School starts

And, we're off to our first day of school........

Peace signs by order of Princess Summer

Headed into the school on her first day of Kindergarten

She's leading the way to her classroom.

The dreaded day (the first day of school) has come and gone. It went better than expected and with far less tears than expected. I guess that is a good thing, but for some reason I feel like the tears are just building up inside and will eventually be released. Probably next week when she and Lexie go all day . This week is just half days for Summer, and Lexie only went one day. So, I haven't fully experienced a full day of school with no kids yet. I must admit that I am not looking forward to it. I am happy that she likes it though. I haven't heard any complaints from her. That makes it a little easier on me.

On her first day, she gave me sad faces when I left. She asked how long it was going to be and seemed disappointed when I told her 3 hours. But, there was no arm clings or tears like I had anticipated. She did not by any means give me any sort of smile or act like she wanted to do any of the activities that were available. There was a baby doll area, a dress up station and a table full of legos and little boys. One little girl was playing with playdough. Summer chose the table with the markers and paper. When I left the room, she was just looking at the paper. After I left, she drew a pretty flower in a flower pot which she brought home in her Littlest Pet Shop backpack. I don't think it hit me hard when I left the room because I still had Lexie to entertain for the next 30 minutes. We headed out to her playground where she swang and explored the equipment. It is a great playground and has everything a kid could need or want in a playground, even a seesaw which is not common anymore. And, it's all just her size! As we waited for the teacher, I talked to another parent who I met years ago when I took Summer to Playgym. She has a Pre-K3 and K student. Crazy what a small world it is! Unlike me, she was jumping for joy -literally!! - when she dropped her kids off. Lexie said goodbye to me with a smile on her face. She was ready for school!

When I picked up Lexie, she was on the playground again playing on the slide in the castle. Her teacher said only good things about her, and I was happy when she informed me that she had not peed in her panties. She's not perfectly potty trained yet, but she does pretty good most of the time. We had time to waste before Summer got out for the day so Lexie had some strawberries and juice while we sat on a bench in the shade. When it was finally time to join the carpool line, Lexie was really wondering why were weren't getting Summer. I will be happy when they are on the same schedule that way the carpool line will just be me, and I can jam out on my Ipod. It could turn the worst part of the day into something I could possibly look forward to. I just hope I don't get too carried away and end up with all the parents around me staring at me like I'm crazy. LOL When Summer got into the car, she was happy and said only good things about school. She wanted to go to Ichiban for lunch, but I wasn't hungry so I told her we'd go the next day. She was a little disappointed, but agreed that a happy meal would be a good choice. We were deeply saddened to see that they were out of Smurfs. What a tragedy!!!

The rest of the day was spent watching cartoons and playing games. I couldn't talk her into a swim although the slip and slide did slightly tempt her, but we ended up not doing that either. She asked if she could do a chore and get some money. She told me she wanted to vacuum the bugs out of the loft we use as a library. I told her I'd give her a dollar if she did that and took the Netflix movies to the mailbox. She replied that she only wanted to do the vacuuming so I said no deal - all or nothing. She decided to do it, and I fetched the hose for her. She did not want me to start any vacuuming without her and kept repeating herself when she heard me plug the vacuum in (it's a central vac). It made me happy to see her want to do it all by herself. Of course, I ended up helping because there were more bugs than she could manage to get up (we don't go up there a lot and it is a bug magnet!!). After we finished that chore, we moved some children's books from there to the other loft where the playroom is. I recently got my childhood bookcase and was so happy to get to fill it with Summer's books and some of my old books too. I'll cherish it forever or as long as it lasts! Around 7:30, Summer picked a few books from its shelves and brought them to her bed for me to read. The perfect ending to her first day of school.

Day 2 of Kindergarten

This morning Summer wanted me to walk her in. I agreed to but told her I can't keep doing it all the time. Hopefully, she will be able to get herself and Lexie to their classrooms next week by herself or with the help of a teacher. I'm not really looking forward to that either. I love all the time I can get with her! When we got to her classroom, she hung up her book bag under her cubbie and sat down at a table with paper, markers and stencils. No frowns or sudden illnesses occurred unlike last year when she went to preschool for a few months. So, I kissed her on the cheek and reminded her of our lunch date and left. No tears yet again. I'm amazed at her and myself. I knew she would love it though once she started. When I picked her up today, her teacher walked her to the car and she was all smiles. She scolded Trixie for barking at her teacher and we were off to lunch with Lexie. She made another friend today which puts her up to 2 so far. She's going to totally rock at school. She moved up a color today which means she did better than yesterday. She was explaining to me that there are two bad colors: purple="Teacher's choice" (note, email or phone call to parents - this is the worst) and blue="think about it" (aka time out). There are three good colors: green ="ready to learn," yellow="good day" and orange-"great day." Yesterday, she was green which is where they start at, and today she was yellow. She was happy to inform me of her increase in status. Looks like the year is off to a good start. My little girl is growing up!!!!

5 more days of freedom

I am feeling as if I'm on a deadline with school starting in only 5 days. What all can we fit into those five days? I asked Summer what she wanted to do before school started and she said go to Lake Winnie and Chuck E. Cheese. We are going to try to take care of one of those tonight. Lexie is also excited to possibly go to Chuck E. Cheese after gymnastics this afternoon. Both girls are starting back this fall and will be moving up to a new class level. Summer is very excited to go back which makes me happy since you want them to enjoy the activities they are involved in.

Summer also has aspirations to get on the slip and slide later tonight, but we will just have to see if we can fit that in before bedtime rolls around. She couldn't fall asleep for a nap today although she laid in bed for a good 45 minutes or so. That being said, she may be a little tired this evening when we get home from all of our running around. Lexie, on the other hand, was ready for a nap and didn't take too long to drift off.

The weekend brought Summer lots of time with her cousins. She got to stay with them while her daddy and I went on a little anniversary trip. The first time I called to check on her, I could hardly keep her attention. So, I made sure to call her when her cousins were at school so she wouldn't completely blow me off. They are tough competition for her attention. I am glad she loves them so much though. Before Summer and I left their house when I went to pick her up, Leah was already trying to get the next sleepover planned. They must have enjoyed each other's company over the three nights she spent with them. Though the date did not get nailed down, the plans are in the works.

My noodle was happy to see me when we got back and said she missed me, Trixie and her daddy. We let her choose our dinner location, and she chose TGI Fridays. That and Sekesui are her favorite downtown restaurants. After dinner we strolled through The Passage down to the riverfront. Summer chose to walk up the steep steps rather than along the riverfront so that we could get more exercise. It's so funny how conscious she is about exercising. On our way to the playground, we saw a boat and Summer commented she would like to go on it. It just so happened that it was a floating condo model that a company is building and selling units to (a pretty interesting concept). So we all ventured down to the boat and checked it out. Summer's interest was short because the playground was calling her name. When we got there, she ran around and did all the stuff she wanted to do. Then I played with her some before letting her lead us back towards home. She wanted us to walk under the wooden train track area they have just below the aquarium, so we did. Of course, she found her way into more water on the way home. Her daddy even joined her. Besides a slight meltdown over Teddy at dinner, which I don't have time to go into right now, it was a great way to reconnect as a family after our trip. Being a mom is such a blessing, and I'm so glad I have been blessed with such an awesome little girl.

12 days until school starts

Summer asked how many days were left until school starts today. Sadly, I told her 12. I said it's like the 12 days of Christmas except instead of getting presents each day, we lose one of our last days of freedom to do whatever we please, whenever we please together. I told her I knew she was going to learn a lot though, but deep down we are both not happy about having to cut the cord which has regrown since her bout with cancer. Neither one of us still has any excitement for school starting. I guess we will just have to get over it. I am excited about volunteering at the school so there's something good. She is excited about starting gymnastics again too so we both have something we are looking forward to.

This week we have been making the most of our days although we did have a few days where we just stayed home and enjoyed the company of each other. The Wii has brought us some fun. Summer especially likes Wii Fit and plays a variety of games on it. We've watched cartoons together and several movies including Alice in Wonderland (the cartoon version), The Polar Express (much to Summer's delight), Barbie Rapunzel (her favorites movie) and All Dogs Go to Heaven. We played in the backyard on the slip-n-slide and in the pool. We've been to two playgrounds - Soddy Daisy and St. Elmo. Story time at the library was a hit with both girls again, especially the silly mask craft they did at the end.

Yesterday, Summer went to the Creative Discovery Museum with Willow and they had a great time spending two hours going from exhibit to exhibit. I thought Summer was almost not going to go since I wasn't going. During our lunch at Mellow Mushroom, she whispered in my ear and asked me if she would have to take a nap if she went home with me and Lexie. I told her yes, so she decided she would just go with her friend. Sometimes it just takes a nudge......

On Sunday we took the boat out with some friends. Summer was disappointed that she could not get into the water due to her surgery last week, but she did not put up a big fuss about it because she did not want to risk it getting infected. I sooooo hope she continues to want to follow rules as she grows up. She does love swimming in the lake now and even claims she is not afraid of snakes anymore. It seems she is not afraid of much anymore. It's so crazy how grown up she is. This morning after I brushed her hair, I told her to go look in the mirror and see how pretty she was. She came back and said that she looked really grown up. She did, especially with the dolphin earrings she was wearing that she spotted as we were going through one of my jewelry boxes. I better be careful because I don't want her to grow up to fast. I'd much rather her look younger than older. But, of course, who doesn't want to look younger? Oh yeah, teenagers.....glad we've got a while before those years hit!

Another week is gone, and so is her port!

Last week ended with a 3 night sleepover with our best friends. Willow and Summer played great together, as did Lexie and Harper. The older girls did a few craft projects and the younger ones enjoyed painting and coloring. We had lots of water balloon fun. It's too bad you can buy those things pre-filled!! The driveway was covered in yellow and red balloons before the weekend was over. The girls played with chalk and rode bicycles and scooters. The big girls swung on the tree swing and the younger ones swung on the swing down by the lake (under direct adult supervision of course!). They all loved playing in the basement where Summer says she is queen. I was caught off guard when she informed her daddy and I of that fact on Monday. But, hey, I'm queen upstairs, I guess she can be downstairs. LOL They all loved the nightly bedtime stories which did not do a good job of calming them into a sleepy state the first night. They giggled and talked and who knows what all for an hour or so after we laid them down. It was funny to hear some of the stuff they were saying over the monitor. I know Summer said she was vinegar. Willow said she was a cucumber. It sounded like Summer wanted her to be a bell pepper though so she asked her if she even liked cucumbers. Willow replied that she liked the color of cucumbers. LOL Then Willow asked who liked the color of salt. It was some very randomness, but harmless sleepover girl talk so we let them have at it.

On Saturday Memaw, Nanny and Summer's cousins came up for some family fun. They swam in the lake and went on a boat ride. We cooked hamburgers and hot dogs while the kids destroyed the upstairs playroom and bedroom . This led to their lunch being delayed while they picked up the toys that covered the floors, but hey, how else are they gonna learn not to leave their mess for someone else to clean up? I guess that is just normal for kids to get into everything they possibly can and spread it everywhere. It seems I am always picking up toys that I know I did not play with, but that comes with being a mom (which I wouldn't trade for anything in the world). Summer is not too messy, but Lexie is definitely more of a destroyer. Lucky for me, I've got Summer to help me keep an eye on the messes she makes. I guess maybe it is the aunt in her that causes her to tell Lexie to pick up her toys when she sees she has moved onto something new??? I do love having little helpers, and they both help me when I ask them. Let's hope it stays that way in the years ahead.

On Monday, we had a fun day on the boat with Summer's older sister Amanda, Josh and several of their friends. Summer was excited to go to a rope swing. Even though it was a lot higher than the first one she went off, she was ready to get off the boat and into the water as soon as we got to where it was. She and I were the first to swim to the shore. After climbing up the rocks and dirt path, we looked out over about a 10 foot cliff. We decided to go exploring down another path which led to a rope swing. It was pretty high and intimidating so we headed back to the first jump off point we had found. I went first and she followed me in a minute or so later. I was surprised she wanted to jump from that high, but it wasn't any higher than the high dive I grew up with at my grandad's house so I didn't stop her. After everyone had their fill of jumping, we headed north. We stopped at a diving board which was coming off of a rock on someone's property and everyone jumped. Well, almost everyone. Summer did. Lexie almost did. Amanda surprised us all by chickening out yet again. I guess being the bigger sister doesn't mean you're always braver. Summer did not ask to jump off the bridge when we got to it which didn't really surprise me because it is at least 20 feet high. She and Lexie were ready to head home on our way to the bridge, but they managed to enjoy the rest of the ride snuggled up next to me. They both had enjoyed swimming in the lake and were not out of place despite being on a boat full of adults. It was good, clean family fun!

Bright and early yesterday morning, Summer and I headed to the hospital to have her port removed. After almost 2.5 years of pokes and needles into her upper left chest, she was ready to be be rid of it and so was I. We signed in at 6:27 a.m and only sat for a second before being whisked to registration and then room 7 in the back where we would be prepped for surgery. That was the speediest part of our visit which was too bad because all the fun toys were in the waiting room. My lap was quickly taken by my sweet, snugly, thumb sucking baby and her teddy. We waited just a second before being greeted by one of our favorite nurses from the hospital floor the year Summer had all of her treatments. Renee took great care of us and Summer was promised a treat when she got out of surgery. She did not forget about it either! :)

After we were all checked in and prepped, we had to wait on the surgeon who was running a little late. Summer started getting hungry as we waited and waited watching cartoons in our room. Finally, the nurse came back with a sedative for Summer and a man came and got us and wheeled us off towards surgery. Summer was such a champ and did not fuss or cry the whole time, of course Teddy was by her side comforting as needed. They gave her extra meds so she would wake up happy which was a nice change from the MRI wake-ups after anesthesia. After she woke up and had a few sips of water, they unhooked all of her monitors. We didn't stay in recovery long before we were delivered back to our room. When we were getting her dressed, she asked about her treat. She chose a grape Popsicle and savored every last bite of it.

She was too unsteady to walk, so I carried all 43 pounds of her back to the car in the parking garage. When we got home, she was still not able to hold her legs steady enough to walk, but that did not stop her from trying. That ended in a little head first tumble, but luckily it did not hurt her. When we walked in the condo, she pretty much dove for Trixie and tumbled one more time before being sent to the couch for her own safety. That didn't last too long.

To celebrate her new freedom from monthly port pokes, we all went out for lunch at one of her favorite restaurants - TGI Fridays. Summer seemed steady enough to walk herself, so she did. She and I ordered our usual 3 course meal: spinach florentine flatbread, bruschetta chicken pasta and Oreo madness. Clint had his favorite chicken dish too. After our bellies were full, we headed back to the condo. This time Summer wanted me to carry her. What a work out!!! I would do anything for my baby though so no complaints here.

Summer stayed up and played while I napped. About half way through the nap, she started playing with her box of instruments which I could hear seeing that our rooms are side by side. So her after nap music show was not exactly new for me like she thought it was. We watched a few episodes of Brain Surge together and played a game. Then we went through her jewelry boxes and she picked out some to give to the chemo patient and her brother that we angel. We even picked a special necklace to give Lexie and sat it to the side. A few minutes later Summer busted Trixie chewing the clasp into a non-workable state. We were very bummed, and Summer shut Trixie out of the room for her bad behavior.

After dinner Summer joined me on a volunteering excursion. While I addressed and stuffed envelopes and she colored a Littlest Pet Shop poster, she learned that it was national ice cream sandwich day. She helped lick the envelopes when I was finished getting them ready. Of course, when we were done helping out, she wanted to stop by the ice cream shop. She ended up choosing Ben and Jerry's over Cold Stone and I must say my taste buds were a little disappointed. Her ice cream of choice was Triple Caramel Chunk in a peanut and chocolate dipped waffle cone. Despite starting with surgery, overall it was a good day which ended with a snugly tucking in and lots of kisses. I will never grow tired of those!

Today we were joined again by Lexie as we headed to story time at the library. They both played on the computer a little before it started. Summer found and picked out 4 Dr. Seuss books all by herself. The kids enjoyed story time although Lexie was confused as to why they were having so many videos and not reading books like they usually do. The girls made alligator visors for their craft, and we headed home. We had some surprise guests show up to swim with us this afternoon which was nice. Summer was not supposed to go under all the way though since she has a big incision just below her collar bone. So being the rule follower she is, she was not having too much fun in the pool and decided she would rather play in the basement. Since no one else was done swimming, she got Trixie to be her loyal subject. After pool time, the kids played the Wii for a few minutes before our guests left. We ended the day watching Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue together on the couch which Summer and Lexie loved. The only bad part of the day was when we had to take the Tegaderm off. It was not a piece of cake and was very much like torturing my little girl which is never fun. I'm so thankful to be done with all of the cancer business. One more set of scans in November, and I think we are free birds. At least I hope that is His plan.

Memory Lane

I love replaying the days with Summer in my head as I type these posts. But, I remember far too little. She's getting so big and I can't really believe she will be off to kindergarten in a few weeks. It doesn't seem real that she is that old already, but she is. I'm still not too enthused about school starting back, and it seems I'm not alone from talking to some of my friends. I know Summer is not too excited. But, her other friends are super excited to go. Even Lexie is excited to go to school. I guess I can blame this on cancer, but it doesn't really matter why we are not looking forward to being apart as much as school requires. We are not. We'll adjust quickly though. I'm sure. Right?????

Monday started off with Summer choosing to do some workbooks. She finished up another one and there are several more that she is close to finishing. I hope we will get them done before school starts, but we may not. She sure has enjoyed doing them although sometimes a page or two is enough for her. She was really wanting to do the maze workbook, but it was not with us. Her favorite workbooks of all were the ones with little decoder so you can check your answers. I think they were Dora and Blues Clues themed. She finished them first, of course.

A little later on Monday we met up with Clint and Lexie at the playground in North Chattanooga. Trixie came along for some exercises and fresh air too. The kids played until they were red faced, and we cooled off with some refreshing beverages. Summer ended up dumping some of her water bottle on her head. Then she went and filled the bottle up in the sink so she could cool off a little more. She was pretty wet when we left. But, she was happy and cool and so all was good.

Before we headed home, we went to eat. She wanted steak as usual. It has to be her absolute favorite thing to eat. Tacos (she had 4 for dinner tonight) and lasagna are neck and neck for second and third. She also loves fresh fruits and veggies. Tomatoes, cucumbers, or green peppers with vinegar satisfies her palate at times. Fruit-wise, she prefers strawberries, peaches, cherries or grapefruit. She also likes limes, blackberries and cantaloupe. Her cheese of choice has moved from colby jack to pepper jack. Lexie is also a big fan of the pepper jack. I'm still on the string cheese myself. But, this isn't really about me now is it? Ice cream of any sort is Summer's treat of choice, followed closely by fresh baked cookies. Her favorite Little Debbie is still Nutty Bars, but she rarely gets those.

After naps and dinner, the girls and I headed down to play in the water by the aquarium. It felt nice as we walked down the steps to the pool at the bottom. Summer made a few friends right away. She played with them until they had to leave. We left shortly after that and headed to Summer's other favorite water area in front of the aquarium. She thought she might find some money there, but she did not. They played and splashed until it looked like it was going to storm. Then we headed to Rita's for some Italian ice and custard. Summer always has to have the custard. She chose vanilla in a cone with hot fudge on top. Next time I think a cup would be better for the hot fudge because it sure was drippy which also means messy. I'm not particularly a fan of messy. LOL I'm glad Lexie is happy with the regular Italian ice because I've got 51 more free coupons to use in the next year that we got at the grand opening a month or two ago. We better get a move on it if we plan on using them all! She had the birthday cake flavor and ate almost all of it. Hopefully they weren't too spoiled as we headed home, but you only live once, right?

Tuesday we got up and headed to the zoo before it got too hot outside. They were both super excited to go and see if the animals were all awake. Somehow we managed to get through without going to the dinosaur exhibit again. I know Summer wanted to go again, but we never really saw the building where it was located so we missed it. We heard some goats making a bunch of noise and took a detour from our intended route and headed towards them. They were behind a wooden fence so we couldn't see them, but it sounded like something was really going on in there. Summer commented that the Serval, who was pacing around her cage, was her favorite animal there, but it was also the first one we saw. Next was the coyotes which she took a picture of. She led the way through the zoo like a pro. On the way, some campers stopped us and asked the girls if they wanted to pet Peanut Butter the barn dog which they were taking for a walk. Surprisingly, neither girl jumped at the chance. We headed past the snow leopards, one of Summer's other favorites, to the petting zoo. The girls and I got to brush the goats which was a first for us. Summer had fun checking out the deer and prairie dogs. She counted the turtles in the water by the bridge, but could only find five when I found six. We made our way through the rest of the zoo to the butterfly garden. She was disappointed as we strolled through the plants and flowers that have grown since the spring because we did not see even one single butterfly. I don't think she's ever seen one there, but maybe we are just not there at the right time. I think she's lost all hope now though. Talking to the parrots afterward helped distract her a little. :) Our last stop at the zoo was the chimpanzee exhibit. They always love to get in the boat and get their picture taken there. Somehow Summer convinced me into getting in there with them for a group pic...she's pretty persuasive sometimes. I know I'll be glad when I have the picture to look back on though!

Later that day we watched The Lion King. I was surprised Summer sat and watched it since she usually does not want to watch any Disney movie other than Mickey Mouse Villains. But, I did not really ask, I just put it in and she watched it. I think it might have helped that we got out all of the Lion King stuffed animals she won in a raffle a few years ago. Now, if only I can get her to do that with the princess movies....I guess it's no big deal though. They are not really educational per say and actually probably instill hopes and dreams that will never be met in reality. I'm sure I over think the whole TV thing at times when it come to her, but I really would like to preserve her innocence as much as I can. We had to take a break to go to dinner with some friends, but after we got home we finished it and then headed to bed.

That brings us to today. This morning we watched a little of Lady and the Tramp before we headed to story time at the library. We have not been in quite a long time, and Summer was excited to go back. She asked if she was going to get to do a craft at the end and an affirmative answer was all it took to get her on board. I really wish we would've gone more this summer, but we did not. So much to do....so little time to do it all! Saturday is the big party for the summer reading program at the library. Summer read (well, I read to her) 47 books since we signed up last month. That was just short of our goal of 50, but I'm sure we will read many more as the days pass. She got to pick out a few new books on the way out of the library today, two of which she enjoyed before bedtime tonight. I should probably tuck myself in right now too, but there's not much time to write when they are awake. I know they will be up bright and early in the morning. I tried to get them down at the time they will hopefully be going to bed when school starts. My goal is to start the bedtime process at 7:00 and have them dreaming sweet dreams by 8:00. I'm sure it won't happen exactly like that, but it's never too early to start the new routine with hopes for the best. School will be here before we know it!!!!

The girls were very excited to go for an afternoon swim after nap time. Summer surprised me yet again by wanting to go swimming in the lake. Our slue is definitely not my favorite place to swim, so I was not as excited as she was. Lexie did not want to get in the lake at first, but when she saw Summer and I get in, she was game. Summer wanted me to swim to the dock with her, but I just couldn't bring myself to get all the way into the murky water. Luckily, PawPaw saved the day and came out at just the right time to swim with her. Lexie and I headed to the pool which was much more appealing than the brown water at the lake. Summer joined us after swimming to the dock. They played with the water hose in the pool which needed water anyway. Summer really enjoyed putting her finger into the hose and making the water spray in all different sorts of ways.

I wish I could say the day was all smiles and giggles, but there was some whining and unkind behavior involved which resulted in a few time outs. Mostly, it was fun for us all though. I've learned to expect little tiffs which seem to always arise when there are two or more kids around. I still do not enjoy them, but hopefully they will lessen as the time outs keep getting handed out. One thing is for sure, the corners of the house have never been this well used!!! It's hard to stick to doling out the punishment at times, especially when it seems like they've been in the corner a lot. But, I know it will be worth it in the end so I always follow through. Kids need boundaries and if parents don't set them, then they will never be learned. I just wish it was easier, but nothing in life worth much is easy I guess. While I try not to set my expectations too high, I know if I don't set any at all they will be little terrors. I can't handle that! Summer and Lexie are learning to use their manners when they want something rather than demanding or whining to get it. Hopefully, they will be all pleases and thank yous and yes ma'ams and no ma'ams before too long. Fingers crossed!

Adventure on the lake

The weekend brought more adventure around here. Summer decided that venturing onto the boat was not such a bad idea and could actually be fun for her. On one trip tojlet the adults jump off a bridge, she decided that she wanted to do it too. The bridge was 20 or so feet high so I decided against that for her, but she did not seem too upset not to get to do it. I was kind of happy to see her willing to do something so daring, but I know she is not big enough for that bridge yet!

The next day we went on a search for some cliffs to jump from. It had been years since I jumped off of from there, but I recognized them right away when we finally got to where they were. Summer surprised me and got in the water right away to swim and watch Mike and I jump. After I jumped from a thirty to forty foot cliff, Summer decided she wanted to jump too. I was hesitant, but decided to let her try to jump from a short distance. We swam up to one of the ropes you can use to help you climb out of the water. She pulled herself up to a small rock ledge while I gave her a boost from below. She steadied herself and jumped from probably about three feet above the water. The sad thing is, the people on the boat were distracted by some nonsense that supposedly involved a snake so they didn't see her.

After that we headed back home, but stopped when we saw some kids jumping off of a rope swing. Summer was game again and jumped and jumped and jumped. When I told her she could go two more times, she countered and asked for four. I think she might have went three more before we headed back to the boat. It was great to see her having so much fun and the other kids were nice to let her into their rotation on the swing. Clint and I went a few times too, but it was more of a kid-size swing.

The adventure should have been over at that point. But, as we headed home, the question of whether or not we had enough gas to make it arose. Everyone was trying to talk above Summer's head, but I'm not sure they pulled it off. She did not freak out or start worrying though so they didn't do too bad at keeping it low key. To be on the safe side, we headed towards a marina which ended up being closed. Clint decided to be a hero and went on a quest on land for more gas. He saved the day after hitchhiking back to the house so he could bring us more gas. Summer and I ended up driving the truck back instead of taking the boat because she was hungry. We headed back to the house throw some pizzas in the oven for everyone and on the way, she told me that everyone was saying she wouldn't get back on the boat again. But, she said they were wrong, she would. That made me happy and proud. She does that a lot though. By the time we got home, it was 10:00 p.m. and the early bedtime I had dreamed of earlier that day was a complete wash. But, it was a fun and exciting time so it was not a big deal. Sometimes its worth staying up late, but soon we will have to get into an early bedtime routine so she will be ready for when school starts. Until then, let the adventures continue.....

Where has the summer gone?

I can't believe it's already the middle of July and there is only a little more than a month before Summer starts kindergarten. The fourth of July was spent with friends in the pool, hot tub, and on the slip-n-slide. Summer got to spend time with her friends Cameron, Ty and Katie. She also spent some time with her cousins at a much treasured sleepover. The older boys shot off the fireworks and the kids enjoyed sparklers. We borrowed a boat which of course came with a scandal and a little bit of fun. Summer, however, is not a fan of boats. She says they do not go fast enough for her and there is nothing to do on them so she doesn't care to ride them. I hope she will lose this attitude with time, but that is really up to her, not me. Her daddy and I had some fun times back in the day when we had our big yellow boat. Maybe if we still had that one, she would change her tune because it would go plenty fast! At one point on one of our excursions, I asked how much gas we had. That set off an alarm inside Summer's head and she was ready to go back home. She never wavered from her cautious feeling about running out of gas, but she did not freak out. She just kept telling me she was ready to go home. I am hoping this means she will not be a huge daredevil, although I do hope she will be a little of a risk taker.


Summer and I went to Lake Winnie a few weeks ago, and she was super excited to ride the rides. There were some rides she was not tall enough for and that bummed her a little, but she had fun on the ones she could ride. She barely met the 42" minimum for some of the rides, coming in at 42.5" herself. She needs to grow 5.5 inches before next summer to be tall enough to ride the bigger rides. I'm not going to hold my breathe on that one. There is one ride that goes up in the air higher than anything else in the park and then free falls. She rode it twice and I must admit I was a little scared to ride it the 2nd time, but I did. Her favorite ride was the water slide which we rode 6 times in a row. She really wanted to go on the cannonball roller coaster, but her legs are just not long enough. On a few of the rides (Tilt-a-whirl and scrambler) it was all I could do not to throw up. I'm pretty bummed about this because she is only five and we have years of riding rides ahead of us. Oh well, at least I know now to take something just in case. We both had a blast together there anyways. She would not ride the carousel though. I guess maybe she is just not interested in such a slow ride it when there are other rides around. However, if we went to Coolidge Park, I know she would want to ride it.

We went on a family adventure to Wilderness at the Smokies last week. The water slides were fun for us all, but Clint got dizzy when he went down backwards on one of the slides. I really think we are going to have to start taking Dramamine before we go on these types of excursions. One of the water slides was too big for her to ride, but she kept asking again and again to ride it. There were 6 or so other slides she could go down so it was not like she was really missing out too much. Thank goodness she grew an inch in the past few months. It seems like 42" is a common height requirement for rides. She loved the wave pools too and would ride the waves into the bank of the pool. The lazy river was also a hit and we went around and around on it. The resort had a pottery painting place which we visited twice in our three days there. She picked an angel to paint the first time we went. The second time we just painted a few ornaments and knickknacks. She was in heaven being the craft lover she is. She wakes up most days asking to do crafts so this was just icing on the cake for this trip. When we left the resort, we headed to a rafting excursion. She was not too excited about it and sat in the front of the raft sucking on her ring pop the whole time. She did not get out and swim when the rest of us did, but that was okay. The water felt awesome and she missed out, but that was her choice. She crashed on the way home, but woke before we made it back. Of course at that point, the "how much longer" began. :) It was only about another hour before we made it back and headed to our favorite sushi place. We were all in heaven then.

We are loving the summer and not looking forward to its end and the beginning of kindergarten. I am not ready to be away from my baby that much, but it's almost time. I hope the rest of the summer drags by or at least brings us many more fun times together.