New Soccer Team!

Keegan Quote

Keegan, "How is that spider thing pronounced?"

Me, "A swastika?"

Keegan, "Yes. That's it."

Kelsey Caitlyn Quote

Listening to some song lyrics...
Kelsey, "What did he just say she wore in her eyes?"
Me, "The stars from the sky."
Kelsey, "Oh." Pause. "Huh."
Caitlyn, "That is exactly what I thought."

More Summer Fun

One of our favorite things this summer has been that Brooklin has been here to visit quite a bit. Yea!

We spent one morning at a park with fountains (referred to as "the water park" by Brooklin.) Coincidentally, we ran into some of our best friends that same day. Yea, again!

Many games of tag were played. And all these many months later, Clara, the Mouse King, and the Nutcracker are still favorites. Clara tended to get sleepier and sleepier as the game continued :).

 

Happy cousins

 

Cupcakes!

A local farmers' market recently had a cupcake contest. Both Caitlyn and Keegan decided to participate, decorating cupcakes to look like something you would find at a farmers' market. Below are the cute results!

 Kelsey went with corn on the cob cupcakes. We looked long and hard for just the right yellow candies :).

 Caitlyn made flowers out of marshmallows and topped them with colored sugar.

 And ended up winning both her age group and the people's choice award! Woo, hoo!

they had such fun and all of the entries looked so cute! Love fun stuff like this :)!

Keegan Quote

Keegan, "Kind of like during the Middle Ages... not Smurfs, but it sounds kind of like Smurfs..."
Caitlyn, "Serfs?"
Keegan, "Yes! That's it! Serfs."

Keegan Quote

"Mommy! In exactly one month, I will be a teen-..."
Me, interrupting, "This is the seventh."
[Her birthday is the 8th.]
Keegan, "NOo, it's not..oh, wait. Nevermind."

Keegan Quote

"Kelsey. You may now exit my room."

Brooklin Quote

Brooklin was having a wedding and Keegan said she would be the preacher.
Brooklin responded adamantly, "Shoo, shoo, Creature!"

Brooklin Quote

Talk, talk, talk, "please."
Kelsey and me, "Good manners!"
Brooklin, "I will keep them my whole life."

Different Swimming

In addition to swim team, the girls have gotten to swim a few times at Aunt Lisa's house with the favorite cousin, Brooklin!

Some duplicate pictures from Facebook, but I liked them enough to post twice :).

Caitlyn looking pretty (in the bathing suit we shopped hard and long for.)

Love this picture of Brooklin and Kelse. They have such fun together.

 

Yeah, Brooklin didn't look at the camera, but, oh, well :).

 

Speaking of having fun...

Keegan, Kelsey, and Brooklin have had more fun doing this

they all pile on to a float,

then tip!

And laugh :).

As I have been known to do when watching :).

Very thankful that this cutie has been here visiting so much this summer.

Hope you're having just as much fun as we are!

Bye for now!

(with a final picture of a too grown-up looking Keegan!)



Brooklin Quote

She's reached that age.

"Hey! You want to hear a really funny joke?"

"Knock, knock."
"Who's there?"
"Banana"
"Banana who?"
"Banana pancake!" Hahahahaha

"Knock, knock."
"Who's there?"
"Banana"
"Banana who?"
"Banana pencil!" Hahahahaha

And especially for Keegan,
"Knock, knock."
"Who's there?"
"Banana"
"Banana who?"
"Banana soccer game!" Hahahahaha

Intensive Showcase

Earlier this summer, Caitlyn attended a two week studio at her ballet studio. At the end of the time, they held a showcase.

Caitlyn even had a solo. Woo, hoo!

(Tried to upload a video, but it didn't work. Oh, well. If you're Caitlyn's friend on Facebook you've probably seen it already :).)

Wordless Wednesday - Typical Keegan

Basketball already?

While summer is still in full swing, Keegan and Kelsey are enjoying an opportunity to improve their basketball skills.

They are practicing with a Christian middle school team once a week. I'm not sure if they will actually join/make the team in the fall, when the time commitment increases, but the summer practices have been great!

 While we loved the church league they played on previously, like all leagues of that type, it was too short to work much with individual kids on improving their basic skills. It was naturally more of a 1 practice/ 1 game sort of thing.

Since Kelsey and Keegan are fairly inexperienced when it comes to basketball, these summer practices have been a perfect fit for them. They are shooting much more accurately, Keegan's passing has really improved, and Kelsey is playing great defense, even though she is one of the shortest players :). Great opportunity!

Caitlyn Quote

Caitlyn has the coldest nature of anyone in the house. Unfortunately, she also has the coldest bedroom. So, while I am relishing in the air conditioning this summer, she spends her time trying to stay comfortably warm.
Recently, she came inside from voluntarily doing extra yard work.
Her explanation? She had to go outside to get warm because inside, "Jumpy [cat] took my spot sitting in the sunshine!"

Another New Experience

The girls have had awesome coaches at swim team this year. The head coach, especially seems to really enjoy the kids and goes out of his way to offer them learning opportunities. Along those lines, Coach Joe invited the swim team kids to attend a kids' triathlon workshop. Keegan and Kelsey went and decided to try the triathlon a couple of weeks later!

 So, last month, off we headed to a triathlon! Kelsey was in the younger group, who went first. Their distances were 100 meter swim, 2 mile bike, and 1 mile run.

They got to start the swim by going down this slide. Fun!

 Kelsey (and I) were a bit concerned that she would have a hard time with the swim. Instead, she (in the yellow cap) did great and actually passed a couple of people!

 

 The swim was first, then the bike ride, and finally the run. She has just parked her bike and is taking off running.

 Yea! She did it! She completed the entire course!

Then found a spot of shade on a hot, hot day.

(And waited for Keegan's race to start. :))

 Although it was explained the younger kids were going first, we didn't exactly understand how it would work. Therefore, Keegan stood out in the sun for over an hour, while the younger group ran the entire course.  Neat because she got to cheer for Kelsey, who ran right past her, but a better plan would have been for her to wait it the shade. Then an additional half hour waiting for her turn to start. Keegan, like her momma, is not a fan of the heat, so she started this race tired. In spite of that, and the fact that we realized too late that her bike's seat was low, she did a great job and completed the entire course - 200 meter swim, 4 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run.

 Wow! I was so impressed with these girls. To be brave enough to attempt such a challenge and to power through it even when they were tired and hot was a real accomplishment. All of the participants did a great job.

 And I have to give a shout out to the race organizers, RaceDayEvents. Everything was very well-organized; the course was clearly marked, there were adults biking along the route to provide security and assistance, if needed. (I am all about things being safe.) Very well run, all around.

 

Thank you to all the adults who gave their time so these kids could have this race. Thanks to Coach Joe for inviting us to be a part of it. And huge congratulations to Keegan, Kelsey, and all the kids who participated. Kudos all round!

Five Servings of Cola

A new experience for us - we are fostering a very friendly mother cat and four kittens from the local animal shelter.

 The kittens are too young and too small to be separated from their mother.

 We will keep the entire family until the kittens are about 2 pounds.

 This is a need I never really thought about before, but several area shelters are in need of foster homes.

 If you can make a short term commitment, or if your want to fill your kids' (or your own) kitten craving without taking a permanent pet into your home, this could be a great option for you. You can literally save a life.
Plus, how could you resist a face like this :)?

 Right now, this group stays in Kelsey's room, so our own cats haven't met them. Surprisingly (probably because the kittens are so tiny, they've mostly hung around in their crate in the closet,) our cats don't seem to know they are in there.

The kittens were so young that their eyes were barely open when they arrived.

 They're now learning to walk and have just started to venture out of the crate on their own.

Naming these kitties was a fun job.
After much discussion, we decided to go with a cola theme.
I happily introduce to you

Sierra Mist, Cream Soda, Orange Crush, Sprite, and Pepsi Foster.

:)

Swim Meet!

A few weeks of swim team practice and this brave girl was trying her first swim meet ever!

Being fairly intimidated myself about trying things in front of other, I thought that took a lot of courage.

Warm-ups

 

She swam freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.

Best. Cheering section. Ever.

 

Diving off the blocks is a new trick

 

Love these girls!