Rewind

I have some pictures I want to share from a few weeks ago. I got a little ahead of myself with my posts - so we're going to rewind to June 24, when my Grandma and Grandpa from Arkansas came to California to visit. They went to my parents' house in San Diego and I could not afford to drive all the way down there to see them (nor did I want to make the trek on my own with 2 kids...yet...) So they were going to visit my brother Jeff and his family in Canyon Country (near Magic Mountain). I decided it would be an easy enough drive - and a more affordable one, so I drove down to surprise Grandma and Grandpa. They had never met Anna before and we usually only get to see them about once a year. We had a very nice day visiting with Grandma and Grandpa, my mom and dad, my brother and sister-in-law and their kids. We even got to meet their newest addition - Sydney - she was only 3 weeks old! Sooo cute!!


Haylie and Anna with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma


Baby Sydney and Anna - she made my little baby look so big!!


Haylie loved Baby Sydney


Haylie and her cousin Morgan tackled Grandpa Garry


Anna was trying to pull Grandpa Garry's mustache off

I'm so grateful that my kids have all their Great Grandparents still. We love them so much!

The Big Six-Oh

Just wanted to quickly mention today is my dad's birthday - 60 years! Woohoo!! Happy Birthday Dad!

But let's be honest...he doesn't look 60, does he??

Love you Dad!

Swimming Lessons

Well, after Haylie's jaunt in the pool a couple weeks ago, I got nervous about her lack-o-fear. She does a great job with those floaties, but I got scared that one day she would jump in without the floaties and get into trouble. Sooo, there is a golf course just down the street from our house that has a pool run by the city of Fresno. Lessons are only $15 for 2 weeks - that is 5 days a week for 35 minutes each day. That is a discounted price for our family size and income range. It is normally $30 - but STILL - talk about cheap!! So I was pretty nervous about Haylie taking lessons because she is so shy. I talked to her about it before we went and she was super excited, but of course, she got scared once we were there. And of course, it was not helpful that her regular teacher wasn't there for the first 3 days - so she was not able to establish a bond with him at the beginning.

Here she is on day 1 with substitute 1 (Rosalina):

Not happy - she cried pretty much the whole time - I had to walk away and hide in the shade so she wouldn't call out to me and expect me to rescue her.

Day 2 - substitute 2 (Nick):

He was very nice and very good with her and mostly carried her around but she only cried a little bit at the very beginning.

Day 3 - Nick again:

Do you see that? It's a smile!! They did a free swim on this day and since she is not able to do a free swim, Nick helped her and she got some good one on one time with him. Now she is really starting to like Nick.



She even jumped off the side to him several times.


Day 4: Her real teacher returns (Forrest):

She cried for the first little while with Forrest (she had JUST gotten used to Nick!), but he was good about getting her to "suck it up". He wasn't as "sweet" as Nick, and she still hasn't really warmed up to him, but she does what she's supposed to do so that is good. In this picture he is trying to get her to float on her back.


Every day after her lesson she wants to be wrapped up in the towel and sit in the sun to warm up - and she always has to have froggy silky too!



This is just a cute shot I got today while she was hanging on to the side.


This is the certificate she got on the last day! She was so proud!! Sooo cute!

She really has learned a lot - she can't swim on her own yet, but at least she has learned a few techniques - like the doggy paddle and kicking her legs. She even knows how to hold her breath now for a short period of time.

I am probably going to sign her up for the next session too - and I am going to try and get her into a class with Nick since she seemed to warm up to him a bit more. Maybe, just maybe, she will start to come out of her shell a bit more after this experience.

Happy 4th of July

This was the first 4th of July in many years that it wasn't a thousand degrees in Fresno. It was beautiful. We were invited to spend the afternoon with a friend of a friend - and a pool. ;-) We started the day at swim lessons with Haylie (more to come on that later...), then relaxed a little, then went to the party...Here are some fun pics from the day:


Fearless little Haylie jumping off the diving board


Anna resting in the playpen - she even took a nap out by the pool


Haylie shooting confetti fireworks...this one hit Evan in the back - don't worry - he's ok :-)


Family self-portrait

Hooray for America!

...a cluck-cluck here and a cluck-cluck there...

Sunday morning, I was changing Anna's diaper in her room. The change table is right in front of the window that looks out into the back yard. As I'm changing her diaper, I see a rather large looking bird out by the garden. At first, I thought it was a duckling. I yelled for Eric to go check it out - and he looked out the window and said, "Kinda' looks like a chicken." Ok...a chicken. So, I snuck out to the back yard through the garage cuz I didn't want to spook whatever it was. As I got closer I realized that yes, it was indeed a chick. You may be wondering..."How in the world did a chicken end up in the back yard?" I have no idea. At all. Well, my mom came up with one possible scenario. If a larger predatory bird caught the chick, it could have dropped it into our yard. I suppose that makes sense. I don't see any signs of attack - but it is possible. There is no chicken farm around here that I am aware of. I don't know - it's a mystery, but I love it!

Isn't she adorable??

When she saw me, she came running towards me - no fear at all! Then Haylie came out and we got some bird seed and it ate right out of her hand! Now, I kid you not, I think the chick (by the way, we named her Clucky) thinks Haylie is its Mommy. Have you ever read the book "Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman? Well, it is one of Haylie's favorites - and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Clucky follows Haylie EVERYWHERE! If Haylie goes to another part of the yard, and Clucky can't find her, she starts to chirp really loudly, then when she spots Haylie, she takes off running as fast as she can to catch up with her! One of these days I'm going to get it on video and upload it for you to see - it is sooo cute!

Click on the picture to make it bigger - you can see her chasing Haylie

Last night, when we were eating dinner, the chick sat at the door chirping away because she could see Haylie through the window..

I never wanted to let a chicken in my house so badly! Look at that face!! ;-)

So yes, we have the most unconventional pets around: 1 painted mantella frog (oh did I mention 2 of our exotic frogs died? well, that is for another day), approximately 75 baby toads wandering the yard, 5 adult toads (that we know of), a box turtle, a desert tortoise, and a partridge in a pear tree...er..I mean, a sweet little chick named Clucky.

I think we're about a goat and a sheep shy of a petting zoo!

Haylie the Fish

We went to a friend's house today and went swimming - we weren't planning on swimming so that is why Haylie is fully clothed...anyway...she got those floaties on her arms and turned into a fish. She was swimming all over that pool and having the time of her life! It was totally her idea to jump off the side - and nobody was even in the water to catch her! I think it may be time to start the swim lessons - she is sooo confident that it just might get her into trouble...eek...oh and please ignore the deranged laughter coming from my mouth - I was just really excited. ;-)

My Dad

I am a daddy's girl. Could you tell? My dad and I have always had a really special relationship and have always gotten along exceptionally well. We even have similar interests. For example, for my 19th birthday we went to Magic Mountain - just the two of us. And it became a tradition each year after that, until I had Haylie. He taught me to shoot a gun, which I enjoy very much. We both love games. Mostly word games. My dad can do a crossword puzzle like nobody else. Someday, we will be on Wheel of Fortune together and win it all. Pat Sajak won't know what hit him.

I have always valued my dad's opinion - and I tried very hard to never disappoint him. I'm sure I didn't always succeed, but he was always there to guide me in the right direction. Like the time he asked me why I hadn't started dating Eric. Eric and I were good friends for several years - and never had any romantic interest in one another. One day my dad and I were driving somewhere and he asked me why I didn't date Eric. I told him we were just friends and it wasn't like that. He told me that he thought Eric was a "fine young man" and that he'd be happy if I chose to marry someone like him. (Something along those lines) So, after that, I started to see Eric in a new light and it wasn't long after that that we started dating. Now, I believe that Eric and I would have "found" eachother sooner or later, but I truly believe my dad was inspired to have that chat with me to get me thinking in the right direction.

I am also grateful for how wonderful he is with my kids. Haylie absolutely adores Grandpa Garry. And I'm sure as Anna grows she will come to love him just like her big sister.


I love you Dad, and am so grateful for all you have done and do for me. Happy Father's Day!