Sports

Kiersten did a soccer camp this summer that she absolutely loved. So she begged to play on a team for fall. So I got her signed up, and this past weekend was the opening weekend/soccer showcase. She had 2 games on Saturday. It was 95 that day, but I was proud of her for staying in there, and trying her best, even though it was so hot. She was supposed to play another game today, but it got canceled on account of the heat. I wasn't too sorry about that.

She loved that they called her name out when she ran out onto the field.

My number 29!

Kara has started taking taekwondo. She loves it so far, and is very excited about all she is learning. We did have to stop her one evening from continually kicking the pantry door shut. Kiersten wants to start taking lessons as well, but I told her she has to wait til she's done with soccer.

Since Evie's swim lessons don't start until next weekend, here's some pool pictures. The pool closes after labor day, so we are trying to make the most of the time we have left for the summer.

 

 I let Kara use the camera this week, and we ended up with lots of interesting pictures.

 

 

 And a couple of adorable pictures too.

Deck make over

Last year we had hail damage to our roof, siding, and deck. Luckily, it is covered by our insurance. We got the siding and roof fixed right away, and now we finally got our deck refinished last week. Here is a before picture.

And another before picture showing the color a bit more.

We chose a deck stain that is thick and textured. It is supposed to last 10 years before you have to redo it. So we'll see.

And this is how it looks now. Ben even went and bought me some new plants to pretty things up back there. Our last plant died while I was in Utah/Idaho.

I love the darker color!

And a few butterfly pics, because, well, just cuz.

K & K go back to school

Kara started 3rd grade today, and Kiersten started 1st. They were both really excited this morning. Kara woke Ben and I up bright and early. She really wanted her hair waved, and I thought it turned out pretty cute.

She is excited about her new back pack. She's super into animal prints lately.

Sweet Kiersten slept in as long as I let her. She is always a little sleepy head. She had wanted her hair curled, but she slept in too late, so we didn't have time. There's always tomorrow, though.

Evie insisted on wearing new clothes too, even though her school doesn't start for a few weeks. And of course, she needed a picture too.

Everyone was cheerful and excited at the bus stop this morning.

Love these sweet girlies!

Time to get on the bus!

The bus driver seemed very nice and friendly. Hopefully we can keep the same one all year.

Kiersten peeping out the window

On the walk home, Evie decided to surprise her little friend with a hug. He wasn't too into it. She definitely caught the poor guy off-guard.

 Evie told me several times that she wasn't sad that the girls went to school. I didn't ask her, but she just kept bringing it up randomly. But when I called her down to go to the gym, she had clearly been crying. But I think she did enjoy having all my attention today. She asked if we could make cookies for after the girls got home. That seemed like an easy enough request. She was very anxious for them to get home and be surprised by the cookies.

They were definitely happy to enjoy some cookies and milk while telling me all about their first day. Kara's most exciting news was that one of her friends wore the same outfit as her (which in a few years, she probably wont be as excited about), and another friend has the same water bottle as her. Kiersten's most exciting news was that she won 5 tickets playing bingo, and got a purple card, which means she was well behaved. Evie's most exciting news was that she played with a new girl at the gym, and when she played barbies, she got to talk for all of the barbies herself. My most exciting news was that I got lots of housework done, and got in a great work out. No one was impressed.

Last bit of Summer

Summer is winding down, and we've tried to get as much fun as possible out of the last 2 weeks. Kara and Kiersten start school tomorrow, and Evie goes back on September 2. So she and I will still have some fun days ahead.
The girls wanted to go to the North Pointe last week, so we headed there for the day. It was a good day because it was warm, but cloudy, so the heat didn't feel oppressive.

Evie really missed Ben. I don't usually take them here by myself, so I think she's just accustomed to him being there with us. She couldn't stop bringing up how much she missed him. It was hard for me to let Kara out of my sight a little, but I knew she was okay, and so I gave her a little freedom. I may have hunted her down twice in a semi-panic, but of course she was doing just fine both times, and doing exactly what she'd asked permission to go do.

Rope swinging

Kiersten always swims to the edge and immediately asks if she went higher or further than Kara, the little competitor...

The water on the splash pad is always really warm, which the kids love, but I find a bit unpleasant.

It takes some convincing to get them to stand under the bucket when it tips over. I still can't convince Evie to stand there.

Kara and Kiersten took 2 cooking classes at Schnucks. They really enjoyed it. They had an animal themed day, and a chuck wagon themed day.

They made some pretty good chili. Kiersten wished we could take more home with us. Good thing they gave us the recipe. But, I don't know that Ben would give up his beloved recipe in favor of this one. It was super sweet and barely spicy at all, probably why she liked it so much. It was dessert chili!

They really do enjoy cooking. Too bad I'm not a better teacher. We'll have to keep our eyes open for more cooking classes in the future.

Ben had a day off this week, so we took the girls to the Magic House. It was so nice to have another adult with me to chase the kids around. It was really crowded, the most busy I've ever seen it. I'm actually surprised and impressed that we stayed as long as we did. Usually when we encounter large crowds, we turn right around, and come back another time.

The girls were really good, so that's probably why we stayed. Kara spent a lot of time trying to perfect her stuffed animal flipping skills. She really wanted to knock over a block tower Ben had built.  

Playing a memory matching game.

Evie dressed like a pilot.

After the Magic House, we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner, so it was a pretty great day for all of us.

Last night we went to twilight swim at the North Pointe. The girls thought it was really cool to be there at night. You have to look clear back behind my head to catch a glimpse of Kara, she kept getting ahead of us. It was a pretty fun evening, but Evie got cold before long, and Kiersten's lips were a little blue, so we didn't stay til the end. (It went until 11). On the way home, Ben surprised the girls by stopping at Oberweis for ice cream. They loved that, but sat there shivering as they ate, since we were all in swim covers, still pretty wet.

It's been a really fun summer, and hard to think of any way it could have been better!