Midwest Trip

The girls and I headed west last week to spend some time with family. Our first stop was South Dakota where we enjoyed our time with Grandpa and Grandma. We shopped and shopped, played with the dogs, enjoyed some great meals, and Maddie even went fishing one morning on Grandpa's boat.

On the third day, Aunt Jessie and company arrived! The girls loved playing with their cousins, especially new baby, Ranger! What a cutie!

We took these pictures at Lake Farley. Thanks Grandma for the matching suits!

Besides good eats, there were plenty of treats.

On day 4, we drove down to Worthington, MN, for a family reunion on my mom's side. The kids enjoyed the hotel, especially the pool.

On the final day of our trip, we drove to see my grandma's grave and her old home. We trespassed, not knowing who the farm belongs to today, to get some pictures of where Margie lived and where my mom spent lots of time while growing up.

This is the original barn built in the early 1900's. The original white farmhouse is there too, but it has been added on to. Back then, my great-grandparents owned 160 acres.  We didn't stay long, as the large dog on the premises looked quite hungry. We're back home now resting up for our big trip to Los Angeles in a few weeks!

Random Events

While the majority of our days seem to revolve around swim team and dive team events, the girls are also taking a pottery class. They love it! I love that it provides me with 90 minutes of time to myself. I usually go to the farmer's market or read. It is lovely!

We took the girls out to celebrate their successful school years. They both had perfect attendance this year! PERFECT Attendance! I have no idea how that happened, but I credit their teachers who made every day one to look forward to.

We have had quite a bit of rain here in the DC area this summer. I love the thunderstorms, but they do "dampen" outdoor plans. One day, we painted birdhouses for our garden.

We celebrated the fourth! Madeline spent her allowance on sparklers, and we headed to Grandma's to watch the annual fireworks show over the bay.  Once again, the best seats in the house, no crowds, and no problems parking. Sophie, who doesn't like the loud noises, watched through the sliding glass door.

Our garden continues to amaze us! We thought we had brown thumbs, but our garden in like a jungle! Maddie planted the beans from seeds at school, and we transplanted the sprouts to our garden. We had her beans for dinner last week.

We are able to harvest this quantity of produce every four days or so. It is amazing!

One thing I have learned about the garden . . . When you go out to pick something quickly, CLOSE the door. Or else, while a certain dog chases squirrels around the yard, she just might chase one into the house! Yes, we had a squirrel in our house. I saw it run in, but then I couldn't find it. I was panicking as I envisioned the girls needing rabies shots and our house and furniture torn apart by little squirrel claws and teeth.  I guess the squirrel was as shocked as I was because it found a hiding place and stayed there.

Luckily, Ralph had a rodent trap. I set it up, and we left the house for awhile. When we came back, we had our squirrel. Kent was able to release it back into our yard, and now we are very, very careful to keep the door closed!

I have taken up my usual summer time hobby, craigslisting.  I love finding inexpensive pieces like the one below. I got this desk for my office for . . . twenty dollars! That's it, twenty dollars! I am not sure if I'll paint it or leave it as is. Right now, I am searching for a chair to go with it. I am imagining something pretty with a fabric seat, maybe an antique-ish one I could paint, for  25 dollars or less. I'll keep you posted!

Sophie!

Sophie has made so much progress with her swimming this summer! I credit the daily Little Sharks program at our pool and the countless hours we have spent at the pool so far. Last week, she went off the diving board for the first time and swam unassisted to the ladder!

Here she is working on her freestyle! She can get about halfway across the pool now, and if she can get all the way across by next summer, she can be on the swim team with Maddie. No more watching from the sidelines!

Here she is showing off her underwater skills.  It has been such a relief for me to know that she is a little bit safer in the water now.

Super Moon and Some Fishing

We drove to Maryland Saturday evening since Kent wanted to do some fishing, and I wanted a good view of the super moon.  Just our luck, Mom's condo was having a rooftop party that evening. We enjoyed the view and some food, then returned to the condo to sit on the balcony and watch the moon rise. It was beautiful!

The next morning was cool and rainy. The weather did not stop us from fishing or swimming in the rooftop pool, though. In the afternoon, we headed over to Aunt Dawn's for dinner and some family time. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures at Dawn's! Next time, I will have to capture her bee farm, the giant garden, and their adorable new pointer.

Dive #2

Dive #2

Click above to see dive #2 at yesterday's meet. You wouldn't know how many tears were shed at the end of this board learning this very dive.

When practices started a few weeks ago, I gave Maddie the option to quit the team after watching her struggle through several days of tears, shaking, and looooong stretches of time with her coach at the end of this board. Maddie was determined to continue though, and worked through her fears! I am proud of her!

Dive #1

Dive #1

Click the link above to see Maddie's first dive at her first dive meet.

Swimming Butterfly

Maddie swimming butterfly

Maddie was so excited to improve her time on butterfly! Click the link above to see her first place finish at Monday's FAST meet!

Summer Swimming!!

Summer is upon us! Wednesday was our last day, and I think we've been at the pool since then! Friday night our swim team had a potluck; Madeline and our neighbor, both sharks, made these lovely cupcakes. Watch out Cake Boss!

Saturday morning was competition time. Our first meet was a Ninja theme. Madeline was way too shy to participate. ;)

I am so proud of this girl! She swam free (a whole second off last week's time), back (THREE seconds off her time in just one week), and the last leg of a relay! She didn't place in any of the races, but I am so impressed with her! Next up, Monday's "B" meet, Tuesday's dive meet, and five days of two hour practices.

The Garden

Remember our little garden? Well, it has grown and is baring fruit!! We have harvested lettuce, zucchini, and squash. We are also waiting on many green tomatoes to grow and ripen. I highly recommend a garden if you're looking for a family project. We are having so much fun with ours!

Time Trials and a Trip!

 Last weekend was soooooo busy! We started off Saturday morning with time trials. It was not an official meet, but a chance to time yourself at the beginning of the season. The coach uses the times to decide which swimmers to put in the first "A" meet.  As a nine year old, Madeline has to swim 50's rather than last year's 25's for all strokes except butterfly. Below, she is wrapping up her 50 freestyle with a strong lead in her heat!

Go Maddie!  First in her heat with some time to spare!

Celebratory shaved ice! Maddie will swim freestyle and backstroke (eek!) in the "A" meet.  She has never done backstroke in even a "B" meet before.

After the time trials, we hit the road with Grandma Connie and headed up to New Jersey for a surprise birthday party for Uncle Josh! What a surprise it was!

 After the surprise party, we spent the night with our cousins at their adorable new house!  Before heading back to Nova, we spent some time along the shores of Lake Mohawk burning up some energy before the long car ride home.  It was a busy but very fun weekend!