New furbaby in the family

Welcome Toby

My parents have a new furbaby, Toby. Though after meeting Toby I think a better name would be Taz. Toby is a cute little bundle of fluff that is a cross between a Shih Tzu and a Poodle, making him a Shih Poo. Yeah say that ten times fast without getting into trouble. Despite only being about 4 lbs. and a quarter of the size of Boomer he gave Boomer a run for his money. They played really well together for the most part. But then Toby would get a little too wound up and start really growling and getting mean and sounding just like a Tazmanian Devil. He is a cutie though, but not at all the type of dog I pictured my dad getting.

Happy Birthday a little early!

The gifts have already been rolling in for Kenzie whose 4th birthday is Wednesday the 8th. We are having a little party for her on Saturday. Dom's parents are unable to come on Saturday so we went down this weekend so they could give her gifts. She made out quite well, with new clothes and toys from Nonna & Nonno and also with gifts sent from Auntie Lisa & Uncle Chuck.

Thanks Guys!!

The Life Cycle-We've got it backwards!

I received this as an email and thought it was great!

The Life Cycle:

I think the life cycle is all backwards.

· You should start out dead and get it out of the way.
· Then you wake up in a nursing home, feeling better every day.
· You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension · then, when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first day.
· You work 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement.
· You drink alcohol, you party, you're generally promiscuous,
· go to college and get ready for high school.
· You go to primary school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities,
· you become a baby.
· Then, you spend your last 9 months floating peacefully with luxuries like central heating, spa, room service on tap, larger living quarters everyday,
· and finally you finish off as an orgasm.
I rest my case.

Halloween Highlights!

Another Halloween has come and gone. While the children are still blissfully sleeping in their sugar induced coma I will take a few minutes to share the highlights.
Friday evening we headed to Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth for "Ghosts on the Banke".
Many of you may have made school field trips here at some point. It is a colonial village and museum where participants actually live and work. We got to trick or treat from house to house. There was also a bonfire, Storytelling in a barn, firewalkers performing, hayrides, a creatures of the night exhibit. And even a screening of 'The Wizard of Oz' against one of the buildings. We went with a small group of friends and had a great time.
The weather on Saturday was rainy, cold and windy. I had been fighting a cold and Dom took the girls with him to run some errands. It gave me a little chance to rest.
Sunday Dom did yardwork and the girls and I made Halloween cookies. Yummy!!
The girls got to wear their costumes to their respective dance classes. So cute! Becca was a penguin and we decided she must be 'Happy Feet' which is a new movie coming out about a dancing penquin.
On Halloween we were treated to 60 degree weather. No covering up the costumes with coats this year! Remember being a kid and having a great costume? Okay so maybe it wasn't a great costume. It was the cheesy plastic smock thing with a mask that you could hardly see or breath out of. Your face would get all sweaty and you would sound like Darth Vader when you would breathe. Then your mom would make you cover it up with a big winter jacket, hat, mittens. Nobody knew what you were. Those were the days.
There was an early trick or treat for the girls in town at the local businesses. Becca had Sunday School in the evening where mommy got"tricked" as it was actually a Halloween mass, I mean 'All Saints Eve' mass. The kids got to wear costumes and were "treated" to goodies after Mass. The kids thought it was great. As for Mom, it was fun but lets just say mom is glad Halloween is over.

Happy Halloween from the Official Potty Escort

Yes, that is my current title. At least it feels like it should be my official title since it seems no one in this house can go alone, except Dom( thank goodness.) Though he does need some reminding in the 'put down the seat and replace the empty roll' areas. The kids are potty trained but apparently want someone to talk and sing to while they do their business. As well as the occasional butt wipe assistance. I crowned them 'potty partners' so they could go and entertain each other but this sometimes leads to arguments in which case the escort must step in and diffuse the situation.
Boomer also needs a potty escort. I crowned Copper and Boomer 'potty partners' also but this past weekend, when there were 50mph winds and torrential downpours, he clearly gave me a look that said "You're crazy lady, I'm not going out there. I can hold it." before turning around and walking back inside. So of course the potty escort was called in to action. Now the puppy, who it has taken weeks to learn housebreaking, within seconds learns that it is dry under the umbrella and is suddenly glued to my leg. After much coaxing. I finally managed to get him to go and return inside.
Of course being the potty escort means that everyone also feels the need to escort you to the bathroom. I am convinced that there is a little alarm linked to the toilet that goes off the minute I sit down causing at least one or more children or animals to come rushing to the bathroom door. I have also found that if Boomer is one of those to follow me into the bathroom that he thinks "Well she's going so I better." Not Good.
I think I am done venting now. I am just spending way more time around bodily functions than any one person needs to each day. Off to go clean the potty because this is of course another job of the potty escort.
I will update later about our Fun Halloween festivities.

Wonderful Wedding Weekend

Congratulations to my niece Jenna and her new husband, Micah. They were married this past weekend in Baltimore, MD. It was a beautiful, traditional Jewish ceremony. Both the ceremony and reception were held at the Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards which made it extremely easy for the many out of town guests who attended. There were also many attractions within walking distance, including the Red Bull Flugtag. This is an event hosted by Red Bull in many different cities where people create their own homemade flying machine and attempt to fly it off a huge ramp over the water. Each team performs a little skit before launching the plane and pilot directly into the water in most cases. There were some commercials featuring these contraptions that you may have seen. I didn't get to witness this first hand but did hear all about it. Dom and I didn't do any sightseeing unfortunately but are hoping to do a return trip in the near future with the girls.
We arrived in Baltimore in the morning on Saturday and checked into our room. As soon as we opened the door of our room the doorknob fell off on the other side. Kinda of funny, kinda not. Considering this was a really nice Marriott and not the Bates Motel you really don't expect the room to fall apart. Within 10 minutes of settling into our room there was a knock on the door to fix the broken door knob. Great service but a little disturbing as we hadn't even called anyone to come fix it yet. Soon after we grabbed some lunch with my parents and one of my aunt and uncles on the main floor of the hotel. While having lunch the groom stopped over to stay hi and insisted he wasn't nervous. Yet, anyway. My brother, the father of the bride, wandered in to sit and chat for awhile as did Jill's boyfriend, Miles.
After lunch my mom and I went to the bridal suite where the bride, her mom and her bridesmaids were having make-up done for the wedding. My husband took the only key to the room and went to take a nap. I was having a great time hanging out with the girls when I realized I couldn't remember what my room number was. After admitting this with some embarrassment it was suggested I stand out in the hall and just holler for my husband. After deciding that I might possible be thrown out of the hotel for causing an uproar I was able to find out my room number. (Thanks mom.)
The afternoon flew by pretty quickly and before I knew it we were dressed and ready (a wee bit early) for some family pictures and the signing of the Ketubah. The Ketubah is a beautifully decorated marriage contract signed by the bride and groom and two witnesses. Next was the ceremony, that included lovely wedding vows written by the bride and groom to each other. Many tears of happiness were shed. I had no tissues with me, never even crossed my mind that I would need any and I was sitting in the middle of a bunch of guys who of course have no tissues. It wasn't so bad. Then my nose started running. My dress was short sleeved, so that wasn't even an option. I somehow managed to keep myself presentable so that I wouldn't have to walk out into the crowd with snot running down my face.
The reception was fun with lots of dancing and yummy food and cake. I met several people including my brother's neighbor from Michigan. He was so funny. It was definitely one of the best weddings I have ever attended.
We attended breakfast in the morning with the bride and groom and then it was off to the airport for our flight out. I was one of the lucky passengers to be chosen for the random search as we went through security. My underwire bra proceeded to set off the wand and I was treated to the full pat down. Nothing like being felt up by a total stranger in public. They don't say' Thank you for flying the friendly skies' for nothing apparently. Other than that the flight was uneventful. We left the airport to gather the children and animals at their various locations and then settled in at home. We left the airport before my parents and unknowlingly left with the baggage claim ticket. Normally not a big deal except their luggage didn't show up. They were able to find it with only a small delay. And normally they wouldn't have minded a little extra delay except that upon returning home my dad was headed to Pittsburg, NH to go Moose hunting. He was not a Happy Camper but everything turned out okay!

Fall Favorites

I love to bake. Especially in the fall and winter when the weather gets cooler. I thought I would share a couple of my favorite recipes that we have been enjoying lately.

The first two recipes are lowfat treats!

Easiest muffins ever

1 box of spice cake mix or chocolate cake mix
1 15 oz can of pumpkin

Mix together and place in greased muffin tin. Fill muffin cups to the top as these don't rise much. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 mins.
Makes approx. 9 muffins.

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

1 box of carrot or spice cake mix
1 can of pumpkin
1 cup of mini chocolate chips(optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine cake mix, pumpkin and chocolate chips and beat with mixer until blended. Place by spoonfuls on cookie sheet and bake for 18-20 mins.

Chocolate Chip pumpkin bread

4 Cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 Cups sugar
3/4 cup butter softened
4 eggs
1/2 Cup of water
1 (15oz) can pumpkin
1 Cup plus two Tbsp miniature semisweet chocolate chips
2 tsp sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 2 8x4 inch loaf pans with shortening, lightly flour. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg until mixed; set aside.
Beat two cups of sugar and butter on med. speed 1 to 2 mins. or until creamy. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in water and pumpkin. Add flour mixture a little at a time until moistened. Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips. Spread evenly in pans sprinkle tops with remaining chips and 2 tsp sugar. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 mins. or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. cool in pans 10 mins them remove to wire rack.

Caramel Apple Crisp

3 Cups old fashioned oats
2 Cups flour
1 1/2 Cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Cup cold butter
8 Cups thinly sliced tart apples(granny smith)
1 pkg. caramels, halved
1 Cup apple cider divided

In a large bowl combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon. Cut in the butter until crumbly.
Press half of the mixture into a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Layer half of the apples and caramels and 1 cups of the oat mixture. Repeat layers. Pour half cup of cider over the top and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 mins. drizzle with remaining cider, bake 15-20 mins longer or until the apples are tender.

Enjoy!

Apples, Pumpkins and Dancers, Oh My!

It has been a busy week but last weekend was by far the busiest in a long time. Saturday morning Becca had an extra dance class and in the afternoon she had pictures for Soccer and then a Soccer game. Her soccer game went extra long because the opposing team was losing and Their coach wanted to keep going so his team could at least tie it up. Didn't happen. Becca's team still won. Becca is still a little timid when it comes to actually kicking the ball, but she runs around like crazy. Well she is only six, she's having fun and has plenty of time to learn. After Soccer we had dinner and then Dom and the girls headed off to church.

Sunday the weather was gorgeous, so in the morning we headed off to Butternut Farm to pick apples and pumpkins. We missed our good friends, the Childs, who in the past had been our apple picking buddies. They recently moved to Colorado. (We were thinking of you guys!!) We still had fun then headed home for lunch. We had a short break and then it was off to Maine for a fundraiser for the Make-a-wish foundation. The dance school that Becca and Mackenzie attend does a lot for Make-a-wish and they held a performance to raise money and both girls were asked to participate. Both girls were in the opening number which was several cute fingerplays.
Becca also performed the dance that she did for the recital last year with three other girls.
There were about 25 performances all together and it was fun to watch.

Monday was another beautiful day with temps in the mid 70's. We spent the morning doing yardwork and cleaning up the garage. Becca had dance class again in the evening and that ended our holiday weekend. The rest of the week has just been regular run of the mill stuff. Nothing too exciting but the foliage has been nice and so has the weather. Today was a classic fall day cool, clear and crisp.

Mackenzie's "A" List

Or more to the point what she wants for her birthday. This is for anyone looking for ideas.
Anything to do with The Little Mermaid, we do have the movie but nothing else.
Little Mommy Toddler Doll.
12 Dancing Princesses Movie, dolls or music.
Loves doing crafts and cooking.
She loves clothes too, but can be picky. She wears a 4T.
Also anything to do with animals.(but please no more stuffed animals!)

Boomers first trick!

Now I don't actually have to run the dishwasher, I just stick Boomer in there. I can save money on dishwasher detergent and electricity! Soooo... who wants to come over for dinner?!

Storyland!

This past weekend we made a trip up to Storyland. We met up with some friends we hadn't seen in a long time and lots of fun was had by all. I remember coming here as a child and it has changed so much and every year they seem to add something new. This year both girls were very interested in going on the rides. The teacups and the merry-go-round were the favorites. we even went on the the turtle twirl which is like the Tilt-a-whirl. They hated it, but didn't cry or get sick(though I thought Kenzie was going to lose it for a second) just stated they never wanted to go on that ride again! We brought Boomer with us because Storyland offers free kennels and we could visit him and take him for a walk every couple of hours. We probably would have brought Copper too but my car is in the shop and we all had to squeeze into the Focus, it wasn't a bad ride though and we saved money on gas.
So the not so fun part of the weekend is that there is something wrong with the transmission on my vehicle. For those of you who don't know, we purchased a used Ford Expedition in the spring. I have only had it for four months and now something is wrong with the trasmission. We dropped it off Friday and they still have it. On Friday they told me that it was very low on transmission fluid but they couldn't find a leak anywhere, which means that they are going to have start tearing it apart to find the problem. It is now late Monday afternoon and I haven't heard from them at all, I'd like to be optimistic and say that no news is good news but I know that is not the case this time. The good news is that it is still under warranty.
As I was typing this the Ford garage called. It is not the transmission! It was actually three loose spark plugs and a burnt coil, this was also causing a tapping sound and a gas smell both things I asked them to check out while they had it. Easy fix and I can get my car back. So that's everything you never wanted to know about my car problems.

Fairy Houses

I am making a book recommendation for people with children or anyone who likes or believes in fairies. The book is called Fairy Houses by Tracy Kane. The book is about a little girl who takes a trip to an island off the coast of Maine and while walking in the woods discovers that people have built fairy houses all over. The girl builds her own fairy house and has many suprises over her stay on the island. The book also encourages you too build your own fairy house which has become something the girls and I really enjoy doing. The only rule is you can't use anything living or artificial to make your fairy house. We have found that the Spring and the Fall are the best times as there is a lot of sticks, leaves. acorns and other things that fall to the ground. I have included a picture of our most recent fairy house. There is also a website for anyone intersted in checking it out. www.fairyhouses.com

Puppy Pals

Boom Baby!

Here is the newest member of our family, Boomer. We brought home Boomer yesterday afternoon. He did pretty well on the car ride home. He did of course do some protesting but soon settled down and slept most of the ride home. Copper has been pretty tolerant of Boomer, for an old man. The cat too, has held her ground and after a few curious sniffs Boomer moves on. The cat, right now is taller then Boomer but Boomer is the heavier one. He was the biggest of his litter and has huge paws. He will grow into a very sturdy boy. He has a beautiful, soft, silky coat.
The girls are of course in love with him. Its pretty hard to resist that face. He loves playing with the girls especially running around the yard. He likes following Copper around too, and tries to get Copper to play with him, while Copper prefers to ignore him.
So far we are all adjusting well. We've got a long road of training before us, but I think it will be a good learning experience for all of us. I will post more pictures later. It's hard to get him to sit still!

Another Soccer Mom

I have joined the ranks of"soccer mom". Becca signed up to play soccer with the local boys and girls club. She is so excited. She attended a soccer camp over the summer. (Just an hour a day for a week.) and loved it. Dom is pretty excited too, as he was a big soccer player in school. Her first game it Saturday. I am a little bummed that I will miss it because I will be off getting our new puppy. Yea, you read that right, we are getting a new puppy. We have been talking about it for awhile and decided to go for it. Copper is 11 years old and his age is starting to show. Physically, he doesn't look old. He's not even gray at all. But he is getting stiff after laying down for long periods and his hearing is going. I hope he has a couple of years left in him but you never know. I have had many people suggest getting another dog before anything happens to Copper so we decided to go for it.
The new puppy is another Springer Spaniel. A black and white male. After much discussion we decided on the name Boomer. We found a breeder via the internet. It was quite a drive, up past Franconia Notch and where the Old Man used to be. ( It still makes me sad that the old man on the mountain is gone and that my children never got a chance to see it. ) The foliage is well on its way to changing and it was a nice, but long drive. I will post more on Boomer when we bring him home.
Church
I survived Sunday at church with very few problems. The girls did pretty good, thought they were getting restless by the end. The church was pretty full and I chose to sit in the last pew.
After we were seated Kenzie said very loudly "I can't see!" but other than that we were off to a good start. After about twenty minutes Kenzie started to get restless and my little rebel wanted to stand when everyone sat and sit when everyone was standing. Being in the last row I ignored it as she wasn't bothering anyone. By the end she demanded to know, a little too loudly, what we were still doing there. After an hour mass I had to bring them to the parent meeting for Sunday school. This did not go over well at all. "You mean we're staying here?" Kenzie screeched as she watched everyone file out of the church.
I gave her a pen and a piece of paper to entertain her. Becca demanded a pen and preceded to pretend to stab her sister with it repeatedly complete with the sound effects from Psycho.
The only thing I remember from the meeting was the importance of the children attending Mass. I just smiled and thought to myself I can't wait for Dom to do this next week.

More Vacation pics.

On a Fishin' Mission

Kenzie caught her first fish off the dock at Merrymeeting Lake. It was a little sunfish or pumpkin seed.
She reeled it in all by herself and was so excited!
The girls actually spent more time practicing casting and playing with worms than they actually did fishing. But they had fun and that's what really counts!


Hopkinton State Fair

We had fun at the fair. The girls favorite ride is of course the Merry-go-round. They also had fun in the bounce house.
The animals were a big hit too, but by the time we got to the petting zoo the animals weren't very hungry. In fact many of them looked so full they could hardly move. The girls still enjoyed petting the goats and sheep!

Lost River Gorge

I would really like to return to the Lost River when the foliage changes but I don't want to deal with all the crowds! It might just might be worth it for the pictures though!

Is this the best the toy companies can come up with??

Okay, I have to share this. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't actually seen it myself. There is a new Barbie doll out. Barbie and her cute little dog Tanner. You can feed Tanner and then guess what Tanner does? Just like a real dog Tanner takes a little doggy dump. Then Barbie pulls out her handy dandy pooper-scooper and cleans it up. If either of my children ask for this toy I will of course remind them that we have a real dog and when you feed him, he too goes poop. Then I will hand them a shovel and send them into the yard.
Now for any of my dear family that is reading this and thinks it would be funny to give this as a gift to one of my children just remember I will get you back. And to my brother, don't even think of sending me that box that you are saving in the garage.

Here is the link if you don't believe me http://barbie.everythinggirl.com/activities/btv/as_seen_on_tv/
Just click on the picture of Barbie and the dog.

Vacation!

Sunset cruise on the lake.


We had a very nice and relaxing vacation and I think that is why I am having such a hard time getting back into the swing of things back at home.
The fun began the day before we went to the lake by going to the Hopkinton State Fair. The girls love animals and what better place to see lots of animals. We got there early enough to see some of the horse competitions, as both girls love horses. Then we did a few rides, checked out some more animals and of course ate lots of fattening fair food.
The next day we were off to the lake. The weather was unfortunately cool and rainy so we held off putting the boat in and just cozied in at camp, played some games and hung out. The rain stopped just in time for the sun to set and we made plans for the next day.
Monday was still a little overcast but it was no longer raining. Rebecca and Kenzie wanted to take Nonna and Nonno to Lost River Gorge so we all loaded into our car and headed north. The rain held off and we enjoyed exploring the caves and walking through the gorge. It is a really beautiful walk. It's like a combination of the polar caves and the flume, if you are familiar with either of those. The girls got to do some mining and get some treasures. After the gorge we ate lunch and stopped at a craft fair on the way home. Dom and I put the boat in after dinner.
Becca had to start back to school the next day and we fell into a routine of bringing her to school, then Dom and I and sometimes Kenzie would go out fishing until lunch, have lunch and hang out until it was time to go get Becca. Becca came home bursting with energy each afternoon and would swim off the dock. It was a little on the cool side but that didn't bother Becca. We would all eat a delicious dinner cooked by my mother-in-law and then Dom and I would be off for another quick fishing trip before getting the kids off to bed. We didn't have much luck fishing. I caught one Salmon that was a keeper and one short. Kenzie did catch her first fish, a little pumpkin seed off of the dock. She was so excited!
Thursday Dom and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary and went out to dinner at The Lake House Grille in Meredith. It is actually part of the Common Man chain and the food was excellent. Friday after a quick fishing trip in the morning I went home to make a cake for my niece's bridal shower on Saturday. That evening we pulled the boat out of the water because they were predicting rain for the next few days and we knew we wouldn't have much time to use it.
Saturday I was gone most of the day at my mom's house for my niece's shower. It was nice to see everyone and to get the latest wedding gossip. Dom, the girls and my in-laws took a train ride on the Hobo railroad from Weirs beach. Everyone had a great time according to the report I got when I returned to camp. They even ate lunch on the train served in cute little hobo bags for the girls. Before I returned to camp they got hit with a huge, but quick moving thunder storm with gusty winds and big whitecaps on the lake. It was good that we had taken out the boat or it would have been banged around against the dock.
Sunday was the last day at camp and most of it was spent packing and cleaning up. It was very cool and brisk out but it was still sad to leave. I'll post again later with more pics!

Sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug

I have felt like the bug and the reality of coming back from vacation is the windshield. Unpacking, laundry and grocery shopping went well despite the mob at the grocery store on a Sunday afternoon and getting stuck in the line with the slowest cashier and near comatose bagger. The cashier holds up a bag of basil and asks "Do you know what this is?" " Basil." I reply though what I really wanted to say was ,"No, actually I like to run through the aisles randomly pulling things off the shelf so I can be surprised when I get home." Someday I am going to say that because it isn't the first time I have been asked that. So one price check and one void later and I am home. I spent the rest of the afternoon making sauce. Tomorrow will be easier, right?

Wrong.
I get Becca off to school and Mackenzie and I head to Mom and Dad's house to pick up Copper.
I get delayed by some construction on the way. Not really a big deal except that I drank a bottle of water and now have to use the bathroom. I make it to mom and dad' s and after a mad dash to the bathroom, we have a nice little visit and then Kenzie, Copper and I head back. In theory I should have just enough time to drop the dog off before I have to pick Becca up from school. But of course thanks to even more construction I do not and head straight to the school to pick up Becca. So the dog is whining incessantly, because of all the peolple and cars which eventually wakes up Kenzie who had blissfully fallen asleep. She is now cranky because the dog woke her up and is in no mood to wait in the long line of cars to pick up her sister. Much whining and screeching follows and miraculously I am able to get her interested in looking at a magazine of used classic cars. Finally the line moves and we are able to pick up Becca and we make it home.
The kids and dog run off into the yard. I bring stuff into the house and come back out to find that the dog has jumped back into the car and tore into a bag of crackers. He then comes into the house and proceeds to throw up on the kitchen floor. Better the kitchen floor than my car or the rug but couldn't he just stay outside and do that?!
So I clean up the dog puke and start to gather things for dance class because Becca has dance class at 5:30 today and Kenzie tomorrow morning. I find everything I need except I only have one ballet slipper for each girl. I spend the next half hour tearing apart the house looking for the matches that had been here before we left for camp. They are of course nowhere to be found. Apparently some thief broke into the house while we were at camp and stole two mismatched ballet slippers. Hey, crazier things have happened. It is now two hours before Becca's class starts and we have to make a trip to the shoe store. This is of course when the phone starts ringing. It is my dear husband very proud of himself because he called the church to find out when sign-ups for Sunday School are. They are this Sunday and he proceeds to tell me the rest of the info and how he will go and sign her up and aren't I proud of him. I remind him, by screaming like a crazed lunatic, that Sunday he is going to the Nascar race and that means that I will have to go to church on Sunday with the two children and sign her up. I hang up the phone and don't know whether to laugh, cry or throw up. You see I can count the number of times I have been to church on one hand. I am in complete panic mode. Dom and I had a deal that if we were to bring the girls up Catholic he would deal with all that stuff because I'm not in the "club."

I of course do not have time to worry about this now because I have to get to the shoe store and get Becca some ballet shoes before her class starts. This announcement is met with much moaning and whining from the girls and to save my sanity I promptly bribe them with promises of some sort of treat. They graciously accept and are perfect angels. We get shoes and head home to get ready for dance. Kenzie has a tantrum because she doesn't get to dance today.
We make it through dance class, dinner and bedtime without much incident. I am very thankful and go to bed early only to toss and turn most of the night worrying about going to church!
This morning has gone well so far. Kenzie had her first dance class and loved it, she is already asking when she gets to go again.

Now that I have gotten all that off my chest I can tell you about our great vacation....

Thanks!

Thanks for checking back, I promise a full update tomorrow. We just got back from the lake this afternoon and I unfortunately have lots of unpacking, laundry and grocery shopping to do as well as a bushel of tomatoes that need to be made into sauce before they go bad! I would much rather grab a glass of wine and sit on my behind, but duty calls.

Swimmer and Suri

These are the newest members of our household. They are two cute little goldfish that the girls picked out and named themselves. Swimmer is Becca's and it is orange and white. Suri is Kenzie's and it is black. The timing is really bad to be adding members to the household as we will be gone for a week starting in a few days, but sometimes you have to be spontaneous and say "what the heck!" Actually we are only going to be 20 mins from home and intend to bring the fish with us. I know you are probably all thinking why are you going 20 mins from home for a week when school just started? What the heck? Right?!
Well let me explain. My father-in-law works for a hardware store that owns a camp on a lake and lets the employees take turns using it throughout the summer. The lake is only 20 mins from our house and school which means even though we don't get a turn until after labor day it is still close enough that we can still stay and Becca can still go to school. Besides who wouldn't want to spend a week on a lake even of it is only 20 mins from home? Plus it is convenient in case we forget anything, which we inevitably do.