Safe Sitter

Allia completed her Safe Sitter course just in time for us to head to Corpus Christi tomorrow! I was so proud of her. She scored a 100 on her final test and was selected to read her essay for the closing ceremony. :)

Cutie or Stinker?

A little of both, I think. That is the job of a 2 year old...to oscillate so quickly between being totally cute and a total stinker that those around him can hardly keep up!
Here he is reading to himself in Allia's favorite reading spot. So sweet. He is really into Maisy and Duck and Goose books.

And here he is in time out, sort of. You can see the sly grin because he realized that he can stand up and switch the kitchen and school room lights off and on. I think we will have to find a new time out spot!

VBS finale

VBS ended today. I was able to help with snacks 2 of the days, but I was totally pooped after that! Whew! It was lots of fun to work with such awesome people and serve such sweet kiddos. I snapped a few shots of my snackers.

And the performaces today... I was super proud of Stephen because prior to this week, he was not a singer/dancer. I must admit, I bribed him the 2nd day. I just knew if he tried it, he would have fun. So I offered him "a surprise" if he sang and danced. And ya know what? He liked it so much that he did it the rest of the week and had a lot more fun at VBS. Yay! :)
Anastasia (Pre-K)

 Stephen (1st)

Gloria (3rd)

And Mariana...the music team did the music for the closing mass. This photo was after mass, so she was not acting this goofy during mass! ;)

Allia helped with snacks all week, and I fully intended to get a picture of her the days I was there. But clearly my prego brain just can't handle too much! :p

Gymnastics sisters

I was able to take the two gymnastics girls to their classes today and stay to watch. They both did so great and had fun too!

Swimming

The camp girls went one whole day without swimming and were in camp withdrawal! So I agreed to take everyone (including a neighbor they had over) to the pool Monday afternoon. The girls played with their friend for a while, then they all decided to come to the shallow end and play with/ride around the little ones. It was so sweet!

VBS Week!

We are barely finished with our big camp week and now on to VBS week. Wow!

I was almost surprised at how eager the older girls were to help out after such a busy, exhausting (but totally fun) week. Unfortunately, my tired prego body is not as eager. I do plan on helping out a few days but just can't handle a full week of non-stop mornings! So Sebastian and I were buddies this morning. Anastasia was SO excited that she gets to go this year! I will have to get a good picture of everyone tomorrow. Check in today was a bit chaotic, so I was just happy to get everyone to their places with their shirts and name tags!

I was wondering where Mariana would end up helping. We missed the volunteer orientations because of them being out of town and Father's Day. It looks like she got to help with the Music team. Yay for her, as it is being run by some of our dear friends, the K family! :)

Homecoming

The girls finally returned from camp yesterday. It was a joyful occasion, as we have missed them like crazy!!! They were exhausted because they had a fun-packed last day of camp. But the surprises pepped them up. We videoed their returns so we could get the reaction to the room redecorating.It was priceless. ;)

Finished project

We finished up the big project this evening, by the grace of God! It took Austin, me and Pawpaw working hard, especially Austin! But it all came together, and I just know Allia will be thrilled with the results. We also decided to do a minor reorg/redecorating of Mariana and Gloria's room so Mariana can have a nice surprise when she returns too!

Starting the tile (late Tuesday night)

Tile finished! (Thursday morning)

Finished product

Mariana and Gloria's room (finished Saturday morning while Daddy was on his way to pick them up!)

Last day of camp!

Stephen and Gloria finished up their camp this afternoon. They had a great time and learned a lot too! And I picked them up just in time to head to the parish garage sale! :)

My buddies

We made many trips to Lowe's this week. The kids were such good sports, so I let them have a little fun too!

My other campers

I actually remembered to take a picture of my other campers when I picked them up today. The director brings some cool creature each day, and though you can't see it, the girls behind them are holding a big chameleon. It was pretty cool. Yesterday it was a tarantula! :0

Today they did an activity with these clear balls that look like they disappear when you put them in water. Gloria snagged a few to bring home, and they are all the rave!
I am so glad I decided to sign them up for this. They are having such a great time instead of being bored all afternoon while I rest/get things done and the older girls are gone! I was a little disappointed to find that they watched a movie yesterday, as that was not in the camp description and therefore I did not know to ask what they would be watching ahead of time. But I knew today, so I asked! The head lady seemed a little defensive and talked a lot about how hot it is outside. So it seems like this may not have been part of the original plan. But they are doing so many other cool activities and crafts that it is worth it!

Camp updates and more

It is a crazy week at our house. I have my two biggest helpers off at camp, and we receive updates and photos of them once or twice a day (no phones allowed, so we can't talk to them!). My next two oldest have in-town camps all afternoon, and we decided to tackle a house project while the big girls are gone. Whew!

Here are the camp girls...
From yesterday, I have no idea what they are doing...some sort of skit or song I guess. Maybe I will come back and add captions once they get home and explain! ;)

From today...

the lake where they are swimming, among other things

 Allia on the Zip Line

Looks like Mariana found a buddy. Yay!

We were assured that there are unlimited popsicles for cooling off after playing in the heat. Here is proof! (Allia and her cabin mates).

And the house project:

Before 

(Austin and the other kids got all the furniture out and cleared the closets, took up all of the carpet and ripped out the tackboard all while I was driving to and fro to drop the girls off. Very impressive!).

 Gloria and I sampling paint (Allia wanted beachy green)

 Daddy finishing off the paint job (Pawpaw did a TON of the work while Austin and I were otherwise occupied during the day today!).

And of course these guys have to have a little fun too.

I will have to try to get a picture of Gloria and Stephen at their afternoon camp tomorrow! I missed out today, but they had lots of fun and can't wait to go back!

Camp Girls!

I drove Allia and Mariana to Challenge Camp yesterday. They have been waiting and preparing for so long for this!

I helped them choose and make their beds and get settled in, then they were off to gather with their fellow campers (quite a few of whom are from our parish, which is nice!).  Then it was time for me to leave them there. It was harder than I thought! I have only sent them off with family before, so this was new for all of us. BUT I know they are in wonderful hands. The camp is Catholic and all girls (otherwise we probably would not have let them go), and I know several of the moms helping including one of the directors. They are all so amazing! I can't wait to hear about their week. In the meantime, I will be praying many rosaries. ;)

Quick visit

Aunt Karen came into town yesterday for a quick day visit to celebrate Manah's birthday, Father's day and to hang out a bit. She generously treated us all to lunch out (yummy!), then she and the girls made pickles out of many of Pawpaw and Manah's homegrown cucumbers (Aunt Karen is an expert at it!), plus we had some time to relax and chat. It was a very nice day!

Gymnastics sisters

Gloria has been looking forward to getting back into gymnastics since her surgery. She just started a summer class, and after having Anastasia bounce around the waiting area like crazy, I decided just to enroll her in the preschool class at the same time. She was so excited and really enjoyed it!

it's a...

GIRL!!!

OK, this post is long overdue. We actually found out several weeks ago right before we left for Corpus Christi. But a whole lot has been going on since! Here is her most recent ultrasound pic from my appointment at 11 weeks. I found out at this appointment that since I am "advanced maternal age" (seriously?), I was eligible for a blood test that screens for abnormalities but also lets you know the gender. I selfishly said, "Sure!" ;)

I am now 15 weeks and finally starting to feel the nausea subside and my energy return. Praise God!

Baseball buddies

A friend gave us two tickets to one of the regional tournament baseball games Saturday. We offered them to Pawpaw, of course, since he is a huge fan! Manah wasn't up for it, so Mariana went with him. Then when the Aggies made it to the championship game, they decided to try their luck and go see if they could find someone standing around the stadium selling tickets. They found some tickets and were able to watch the Aggie baseball team win big! Yay! The game wasn't over until 11, so it was a late night for them, but Mariana said it was worth it. :)

Game 1: Saturday afternoon

Game 2: Sunday night

Toothless boy

I guess I worried for nothing...he looks pretty cute! ;)

Big milestone for Stephen!

I have been dreading this...
I have always thought Stephen had such a handsome smile...wide mouth, teeth nicely spaced, etc. He lost his bottom two baby teeth quite a long time ago, but lucky for me his top ones have been slower. However, they have been loose for a few weeks, so the time came for them to come out!
Before:
(this is his fake smile, which is ok but not nearly as nice as the real thing!)

After

By letting Daddy pull both of them at the same time, he scored a trip to Spoons. I let him fill the whole cup because I figured he deserved it! He ate every. single. bite. This guy loves his sweets!

Chick Fil A summer fest

Chick Fil A is so great about offering free food to get people out! Earlier this week, they offered free kids' meals if we went to this event where they had lots of area organizations that offer summer camps/activities for kids. I was already interested in several of the places, so with the offer of free dinner, we were totally game! They even had a bounce house!

I learned about a lot of places I had no idea even existed, we won lots of free passes and food, the kids had a ton of fun, and we had a yummy dinner. Can't beat that! :) We got there right after naps, and it was perfect. It was getting crazy crowded as we were finishing up our dinner. So after I temporarily lost Sebastian in the crowd (crazy how toddlers can weave through adults, but the adults don't move out of your way when you start looking panicked!), we headed home to relax!