Air Show

We didn't have consistent Internet service for over a week, so my blog got a week off. There must have really been something wrong with the outside box because it took many hours for them to fix it!

For one of the Saturdays we didn't have service, we got to take our kids to an air show about an hour from our house. Jason, having served in the Air Force years ago and being an Air Force "brat" himself, was super excited to let the kids have the experience. He went to them all the time growing up and he and I went a a few while he served in the military.

 Jason was like a kid in a candy store showing the kids all the planes!

Inside a C-17

C-17s are big, but nothing compared to C-5s, which they didn't have that day. It was hard to get a pic without so many people around it!

Inside a fighter jet which was pretty cool!

I lost track of all the names, but the ones they got to sit at the controls were the best!

Erik's "thumbs-up"

The Blue Angels' show at the end was the best and always the highlight of the air show. Pictures just don't do it any justice. The kids were completely amazed!

 BTW, I still got it! Just like in Jr. High, I was able to beat the record for the most pull-ups for women while there. (Actually, in Jr, High I just tied my sister's record from three years earlier, I think they just wanted a more recent name up.) At the Air Show, the record was 10 and I beat it by 2! My name is shown below for 12 on the left-hand side.

An Amazing Summer

This was one of the best summers I have had as a mom. One of the main contributing factors to that was because Victoria was enjoying the summer vacation. It's not that she hasn't enjoyed summer break in the past, but for the past 5 years (since she started school) it was hard for her to have so much down-time at home and she would often be liked a cooped up tiger ready to pounce on anyone who rubbed her wrong. She also had trouble sleeping in previous summers because of how light it is here at night and the warm/humid temps. I never knew how to help her because it's not as if we'd just sit and do nothing all summer, in fact, if you know me, you know that I like to get the kids out of the house at least once a day.

What was different this summer? I think many things made a small difference and contributed to the whole. First of all, I was prepared. I had purchased lavender oil to help the girls settle down and fall asleep easier. We keep the house cooler during the time the kids get ready for bed. Victoria having her own room with a fan has helped as well. The other factors were probably the timing of our vacation to Colorado at the beginning of the summer and then the way I had spaced our other activities for the rest of the summer. Also, Victoria's being older and more responsible really had a lot to do with it. I was able to get her to do her job every day, including her piano practice and some school work. Mostly she accomplished those tasks in the morning, with some exceptions. Being helpful makes people happier and it worked for her too! The ironic part is, she didn't end up using the lavender oil or even melatonin (like last summer) like I thought she would. Karissa did though!

Here are some of the things we did after returning from our Colorado vacation.

Karissa made huge strides in swimming lessons!

Austin did too!

Victoria, in the deep end

Hiking

Pioneer Day activity

Painting boats

Soccer sign-up picnic

The bird was the highlight of the picnic.

Ward camp-out.

It's nice to have kids help set up now.

Roller skating

Erik wanted to try and did great!

Bike rides

Play dates (this was a special one since Karissa couldn't go to her BFF's b-day, so we celebrated here with her).

beach at the lake

 splash pad

Play groups

Raspberry picking

Detroit's Eastern Market

Labor Day activity at the Park

 Of course I didn't include pictures of the older three at Canton Activity Crew that went on through July and the first two weeks of August. They went to a playground for a few hours and were supervised and engaged in activities there. We also went to the community pool a lot with our "Healthy U" pass. Our trampoline is still damaged from last fall's storms and the parts for it are on back-order, so we survived without it. Hopefully, we'll have it next summer!

Austin's first day of Kindergarten was today! He has Mrs. Mifsud and was so excited to go. He was disappointed that yesterday wasn't the first day! (that's a K in sign language)

Victoria is in 4th and has Mrs. Jewett.

Karissa is in 2nd and has Mr. Anderson. 

 We're ready for the school year!

Hot Chocolate

Erik's favorite drink is hot chocolate. His favorite food is hot chocolate. When he's tired he wants hot chocolate. When upset, Erik wants hot chocolate. Luckily, I don't actually put chocolate into the milk, it's just warm. After he got out of the yogurt drinks he loved so much I gave him some real hot chocolate, but decided he liked it too much to have as often as he wanted, so I tried just warm milk and he loved it. Now, that's all he wants for any meal and it's been that way for about 6 months. The main idea was to get him to drink from a sippy cup, so when the only sippy cup, that he drank it from, broke, I was nervous. He has found another one he likes  now.

He'll drink water, juice, or slushy from a regular cup or water bottle. He doesn't mind other drinks, it's just food that he doesn't want. It's still a battle. When he asks for milk he says, "I want hot cho-lat. Make warm, not make cold, not make boiling." (One time it was too warm for him, so he decided he didn't like it "boiling"). When I refuse to give it him because I want him to eat food he says, "I want hot cho-lat, not food!"

Somehow, I manage to get enough nutrients in him through my finagling because he's not mal-nourished and he is a good size. I can't wait for the day when I say that he's "eating me out of house and home!"

Gotta love stubborn two-year-olds!

My Favorite Tree

The tree in our front yard was my favorite tree. It looked nice in the summer.

 Had gorgeous blossoms in the spring.

 And beautiful yellow leaves in the fall. (I can't find the one picture I have of Victoria in front of it with the yellow leaves, the rest of the pictures are of them on the ground. These leaves below are mostly of the neighbor's tree's leaves.)

 One day, about 6 years ago, Jason discovered some ants in the tree and noticed they were causing some rotting in the trunk. We knew it's days were limited. We wanted to find out what kind of tree it was, but no one knew what kind it was! Not our gardening guru neighbors, not the local nurseries from the clipping we brought. A couple of weeks ago, a branch fell off it.

 The tree service we called to take it down, take the roots out, and clean it up for us (we decided to be lazy this time) said it was a Kwanzan Cherry Tree. We looked it up. It is a cherry tree that doesn't bare fruit and only has a life span of about 20 years.

 It was sad to see it go:( Luckily, it wasn't the main shade in the front, so that won't be a problem. We might plant something there in the spring, or we might do something else with the area. It is nice to see the house. Aside from the big pile of mulch there, it looks kind of nice.

 I can actually see the kids from my porch chairs now. Maybe I'll get more use out of them as they ride their bikes.

Dance Workshop

I like free things. My friend told me about a free dance workshop this summer. It was a week long for three hours each session. It was at a new dance studio not far from our house. The director, Jennifer, provided snacks and gave the girls a workout, followed by dance warm-ups, then taught them a jazz and contemporary number. It was for ages 7-15, so both my girls got to go! Here are their dances on their last day.

As, you can see, there was a big range of ages, but my girls did great.

We've decided to enroll Karissa in the Monday night ballet class. She likes it because it's smaller and there will be no huge recital at the end. I'm sure there will be something, but nothing like Dancin' Feet, which will suit her fine. The first session goes until December, then we can sign up for the second one and add jazz if she's up to it, or not. Since it's new, there's not a ton of options to work for Victoria, so she'll stay at Dancin' Feet for now, but I'm excited for other events through this studio. Jennifer also works with musical theater which will be nice to get the girls involved in at some point.

What a great find!

Surprise!

Jason and I celebrated our 15 years of marriage last week. We didn't do anything extra special, like we thought we might, though going to temple together and to lunch without kids, is pretty special nowadays! We are going to get massages together next week, that I bought off Groupon, and the icing on the cake for me was getting my own smart phone!

Yes, I think I was one of the last people on the planet to have a flip phone until Saturday. Even my parents got smart phones before me, and that's saying a lot! Now I just need to get smart and learn how to use it. I've made big strides each day, though I'm still trying to get a picture onto Facebook from it.

Jason always bring my favorite flowers home.

I have a Droid Mini!

Though this isn't with my phone, Karissa took this of herself. She's going to be good at taking selfies!

Austin got a black eye. This was when it was still swollen.

The color looks deeper on my phone. Hopefully I'll get it on Facebook soon!