Randomness....

Amanda was chosen by her art teacher to participate in Art Camp again this summer.  She used all different mediums to make 7 or 8 projects over a 2 week span.  The camp culminates with an art show on the last day where all the campers get to display their art for family and friends.  Steve happened to be out of town this week, but Nick and Gabby stopped by to admire her works of art.

Grammie and Grampie stopped by too.  They were impressed with all that Amanda had accomplished in such a short period of time.

She made bracelets from paracord, wind chimes, a mirror,  a banner, a picture frame, and two cool photos where she popped balloons of paint that looked like splashes of water.  We have them hanging in her room now.  They turned out so cool!

Here was Amanda on crazy hair day.  Ten minutes before walking out the door we had to blow up balloons, tie on the streamers, add some paint brushes and glue sticks, and feathers of course.  She was a finalist and was awarded a new, box of sharpened crayons.... what else???

Since the weather has been so hot, Gabby has been wanting to play in the sprinklers A LOT!

That means pulling out the slip-n-slide... She is becoming quite the pro...

Of course... Gabby learned from the best....

These last group of photos are from the Father's Day barbecue at Mo's house.  You might notice that I didn't get one actual photo of a father.  That was not good.  (Note to self - What were you thinking?)
Anyway... the kids were too distracting... Look at how much fun Cameron is having blowing bubbles with his cousins....

I love that shot... so I turned it black and white....

And this one too.....

There was lots of fun in the pool of course!

The cousins slip-n-slide side by side...

Oh... I was mistaken... here is a picture of a father... I got Mohamed in the frame right before he flipped the boys raft into the pool...

Then Cam and Nick gave the slip n slide a try....

Emmersyn doing a face dive... I'm not sure how far that slide took her.... I think she might have gotten a grass burn...

Gabby had fun in the princess float when she could sneak it away from Emmersyn without her knowing it...  Such a tricky girl...

That's it for now.  Until later....

Snippets of May and a Flashback...

Just wanted to let you see a few snippets from May....  On Memorial Day weekend we went to the St. Mary's Fair.  The kids love to go and this year was no exception.  This was Gabby riding one of her first rides.  It was just so scary sitting inside a gigantic strawberry that moved in a circular path going 5 miles per hour.  She couldn't look!  In the end Nicholas talked her through the whole ordeal and I guess she had fun.

Amanda and Nicholas and the best friend..... Waiting to ride this Egyptian pirate/pharaoh ship... I should have gotten a picture of the whole contraption.  This was the best my i-phone could do.

Gabby only rode 3 rides... and they took a lot out of her.  Before we exited the fair she rode this crazy Bumble Bee.  At least she looks more comfortable sitting in a large bee compared to the gigantic strawberry! This time she had the girls for support and to coax her into having some fun.

Here are a couple snap shots from Gabby's dance recital at the end of the school year.  She was performing a tap routine.  For weeks leading up to the recital she practiced..."Toe back, toe back, heel, heel....)  She had a great time showing off her dance skills!

Here the girls were warming up at the barre.  Gabby stared in the mirror the whole time she performed her warm-up exercises.  I sat in the front row with my camera, and I must have really scared her because she didn't look my way until the entire performance was complete.

These are a couple shots of Amanda at her 5th grade graduation ceremony.  It was a presentation recognizing all the accomplishments of the 5th grade class.  Amanda received awards for getting all A's, participating in student council, being a bank teller and a safety, etc.  Doesn't she look so pretty and confident?  I remember when.......

She was starting 1st grade..... (I couldn't find kindergarten photos on short notice and I don't want to look for old files right now at 10:30 at night).... with a black eye

 Wow!  She was so cute and so young!  It is amazing how much she has grown and matured in 5 years!  Time flies....

 Always with her best friend.....

 And just because.... I had to post a picture of Nicholas on Amanda's first day of first grade.... Here he was on the driveway.... as loveable as ever!!! He was so into Lightening McQueen back in the day!

And this brings us back to present day.... The final day of school for Amanda in 5th grade, Nick in 3rd grade, and Gabby in pre-school.....

Now this is why I blog.... So I can remember..... the kids now.... and then.... and all the good times we had growing up......

Until later.....

More Back Tracking.....

Since I'm still in back tracking mode..... let's back track to Tyler's birthday celebration in May.  He had a great Chuck E. Cheese birthday party.  He turned 3 years old even though it looks like he only had 2 candles on his cake.  I had to think for a minute.... he had a dinosaur cake for his 1st birthday, I made Mickey Mouse last year, and I made the basketball this year.  So he was definitely 3 years old.  (I guess I have a good memory when it comes to CAKE.)  Camera angles can definitely play tricks on you... or maybe it was Laura playing a trick on Ty!

 



Here was Tyler playing basketball of course!  I think this was his favorite game when he wasn't running up and down the skee ball lane putting the ball into the 1000 point slot!





 Nicholas showed Gabby how to play air hockey.....

 Gabby loved playing basketball too!

 Melia was taking all the excitement in.  She had a first birthday party right around the corner. 

 Taking a break for pizza and treats....

 Then it was off to the races...  and off to home.  The kids had such a fun time playing games and collecting tickets.

 At the end of May Nicholas and Amanda had their piano recital.  Cameron, Emmersyn, and Aunt Mo Mo came to watch.  Cam had a great seat in the front row.  He couldn't wait until it was his turn to play his recital in July.

 The kids have been playing for 2 years and they had the chance to play on this Steinway grand piano.  Amanda memorized her piece titled "Square Dance."  She was Awesome and played with no mistakes!

 Nicholas has been playing for 2 years also and chose to play "The Entertainer."  He memorized his piece as well and did a terrific job.

  I'm so proud of the two of them.  They have improved their piano playing skills, they were able to play in front of a group of people, and they were calm and cool.  Nicholas will begin lessons again when school begins.  I hope Amanda chooses to continue also, however, she has decided to play the violin next year in middle school so she isn't sure she will have time for both.  I would love for her to continue with both instruments. 

This brings us to Melia's birthday party.... She was so cute! It was a great first birthday celebration and she got down and dirty with her cake.... although I don't seem to have those pictures :(

 Another birthday cake.... I have mastered Elmo!

Finally this brings us to baseball....  Nicholas is obsessed lately.   Unfortunately I missed the cut-off to register him for spring baseball so he didn't get to play this year.  I will not make the same mistake next year.  Registration begins in Jan. and ends in Feb.  Duh.... I tried to register in April and he never got off the wait list.  Oh well.... So anyway.... he recruits anyone he can find to play ball.  He likes to pitch and catch, steal, hit, you name it.  He also loves to watch the Tigers so we have seen quite a few baseball games this year.  One evening we were playing in a field behind this school...  We all took turns batting and fielding....

 Nicholas had just gotten a new bat so he couldn't wait to swing for the seats.  When it was Steve's turn to hit Nicholas and I began to field fly balls.  Or at least we TRIED to field fly balls.... we were all over the place....

 And in the end.... I ended up with the biggest-red-welt-bruise-that-felt-like-a-broken-arm-thing on my forearm.  Instead of fielding balls like Torii Hunter or Austin Jackson it was this 38 year old girl thinking she could do anything.... little did I know my eyesight was so bad.... as I reached my glove out in front of me to catch a pop up..... WHACK.....  it landed directly on my forearm.  Needless to say... my days of playing outfield are over.  I will coach from the sidelines and bring water to the game....  It took about a week before my arm started feeling back to normal.  UGH!

 Until later.....

During my 3 Month Hiatus

So I was really thinking that I was completely done with the blog.... but after looking at previous posts it is amazing how many memories I have recorded.  I was ready to call it quits and print up the last 2 years in my blog books and be done....but ALAS.... I've had a change of heart.  My memory is terrible, and I forget so many details that this is the only way I'm going to remember these years with all the whirlwind of activities...  So the kids are excited that I'm BACK!!!!

I think I left off around Easter and our vacation to Florida.  I had actually uploaded the photos and never written anything about our trip.  I'll get to it....  In fact we are planning on a road trip this summer to Florida so the photos will have to get published before our next vacation.  In the mean time I'll give you an idea about the last several months.

Everyone has been very excited to be out of school.  The days are much easier.... there is no homework, we are taking a piano break, and the days are much more relaxed.  I had not taken photos in soooo long... but one night at the park I grabbed my camera....  That's how I got this cute shot and the crazy jumping kids!  (I even edited a few photos which I haven't done in months... It felt good to be doing something creative again!)

In that period during my 3 month hiatus we celebrated Gabby's 4th birthday.  We had a princess themed birthday party and here is her Rapunzel cake.  I need  to remember how to make it because next week I will be making Emmersyn a pink, princess cake.  I'm so excited and I hope she will like her cake too.

 Adorable!

 I didn't get any good pictures of Gabby blowing out her candles... This was it...

 As usual she was so happy to unwrap clothes and shoes.  What kid likes dresses and clothing over toys??? My Fashionista!

 Then Gabby celebrated her birthday at school.  We made these cool tye-dye princess cupcakes... but I don't have a picture to show you so you will have to take my word for it.  They were pretty awesome.

 Here's Gabby on crazy hair day.  I know she doesn't look that crazy.... but the Princess Leia (?) buns were a quick last minute hair-do I could pull together before running out the door!  She actually looks CRAZY CUTE!

We've tried to stay active this summer.  The kids play tennis 5-6 days a week.  They really need to get their energy out because they seem to have an endless supply.....

 Gabby has been coming to work with me a lot of mornings.  She doesn't seem that excited about trying camp.  Therefor, we have had a LOT of together time.  We found a speech therapist to work with Gabby over the summer, so she continues to get therapy but only once a week.  I work with her at home along with Steve, and she continues to make progress.... I just wish the process were quicker.  But like the speech therapist said... Rome wasn't built in a day! 

So that's it for now.... I'll be back to share some more great photos I found on my camera when I uploaded the last 114 pictures.  I hope everyone is enjoying these beautiful summer days!