 Emily hanging out around the fire pit wanting to know when we were going to do s'mores. And after the s'mores we decided to find out what would happen if we threw some corn from the field on the fire. It didn't pop into anything edible - but it popped all the same. It was kind of cool.

Paige LOVES Redpop. And the farm. And going on adventures all the way to the big oak tree through the corn field - an adventure her Mom chickened out of when Sue told her all about corn spiders....not to mention corn fields are not great for claustrophobia. And she loved the fireworks, flashlight tag, trying field corn right from the field and finding out it doesn't taste all that great - even though her mom had already told her that, and lots and lots of good family memories.

Thank you Aunt Joan! We had the BEST time!

{new OLYMPIC sport....}

 Emily would like to know why Slip and Sliding is not an Olympic sport.

And so would Paige.

 In our own backyard competition, you got a deduction if you didn't look at the camera and smile at the end of your slide. Emily only loses about five-tenths of a point because her eyes weren't open.

 Knee sliding is an extra degree of difficulty. Especially with goggles on.

 A TEN!!

 Aren't they sweet?

 Ummm....maybe not.

 Okay - maybe they are.

 Even if they aren't Olympians, they are definitely having FUN.

 I just LOVE this shot. Kinda out of focus....but pretty cool anyway.

 Feet first? That's a new one.

 That's more like it.

 For a kid who normally doesn't want her picture taken, she was very willing this afternoon.

 This is her Olympic Slip and Slider pose.

Who do we talk to about including this in 2016? We need to start training now......

{how goggles and the WT pool have changed our lives}

I could have titled this post lots of different things: Our Day at Red Oaks Water park,  Emily and Paige's August Adventure, A Day spent doing 1,000 laps on the Lazy River at Red Oaks Water Park, etc....

But truly, it's goggles and the crazy WT pool in our backyard that have made this day possible.

Let me back up a few years. Back to when we enrolled Emily in swim class. I thought this would be a no-brainer. Enroll your child in swim class, after a few weeks of classes, your child at least would kinda, sorta, know how to swim. Yeah, not so much. Not only did she not know how to swim, her fear of swimming in general became bigger. Thinking back on it, I now know that she was actually frustrated with herself. She really believed that after the first day, she would be able to swim and that was that. When that didn't happen, she truly didn't believe that she could EVER learn, so she just kind of gave up.

I didn't realize this until we paid for three more sessions of swim. She NEVER passed level one. And the fear grew. She relied heavily on a floatation vest that we were given by our cousins. And when she wasn't allowed to wear it, she would stay in the shallow end. Or not swim at all.

Fast-forward to last year. I bought her some fancy goggles. And we put up the 10 foot pool in our backyard. Now, we have had this pool for the last four summers. And since it's only up to her knees, it's been a non-scary swim place for Emily. But last year, she decided that since she had her fancy goggles, and two plus years of "swimming" experience in our pool, she would venture under the water. And, LO AND BEHOLD, it wasn't a scary place. And the girl began to swim underwater. She got water on her face - and not by accident. And she LOVED it. And this year, she finally decided that she could SWIM. Not quite Olympic grade, not any known stroke, but swim.

So now, I feel like I can enroll her back in swim lessons to actually learn swimming stroke basics. YEA! It only took FIVE years!

 
So, Paige. She is exactly the same. But this time, I didn't bother enrolling my scared-y cat Paige in swim classes. I KNEW she would be that kid that sat on the sidelines and refuse to even get in the pool.

So this year, I bought her goggles. I figured, MAYBE, she would move a bit faster than her sister. Nope. Not really. She spent the whole time we were at my sister's pool a few weeks ago on the sidelines.

And yesterday, at the waterpark, she was MISERABLE. I spent the first couple hours re-thinking the whole idea about even bringing her.

And then, after lunch, she decided - and let this be known, it was PAIGE'S decision - to have FUN. She put on her goggles and dunked her whole head in the wave pool for anyone who would watch her. She went around the lazy river with just her sister. She went back and played at the play park. She even contemplated getting soaked by the big bucket....but decided against it at the last minute. Baby steps.....

 
That's Emily coming out of the waterslide.

And there's the scared-y cat herself.

And that's my transformed Emily about to be doused with the water bucket.
I guess I had better look up swim class times......

{the beach}

Way back before school let out, Emily made herself a summer bucket list. At the top  - "Go to the beach at Lake Michigan".
Because of our tight budget this year, we could not go all out for a long vacation. Truthfully, we could not even go for a very short vacation. So, we did the only thing we could do - take a day trip. Lake Michigan is about 3 hours west of where we live. Not exactly a short drive - but it's better than staying at home and not going at all, right?

So, we left somewhat early in the morning. We had stayed up late watching the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, so getting up at 6am was not happening. And because it was just a day trip, packing was pretty easy. Just food, sand toys, bathing suits, towels and of course, the camera. Easy. This day trip thing is kind of awesome.

When we got to the beach, it wasn't all that crowded. And it took all of one second for the girls to run and fling themselves into the water. Of course, they had to be called back to have the requisite sunscreen applied. And then they were off again.
I think I have said this before - I LOVE LAKE MICHIGAN. I know the ocean is great, and I still love the ocean - but Lake Michigan is my hands down favorite. It's like going to the ocean, with much smaller waves. Smaller waves equals a lot less worrying about your kids getting knocked over. Sharks? Nope, not in Lake Michigan. That sticky feeling you get from swimming in the ocean...nope, not in the lake. You can swim, swim, swim, get out, towel off, and the sand that is on your wet feet, falls off after you are dry. And the sand - so white, so fine. The water - so clear. The ridiculous amount of sand bars....I LOVE IT. If you look in the picture below - you can see Emily and Eric out on a sand bar WAY out there. They are in the middle right. Can you see them?

This one - she said later in the day that she didn't have any fun, but I swear she did. At many points during the day, she was DANCING on the sand, playing and splashing in the water, making sand angels and begging me to take her out to the far sand bar. If that is no fun in her book, I am good with that. 
After a couple hours, it did get a bit more crowded. At one point we counted 13 people para-sailing. (see first picture) That was fun to watch. We stood out on the sand bar and watched them take off. Some of them flew about 8 feet above the water. That was pretty cool.
 
Eric was there too. He forgot to rub in the spray sunscreen - so he had quite the interesting sunburn the next day.....



I am so glad that we decided to not let the fact that we could not take a proper vacation to the west side stop us from going to the beach - even if it was just for the day, it was still fun.

{five}

 
 So, TODAY, Paige turns FIVE. A whole hand.

   

She LOVES:
her family (of course), stuffed animals (kitties are her favorite), playing with friends, dresses, actually - clothes in general, pizza, quiche, dressing up like a princess, princess movies, Katy Perry, dancing, flip-flops, lollipops,  playing in sand, giggling, being silly, making messes, cheeseburgers, chick-peas, deviled eggs, singing, Target, making art and waking up early.

   
She is not a fan of: going to bed early, watching her sister play softball (she loves to play softball however), pasta, tacos, swimming in deep pools, posing for pictures, wearing ANYTHING her mom picks out, doing schoolwork instead of playing, and talking about stuff that bothers her because crying/throwing a temper tantrum about it is SO MUCH EASIER. :)

   
Even though you drive me CRAZY some days, I love you and the person that you are becoming. I am super excited to see your grown-up self in a few years. You are going to do amazing things. You are going to FLY!

Love,

Momma

{softball 2012}

 

Emily's last softball game is today. Technically they have at least one more game, but that's the playoffs, and we have no idea when that will be, or how many games they will be playing. So, today, it's just about over.
 
This season was a BIG change for her. She moved from 8 and under to 10 and under. And she had to change teams. This meant all new coaches and teammates. If it were my 9 year old self, I would have probably crumbled. I probably would have just not played softball this season. But Emily, is like a new and improved me - full of just enough confidence to get her where she needs to go.
   
At the beginning of the season, she fell back into her old ways of kicking dirt, swinging some CRAZY swing she picked up from I have no idea where, and just plain not trying all that hard. I had a long talk with her about commitments, and told her that no matter what, she would be finishing out this season.  But come next year, please don't even bother asking me to sign her up - i have far better things to spend my $100 on.

I knew this would get to her. I KNEW she LOVED playing. And that very day, she tried a lot harder. And has been ever since. She's been listening to me, her Dad and her coaches. And OHMYGOODNESS, if it hasn't made her a much better player. She doesn't complain too much anymore about practicing. Actually, I haven't heard her complain at all. Even a couple weeks ago when she played a game in 100 degree heat. When I asked her how the game went for her, she simply said, "It was fun."

   
This past weekend, we had a little BP in our backyard - that's batting practice for all you non-baseball folk -  and I could not believe how far she was hitting the ball. Of course, I am going to take a little bit of credit here - I told her that she was giving up on her swing the minute she made contact with the ball, and that's why she was hitting so many shallow grounders. After that, wow! The improvement was instant.

We could not be more pleased and proud with her progress. And truly, I am so HAPPY that she loves playing. I gave up on softball when I was her age, and I have regretted it ever since. I am pleased to see that gene is not being passed down.

Go EMILY!!

{Happy Fourth}

 

Is there another day of the year that you give your young children the ability to play with fire? I love American traditions!

 

This July fourth, was BY FAR, the LOUDEST that I have ever experienced. I am pretty sure that it had a lot to do with the fact that fireworks are now legal to sell and set off here in the great state of Michigan. I mean, in the past, there have been plenty of lawbreakers around here on the fourth, but this year, almost EVERYONE got in on the amateur pyromaniac craze. And that includes our neighbor from across the street who, at many points during the evening, I seriously thought may not only burn himself, but his house, and mine as well. Luckily, and it was serious luck going on there, everyone and everything survived.

   

It's very hard not to get excited and think about maybe buying some big girl/boy fireworks for next year - but I think we will, AGAIN, be leaving that craziness up to everyone else. We'll just stick with the small stuff.

   
Hope your fourth was just as SPARKLING!