Summer-Reading Program

Emma was recently in the local paper. She has been involved in the summer reading program at the public library. I was so proud of her because she was only required to read 20 books because of her age. But she went over and above and ended up reading 70 books in a 3 1/2 week period. I never guessed that her reading would get so much better, but it has. She doesn't stumble over words anymore. She's very proud of herself. And, because she did so well, they have a big party at the end of the reading program that she was invited to. She's very excited to go to that. I'm sorry the picture is so blurry. It's the best we could do right now.

New York Vacation

This week we went to visit my parents in northern New York. We haven't been here in two years, so it was great to come "home" and stay for a little over a week. Marc and I both needed the vacation and the girls needed to spend some time with Mimi and Papa. Mom and dad have a great home right on the Racquette River. We love it here. It's so peaceful and quiet, and when you sleep at night with the windows open, you can hear the river rushing by. I recently read on my sister-in-law's blog about her loving to see her children loving the same things she did when she was a child. And I thought that was so great. But it's even more awesome to experience it. My girls love the river. We've been in it almost every day. They loved throwing rocks, going for rides in the kayak, and just learning basic "river rules". I loved seeing my girls love the river as much as I do. We're looking forward to the next vacation we have here. We'll spend more time in the river and teach the girls new things. I hope you enjoy the next few pictures.

This is the view from my parents back deck.







Mom and dad bought a kayak while we were here. We had so much fun in it. If Marc and I lived closer to a river or lake, we would really consider buying one! I told my mom to look like she was having a good time. Check out that huge grin!!!











A while ago, Marc and I purchased a Wii. We brought it home for mom and dad to play, too. We had a really good time. My cousin, Andrew, came over one evening and played with Marc for quite a while. They really enjoyed it. Here are a few of the pictures from that.







Even the dogs loved the river. The red mini-dachshund is my parents dog, Dixie. She is so cute and very sweet. We also brought our dog, Gracie, home with us. We did have to take Gracie to the vet this week. She ended up getting a huge sore on her back. We don't know exactly what caused it, but she's on some antibiotics and also a topical cream. They both have really seemed to help.





Just to end this post, here are pictures of Emma and Lily. Check out those smiles!!! We will miss Mimi and Papa, but we're already looking forward to our next vacation here.

Slip 'n Slide Fun

We've had some warm weather these last few weeks and it was especially hot last week. During one of those 90 degree days, we took out the slip 'n slide for the girls to play on. Marc joined in as well, but he has since told me that he won't be doing that again. He's sore in places he didn't even know existed. Anyway, I took a ton of pictures and just had to share a few of my favorites. I hope you enjoy!

Gracie

This is Gracie. She is a pure bred Shih Tzu that someone just dropped off. From what we understand, she comes from a puppy mill about 30 minutes away. For some reason whenever she has had puppies, they always died. So, the owner was going to take her out and shoot her. She is a very sweet little dog. She has become my side-kick. I've taken her to the vet and she's been bathed, groomed and also went in for a check-up and to get some shots. Poor little thing had a bladder infection, so she's been on some antibiotics for that. It seems to be clearing up and she's doing much better. She loves to play! She will constantly try to lick my hand and do everything she can to please me. The girls love her. It's taken some time, but the animals are liking her as well. She's not very big...only weighs 8 lbs. Our house is very full now. As Marc put it the other day...we have 3 kids, 3 dogs and 3 cats. I think we're done (at least with the dogs and cats!).

Too Fast

As I sit here writing this, I can't believe the time has gone by already. The girls had been counting down the days and then all of a sudden the time had come and gone. We had been anticipating Mimi and Papa's arrival for 21 days. It seemed to take forever for the day to come and then finally, it did. The girls and I were so excited to see them. We haven't seen my parents since Christmas. Five months is a long time for the girls not to see their grandparents. So, when they drove up the driveway, Emma and I ran out to greet them. I didn't realize how much I missed them until I saw them. My parents and I are very close and to have them here for a time was great, although it was too short. We kind of just hung out Wednesday afternoon and let them rest for a little while. They had already spent a few days with my brother in Ohio and they were very busy there. Thursday morning, I had to go to school for commencement rehearsal. I didn't like being gone for as long as I had to, but I didn't really have any choice. When I did get home, mom, Emma and I went out to get some groceries. We also stopped at a nail place to have full manicures and pedicures done - my mom's treat! Then we did a little shopping, stopped to pick up our new dog Gracie at the vet (that will be a later post), and then on to pick up some steaks for dinner. We had a very full day. On Friday mom and I took the girls to look for some material and then stopped for shakes at Steak -N- Shake. Friday night was commencement and then my parents left Saturday morning. The time always takes forever to get here and then when it does, it ALWAYS goes by too fast! We really enjoyed having them here and the girls loved it! We have made plans to go "home" in July for a visit. The girls have already started counting down - 39 days and counting.

Dressed to the Nines

The girls were so excited Sunday morning when they were able to wear their new outfits. They had been asking for a few weeks, but it's been so chilly on Sundays lately, that we've been dressing them in warmer outfits. It's still hard for me to believe that I've had to put tights on them every Sunday this month. But hopefully I won't have to do that until the fall again. Anyway, here are a few pictures.

Emma received this outfit for Christmas from Mimi and Papa. She loved it and looked so cute and grown-up in it! That was a little hard for Marc to handle!

This is one of Lily's newer outfits. Her favorite colors are blue and green so this outfit was a hit!

Maggie looked so cute in her outfit! She liked it because she wanted to wear leggings like her sisters do. She wanted to be a big girl, too. On another note - MAGGIE'S POTTY TRAINED! I've potty trained my last child (unless we have more)! And I must say, I'm loving it!!!

These girls are the best of friends! I feel so blessed to have them as my children and as an important part of my life! Thank you, God, for my girls!!!

Library Fun

A few weeks ago we started a new tradition...going to the library once a week so Emma could pick out some new books to read. The girls have really enjoyed going. One week, they had a small sandbox down in the Children's Department. The girls loved it! We played there for almost 2 hours. Emma likes the fact that she can get some books that she's never read or heard of before. She got her very own library card and we get 10 books out at a time. She was just enrolled in the summer reading program. Her age group only has to read 20 books this summer. Their theme is bugs and Emma is in the ants group. She's excited as she will be going for story-time once a week. And then, at the end of the summer - if she's read all 20 books, she'll be able to attend their end-of-summer party. I've heard that they go all out for these kids. So, we're looking forward to it.

Puzzle time. The girls love doing puzzles.

Maggie loved their huge tub. She would grab the towels and animals and lay down in there.

They also have a little theatre in there. Maggie was getting ready to put on a show for us.


Lily loves doing puzzles. It's her most favorite thing to do.