A lot of nothing

This is gonna be one of those random posts where I say a lot of nothing.

First of all, the Bible study I am leading starts next Thursday. I am very excited but hoping for completely calm waters. I don't deal well with conflict (does anyone?) and there is already a potential confrontation looming on the horizon. I just want to say to all the high maintenance people, "Pass!" I should probably pray about this attitude.

Emma has an imaginary brother and a doll sister. They go everywhere with us. Usually their names are Logan and Ellie but other variations are Carson, Neely, Samantha, Kalie. This morning on our way to Walmart Emma said, "Ellie is so under-whelmed....she can't wait to get there." I asked "overwhelmed or underwhelmed?" She says, "Definitely underwhelmed." Does that mean she is so bored she can't stand it?! HHHHMMMMMMMM............

We are heading out tomorrow for our final summer camping/water skiing trip ~ my parents, Tim's parents and two good friends are going with us. It's supposed to be nice weather, which you can't be too sure of at Blue Mesa because the lake is at 8,000 feet. We are all excited and you can anticipate some pictures here when we return.

One final note, I tried to attach a video of Emma swimming. It shows up on the preview page just fine but when I actually pull up the post it isn't there. Maybe I will tackle that problem when I return. For now you will just have to believe me when I say she is swimming the length of the pool on her own. It's very cool!

More Updates

Every year we have friends that give us a gift card for brunch at the Broadmoor for Christmas. So this weekend was our fourth annual brunch. We always have a great time! After we eat all the delicious food we can handle, (Tim loves the made-to-order omelets, I love the creme brulee, and Emma loves the hot chocolate) we walk around the lake looking at the swans and fish. Here are some pics from our day at the Broadmoor.



And as promised here are some pictures from my card making birthday party and the awesome cake Bonnie made. It's falling apart because it was 95 degrees that day and everything was melting, including us. By the way, the black thing on the cake is a little cowboy hat.



I am SO glad I can now add video to my blog. This is a video of Emma swimming on her own. We are so proud of her!

Funny Story

At music lessons when the kids do a good job, the teacher will reward them with a treat ~ usually M&Ms or fish crackers. Well yesterday Emma got two rewards of M&Ms and she said, "I'm getting a lot of candy today. That's too much sugar for me." So I told Emma I would ask the teacher to give her fish crackers instead. Emma quickly responded, "No Mom! That's OK. Just let her give me sugar. It's OK, Mom. It's OK." I had to laugh ~ she knows it's not good for us and she knows she won't get it at home. I think she decided in that moment not to say anything again but just enjoy the sweet treats she gets once a week at music class. And as my friend Amy said about her food choices ~ "I am comfortable with that."

A Photo Narrative

Here are some pictures from the past week showing what we have been up to lately. We went hiking in Garden of the Gods this weekend.



Emma got to go on a date with her Daddy. They played glow golf and rode the kiddie rides. Emma thought that was SO special!



Emma practiced the piano. Daddy said he wanted to play with it and Emma said, "This is not a toy, Daddy. You can't play with it."



Emma had swimming lessons and she learned the back stroke. Notice that she is swimming on her own!



And we got to see our cousin's brand new baby boy Kainoa. He is so sweet and Emma was so interested in him.

Blessings Bestowed

Yesterday my sister-in-law, Bonnie, hosted a stamping party for me as an early birthday gift (since her baby is due just before my birthday in September). The way it worked is everyone came to a stamping class at her house and we all made a card. Then people bought me a stamp or something else from my wish list. The big bonus is that I get all the points from the party to pick out free stuff. It was an amazing day! By the time I got home I was so overwhelmed with everyone's generosity that I was in tears! Bonnie went all out with a great spread of food and this adorable cake. It had pictures of me and Tim and Emma on it along with these Texas-shaped candies. I loved it! Her attention to detail was amazing... who would have thought of Texas candies?! As soon as I get some pictures from yesterday I will post them. It was the best birthday party I have ever had! I was very humbled to be on the receiving end of such generosity. Thank you dear Bonnie!

The Four Seasons

Today is the day ~ I started home schooling Emma! We had a really fun morning, mixing our reading with fun activities and games. Emma loved it! She has been so excited to read the "new books that came in the mail." Today we learned about the four seasons, and I hoping she will be able to recite them to Tim tonight. We are also talking about "attentiveness" this week and learned a cool verse to go with it: Proverbs 4:20 ~ Pay attention my children to what I say. Listen carefully. Day one was great. I hope the next nine months go just as well. :)

On a side note, Emma had some out-of-town friends come visit last week. Here are some pictures of them playing together.






This is my favorite one! They got married.

Another Look

This afternoon I was looking at a friend's blog. She has pictures from our Navajo Lake trip posted and I had fun reminiscing. So I thought I would post a few more pictures from the trip...mostly just so I have something new on my blog for today. Plus I think these pics are so great.


Tim never gets a break from work.

I love double skiing with my man. Don't we look like show skiers?!

My brother Tomy ~ the awesome wakeboarder. I love this shot!

The perfect picture from a perfect trip. Peace Out!

Home Sweet Home

We had another great weekend at the lake. This time I remembered to take the camera, but I never took any pictures. Go figure! We enjoyed beautiful views on the lake, glass-like water (where you can see your reflection), cozy campfires, long naps and sweet conversations. Although we had a great time...there is no place like home! It was wonderful to sleep in our own beds last night, go to church this morning and lay in the hammock this afternoon. Tomorrow "real life" takes hold again ~ but this evening I am holding on to memories of a relaxing weekend and quality time with the two loves of my life.

This was taken from our deck the night before we left for the lake.
God is so creative!

Uh-Huh is not a word

Emma asked me a question the other day, and when I answered "uh-huh" she said, "Uh-huh is not a word." Is this the result of me asking her to use big girl words? That comment along with other things this past week have made me realize how big she is getting. One morning I walked into the t.v. room expecting her to be watching a morning cartoon. She had it on TLC and was watching "A Baby Story." WHAT?! She is so into babies these days that I immediately understood her interest. But we quickly turned it before she got an early education on where babies really come from.

When she got up from her nap today she told me this story about how the knob "suddenly" came off of her snow globe. Did I teach her that word? And as I type this blog she mimics my every move on her little laptop computer. "When did she get so big?" I ask myself. Now that Emma is 4 she reminds me daily of all the things that 4 year olds can do that 3 year olds can't do because they are too little.

Once again I am reminded to be grateful for a healthy little girl. I love to see her growing...but I wish the days would pass a little more slowly sometimes.