Wait for me, guys!

Now that S is riding big time, M is eager to quickly follow in her foot-steps. We decided the other day that she is ready to move up from the red tricycle. We briefly considered getting S a new bike but that will probably wait until next spring.

In the meantime, we decided to fix up a garage sale find from last year for M. It needed some TLC and new tire and inner tubes.

She jumped on that thing and was a pro! Riding and riding and riding. She had a good time.

I imagine next spring she'll want the training wheels off. I hope not!!

In other news: M is very nearly potty trained. We've been venturing out of the house with her wearing big girl undies and she has stayed dry! We still use Pull-ups at nap and bed times. But that will happen in due time.

And she's off!

On Saturday S rode down our whole street by herself! It was amazing! Incredible! Huge kudos to Daddy-O for all his hard work in teaching her! Those motorcycle lessons came in hand.

She was amazing. Smiled the whole time.

C said he was amazed she went so far. But he saw the determination on her face once she passed our driveway.

Now she is ready to ride anytime she gets a chance. We should try to keep it up so that she's not too rusty next spring.

One giant step for S

A couple days ago S told us she was ready to have her training wheels taken off!! AAAAAAhhhhh! Gulp!!!!

So OK. We did. We really didn't have much of a clue how to teach her to ride without training wheels but we gave it a shot. C did all the work on this first try while I tried to keep M on one side of the driveway. He tried to help S maintain her balance and encourage her to keep pedaling. He tried to get her to ride from one end of the driveway to the other, grass to grass side, so that is she fell when he let go, she had a soft cushion. Later, they tried going down the street. I was not there to witness that because by that time it was hard to keep M out of the way.

Tonight S tried some more riding. She seemed a little more comfortable but still was inclined to leaning on one side. But there was one point where she managed to ride a little solo, without realizing it.

Practice, practice, practice, I keep telling her. Soon enough she'll be riding like a pro!

So blessed!

We are so blessed with our girls. They fill our hearts with joy and laughter. We also have typical parental struggles.

Recently we had their pictures taken and what a photo session! I was so impressed with M, who smiled and posed like a pro! A huge turn around to her 2 year old photo shoot, where she was a total stinker and refused to look at the camera, even get on the backdrop!

But the girls were so cute and loving and just ate the camera up! So of course it was so hard for me to pick just one pose for a free package coupon I had! I even took up an in-store offer to get a framed and matted portrait package for a steal!

Bay Beach

Here are pictures from our first Bay Beach for the summer. We've been there a couple times now, mostly because of birthday parties held at Bay Beach.

It is a cool little place. We've been there over the last couple years for company gatherings but this was the first time both girls got a chance to enjoy the rides together.

Bay Beach is just a place that has a wonderful old time feel. It's right on the lake and there are places for families to picnic and play.

There are carnival type rides, from the Tilt-o-Whirl and Scrambler to kiddie rides that just go round and round but the little ones have such a blast.

Bay Beach also has a Ferris Wheel (we went on it while there were storm clouds above!!), merry-go-round, little train and a giant slide.

It was so fun to see the girls on the rides. M even loved the Ferris Wheel. They literally bounced from one kiddie ride to another!

It is such a cool place! Perfect for families. I look forward to making Bay Beach part of our summer memories.

Finally downloaded photos!

I've been holding off serious blogging because we've had pictures on the camera to download...just not time to download.
So I'll have some posts out yet this weekend.
In the meantime, we are doing well. It is finally starting to feel like summer around here. My tomatoes are still showing signs of blossom rot bottom, or whatever it is called. I did spy a few that seem to be OK so maybe there is hope yet in a future crop.
C has been on blood thinners for a month now. We continue to pray that the medicine works. He has been busy at work with two projects.
I continue to freelance and am gearing up for co-leading our church's mom's ministry. I am very excited about that!
S wrapped up VBS this week. She really enjoyed it and learned a lot, made some great crafts and even made a couple friends.
Next week both girls will start ballet. S will move up to the next level class, which is an hour long class. The unfortunate thing is that the class is at 4:25, which means I will have to adjust nap time those days so the girls are up by 3, at least, so we can get out the door in time.
M will be taking Fairytale Ballet, which she sampled this summer. I really hope she will enjoy it. I plan to enroll her in a tumbling class (she has a knack with somersaults) but possibly in the spring.
We resumed homeschooling this week. Mostly we've been doing workbooks (alphabet, numbers and some kindergarten skills) and we have been going through some sight word books. I'll be pulling out last year's curriculum and upping it some with K-level things, as well as focusing on the skills S needs to know for K next fall.
I'll probably also start working some more with M, which I hope will gear her up for Patriot Preschool in the fall.
Summer is wrapping up quickly but that is OK. Autumn is my all time favorite season and S is already talking about apple picking!

Poor tomatoes

Our tomatoes have rot bottom. What a total bummer!
I don't know how it happened. Earlier in the process I read up a few articles and one suggested to prevent rot bottom, to add some egg shells in the bottom of the soil. So I did. But they still got rot bottom. We picked up something at the local home improvement store to boost the acidity in the soil but I don't think that helped.
I guess there are a few tomatoes that are OK. I just hope so! Some of the tomatoes are starting to ripen...going from green to orange to reddish.
I was so hoping to enjoy fresh veggies. Truth be told I have a horrible green thumb. The oregano or lettuce wasn't picked before flowering so I probably can't use them. And now the rot bottom on the tomatoes.
I'll give it a better try next year.