Wow! It's Been Over A Month!

I 've had a busy summer but, I can't believe I've gone so long without posting anything. Recap of last months activities:

July 17- Ringling Brothers Circus "Bellobration"; go to San Antonio afterwards
July 23-Go to San Angelo and eat at Mathis Field Cafe. Drive on to Abilene to visit Papa John in the hospital. Drive to Roscoe to stay at MeeMaws.
July 25-Walter takes Board One in San Antonio. In Roscoe we celebrate Avery's, Boaz's, and Reese's birthdays.
July 26-take pictures of the cousins in the boat...tip the boat!!!
July 28-Drive back to Houston, with Mom. Stop in Llano to look at antique stores. I bought a set of china and Mom bought a Hotel Mail Cubby.
July 29-Happy Birthday Avery
Aug 4-Eduard expected to make landfall in the morning. We leave for San Antonio that afternoon.
Aug 5-Take Dad's pick-up to Llano to get our things from the store!
Aug 6-Walter and I go to Washington D.C. while Mom and Dad keep the kids.
Aug 7-Go to Navy Medical Center in Bethesda to meet with Dean of Graduate Dental School program. Get information about residency programs.
Aug 11-fly back to Texas
Aug 12-we bring the kids, and Peanut (my brother is giving us his mini dachshund), and all of our stuff back home to Houston
Aug 18-Walter goes back to school. Avery and I start homeschooling.

On Monday I also started the Body-for-Life for Women 12 week challenge. I'm having trouble remembering to eat every 2-4 hours but am otherwise doing well. I wish they had some pages in the back of the book for you to use as your Mind/Mouth/Muscle Journal.

Avery is doing well with Homeschooling. She wants me to do things the way her Beehive preschool teachers did, and she is learning that all people teach a little differently. Our first Unit is All About Me/Family. Josiah has a doctor's appointment tomorrow which will be a good way to transition to our next unit, Doctor/Dental/Human Body.

That's So Toile!!

Here is what I've done so far (with Mom's help) in Avery's room. Mom sewed the head board/foot board slipcovers and a pillow. I hung the curtain and changed out the bedding. I painted the mirror and the miniature dollhouse furniture. The mirror will go up over the desk, but Walter's out of town for a few weeks and he is the official "hole in the wall" maker. I also have a cute hanging lamp that is awaiting Walter's arrival. The decoupage medium on the clock finally dried...love that Houston humidity!!

There is still a lot more to do so keep checking back on our progress. I'm having fun doing all of these projects and keep looking for more to do!!!

(You can see the inspiration room in my June 30th posting.)

Orcas, Penguins, and an Octopus

Today we celebrated Avery's birthday with a Sea World themed party.

Before church everyone pitched in and helped blow up balloons. A living room full of balloons is a lot of fun for all kids (big and small)! Brady, Britany, Avery, Walter, and Josiah were having a blast hitting the balloons, tossing them in the air, and bouncing them off each other.

I set up a killer whale sign, a penguin sign, and an octopus sign to lead the way into the backyard. There we had a sprinkler, a slip and slide, a baby pool, and a pool at the bottom of the slide. Even with the slip and slide lubed up with Baby shampoo, the kids couldn't really run and slide, I guess they are still too young. However, the kids had a great time in the water. I think their favorite thing was the slide into the pool!!! It was not unbearably hot outside, so the adults enjoyed themselves as well. (That was my biggest concern in planning an outdoor party in July--in Houston!) Avery's cake was so cute, we had it made at Hoffman's in San Angelo...worth every penny!!! Walter painted us a Photo shoot Shamu...doesn't Brady look so cute??? Avery is such a sweetie. She would thank people for giving her a gift, before she even opened the present!!! Tonight when we said our prayers, she thanked God for the blessings of her family. So thank you everyone, for coming to the party and making Avery feel loved!!!

Nine Years!!

Today is mine and Walter's ninth wedding anniversary!!

Love Of My Life LyricsArtist(Band):Sammy Kershaw

You are the love of my life And you are the reason I'm alive And baby baby baby When I think of how you saved me I go crazy

I've never known love like this And it fills me with a new tenderness And I know I know I know

You're in my heart you're in my soul You're all I can't resist And I need to tell you The first time I held you I knew

You are the love of my life I spent a lifetime waiting Always hesitating until you I was lost so deep inside my shell 'Til you came and saved me from myself Now all I really know Is I need you

And you are the love of my life All the joy and tears that I cry And baby baby baby You don't have to say a word I see it in your eyes As we stand together I promise forever' Til the day that I die

You are the love of my life I spent a lifetime waiting Always hesitating until you I was lost so deep inside my shell' Til you came and saved me from myself Now all I really know Is I need you

You are the love of my life You are the reason I'm alive

Do ants sleep?

Hobby Lobby has 80% selected home accents. Avery found a small metal ant and, since her initials are A.N.T., we bought it. On the way home she asked me if ants sleep. My answer, "I don't know. I've never really thought about it!" So we came home and looked it up on the Internet. It seems that ants at least go into a rest phase, if not real sleep...some for up to 7 hours a day. Isn't it great that we can just type in "do ants sleep" and get instant results???

We have been working on re-doing Avery's room.

This is our inspiration room, and I'll take pictures of Avery's room once I'm finished! Her room will have some touches of pink as well, but we're pretty much sticking to the lime, black, and white color scheme. I bought an ugly clock at Hobby Lobby and some black/white scrapbook paper. I colored in some of the white with a lime marker then decoupaged the clock.

Day Three and Day Four!!

Day Three:
We started in Dolphin Cove. We fed the dolphins with our left hands and we're able to pet them with our right hands. Avery was leery of the teeth and didn't reach out to pet any of the dolphins. Then, she cried for thirty minutes afterward because she didn't get to pet a dolphin!!!
We walked over to the Sharks/The Coral Reef building. We learned about the sharks first. The kids were all fascinated with them! We had shark dress-up time and snack before going to the coral reef section. The kids picked their favorite fish from the exhibit and then tried to draw them. Avery chose a yellow and blue striped fish...and did a very good job of drawing it. Then the kids had a salt-water fish dress-up. A boy and girl both had sparkly outfits!!
Then we went to the clydesdales. They are so big and beautiful. We got to pet a male named Andy, and took pictures as a group.
Ater camp was over Avery and I went back to the dolphin tank. We stayed there until Avery worked up the courage to pet one. The amazement on her face was worth the tears and the waiting!!
We went to the Believe show and each time I see the orcas perform, it is amazing! Avery wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel so we did, twice. Then she wanted to ride the Orca roller coaster. We got in line and a little girl behind us was looking for a partner to ride with. So, I got out of line while the two girls rode together!

Day Four:
We spent the day behind the scences at the Zoological research facilities. We observed a bull shark and two nurse sharks. The kids were all very good at following the rules! Then we were able to play with the (de-barbed) sting rays and brown manta rays. They would swim right up to our hands and wriggle their bodies as we pet them. Avery would only pet the small ones, but we both had a great time! Then we learned about the transport boxes and I'm afraid I would be claustophobic if I had to ride in one very long. We pet a Bamboo shark. I think Avery would have jumped right into the shark tank if we would have let her, she really was mesmerized by them. We met a Monk seal that was hoping we had food, and saw some more bottlenosed dolphins. On our way back into the park we passed by some flamingos, scarlet ibis, and spoonbills. There is also a lemur back there!
Then we got to go behind the scenes at the Shamu theatre. Shamu is a generic name they use for any of the adult orcas. There are currently four orcas in San Antonio: Kyuquot, Keet, Unna, and Tuar. Then the kids made shamu costumes out of paper bags. They were so cute. Lea gave us a cirtificate saying we had completed camp, complete with our group picture from the day before.
We stayed in the Shamu theatre and watched the Believe show. Cameron and her uncle Matt had to leave, but Sophie and her Nana stayed. We had lunch/snack with them and then let the girls hang out together. They rode the orca roller coaster twice, the ferris wheel twice, and the paint can ride once. They played in the Water works, Then we went to Lost Lagoon where the girls swam in the kiddie pool.
Avery bought four stuffed animals, one for each day of camp. We now have Sarah the seal, Emily the beluga, Candy the orca, and Cindy the dolphin. I purchased some education material that we will use this year in school. We had such a fun time, Avery is already asking if she can go to camp again next summer!!!!!

Shaky Start

We were late to camp today because Avery got sick last night and threw up again this morning, actually both kids threw up! Luckily it was just a bug or something and they appear to be better.
Today was a lot of fun. We started by comparing the length and weight of dolphins, beluga whales, and orcas. Orcas grow from 18-22 feet and weigh 12,000-16,000 pounds. Beluga whales get up to 12 feet and about 3,000 pounds. The Pacific White Sided Dolphin is 6-8 feet long and weighs 300-400 pounds.
We went and looked at the beluga whales, we were only a few feet away from where they surfaced! Then we had a question and answer session with one of the dolphin trainers. The kids were asking basic questions like how cold is the water (67 degrees), how many dolphins do you have (7), do the animals prefer one trainer over another (sometimes), and other relatively simple things. Avery raised her hand and waited several minutes to be called on. When it was her turn she simply asked, "Where is the Daddy dolphin?" The trainer said that was a very good question. The dad, Jump-Jump, is on loan to an aquarium in Chicago. Zoos, aquariums, and parks around the world work together and trade semen samples to keep gene pools varied. He said that sending sample through Fed-Ex is much simpler than trying to transfer the animals across the country or around the planet!!! Have you ever tried to explain artificial insemination to a bunch of 4-5 year olds? Obviously the trainer hasn't either! It was pretty funny!!!
We had some time to spend before the Viva! show. It was the perfect time for snack. Then, we made some construction paper tadpoles. I didn't realize that Sea World had a frog exhibit, but we got to see it today. Most of the frogs appeared to be wax figures, you had to look very closely to observe them breathing.
After the frogs, we went back over to the Viva! stadium and Anthony got to dress up as a beluga whale. He had blubber, fins, a tail, and a humped head. The kids offered explanations for why a beluga has the hump on his head...protection for when he bumps the glass, stores water like a camels hump, or helps them float. The real reason is for echolocation.
All of the Small Wonders campers got to see the Viva! show together. This is an acrobatic show with Beluga whales, dolphins, synchronized swimmers, and high-jumping divers. It is simply amazing how high out of the water the dophins can jump!!! They don't just jump, they also twist and flip and spin!!!! WOW! Avery was impressed with the beluga whales pushing the trainers around the pools. After the show one of the Beluga trainers came over. He said the animals started out nopt wanting to cooperate, but the show was successful in the end. The kids wanted to know if it hurt the whalews for him to stand on their noses. He told them no! Whales are much bigger and stronger than humans and they just feel pressure when the trainers are on their noses!!
I'm really enjoying Sea World camp!!!
After camp, Avery and I went to Lost Lagoon with Cameron, her uncle, Sophie, and her Nana. They floated a while in the Castaway River. All appeared to have a good time, and I enjoyed relaxing by myself! The others stayed in Lost Lagoon to have lunch while Avery and I went over the Shamu's Harbor. There we rode the Orca roller coaster. Avery really enjoyed it, even going on it again by herself!!!! She is growing up too quickly!!!