4th of July Softball Tournament

Brandon played a ton of softball this year, so it didn't surprise me when he signed up for a tournament for the 4th of July. Here are his cute buns getting ready to hit the ball....
....and hit it he did! Way to go babe! Look at those white arms!
The park had misters all around the building that made HUGE puddles for the kids to play in. They loved it and I loved being able to cool off!
Here's a great action shot of Chase jumping in the puddle.
And Amy decided that it would be much cooler if she would just sit her buns in the puddle.They got to play a total of 4 games and then Brandon competed in a pitching contest. He didn't win, but still did really well. He was even named MVP of one of the last games he played. And what did he get you ask? A whopping $2.00 off gift certificate at Denny's. He didnt' even bother to go get it. Now all he can talk about is Flag Football that starts next month. Oh boy, here we go again!

She Passed!

Samantha passed Preschool Level 2 swimming lessons this year. Here is her teacher giving her her certificate. I don't know why she is eating it!
The last day they just got to play games with all the other kids and go down the slide.
Her favorite thing is to go underwater. They got to look for rings underwater and she loved it--but only if she got the pink one. She had a breakdown one day because she didn't get the pink ring and wouldn't go to swimming lessons the next day. Sheesh, girls!


On the last day, the played Aligator, Aligator, Mermaid in the Basket, and the biggest game of Ring-a-Round-the-Rosie I've ever seen. The next day was family swim day so that meant that Amy and I could go. Yes, I braved the maternity swimsuit and subjected everyone to my large chest and belly. Amy and Samantha loved every minute and I could not take my eyes off of Amy for one second. She was walking around the water that was up to her chin without a care in the world. We had so much fun and can't wait to start swim lessons again!

Baby Update

Well, I'm a little late in posting pictures of my first ultrasound, which they did at 11 weeks. I've never had one done that early, so it was kind of fun.....not that you can see anything more than just a tiny baby, but it made it feel real, and gave me proof that I'm not just throwing up for no reason! Then I had my second appointment last week, when I was 15 weeks. I took Brandon with me because he missed out on the ultrasound and wanted to hear the heartbeat this time. The doctor asked me if I was feeling good and I laughed at him. How could I possibly feel good when I'm pregnant? He was a new doctor though, so he didn't know any better. He asked me if I'd ever taken medication to help me feel better and I told him that my last doctor prescribed me Phenegren, but it knocked me out and it didn't like it. So he prescribed me Zofran and I actually had hope that maybe something could help me. I'd heard from a couple of people that you have to make sure that your insurance covers the drug because otherwise it's really expensive. So I took it to Walgreens and asked the guy to check on it for me. He said, "How does $10 sound?" Sounds good to me. He then asked me if I wanted to know how much it would cost if I didn't have insurance and then sent me the paper:
I don't know if you can read that, but it says, "Your insurance saved you $739.99" Can you believe a drug with only 30 pills in them costs $750 bucks? Sheesh, it'd better be good. Unfortunately when I took it, it did knock me out for about and hour and then proceeded to give me a vicious headache the rest of the day--but I wasn't nausious or pukey once! So now I have to decide which I would rather have. Oh well. But on a brighter side, we get to find out what we're having next month. Now we just have to decide if we're going to tell anyone!

Swimming Lessons

Samantha started swimming lessons last Monday with her best friends, Brooke & Ashley. They all took the same class last year and none of them passed--oops! But they were all still 3 years old and the youngest in the class. This year, the class size is half of what it was and Samantha is still the youngest one, but she is doing so much better and loving every minute of it. Her favorite thing to do is go under water. She used to only be able to do it with her goggles on, but one day her teacher threw rings under water for the kids to find and she did it without her goggles. Now she thinks that she is too big for them!
She has lessons everyday for 2 weeks at nine in the morning--which is a little rough for me, but what do you do? She is having so much fun!

Summerfest

I love living where we do, especially this time of the year where there is so much to do. We went to 2 days of Summerfest and the girls loved every minute of it. Summerfest is just our city's celebration with a 5k run, that Brandon registered for, but ended up not being able to go, a big carnival with tons of rides, activites and yummy food booths, and a parade with fireworks. Last year, Brandon was out of town, so I took the girls by myself. With my prego belly this year, I was really glad that Brandon was able to come...even though he hates crowds and wasn't too excited himself. In the end, he had as much fun as the girls!This was Amy's first time that she could actually ride the rides and she was SOOOO excited! I think she loved the boats the best!

This giant slide was also a hit with everyone in the family. I barely got to go on because the lady saw that I was pregnant, but she let me go anyway. You have to hike up the stairs and then sit on a big burlap sack that sends you down so fast. Amy laughed so hard--I swear the girl has no fear!
We were a little nervous that Amy wouldn't hold onto the horse on the carasel, but she clung to that thing like it was nothing!They both loved picking out a duck and getting a guaranteed prize--a squirt gun and a tamborine!
And I especially loved the food booths--cotton candy, elephant ears, churros, snow cones, and this one fabulous Hawaiian Booth that had amazing pulled pork and teryaki chicken. Samantha loved it all too--notice her lovely blue teeth from her snow cone!
Right before we left, we went and got balloon animals. Samantha got a butterfly and Amy got a monkey with a banana. Then the girls made necklaces at the kid's craft area. We had so much fun and after 2 days, we were ready for a long nap and some aloe vera--yes, I got sunburned. I lathered up the kids and Brandon, but I guess I forgot me! Oh well! I've got a spectacular farmer's tan now!

Kirsten's Reception

After Day 1 of the Summerfest, was the reception of my old roommate, Kirsten from Liberty Square. Brandon and Amy were both so tired, so they stayed home and I took my buddy, Samantha with me. I totally stole all the pictures from Melissa because I left my camera in the car.It was fun to see Melissa and her little boy, Boston. Melissa lived right across from us and her sister, Lora, was my roommate at one time too. It's crazy how much everything has changed in the past few years!

And here's the beautiful Kirsten with Melissa. She looked so happy! It was great to catch up with everyone and hopefully we can hang out again soon!

Good-bye Joe & Jana!

On June 1st, Joe took off for D.C. in a big moving van, while Jana and the girls stayed with us for a few days before they flew out. Samantha took every last second she could to play with Maylie before she left.So we went swimming in the backyard.

Samantha and Maylie

Amy finally learned to say "Joe, Jana, Maylie and baby" and knew that they all went together........just in time for them to move!
Little Taryn

We will miss you guys!

Ollie's Blessing

Sunday was the blessing of my friend, Beka's, little boy, Ollie. It was so fun to see all my girls (you know who you are). We used to be like family back in the Liberty Square days and I miss hanging out with them. Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking and took pictures of mostly my kids. I didn't even get one of the baby! Oh well.
I guess no one else got the memo to wear this dress! Samantha, Amy and Hailey were all dressed the same--it was so funny!

Here's the evolution of Amy's pastry. She certainly has one thing in common with her dad--I think Brandon ate like 6 of these!
Right before we left, Beka gave me this project that all the girls started working on years ago--a memory/scrapbook of each friend. It was fun to look back at all the good times--I used to be so much fun.....and skinny. Where did those days go? It was so fun to see everyone, we missed Katie, though! Let's get together soon!