Flying is not easy!

Addy is desperate to learn to fly. She thought if she made her wings heavy with feathers she would easily be able to fly. She tried for about an hour, I am not sure what that says about her! ;)

If you give a girl a frog....

Well, these two girls won't kiss it and expect it to turn to a prince. But the poor frog won't get a moments rest regardless. I found this poor toad while I was watering my flowers in hopes of them not withering away to dust. I was thinking to myself that there was a very odd looking rock, speaking as an expert of course ;). Well, then that odd looking rock moved and proved to be a toad. That poor toad was held and chased and sang to and cat bait for most of the afternoon.

The Pride of my New Garden!

What can I say? I am starting from scratch, I should just be happy that I have a clean slate and not a bunch of tearing out to start with. Anyways, here is one of my new daylillies.

A Ridin' We Will Go!

We couldn't leave out our favorite children's zoo while on our trip down memory lane. Addy and Cally loved being able to ride the horses and feed the goats. Well, Cally, was as usual, convinced the goats were out to eat her. Most of our time was spent in the butterfly house. I was a tad bit mortified when Cally cut to the chase and grabbed two butteflies. The finger-out technique is preferred but Cally favors a more aggressive approach. Addy was devastated that the finger-out technique did not earn her any butterfly visits so she stared ordering Cally to catch one for her. I was eager to leave before we were asked to. ;) We also spent a lot of time in the bug house. It was getting close to closing time for the bug house so many of the insects were being fed. It was a pretty exciting visit for the girls!

The Good Ole Days!

We made the trek back to our old haunting grounds. The girls and I spent many hours playing at the 'Bounce House' before our move. Addy and Cally both celebrated birthdays there and I laughed with many good friends there. Once, Cally was brought back to me by a concerned mom because she had climbed to the top of the ladder to one of the slides. I was thankful for the concern but a little annoyed since Cally had been going up and down the ladder and slides for months. The bounce house was the same with a few changes (we were back in January for a bday party), the girls loved climbing and sliding down the newer play structure. Both girls asked to go back the next day. 

Nothin' like a parade!

We all participated in a 'small town' parade. We have attended our share of small town parades as candy-hungry bystanders but this was our first time tossing candy.

I had the honor to carry Cally along 95% of the parade route. My arm was sore the next day. I think the girls had a good time in spite of the heat. I will say it was a long day because we had gotten up early to do the run but in the end it was nice to participate. :)

Catching up....

The girls and I did VBS last week. I helped, Addy attended and Cally played with the other younger ones. It was a lot of fun. The picture above was taken at the Thursday evening program. Addy loved all the singing and dancing. :)

Here is what David did while the girls and I were off at VBS. Well, he worked most of the days, but on his day off he kept Cally home with him. Cally took the opportunity to capture David demonstrating proper nap technique! :)

Run like zombies are chasing you!

My silly girls and me! I ran the 5K while the girls were herded through the mile by David.

Addy and Cally were pretty excited to have David be able to join us for this run/race! They did great and were so cute when they gently told me that I didn't win first or second. ;) David made sure both girls could give me high fives as I headed into the finish chute. My pace was better than my last race and I was happy with how it went.

Meet Hopper!

Addy's love for frogs is once again documented.

First day of summer preschool

Cally makes us laugh even when she is throwing huge fits, hitting, screaming and kicking. She was adamant about not eating breakfast because, "I EAT AT SCHOOL!!!". Her little pink backpack was packed with the snacks she planned to enjoy at school. David and I wished her teachers luck and said sure! ;)

Once Cally cleared up her dining plans, she was ready to make tracks over to the school!

"Finally it is MY turn!!!"

Cally was passed out on the couch not even an hour after she got home from school.

Cally was lucky enough to get the chance to attend a summer preschool program. They meet once a week for a couple of hours. Cally is beyond thrilled about it. She loves EVERYTHING about preschool. Well, not the part where her teachers enforce the slide down the slide, climb up the stairs rule!

Dance- the rhythm of life!

Addy had a great year of dance this year! Last year she had a lot of fun, but it was sort of a less than thrilling experience. Her new studio is amazing, their recital knocked our socks off! ;) Addy was about to jet off for dress rehearsal when she posed with Cally.

Addy was a sad, sad girl at the end of recital this year. The senior send off for all the graduating seniors made her bawl. Hopefully, Addy will love next year's dance teacher and friends as much as she did this year!

Here is the costume and a pose from her ballet dance, Hawaiian Cuties.

This picture is just from rehearsal (well all of the dance ones are) but the girls did a fantastic job with their dances. Their teachers keep the girls in line with regards to behavior but they are never anything but encouraging about their dancing.

Grandpa Butch and Great Grandma Vesta were able to make it down for Addy's recital. We don't often get one-on-one time with them so this was an extra special visit! I hope they had as great a time with us as we did with them!! :)

By the way, be prepared, next year Cally gets to dance too!!

Zooscapades!

All photo credits go to Molly and Jarred!! Thanks so much! :)

Run- Family Style!!

Here is Jacob coming in to the finish line! He beat his personal record from school! It was really great to see the kids trying their absolute best!!

Jadon was very entertaining to watch finish. Jadon knew he wanted to finish strong so he waited until he was close to the finish line and took off at a sprint and beat pretty much everyone in front of him!

I was pretty excited to see the finish line so close! The final mile has you run past the finish line and wrap around a long parking lot before finally finishing. For the last two miles of the race I ran pretty close to the father and daughter immediately in front of me. It was so neat to see a 9 year old finish the race and hear her dad encourage her.

My official chip time was 1 hour and 5 seconds. I had hoped to finish more at 55-57 minutes but that was before I realized the course was so hilly. My usual route takes me over one decent hill while the race course is described as challenging with lots of hills and valleys. I guess it is a good thing I didn't read that until after the race or I might not have tried it!

I don't have any pictures but Addy and Cally (I ran with Cally) did the kids 400 meter fun run. All the kids received a ribbon and clip on light as a prize. Addy ran ahead of Cally and me, but I know Cally finished at 3 minutes 24 s. Cally has a distinct disadvantage with her shorter legs but she ran the whole distance at a decent pace.

I have been running pretty consistently since we moved (thanks to the Child Watch at our local Y!). I am still pretty slow but I have been able to improve my endurance. I have a goal to complete a half marathon next May and a smaller goal of completing a couple of 10Ks before that this fall and early spring along with a handful of 5ks thrown in. When I heard about a Memorial Day 5 mile run (along with shorter 1 mile and kids races), I asked Molly if they would be interested in joining in the fun. I am so thankful that they were interested, I couldn't have done it without their help!! The boys had a great time and I know the girls had a blast with the boys!