June - Part 2

June 17 - A fly was in the car after swim lessons. It was tragic. Also, Derek let the kids put stickers all over him because he was trying to watch the World Cup.
June 20 - Swimming showoffs! And charts to show all the skills they accomplished.

So Abby learned to:
16. Blowing bubbles - face in the water
17. Tree fall - falling into water from a standing position
18. Fall In/Swim - entering water from the side & swimming
19. Jellyfish - releasing into a prone position
20. Bobbing 5 times - going under and up rhythmically
21. Knee Dive - with assistance from the side of the pool
22. Retrieve Treasure - going under water and picking up rings
23. Diving Board or alternate - entering deep water with help.
Additional skills - piggy-back riding on the back of an instructor and submerging.
24. Face float with a glide
25. Face float with a flutter kick
26. Knee dive - unassisted from the side of the pool
33. ???

Grant learned to:
24. Face float with a glide
25. Face float with a flutter kick
26. Knee dive - unassisted from the side of the pool
27. Swimming through a hoop - underwater
28. Retrieve a ring below water - shoulder deep
29. Jump & recover in the deep - swim to the side unassisted
30. Back float for 15 seconds - slight support
31. Swim across the pool with help to breathe
32. Kickboard - with extended flutter kick
33. I have no idea.
34. Beginner stroke with a flutter kick - arms in a forward stroke
35. Beginner stroke wih breathing - without assistance
36. Back glide with winging
37. Back float for 30 seconds - no support
41. Rollover - change from prone position to backfloat while swimming
43. Diving board - jump & recover (modified when no board is available).

June 21 - Trip to Red Oak! After this trip, Spring decided to show up (missing the memo that it is JUNE) with several days of rain. Also on this day, one of my closest friends had a baby and another got engaged! Before we left there was a cuddle session and a show.

June 23 - Baby Rylan is out of the NICU and ready for visitors!

June 24 - I have a thing with dressing my kids alike.

June 26 - USA v Germany at the office! And after work, we had game night and authentic Hawaiian eats and drinks at Suzette's.

June 28 - We went to the Farmer's Market. The kids got popsicles - we almost always remove Abby's shirt for popsicles and it didn't even matter that we were in public! Dinner that night with the Stahlneckers, celebrating Alvah's birthday!
June 29 - Pack, pack, pack! Family vacation is coming up!

Trip to Red Oak

The kids' daycare was closed today, so we headed out to visit Grandma Rose and Papa's house. My mom had made spaghetti. The kids had so much fun playing and the weather was perfect. We got home just in time for the showers to start!

Trip to Red Oak

Derek kidnapped the kids and took them to Red Oak.

Grant rode the tractor, then took Abby for a ride on the Gator. He has to drive slow when Abby's in the Gator. Our last visit, he was NOT interested in driving her around - he didn't want to drive slow. But apparently he was a caring, sharing brother on this visit!

After the stop at the farm, the crew headed over to meet their other Papa, play at a park, and grab some pizza for dinner.

Good Friday

Our day care closed this year on Good Friday. Our day care actually is closed quite a bit this coming year. I'm not thrilled about it. But it was nice this time because I was off of work too!

We got up, picked up Gaga, and headed to Red Oak. We played with all the "good toys" that would be put away the next day for the Easter Egg Hunt. Then we came home before naps.

Grant was AWFUL! He unbuckled his seat belt and had 3 "accidents" at home. He also threw his shoes at me. Thankfully my grandmother was there to witness how well-behaved my kids are.

During naps, I cooked dinner. And I capped off the evening with a little outing with my sis and Cassie watching Justin. The drinks were needed after the day that I'd had!

San Antonio

Other construction attorneys had RAVED about the construction law CLE in San Antonio, so I thought it would be worthwhile to go. Then we decided to make it a quick weekend get away! And as an added bonus, Clint and Shauna did too. A quick weekend away without babies!

My cab arrived at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday. Yikes. Highlight of the early flight: seeing the sun rise over the clouds. A first for me and quite breathtaking.

I spent all day Thursday learning and took advantage of some adult time in the evening when I met another attorney, Janet, at a bar. Service was terrible, but the conversation was great AND much of our meal was comped. YEAH!

Friday was another all-day affair. Seriously - we even had class during lunch. I switched hotels and snuck in a nap before Derek, Clint and Shauna drove up.

Friday night we went to Ritas on the River. Derek and I remember it for their KILLER beef fajitas. The fajitas were still good, but the margaritas were NOT! We saw the Alamo, remembered it, then headed back to the hotel for a night cap in the hot tub.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch... The kiddos enjoyed a big breakfast, cousin time, and ice cream!! Grant cried once after he ran over his sister... Papa can have that effect!

Abby tried to drive the Ranger, then tried to drive the one-seater John Deere toy.

She also got some time with Coco!!

Saturday we enjoyed breakfast in bed (free thanks to our Groupon!), then the boys worked out while the girls chatted over coffee. We had lunch at Chris Madrid's Nachos and Burgers (which were paired with delicious Mango Margaritas).

And keeping with the healthy menu, we headed over to Lulu's for their famous 3 pound cinnamon roll! In case you're wondering, the cinnamon roll won.

We needed to walk off the food coma, so we headed over to the La Cantera Shops. We took advantage of child-free shopping and walked away with boots (me) and watches (me and Derek).

Derek and Clint had reservations at a winery for us on Saturday night. There was also a charity event going on with a photo booth. I eyed it early in the evening and schemed to sneak into it for a memoir of our evening. Sure, the waiter wanted us to spend $40 on wine to take home as a memoir, but I like the free one better. Plus, it's a rule that was broken without any consequence.... which I just love! Once we got back to the hotel, we capped off the evening (again) with a night cap in the hot tub.

Today, we had breakfast (with complimentary mimosas) and headed out by 10. We maximized our child-free shopping again at the San Marcos outlets (look for my $9 BCBG dress at the wedding this coming weekend!!!) and Cabelas. But the highlight of the day was seeing this when we drove up to Grandma Rose & Papa's:

I melted right then. I hadn't seen these boogers since Wednesday night. Truth be told, I even missed Lola and snapped a shot of a Jack Russell that appeared in a Victoria Secret window ad when I was missing her! Abby wanted me to hold her (and not let her go) and Grant continued to play with cars.

It was so funny to hear the grandparents' take on the kids. According to them, Grant is smart, sweet, and sentimental, and Abby is spoiled rotten! She runs away when you get out a Kleenex, tackles Grant, holds her hands up at Grandma Rose's feet to be held, and throws herself on the ground in a full-blown toddler fit when she gets mad. I blame their ages... and birth order. I'm sure it's not MY fault!!

The weekend away was refreshing. This weekend a facebook friend posted a photo from a date with her hubby. The caption from her photo rang true for our weekend away. "You say it's fun. I say it's NECESSARY!"