Summertime Happenings

It has been a long time since my last post, but all the days feel like they blur together without school. We've kept a pretty relaxed schedule--a week of swim lessons and Caleb's piano lessons have been our only activities. We have spent the summer days going to the library, swimming pool, mall, and Snow Cone Lady. There are some fun free events around town, and we've done our best to take advantage of those. Sierra learned how to swim during her first lesson and has been a little fish ever since. It has been so much easier taking the kids to the pool now that I only need to hold Madeline. Sierra has been begging us for a pet guinea pig. She desperately wants something to love and nurture, and Ted and I prefer a contained pet if we have to have one. I haven't relented yet, but I don't know if I can hold out much longer without her driving me crazy. Caleb finished his baseball season on a good note, getting a hit in each of his last two games and successfully scoring in the last, earning the game ball. He said he'd like to play again, but unfortunately next year we're too busy. On an funny note, after all his struggles in baseball, he also won the Grand Slam Award at school from his teacher for the all-around boy student. Madeline thinks she's a cat, and spends her days crawling around, meowing and scratching at us. (Sierra can at least pretend she has a pet...) Madeline has to be potty trained in three weeks to start school, and I've given up hope that I'll have any impact on her. I'm just hoping she does better for her teacher. She loves working with Professor Caleb learning her letters and sounds, although sometimes Caleb gets displeased that his pupil hasn't yet learned to read. Hopefully he'll give her until her third birthday before he throws in the towel.

Our big event of the summer was taking a trip to Branson with my parents. We visited Silver Dollar City; took some walks along a nearby lake surrounded by the Ozark Mountains; and saw a Russian circus, a voice "orchestra," and the Broadway version of Peter Pan. Our vacation got off to a rocky start when one hour after entering the amusement park Sierra couldn't walk because of blisters, my dad's feet and jeans had gotten soaked on a ride, and Ted had dropped the cell phone and lost the keys on an upside-down roller coaster. (Never did find them--thank goodness for a second set in the hotel room!) However, we pulled it together and ended up having a great time after that.

After Branson, we visited Mark Twain's and Abraham Lincoln's hometowns. We rode a steamboat on the Mississippi and saw some of the places that inspired Huckleberry Finn. The Lincoln Presidential Library was top rate and also very interesting for children if you're ever in the Springfield, Illinois area. It had gorgeous life-size scenes from major events spanning Lincoln's life that really brought history to life. We spent a couple days visiting my grandparents on their farm, which remains much the same as when I was a little girl and is always such a delightful experience to share with the children. There's something about hanging wash on the line, watching hummingbirds on the porch, harvesting vegetables, and walking for miles without seeing houses that never fails to have a calming effect.

I've been busy getting ready to start some classes in the fall. I'm thinking about getting a Masters in Occupational Therapy once Madeline goes to kindergarten, and I'm starting the pre-requisites. I passed my first hurdle testing into Statistics without having to take College Algebra. I'm nervous about how I'll balance family, teaching, and school (and seriously concerned about whether my mind still works), but I'm also looking forward to doing something new.

Caleb, my sister Michelle, her husband Danny, and I are particating in a triathlon in September. Caleb is hard at work going over the times from last year and training with Ted. I still haven't gotten a bike or gone swimming. I have done some work on the elliptical, which I think is sort of like running, while watching two seasons of 24. (Talk about an addicting show--it's a good thing I didn't discover it during the school year.) My goal is to make it across the finish line in one piece before the sun sets.

Hope everyone is having a restful, memorable summer!


Nana and Grandpa Dave


Riding the Mark Twain steamboat up the Mississippi River--unfortunately the kids had spent too much time in the car and kept asking when they could get off


The Biddulphs and The Lincolns


This captures a sweet moment with Madeline napping with my grandparents and their dogs--my grandma is a non-stop nurturer and wanted to take Madeline with her to rest.


Celebrating Fourth of July at the farm--when I was a little girl it was a big celebration with all the cousins setting off fireworks (something we couldn't have done in Arizona) and hand-churned ice cream