Rollingwood Pool

This is our last week of having the pools open during the week.  School starts next week and all of the life guards are high school kids.

Choose the Right

Yesterday, I got an e-mail from the Primary President (she oversees the kids programs at church from age 18 months to 12 years old).  She asked the parents to get a picture of our kids when we catch them in the act of Choosing the Right (CTR).  I didn't really know what to take a picture of until this morning.  I wanted to clean the kitchen up.  Lexi grabbed one of her library books and asked Jordan to come sit by her on the couch so she could read to him.  She prefers to read silently, so I know she was doing it to help me.  It was a perfect moment for snapping the picture.  One of these will be in the slide show in our primary program on Oct 21st.    

Dress-Up Playdate

A friend from church asked us to meet them at the pool this morning.  Her husband was out of town and she thought it would be fun to get together.  She has a daughter Lexi's age, a son about 8 months younger than J, and then a 2 year old daughter.  We were there for about 2.5 hours.  The girls begged for a playdate.  Lexi has gone over to their house before, so I volunteered this time.  Lexi & Lauren played with lots of things including costumes.  As you can see, they even got Jordan involved.  He'll do anything for a laugh.  I set up Just Dance on the wii since they looked like they were ready to perform.  

Morning Fun

The sleep over went well.  I think they were all asleep around 10:30 pm.  They had been watching a movie in their sleeping bags on the floor. Once it was over, I turned out the rest of the lights and had them be quiet.  It was a matter of minutes before they were all out.  

I started hearing noises around 6:30 am this morning.  I stayed in my room and listened while they played around until 7:30.  Then I fed them breakfast and they got dressed.  Avery brought her tie dyed t-shirt and jean shorts, so Lexi dressed to match.  They also wanted their hair done the same.  Savannah wasn't interested but wanted to pose too.  I set up the Just Dance game on the Wii.  Their friends have played it a lot at Gram's house (their Grandma).  I took them home about 11 am.  

  

Sleep Over & Split Lip

I promised the kids that we would have a sleep over with our friends when we got back from California.  We had one with their cousins before we left.  School is quickly approaching, so I called and asked them about tonight.  First, we met them and their cousins at the Lake House (water park).  It is always a good idea to get kids worn out before a sleep over.  

When we got back, I started running baths for them.  Camden (7 year old) went into Lexi & Jordan's bath tub.  I put Savannah (5 year old) in my bath tub and Lexi in my glass shower, which is right next to the tub.  I left Avery in that bathroom with them and went down to start dinner.  It was only a few minutes before I heard screaming.  I ran upstairs to find Lexi standing at the top of the stairs covered in blood and completely naked.  There were drips of blood all down the hallway.  I told her to get back in my bathroom, so I could see what the problem was.  It was easy to see it was coming from her mouth.  I started washing it and noticed she just had a split lip.  Poor Avery was shaking with fear.  She made sure to tell me that her mom gets freaked out by these sort of things.  I love that her my gets excited about everything, good and bad.  I happen to stay very calm in these situations, which I probably got from my mom.  My brothers were always getting injured.      

I took a picture of Lexi once she was cleaned up.  Several of the kids wanted to join, so I took pictures of them too.  Savannah must have liked Lexi's up the nose pose, because she kept doing it.  I even got 2 of the neighbor kids in since they showed up as we were taking shots.  The only one left out was Jordan.  He was upstairs.    

New Water Park

While we were in California, our HOA opened a new water park.  We were very excited to give it a try today.  It has two big slides that dump into a pool.  It also has a play feature in the pool area.  It was a big hit and the kids got nice & tired.  

Sugar & Spice Girl Spa

One of Lexi's friends from kindergarten had her birthday party today.  It was at Sugar & Spice, which is a spa for little girls.  Lexi has been wanting to go there, so this was very exciting for her.  She has also been anxiously waiting for school to start and couldn't wait to see her old friends, many of whom will be at the new school next year.  Jordan and I dropped her off and walked around the shopping center.  

They painted their fingernails, put make-up on them, styled their hair, dressed them as princesses, had them each get up on stage for a fashion show, and fed them pizza & cake.  The most exciting part was riding around in the pink & white limo at the end of the party.  What a fun girly event.        

Diving & Sliding

Guess what we did today...

Movie Crew

This is the last week of the dollar matinees for kids.  I called Miss Emily & Miss Tiffany to see if they'd like to meet us.  We saw Yogi Bear.  The best part was that we were a row of blondes.  I'm sure that looks a little funny.  When it was over, we wanted to get a picture of Kara and Lexi since they are both missing the same top tooth.  I pulled out the camera & took lots of pictures.  

Testimony Meeting

On the first Sunday of the month, the LDS church has a Fast & Testimony Meeting.  The members of the congregation get up and talk.  I guess it is a little like open mic night.  As we were sitting there listening, Lexi turned to me and asked if we were allowed to get up and talk.  I said sure.  She asked if she could.  I said sure and told her to think about what she wanted to say.

I realized that I should give her a few instructions.  I told her that we usually start with, "I'd like to bear my testimony..."  At the end we say, "in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."  She asked if everyone would be able to see her.  I assured her that all of the podiums have a step you can stand on if you need it.  They are also raised & lowered depending on your height.  I told her she could go up when the person speaking sits down.  A man beat her to it though, so I said she can also go up and sit on the stage so she'll be next.  That is what she wanted to do.

Lexi sat up there so calmly.  Then she got up and the bishop helped her pull out the step.  He also adjusted the mic. She did a wonderful little job.  She talked about loving me and being thankful for her Primary teacher.  She was also glad that we are back from California.  Then she came and sat down.  Everyone was so proud, especially since kids don't do it very often.  I was amazed at how calm she was.  We have a HUGE congregation.  There are about 350 people every Sunday.  I'm glad she is so confident.

Water Park Pictures

We are definitely back in Texas, which means lots of time at the pools/water parks.  It is a great activity for the heat.  Jordan and Lexi spend the whole time we were there either going off of the diving boards or down the slides.  It is strange for me to just monitor my kids.  Last year, I had to actively participate since Jordan couldn't swim.  Now, they play and do it all by themselves.  I sit by the slides then by the diving boards.  I'm glad they are having fun and enjoying each other.  

Picnic Salads

The other day, we went out to the farmer's market.  It is a bit of a drive, so we don't go very often.  In fact, it was Lexi's first time.  On the way back, we stopped at IKEA.  I didn't really have anything in mind that I needed, but I just wanted to let the kids play in their supervised playroom for an hour.  That place is great for me & the kids.  I wish it was closer.  As I was walking around, I found these great glass jars for about $2 each.  I have been seeing a lot of recipes for salads in a jar.  Supposedly, they stay fresh for about a week as long as the dressing is away from the stuff the wilts easily (like lettuce).  When I showed the kids, they kept asking me the different ways we could use it.  Ideally, I'd like to send them for their lunches.  I won't though.  Kids & glass don't mix.  Also, I am pretty sure that they wouldn't each much of their salads.  They like them, but still need encouragement.  I mentioned a lot of things we could use these for, but when I said for picnics that is what they wanted to hear.    

Today, Jordan decided that we were going to go on a picnic.  He talked about it all day.  When a kid gets excited about eating this healthy, you have to encourage it.  I made salads for each of us and off we went.   When we were pulling up to the park, I realized that being outside during Houston's summer is crazy (even at 5pm).  It wasn't bad at all.  Thankfully, we are having a decent summer and we picked a park that has lots of shade.   

Here is a picture of Lexi pouting because Jordan bit into a cherry tomato & squirted her:

Back in Texas

We spent yesterday recovering and doing a little grocery shopping.  Today, we knew that we had to hit one of the water parks.  We chose the Lake House.  The kids seemed to love it more than ever.  It is nice to get a break and come back.  

At the Airport

Yesterday, we made the trip home.  In the morning, we went to a funeral. It was for a single mom from church, who died of cancer.  She has four children.  The oldest is in high school.  It was very sad.  Fortunately, she was one of 14 kids and has lots of wonderful family members to take care of them even though it isn't the same.  I felt so sad for her kids.

My mom took us to the airport where we said our good byes.  I am so glad that the kids are old enough to help with their bags.  Traveling when they were younger was much more difficult.  Because my mom has booster seats, we didn't have to drag those either.  The kids even did well on the plane.  We got in late and had to take the shuttle to the park & ride.  Everything went smoothly, but we didn't get home to almost midnight.