A Tiger and a Puppy

We went to the zoo Saturday night(sans camera).  They had face painters there and the girls decided to give it a try.  Really fantastic!  Willa was roaring everywhere!  The funniest part was when we got home, Possum did his not nice bark and his hair stood up.  At which point we told Willa to stop roaring because it was scaring the dog:)

One Week Down

We have almost survived our 1st week of Volleyball.  On my days off(I only work 3 days), it doesn't seem bad.  But on the days I work, oi, it feels like a marathon!  But so far so good.  A nice group of girls.  Unfortunately, 17 is too many for me to handle well.  So today will be cuts.  Unpleasant, but necessary.  I just try to remind them that in 20 years, they may win the Nobel Peace Prize and still get cut from v-ball, so they should try to keep a good perspective.

Last weekend the girls were invited to a birthday party at a stable.  With Horses.  Big horses.   This was worrisome a little to me.  Visions of 2 hysterically crying little girls thrashing about on top of a horse were threatening my excitement for the dear little girl whose birthday we were to celebrate.  Last year D & W were both given opportunity for the slowest horse ride ever and they both turned it down flat.  But this time they told me they were going to do it and were all fired up about it.

They did great!  After D got off her horse she said, "Mommy, I want a horse!"  To which I sadly informed her that our tiny yard could not possibly support one.  She then told me, "Then I want to live here!"  Not to worry, she still resides with us:)

The stable played Red Light, Green Light with the kids ON THE HORSES!  So fun.  And the kids got to feed them and it was a really neat time for my little suburban girls.

Animal Cracker Wednesday

The Calm Before the Storm

We are in the quiet before the storm here.  The week before my volleyball season starts.  On the 16th, my season begins and it is a 12 week marathon for our house.  Every weeknight is filled with practice or a game.   Always before season starts I wonder how I can possibly fit it in and when it's done, I wonder what I used to do with all my free time.  But there is a certain adrenaline that comes with each new season, a fresh start, a chance to impact young people.   I love this sport and I love to teach others how to love it too.  And I will admit, it is a chance to do something that does not involve diapers or little runny noses, cute as they can be(the noses, not the diapers).  

Wayne typically has his hands full picking up the slack.  This year, however, we found out he will be traveling for business for at least a month, up to 6 weeks.  He'll be home for the weekends, but gone M-Thurs.  I'm so excited for him to try his hand at this new thing for our company(for those of you who don't know, we both work for a scientific glass company).  But the thought of him leaving during season has me doing some audible gulping.    It will work out, I'm sure, with a lot of help from my folks as always, and a few favors called in from some friends too, I expect.

I will be coaching for Aquinas Institute this year, new for me since my beloved Nazareth Academy closed.  It is a bigger school than Naz was and has boys(Naz was ladies only for the high school).  AQ has fantastic facilities though and I'm looking forward to a slightly bigger draw than the last decade has provided.  For those interested, you can find our game schedule on the above link.  

This week will be spent relishing the "free-time" I have left while furiously trying to get errands done before next week.  I will savor every evening where the only thing I have to do is feed and bathe my babies and veg out with Wayne while we wait for Adalyn to be tired(11pm last night).  

2nd Annual Tie-Dye Party

A few weeks ago, seems like a long time now, we had our 2nd Annual Tie-Dye party.  

Tie dying is an addictive affair, which explains some of the wardrobes of the 60's.  Once they got started, they probably couldn't stop.   I know the feeling.  

I had my hands full so the photos are minimal, but a fun time was had by all.  New this year, we made our own chalk.  Plaster of paris, powdered tempura paint and water, combined and  then poured into dixie cups and Viola!  A very easy and fun craft that anyone could do.  I found the recipe a few places and if you google it, you will see some of the options.

Thanks to all who came out for it and we look forward to next year to try some more fun things!

Happy Graduanniversary

On Saturday we headed out to the Conesus Lake area(about an hour South of Rochester) for two family parties.  A graduation party for Wayne's nephew Matt.  He is headed off to Ithaca College with hopes of eventually having a syndicated sports column.  He also is an Eagle Scout, something that takes many years of commitment to achieve.  We wish him the best of luck on all his endeavors!

The second party was for Wayne's sister and BIL who were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.  A happy party filled with a huge bonfire and some four wheeling for the brave and play-clothes dressed attendees.

You may wonder where the stars of the shows are.  Hmmm, so I should have listened to my Aunt when she told me to get a back up battery b/c one day I would forget to charge mine and I would be left camera-less.  This day was Saturday.  I managed to snap a few cute ones before the juice ran out.  Unfortunately, they do not include the Graduate or the happy couple.  So you are stuck with my lovelies with Conesus Lake behind them...

And (one of) Wayne's brother's kids and ours, all together on the swings.  6 in all!  Yikes, when did that happen??

So Congratulations Matt and Happy Anniversary Mary and Rob!

Christmas in July at Jellystone

As if July was not fantastic enough, my ASIL(Almost Sister In Law) treated us girls to an extended weekend at Yogi Bear's Camp Jellystone Campground.  It's a super-fun campground geared for the 4th grade and under set.  My brother and ASIL own a tow behind camper that can sleep up to 8 so the 5 of us were quite comfortable.

The theme of the weekend was "Christmas in July" and we met up with some friends while there that made our time even more special.  We even set up a Christmas tree and other decorations too.  Some people even brought their wicker deer!  And much to the delight of all children present, Yogi-Santa stopped by and deposited stockings and other small gifts.

It was my first time in their camper, and I must say that it is luxury itself compared to a tent!  Air conditioning, heating, stove, potty, all within feet of your bed!   I could get used to this.

The campground also featured a water park, complete with water slides and water guns and just enough other spraying things to minimize how many pictures I could take due to errant spraying.

Adalyn loved the water park, where she could greet only the water on her own terms.  She hated the beach(still) and only tolerated the pool.

She was in heaven though, getting to sleep with me for all 5 nights.  However, the camper is not baby proof nor was it designed with curious toddlers in mind so much of the first few days involved trying to keep her away from touching inappropriate things.

The last night our companions set up a projector and put on Frosty for the kids to watch.  We even had use of a golf cart, which the kids got to try their hand at steering it.  The morning and evening boasted Hey, Hey, Hey Rides.  Where a energetic college student led the group in songs and loud yelling.

Unfortunately, the weather was uncooperative, raining a lot.  Not a light sprinkle either.  More like torrential downpours.  I was very grateful(for like the 100th time) that we were in a camper.  But it did leave me feeling strangely s'more-deprived since campfires were impossible some nights.

Also unfortunate was that each of my girls got sick.  They were never all sick together.  But Willa got a 24 hour high fever/barfy bug, Adalyn picked  up a low fever cold, and Denver got the high fever(no barf) version of Willa's sickies.  I can only hope we did not pass it on to our companions.  It made for a challenging weekend, though  I still would call it successful.  We came home extremely tired, which I think is the sign of a good time.