Fun at VBS!

Fear Not!

Our Latest Chapter Book

I'm so excited that the girls are enjoying chapter books. We've been reading lots and lots of "little" chapter books that are quick and easy, but we've also started tackling some real books. Last week we finished The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and today we started The Indian in the Cupboard (thanks Aunt Lane!!!).
I wasn't sure about this book at first. Just looking at the cover, and reading the summary, I was concerned that it might be too "boyish" and that it might even possibly freak S&A out a little. I mean, really, a toy Indian that comes alive in a magic cupboard? I set aside my preconceived notions about it being a "boy story," since Aunt Lane was recommending it, but still felt some trepidation about the plot. So before I read it aloud, I read the first few chapters by myself. I quickly became hooked and knew I had to share it with the girls, so today we started it. The chapters are loonnnnngggg, so I finished the first one and closed the book. Both of them begged begged begged for more. So we started the second chapter but didn't finish it before heading out to VBS. We'll read more tomorrow. And the next day, and the next. It's a pretty long book so it might take awhile, but I'll let you know how it's going.

Can YOU Move It Like This?

The Loot

Birthdays are a big deal in our family. I like to celebrate birthweek, sometimes even birthmonth. We have parties and special meals and family get-togethers and anything else we can think of to celebrate. And of course, we have gifts.

Here are some of S&A's favorite gifts this year:

• kid-sized picnic table from our cousins
• Pretty beach towels that come packed in their own bags
• Scrapbook kits
• Bouncing glitter balls
• Mosaic art kits
• Rolling suitcases for our travels (Sarah quoted Toot & Puddle today: "The more places you go, the more things you know!" - Yea - I have travelers!)
• Lots of cute clothes and matching sunglasses and flip-flops
• An awesome pic from DisneyWorld
• Fun dolls and beautiful baby dolls (I'm so glad they're not too old for dolls!!)
• Many great books
• iPods with docking stations (loaded with lots of their favorite songs)

This is a rather obnoxious list of goodies, and they got lots of other great gifts, too. They've been having so much fun playing with all their new things, and best of all, they've been playing together. I hope we're turning a corner where they can entertain themselves at least some of the time!!

Tomorrow, we start tackling those thank-you notes!

Happy Birthday

The girls turn 6 tomorrow. I can't even believe it. They'll be in first grade. Where did my babies go? How did they get so big? I love this age, I love reading with them and exploring life with them. I love how they make me laugh. And they both still love to cuddle and get kisses, so it's all great. I just don't want the time to pass too quickly.

We celebrated today with a dress-up skating party. We had a fantastic time skating with our friends and celebrating Sarah and Abby. I made a slideshow (of course) for those of you too far away to come.

Summer Activities

S&A start every day by asking "What are we doing today?" I feel like a cruise director! But, I know they come by it honestly - I can't stand to sit home all day, either. I am trying to encourage them to play together every day so that I can get some things done, and I think we're making progress in that area. In the mornings, though, we try to go somewhere or do something fun. Here are a few of the activities we've enjoyed (or plan to enjoy) this summer:

tennis lessons

swimming

playing in the sprinkler

Free summer movies

Kids Bowl Free

Summer reading programs at the library

sno-cones! (yum)

Galleria

Oak Mountain

Dollar Store

Michaels' dollar aisle

Sink or float?

We just finished reading Wizard of Oz and then we watched the movie. I was worried that they would be scared (because those flying monkeys really freak me out), but they both enjoyed the book and the movie. I loved the discussion we had about the differences between the two! Trying to decide what book to read next.

This afternoon we had fun finger-painting on our new picnic table (an early birthday present from the Richardsons). I brought out the paints, and they asked for brushes. When I told them we were finger-painting, they both took one little finger and very carefully started spreading the paint. I took both my hands and spread the paint all over my paper, and they squealed with delight. We had so much fun getting messy outside, and we love the new table so much that we decided to eat dinner outside too!

And, in other news...

Sarah finally lost her second tooth this week! Again, just like her other one and both of Abby's, the big tooth was fully erupted behind the baby tooth.

Talent

Abby has been practicing for next year's school talent show. She's decided that she wants to hula hoop (can that be a verb??) and sing at the same time. She really wants to hold a microphone while she does this, but I'm not sure that's going to work. But at least she has goals! Here she is, practicing her moves.

Annual Beach Trip

We went to Orange Beach June 4th - 9th for our annual trip with some of Perry's high school buddies and their families. This year there were 31 of us in our group, and we had a blast. This is such a great group. The guys have all been friends since high school, and I love all of them and their wives. The kids all get along well and are well-behaved.
This year we stayed at the Caribe Resort in Orange Beach again. The kids (and adults) love this place. There are 3 outdoor pools, 2 indoor pools, 3 big water slides, and a lazy river. One night we all watched Bedtime Stories on the big screen (actually just a big wall) out by the lazy river. We did make it to the beach a few times, but most of the time we just hung out at the resort and enjoyed the company.
I really thought I didn't have my camera very often, but somehow I ended up with about 150 pictures. I tried a new slideshow program this time - we'll see how it works.