Two Wheels

6/28/10

Hannah decided that she would like to learn how to ride her bike without training wheels this summer. We were prepared for a long struggle, but she really caught on quite quickly! Most kids are afraid of their parents letting go...not Hannah! As soon as she started riding, she kept telling us to let go right away!

Ellie decided she would like to try, too. Don't you just love her outfit!?!
Ellie also wanted us to let go, but she wasn't even close to being able to balance herself. Maybe next year, Ellie!

New Skirts

6/20/10

Since I started my fabric shop, the girls have been enthralled with all of the beautiful fabric. Every day, they like to look at all of the fabric and pick out their favorites. For a while now, they have been asking me to make them some skirts. They each picked out a pattern from the Pink Fig patterns that I sell. They also got to pick out (with a little matching help) the fabrics we would use in their skirts. I think they turned out so well, and the girls were absolutely thrilled with their new skirts!

Swim Lessons

6/16/10

The kids were able to take swim lessons with Amy again this year. This was Zach's first year of swim lessons, and he loved it! I can't believe he is getting to be so big!

Hannah had a major breakthrough this year. She was finally able to put her face in the water while swimming! I am so proud of her for being so brave!

Ellie also did a great job! She has always had no fear when it comes to water, which can be a little scary for Mom! She is working really hard, and has really made some great improvements.

Around the House

June 2010

We seem to have a lot of silly fun around the house. Most of the time, it seems I miss the best pictures, but here are just a few silly days around the house.

The kids like to dress Jasper up in Greg's clothes on occasion, usually without me knowing. This time, Jasper wore this shirt for quite a bit of the day. Unfortunately, he couldn't really walk with it on, and he kept falling down as he walked. Of course, the kids thought this was pretty hilarious!
They also spend a lot of time riding their bikes on the patio in our backyard. For some reason, they decided to wear their goggles most of the day. It looked very uncomfortable, but they insisted that I not adjust the goggles at all.

Camping

5/31/10

We absolutely love to go camping as a family! All of the kids, but especially Hannah, loved to help out around camp. She was such a good worker gathering sticks, setting up camp, helping with the food...and everything with such a positive attitude. Anytime we would ask for any help, she would jump to the task as fast as she could!

Relaxing around the campfire.

We actually all slept really well in the tent together. We weren't quite sure how it would work, but the kids did a great job! In the morning, Hannah and I were the first to wake up, so we decided to try to get the fire going while everyone else was still sleeping. I asked Hannah to gather some sticks by the road. Suddenly there was a very loud noise behind her. I looked up and saw Hannah, eyes as wide as could be, running as fast as she possibly could toward me. She couldn't see it (she was too busy running), but a deer came out of the woods right behind her and crossed the campsite. When she got to me, I told her what had happened, and she started laughing hysterically and said, "Oh, I thought it was a monster!" We laughed together for such a long time!

Gone Fishin'

5/29/10

We got to spend the weekend at Greg's parent's house in Minnesota. It is always so much fun spending time with family! Our nephew Ryan LOVES fishing (that might be an understatement!), so we spent quite a bit of time at the beach and on the dock fishing. The kids had a blast! It is fun that they are actually getting old enough that they can do a little on their own, even though we always have to be on the look out for flying hooks!

Hannah waiting patiently for Daddy to bait the hook for her.
We caught most of the fish right under the dock, so the kids could easily drop a line in on their own and have a chance of catching a fish.

Zach loved being a part of the action! Thankfully there wasn't a hook on his line, because he was constantly swinging his rod from one side of the dock to the other.



Got one!
Hannah caught this one without any help!

Ellie didn't have any trouble touching the fish as long as her cousin, Ryan, was helping her.

Soccer

5/27/10

Hannah and Ellie got to play soccer together this year through the Iowa City Recreation Center. Hannah had played soccer in the past, but this was Ellie's first time. It was so much fun to watch them play together, even though they spent most of the time holding hands while they chased after the ball! I was actually pretty impressed with Ellie. Usually, she goes at her own pace in life. It seems like we are always waiting on Ellie, and there is no hurrying her along, so I wasn't sure how soccer would go. She actually really enjoyed it, and tried her hardest to keep up with the other kids. The girls both did a great job, and they loved being on the same team!

There was one drill that they did each week as they practiced where each kid had a partner, and they were supposed to try to get the ball across the field and their partner was supposed to try to steal the ball away. Hannah and Ellie were always paired up for this drill, and they were hilarious to watch! It didn't matter who started with the ball, but whenever they met in the middle of the field, they forgot all "don't touch the ball with your hands" soccer rules, and started an all out wrestling match for the ball in the middle of the field. One of them would dive and cover the ball with their body, and the other would wrestle her to get the ball. They were completely oblivious to all of the other kids completing the drill around them. I honestly think they thought they were doing what they were supposed to do, because they ended up wrestling almost every week! The funniest thing was, they would just giggle hysterically the entire time!