This, That, and The Other Thing

Just wanted to share a few odds and ends that have occurred over the last few days and weeks...

David and Tristan playing baseball:

Grace's first trip on her new bike

Slippin' and a slidin'

Our princesses Aurora
Grace got an Aurora costume for her birthday and one day decided to dress her brother up also.

As you can see, Tristan has no trouble making his own fashion statements: shorts, t-shirt, mittens, and snow boots...

Grace started swimming lessons today. We had done a "Mommy and me" class last summer, and I vowed not to do that again... with my swimming and lifeguard background, I expected too much of her and she was very clingy and would have nothing to do with trying to "swim" or float on her back. It really amazes me that she is so fearful of the water since we have had her in the water since she was 9 months old. She loves the bathtub, and loves to "swim" in water that she has no difficulty touching the ground in - to include holding her breath and putting her whole head underwater. We have a really nice indoor pool here that offers swimming lessons year 'round, so David and I decided to take advantage of it.

She was so excited





















Keeping her "fear" of water in mind, I was a little nervous about how she might do in the water, so I really encouraged her to do what her teacher asked of her - even if it might seem scary. David and I both reassured her that the teacher would not let anything happen to her. Needless to say, she did great and even let the instructor hold her to "float" on her back... We'll see how the next 2 weeks go.

And finally.... (drum roll please)

The long awaited doll house headboard! David made this all from an idea in his head - drew up the plans, got the lumber and put it together (with a few suggestions from the missus). I think he did a wonderful job - and I know Gracie loves it - after all, it is her favorite colors!

The Great Outdoors

David had a 4 day weekend this last weekend, so we decided to venture into the great outdoors. He has been dying to go camping since our camping trip last Fall. We headed off post (but not too far) and went to Parker Canyon Lake. It is a beautiful little lake up in the mountains that has several different areas for camping. The day we arrived it rained most of the day, but we had a few breaks in the weather to play outside the camper, and it cleared up nicely overnight.

Unfortunately, I woke up feeling miserable the next morning. The kids went on a hike with Daddy after breakfast since I was only good for sitting around. While they were gone I took a nap. When they returned, David said it was time to go home despite the fact that I was trying to tough it out. So, when we got home and unpacked, David and the kids put up the tent in the back yard and started a "camp fire" in our outdoor fireplace where we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows.

The backyard camping was unsuccessful as Tristan didn't want to sleep in the tent "I don't like tent!". David and Grace stayed out there for a little while, but then decided she didn't want to stay out there without me and Tristan out there too. So, we all ended up sleeping inside that night after all. Which turned out not to be such a bad thing since it got into the low 40's that night and was pretty windy.

Happy Birthday Grace!

Grace had her 4th birthday on Saturday. We had 4 of her friends from school and AWANA come over for a princess party. It was so cute!!! All of the little girls dressed up in their princess outfits and had a grand time.

Here are a bunch of pictures from this fabulous day.

Amazingly enough, she had no desire to open these gifts all day. In her words "It's not my birthday until my friends get here." I wonder how long that will last...

We had a jumping balloon that all the kids had a blast in, we played a game where you tried to place Cinderella in her castle window, and had a Princess castle pinata.

Now, on to presents, cake, and ice cream...