riding the horses!

Hana's Sunday school teacher came over again with her horses. This time, we were able to spend a little more time riding in the back. Hana was able to get in some good riding time. She is doing great. She is a little pro! Today, the horse, at one point, took off and she held on tight and didnt freak out! She learned a lot about control and leading it. Maddison did it by herself too, which was never done before. And, of course, Chloe had to get up and ride for a while. Our friends came over from next door with their son and he got up with all the girls. I took a ton of pics, here are just a few!Hana and her teacher out riding.You cant tell real well here, but Maddison had insisted that she wear this nice Christmas dress while she rode (the princess in her) and she had smeared her face with dirt before she got up on the horse! Hana with Austin poking out from behind her!He likes to think they are buddies...she is not so sure of him yet!!Time to clean up!!!

So proud

Hana came home yesterday with a report of a test she took last week. They test the kids for literacy placement, and they will do it at the end of the year to see how much they have improved during the school year. So, I dont know what they expect for a 5 year old, but Hana's report said that in all areas, letter recognition, letter sounds, word recognition...she scored way above what they expect at this time! This is a big deal for me because, first, she never went to preschool...and, I am not one of those moms who sit at home and try to teach the kids how to read or letters or anything. I read to them every day, but as far as pushing them to learn before school, I never did that. I figure, they go to school long enough and they will learn it eventually. Hana was basically self taught. She learned how to write her name when she was 2 by just copying me. She sees something and takes it in so fast!!! Maddie on the other hand, still has problems with her name. But, she is in preschool and will learn eventually. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how proud of Hana I was!!! Then she came home and read 3 books to me last night!!!

I am going to throw up!

So, we have this adorable puppy...who has a problem. He thinks his crate is where he is supposed to poop. I will let him out and no more than 5 minutes later, he poops in his crate. He is getting better, only once a day now. The only problem is, if I dont know he does it...he will eat it. Many times I have come to the crate and he is licking the last of it up (sorry for the gross post here). Any suggestions? Isnt there something that you can put in their food that makes them stop? I am so disgusted!!

This was the conversation on the way to take Maddison to school yesterday... Maddison "why do daddys work?" Mommy "So mommies dont have to" "Oh, so they can stay home and take care of sweeties, right?" "right" "why do sweeties have to go to school?" "so you can learn things and be something someday" "be what?" "you can be whatever you want to be" "like a star?" "sure, if that is what you want" "I am gonna be a star....just like Hannah Montanah" At least she didnt say Britney!!

Look what I found!!!

The top one is this morning of Hana, the bottom one was my first day of school when I was 5!!!

Picture day

This is Hana this morning. It was picture day today and she HAD to wear this dress...she has been begging to wear it, so I thought today would be a good day. Anyone recognize it???? (for those of you who dont know, it is the dress my mother made when I was little...I wore it my first day of kindergarden)I like how Chloe is in the picture!!! I hope she stays pretty for her pictures...they are not until 2 this afternoon!!

Friends

My best friend came to town! Lisa (then Anderson) and I have known each other since we were 7! She and her family came down from the Chicago area to do the whole Disney thing...its a once a year trip they make! So, every time they come, we are sure to catch up somewhere. Last night we went to the resort they are staying at and played on the playground with all the kids.

Chloe looking lost!Josh really didnt want his picture taken!Chloe and Emma!!

Then we went out to dinner....what an experience! We went to Rainforest Cafe, which is a fun place, but if any of you have kids, you probably know what happened. The animals scared Maddison, so she cried when we got there. Chloe screamed cause she was tired and hates loud things. Maddie told me she wanted to go home, but we convinced her to stay to eat the food. Then, after we got them all settled, the rain came....and the thunder....and the lightning. It is so loud that is scared all the kids. By the time the 3rd storm came, they were used to it. In the end, we had a good time and good company!

Hana, Lisa and Emma on the carousel

Last night, we had open house at the girls school. It was so good to see their classes. They usually come home from school and I ask what they did, they say "I dont remember"...so I never know what they do. Hana's classroom, I saw all these pictures of her making things, projects she has done, paintings, tons of stuff!!! I even found out she had a math test yesterday....I didnt even know she knew what math was!! In Maddie's class, there were paintings, books she had made, again, tons of stuff! I was so proud of her when I saw all the things she has done. Her teacher said she does well, their only concern is when they do centers (when they can go to different centers to play, read, color, build blocks etc.) she usually goes to coloring center and doesnt interact with the other kids. They have a hard time getting her to play with kids. I told her that she has always loved to be by herself and she loves to color. I asked Maddie why she didnt play with the other kids, she just told me that there are too many of them! It is something that we will work on....

I came home last night and was emailing people, looked down and saw this....

I have seen scorpions in Florida before, but they have all been small...about 1/2 inch or so...this one was at least 3 inches long....gross....I guess I am calling Massey today to come take care of our house!!!

Our fun filled weekend

My dad came to visit us this weekend. It was tons of fun. The girls had a blast (so did I). I just can not believe it has been a year since we have seen him!!

We played outside....this is Hana with Tex, our puppy (more on that story to come!)

We went to a great park which the kids loved. It was so hot, but we had fun anyway!!

There is something about the swings that Maddie loves. Ever since she was a baby, she just giggles her little heart out when on them. Chloe loves them too! She also loves to wear her glasses upside-down!!

We also went out on the boat Saturday afternoon. It brought back many childhood memories with dad on the boat. We all went on the tube, Bryan flipped! Then we just drove around....all of the girls fell asleep...something about the engine of the boat always does it!! In all, it was a great weekend...hopefully we can do it more than once a year!!

Weekend Tea Party

A friend of mine is having a baby so there was a shower for her over the weekend. (Mommy to be Shelly with the red hat!!) It was perfect. Complete with antique teapots and teacups, all the food you could imagine that would be at a teaparty, glorious hats. And, let me just say, there is nothing like sipping tea out of a delicate teacup.... It brought me back to the days of Big Deedee's Mad-hatter teaparties! She would have been in her glory here...the only thing missing....those big wax lips she loved!!!

Summer is over and you can feel it. We were outside the other night, there was a breeze in the air and it for a moment, it was bearable. The girls wanted to go jump on the trampoline but it turned out to be more of a modeling contest...to see who could take the prettiest pictures....they all won. Then Hana pointed up in the sky and said there was a spider inbetween the trees. Sure enough, there was a huge one...no kidding, it was as big as my hand...HUGE!

What to do

We are known not to keep any pet for longer than a year. It just happens. We get animals and then get rid of them for one reason or another. I think we are just plagued with getting bad pets. We have had good luck so far with Bubba. He will be 1 year next week. That is the longest we have kept a dog! Now, not many people know we have a cat. She doesnt like people, she stays in the bedroom, she doesnt play with the kids. But, we have had her for 3 years...that is a long time for us. Well, for the past few months, things have been getting bad for her. She poops outside of her litter box...she throws up at your feet...and now, she gets on the table and eats food off your plate, while you are eating. When do I say enough is enough? Is it really so bad that I need to get rid of her? Will I regret it? Should I just stick it out and deal with it? I need help.

Could it be true?

So, Chloe was out of a high chair a long time ago, she was in a big girl bed ealier this year....no high chair, no crib in our house...and now, for the first time in 6 years, we are not using diapers! She started potty training this week and is doing great! She has not had an accident, and we have been out every day! She wakes up crying to go potty....I just can not believe that 6 years ago, we were preparing for the birth of our first and ever since then, I have had at least 1 in diapers...so for the first time in 6 years, I dont have to go to the store tomorrow and buy them...and I wont for a long time...and I am not even pregnant....I have gone for more than 1 year without being pregnant!!! I am just real excited about this! Kinda sad....my babies are growing up...but excited I dont have to spend $15-$30 a week on diapers ....

First day of school

Hana started Kindergarden yesterday and Maddison started pre-K today. Hana was awesome...she had such a great time and did so good. She has already made friends. Maddison had a little more hard of a time, but when I picked her up, she had a big smile on her face and said she didnt cry anymore and had so much fun. Now, its just Chloe and mommy!

Mommy, pretty

...those are the words I heard as I saw Chloe putting my lipstick back into my purse...

Our flower child

Chloe always seems to be naked. If she isnt in her swim suit (which she loves to wear) she is in her birthday suit. In fact, her happiest is outside, naked, playing in the dirt. If she had a dirt house, she would be in her glory. I think we should just set up a permanant tent outside for her to live in!!!

Faces of summer

We have had such a fun summer...it is hard to believe that only a few more days till school starts and then I will have just 1 child at home. We have taken pictures and here are just a few!

Our new puppy

Yes, I gave in and we are taking care of 2 puppies whose momma died last week (she was hit by a car). They are now 5 weeks old and so cute. They are French Bulldog/Boston Terrier and so sweet. We are only keeping one, our friends are taking the other as soon as they can eat and are old enough to be apart. I have fallen in love with the other one, though.

I only have pictures of Gus Gus...

Our quick trip

Bryan surprised me for my birthday and took me to the Keys over the weekend. I have never been there so we dropped the kids off at my moms on the way and went Friday and came home Sunday. I was told by several people that Key West was just a big party place and if you dont drink (which we dont) there is nothing to do, so I really didnt want to go. We drove there anyway. On the way, it was gorgeous. All the untouch swamp lands. What the REAL Florida looks like. It was nice. We got to Key West and checked in our hotel...gorgeous...and went out to eat. We walked around Duval St. and made fun of the drunks then went back to the hotel and to bed. It was late. When we woke up, I had the feeling that the bed was soooo comfy and I wanted to stay, but there was so much to do and see, so we got up and went out for breakfast. Not the greatest! Waffle house....ants on the table, little kid behind me knocking me in the head and coughing all over....but not a big deal! We explored in the morning. We went to Fort Zachary Taylor and saw all the old Civil War stuff.....it was really neat. All the history that went with it...pretty cool. There was a beach there that we went snorkeling at and played in the water. Then we left and explored some other keys. We went to lots of parks and marinas. It was busy because lobster mini season is this week. We found a little campsite/marina and they had a site left that was right on the water. We decided to camp out that night. So wonderful. It did storm for a few hours, but it was great. We woke up to find a little Key Deer outside of our tent. The rest of the morning was spent exploring more Keys on the way home. It was nice and relaxing. Missed the girls but good to be away just the 2 of us. I am going to attempt pictures here....

Wonderful kids

There are days that I hear about other peoples kids and husbands and how wonderful they are and helpful...and I think, why isnt my family like that...well, this past weekend really showed me... Saturday was lazy day. Bryan worked around the house and outside, finishing our bathroom and building a bench by our old oak tree. The girls and I just hung around. That night, Bryan was going to take Hana to the video store, he wanted to get Narnia...and then to pick up pizza. Maddison, usually being a mommies girl and not wanting to leave me, wanted to go too! So, they left. A little while later, they came home and Bryan said "your girls are amazing". Usually he is telling me that I dont discipline them enough, they are spoiled, all that. So, when they were at the video store, Hana saw "Bridge to Terabithia" and asked for it. Bryan said "they dont have it" ...."I saw it right over here, daddy"..."no, that one is to buy, you cant rent that"..."Oh, OK"...he said it melted his heart that she didnt ask for it. So, he bought it. I told him that when we go to the store, I never just buy toys for them or whatever, so when they see something they like, they dont just expect to ask and get it. He was very happy!! Sunday, I woke up with a terrible migrane and was in the bathroom with my head in the toilet most of the morning. Usually if I try to stay in bed for more than 5 minutes, someone is in there calling me, wanting me to get breakfast, not daddy, so it never works. No one came in. They all knew I was sick and were so good. I heard Hana tell Maddie that the end of the movie last night was sooooo good, she would love it! A little while later, I heard something about a diaper. Not paying attention, Bryan came in and told me what happened. I guess Chloe had a dirty diaper....Maddison took it off, wiped her clean...had dirty wipes all over the room and could not find a diaper to put on her. I later asked to why she would do that....she said simply, she was trying to help out. Never again will I question my children and wonder why they dont help out!!!

I have been bad about updating here. Girls are growing fast. They start school Aug 20th, which will come very soon. Maddison is a mommy's girl and she will not leave my side. She sleeps in bed with me, will not go to sunday school, cries when I leave the house without her. So, I have been worried about how she is going to take going to pre-k. I found out that she is in afternoon school, which will be better for her. That way, she is not rushed away in the morning right when she wakes up. IT will give her a little bit of time with me before she goes. Hana is excited, especially now that she found out a boy from church is going to be in her class. She likes boys. She gets along better with them than the girls. They are mean sometimes and she doesnt take that very well. The boys have more of a whatever attitude and she takes that better. We better watch out! Chloe is talking a little more now. She has the vocab now that the other girls had at 1 year. It is fun to hear her try to talk. She talks a lot, but you can not understand it. Its more like "MOMMY....blah blah blah...." So, I just say "Really" "Yep"...when we can understand something, we try to repeat it for her the right way and she sometimes gets it. A lot of things are backwards....like chips....she was trying to tell me she wanted a chip...it came out backwards and was more like she was calling me a bad name. I started laughing and she started laughing...even though she didnt know what about. One of these days, I will get more pics up here. I know this was short, but its kinda hard to right a long post these days. I think most of you understand!

Hana lost her first tooth on Tuesday. Just another sign she is growing up and not a little girl anymore.

Summer fun

Its been a month...sorry. Lots of things have been happening. Maddison turned 4 a few weeks ago, Chloe turned 2 last week. My kids are growing. I signed up both Maddie and Hana for school last week. Only 2 more months. We have spent the last month getting over sicknesses...Hana had the chicken "pops"...watching Bubba catch a snake in our back yard....riding ponies at Disney...riding horses at our house (Hana's sunday school teacher brought her horse over)...blowing bubbles...playing in sprinklers....swimming in pools...planting flowers...riding bikes....all the summer fun that you can think of. Chloe has started talking. She thinks she can tell you a story, but you can not understand a word she says. At least she tries. She did learn how to climb up the ladder to Hana's bed...I did not know this until I saw her in there! Maddison learned how to ride her bike finally and thats all she wants to do. She has many bruises and scrapes on her legs...just like a little kid should! Hana just likes to take care of everyone and make sure everyone is happy. We were planting flowers last week and she said "Mommy, you know why I love planting these flowers? Cause they are pretty just like you!" how sweet...she is always telling me I am pretty, every chance she can get. I am going to miss her when she goes to school! So, I hope everyone else is enjoying their summer as much as we are. I will try to get on here more!