Daddy's Special Day

Father's Day was soon after we returned from our trip, so Ben requested we just relax and hang out by the pool. So we had a low key day. After breakfast the girls wanted him to open their gifts. They all got him amiibos, which made Kara upset because it had been her idea, and she felt copied. She was copied, but he liked and appreciated all of them. They always make funny cards for him. 

After Evie and Kiersten bought amiibos for him, Kara went back and also got him a Wii points card as well so her gift would stand out more. Everything is a competition around here. 

I decided to make a ridiculous card as well this year. I think I drew a picture of a raccoon. Or some other animal that made no sense. I wanted to make him smile, and I succeeded. I gave him the deluxe PIT game. He has always loved this game, and I sort of hate it, and so have refused to buy it in the past. I decided to just suck it up and try to give the game another chance. The first time we played with the girls I thought it was kind of fun. But now they bicker when we play and I sort of hate it again. Oh well, hahaha.

I went to the Poison/Def Leppard/Tesla concert with some friends. I didn't take many pictures, or any good ones. But it was super fun!

One of Evie's friends stepped on Kara's sunglasses and broke them, so I promised her I would get her some new ones. Somehow Kiersten talked me into getting some for her as well, and we went home with matching kitty shades. They even made up a catchy song that I can never get out of my head. "Meow meow meow, kitty kitty sisters. Kitty kitty sunglass sisters..." I have a video I can show to anyone who would like to be subjected. 

After 3 weeks Kiersten got her swim cast off. She was so happy and felt free. She wasn't super fond of the tan line, but I didn't think it was all that noticeable. 

Her swim times improved with being able to dive, and not having to drag a cast along with her. She was quite pleased with that. 

Six Flags had a Mardi Gras theme for much of the summer, so that was pretty fun. Don't get attached to the hat Evie is wearing in this picture, because she lost it on a roller coaster never to be recovered. She promised to buy Kiersten a new hat to replace it, but has not done so yet. 

Kiersten got awarded swimmer of the week after she got the cast removed. She was really scared to dive at first, but finally did it, and I'm pretty sure that's a big part of why she was chosen that week. 

Back to Pool

Kara and Evie were able to get in a week of swim team before our FL/GA trip. They were pretty happy to be back in the pool. Kiersten was unable to participate on account of the broken arm. 

Evie loves the extra attention from all of the older kids that help out for the first 2 weeks. 

Kara got to help with crocodile camp for the first time this year. She just loved it and adores working with the cute kiddos. She also started babysitting this summer, and has enjoyed that as well. 

Swimming with her bestie!

Evie loves to be awarded the stuffed crocodile that goes home with the kid that tried hard at practice. She will sure miss getting it next year. I will not miss frantically trying to find in the next morning to bring back so someone else can take it home. She got it on Fridays several times this summer, and loves having it for the weekend to play dress up, have tea parties, and cuddle at night. 

We were all so ready to get Kiersten's long, pink, bent elbow cast removed. She was so over it and starting to be sour about being at the pool or anywhere fun that she couldn't participate. She was a little sad to see the signatures go, but not sorry. They asked if she'd like to keep the cast, and she said, "trash it!". The nurse was really laughing about that and the fact that she knew and was singing the Sweater Song by Weezer. That really blew his mind. Thanks satellite radio.

Her scrapes under the cast were healed up nicely, and she was approved to get a water cast. Her X-Rays looked great as well, so she got a short cast below the elbow and was cleared to start swimming after a few days. Her arm was not as disgusting as I'd imagined it was under there. We did have a little dirt to clean off. 

She picked blue this time, and she got some sparkles. It felt weird to straighten out her elbow, so it took her about a day to stop holding her arm the way it had been in the previous pink monster. 

The first thing she wanted to do was hit the pool! I had to laugh because it was a complete shift from weeks of crying about not wanting to be there, to begging me to take her. Her attitude immediately brightened up, and we hardly remembered she even had a cast because it didn't make her miserable. 

She was very excited to be invited to attend swim team practice. We didn't know if she'd be allowed to participate with the cast on, but she was fine. She didn't get cleared to dive, but just started the races from the side of the pool instead. 

She was also very anxious to FINALLY get to play with the rainbow unicorn. I think this was the main thing making her upset about being at the pool. It does look pretty fun doesn't it? I can tell you it is.

Six Flags over Georgia

Since we can use our Six Flags season passes at any of the parks, we thought it would be great to check out the one in Atlanta. We also were able to utilize our parking pass and meal cards, so that was great. The rides are pretty different from the ones we're used to in St. Louis. We didn't try some of the more fun looking ones because the kids were getting tired, and Kiersten was pouty about not being able to go on certain rides due to her cast. 

We stood in line for a bit in order to ride the Joker. It was the only ride that all of the girls really wanted to go on. It just got so hot standing there in line, so I had to keep checking myself so I wouldn't get grumpy. 

It was worth the wait and I didn't even get in trouble for having my phone out while getting on the ride. In St. Louis they are pretty quick to get after you. 

Just riding a fun roller coaster on a beautiful day. 

The Bat-mobile was pretty fun for the girls to see. Evie was convinced it was there just for Daddy to see. 

I did not let Kiersten ride this one because her cast wasn't supposed to get wet. She was a little mad. We actually ended up getting a bit wet just standing behind the gate watching, thanks to Kara, the stinker. 

We played a bunch of carnival games after lunch. 

Kiersten was pretty funny at the hotel trying to swim with one arm while keeping the other up out of the water. She gave up pretty quickly. 

Georgia Aquarium

We drove to Atlanta after we left Siesta Key. We thought it would be fun the check out the Georgia Aquarium.

There were lots of different fish than what we got used to seeing in the Seattle Aquarium. 

We spent a fair amount of time watching the dolphins. The girls did not want to stay for the dolphin show later in the day though. I guess they had gotten their fill. 

I like how interactive it is. The girls loved running through and climbing up the exhibits. 

They all have a passion for penguins. Evie loves to state penguin facts. 

It's been a while since we've been able to see beluga whales. I don't think any of the girls remembered seeing them before when they used to have some at the zoo in Tacoma. 

Karalee tried to have a staring contest with this big crab. Do crabs blink? I don't think we ever saw it blink. This guy was missing a few legs, but seemed to be able to get around fine. 

Guitar fish? I think this was called a guitar fish. I thought it was a hammer head, but the person who said that turned out to be just a rando walking by. The lady who worked there said hammerheads are too aggressive for this type of exhibit. This tank is enormous. It is 30 feet deep and the size of a football field. And it is just filled with so many fish and animals. 

We came to the lobby for the penguin waddle. Evie was concerned we would miss it, so we were there a few minutes early to get a good place to stand. 

They waddled on down the ramp, hammed it up a bit, and then off they waddled. I'm pretty sure it was the highlight for Evie. 

I enjoyed walking through the tunnel in the big tank. 

I ate cake cor lunch. That's the sort of thing I do. 

After lunch the girls made paper turtles. Kara gave hers a movable mouth, which impressed the puppeteer. He said he was going to make a few like that too. 

The whale sharks were definitely my favorite, and the main reason I even wanted to visit. They have 4 of them if you can believe it. They are massive. we spent a lot of time watching them and took over 100 pictures just of these big fish. There were divers in the water talking about them, but it was difficult to hear. 

There was a 4D Spongebob movie which of course the girls thought was great. 

This was a rope bridge that the girls had lots of fun on. 

We had fun creating creatures and seeing if they were able to make it across the marsh. Most of them sank, and we had some giggles. 

I would totally come here again. I'm sure we missed at least a quarter of the activities. We were there on World Ocean Day, so there were so many fun things set up.