Our last week of freedom

The week before school starts has come and gone.  We started back to our school routine of an 8:00  bedtime which was not always sucessful, but we did manage to do it a few times.  A lot of those days were spent watching Barbie A Fairy Secret and playing games at home.  Some days we watched it twice!  She has a few favorite parts that she rewinds or mimics.  It's cute!  We went swimming. We had a play date at the malls with some friends.   Summer had a great time playing on the playground there although technically she is too big to play on it.  We also did a little shopping.  She was excited to get some light up flip flops with butterflies on them.  We both got some new sunglasses since the guy was closing up shop and had them all marked down to $5.   She looks totally adorable in the pair she got.  I hope I do too.  LOL

Saturday, Summer decided she wanted to stay home all day so we had a pajama day.  We watched Barney Best Manners and also her  new favorite Barbie movie yet again.  I had picked a movie that was too sad the previous evening -My Dog Skip- so I didn't get any say in the movie selection.  She did not like some parts because there was bullying and therefore it was a "scary" movie.  The dog also dies so that was not good in her book either.  So much for the movie I thought would be great because it had a dog in it.  I guess I need to read the full storyline next time.  After we were movied out, we had a bubble bath and wardrobe change.  Lots of bubbles!  Clean pajamas! Not too long after that, she decided a bike ride sounded good so I had another wardrobe change before we headed out on our bikes.  (I really don't think my neighbors would've appreciated me parading my pjs up and down the street.)  She is doing really good at getting out of the driveway which used to be scary for her because of the height difference between the street and the driveway.  Poor Trixie was leashed to her bike and therefore ran along beside her as she rode down the street and back.  It actually worked better than I thought it would when I realized what her intentions were.  Trixie did not seem to mind.  Score!  Afterwards, we spent some time on the playground in the yard.  It's been too hot to do much I it this summer, but now that the weather is cooling off a bit she might use it a little more.  It sure would be nice to have Lexie over to play with her on it sometimes, but I doubt that will happen any time soon.

Sunday we cashed one of her library program coupons/rewards at Lake Winnie.  The weather was perfect and Summer and I were both in good spirits so it was a lot of fun for us both.  One of her favorite rides was the Sea Warrior which is a spinning, spinning, up and down type ride.  I was worried I would get sick, but the motion sickness medicine did it's job.  She also loved the Tilt-a-whirl and the Scrambler.  She was not big enough for the big roller coaster, but the Wacky Worm was good enough for her.  We probably rode it five times and every time she made us keep our hands up the entire time.  I was happily surprised when she wanted to ride the carousel since the year before she definitely thought it was too slow for her to even get on.  We rode and rode and rode until we were both worn out and back at the front entrance.  We gave the Sea Warrior one lost whirl and headed home.  She was asleep before we got there.  After showers, I tried to get her back I her bed and out of mine.  I lay with her for a while and even left the room with her in her bed, but it did not last very long.  She came out and I ended up just letting her sleep with me again.  I guess this is one battle I'm not up for fighting right now.  She is going through so much with this divorce that I just can't justify doing it now with school also starting and that not being too exciting for her either.  Maybe I'll give her a few weeks to get settled into that before I try again.  We shall see.

Today was our last official day off, but we were at the school most of the morning anyway getting registered and stuff.  We found out who her teacher was and were happy to see who her fellow classmates will be this year.  We even went to lunch with one of them after we left.  Now we are resting on the couch and nursing her carpet burned knee.  I really hope she wakes up tomorrow and it is not still hurting.  That would not be the best start to the 1st day of school.  I'm pretty sure we will both be out by 8:00 tonight.  I hope so anyway because school starts tomorrow!  First grade here she comes!!!

Summer's almost over

Last week, I surprised Summer with a trip to Splash in Panama City, Florida.  She was super excited when she found out her friend Willow and her family were going too.  The last time we went there was 3 years ago when she was going through her chemotherapy treatments.  Needless to say, this trip was much different.  Her favorite places to be this trip were the lazy river and the pool with a deep end.  She's become such a great swimmer.  One day, we found a red die on one of our treasure hunt walks.  We kept it, and she ended up spending lots of time diving after it in the pool.  She liked to go look for shells with me, but she was not one to pick a lot up.  She's more of a pointer outer.  We had a few mom and daughter trips down the beach.  We usually didn't go too far, but we found lots of treasures and enjoyed the feeling of our feet sinking in the sand.  Summer was not a big fan of the ocean the first two days when the water was as calm as a swimming pool and shallow for a long way out.  The last day when the waves were a little more active, she had fun jumping them.  I think she told me that was her favorite part of the whole trip. Playing with Willow and Harper was also lots of fun, and they put on several shows for us.  We had quite a bit of rain so we were lucky to have a room big enough to where we could all spread out when we had to be indoors.  There were even bunk beds which the girls took turns sleeping on top and bottom.  Summer had the top bunk the first night and woke up the next morning saying it was the most comfortable bed ever.  I was happy to see she slept so well in it when I thought she might try to sneak into my bed at some point in the night.

Everyday, there was an activity the kids could do at the resort.  One day they tie dyed shirts, and another day they colored a backpack.  They made shark tooth necklaces.  I've yet to see Summer's since we've been home, but I haven't fully unpacked yet either.  They really enjoyed them all, along with souvenir hunting.  On our last trip to the store, Summer ended up with a pink butterfly on a green rod.  They gave her an extra rod just in case that one broke which ended up working perfectly for one of the treasures she found on the beach earlier - a flower windwheel.  Oh yeah!  They played with those for quite a while during one of the rainy spells we had.  The first time we went shopping, she got a magnetic pen that says I Love You and has a pink cat on it.  She had lots of fun testing out all the things that it would and would not stick to around the condo unit.

Summer discovered a new Barbie movie - Fairy Secret - while we were on the trip.  It was her favorite of the one's her friend Willow brought.  So much that yesterday when we were spending her birthday gift certificate at Target, she picked it out and three cans of silly string too.  Of course, when we got to the car, she was having buyers remorse and wishing she would've gotten the princess game I had showed her.  She knew I had bought two that I was going to give to her friends.  Well, one was really for her for Christmas, but I didn't want to tell her that.  We had a little talk and agreed to trade them out so she could go ahead and get the game.  In order to get the Barbie movie, she would do some chores to earn it.  She suggested making the bed and folding clothes.  I added cleaning her room and the playroom.  We had a deal!  When we got home, we immediately had to play it a few times.  :)  The first time we tied.  The next, she won.  It turned out to be a rather fun game, and I think we completely scored by getting it!  She even got her Paw-Paw to play with her this morning.

A bulk of our day has been spent cashing in on the chores she promised to do in exchange for the movie.  We spent hours going through the playroom and her bedroom to see what she wants to keep when we move.  We got it pretty organized and she was a real trooper during the process.  She did take a break to paint a picture with one of her many craft kids.  She also helped me fold the laundry.  She did her clothes while I folded mine.  When I started to wash some dishes, she offered to help.  She took over after I finished the glasses.  I offered to rinse them for her, but she wanted to do it all herself.

The evening has been spent watching the Barbie movie although she still owes me one more day worth of chores.  After two runs through the movie, some leftover Chinese food, and chocolate chip cookies, we are about to be on our bedtime countdown.  Next up, bedtime craft.  We're making a magnetic fishing pole and fish.  Good times!!!

Wiggle wiggle

We have had another great week.  Sunday we headed to Partyville after church with the other elementary kids.  We were lucky to have gone that day because the next day it closed its doors for good.  She had a great time playing with the other kids and was surprisingly not a cling on.  It was great to see her having so much fun with the kids her age and not needing me to follow her around the place.  After she had played herself out, we headed home and jumped in the pool to cool off.  She had a blast chasing me around the pool.  We have actually been in it every day this week so I am happy I decided to put it up.  I almost just left it in the garage for the summer, but one day it was hot and we needed a nice place to cool off so we worked together and got it up and running.  Yay for a nice clean alternative to the lake!!  We neither one have been in it this year (at least in our slough).  There is just too much stuff growing from the bottom for our taste and the water does not look sparkling clean so it's not very inviting to us.  We did finally get our boat fixed that day, but she does not have any desire to go out on it.  Darn nose diver! 

On Monday we stayed home all day which was great plan in her book.  She started playing the Disney
Enchanted Princess game on the Wii that morning and decided that we were going to play it until we conquered it.  So, we teamed up and got it done.  I operated the nunchuck and she operated the other Wii remote.  Together, after hours and hours of work, we beat all the chapters and unlocked Belle's Bonus chapter which she thought was never going to happen.  She was very excited about this but scared to cut the Wii off.  When we finally did she was worried all her work would not be saved.  We cut it back on and to her surprise it still was there.  Another reason to shout hooray! 

Yesterday, we had a playdate with our friends Alicia, Laila and Liliana.  We met up with them at the pool at Southern College and the girls swam around like fish.  My friend got called into work while we were there so our play date got cut short much to the girls dismay.  They were definitely not ready to be done playing with each other when we went our separate ways.  But, that's the way life happens sometimes.  We were going to have a picnic lunch, but since our friends couldn't join us anymore Summer decided she wanted to eat at Olive Garden.  It's been a few months since we have went there so I was happy to oblige.  She gobbled up all the extra black olives the lady brought her and as many tomatoes drenched in their yummy dressing as she could.  She even ate some of the salad which she doesn't usally do there, but their dressing was extra tasty to her I guess.  The only place she usually eats salad is Sekesui or Ichiban with their oriental dressings. 

When we got home, we saw that her tooth fairy pillow had been delivered.  It was a sewing kit that had precut holes for young sewers like herself.  She went right to work getting it put together.  She sewed all of it but the last few stitches that had to be done after she stuffed it.  Then she had me place the face on the outside after she applied the glue to the pieces.  I guess she wanted to make sure it looked right and did not trust herself to do it right.  I didn't question her ways, but instead I just went with what she wanted to do.  She has a tooth on the bottom that is getting very loose. This will be her first tooth to lose, and she cannot wait! Now we just have to wait for the tooth to come out so we can put the pillow to use. She's been wiggling and wiggling it, but it's still holding on. I think it will surely come out in the next week or so. Of course, only time will tell.  She did ask me yesterday if I thought the tooth fairy was a real person or a just a parent, and I said I was leaning towards it being real.  She said she thought so too.  No need to burst that bubble now I don't think.  Sometimes it is cool to believe in fairytales although as you get older you realize it was all just a myth.  The divorce is already doing a number on her without adding any more stress or disbelief to her life right now.  So, I'm just going to go with the flow as much as I can right now.

Today we met up with her cousins at the zoo.  We thought we were going to get to see the new exhibits, but they were not finished.  Looks like they are running way behind schedule.  We did have a good time seeing all the animals again though.  Summer hijacked my camera and took lots of pictures.  I can't wait to see what all she got pictures of.  Afterwards, we stopped by the carousel and they rode it over and over and over again.  I'm glad I went for the family plus membership because it has already paid for itself in the rides they took today alone.  We had a nice picnic outside the zoo before heading to the Warner Park pool.  It was very refreshing and we got some good exercise playing there.  Summer chose not to do the obstacle course today, but she did try to touch the bottom in the deep end on her own numerous times.  I don't think she was successful, but she was very independent which is a change for her.  When she is around her cousin Jonathan, she is defnitely not all about mommy.  They turn into two silly willies and giggle and have lots of fun.  So, I'm guessing she will be preoccupied with him for the next day.  Guess that means I've got plenty of time to get some housework done.  Now to get off here and get to it!