Zip Line

My mom purchased a groupon for us to a place called 7 Acre Woods.  We had been before, but were excited to experience it again, this time my husband joined us on the adventure.  One of Lilly's friends also joined us. 

The girls had lots of fun feeding the animals and they were highly amused when the llama spit on my husband and I.  The smell was horrific just to let you know. Gross!

They rode on scooters.

Both girls were super excited about experiencing the zip line again because last time they were a little afraid.  This time, neither had any fear about zipping through the air.

Playing with puzzles in the cool lounge was nice while we waited for our food to be prepared.

Climbing the rock wall was also a huge hit for Lilly.

Thanks, Mom, for the opportunity to enjoy some fun out in God's creation!

Minty Fresh Leaves

We are members of a local home schooling group called HEART.  They organize lots of events for various age groups and chances for parents to get together. 

The most recent outing was to the Mercer Arboretum in Spring, TX.  We had been there many times, but we had never been on a tour.  It was exciting to see all the different kinds of flowers and plants there with a guide pointing them out. 

One of the first areas we explored was the herb garden. The children (and adults) were able to rub their fingers on the leaves and then smell them.  There were pepper mint leaves, thyme, cilantro, and even a choco-mint leaf that smelled just like a girl scout cookie.

 

 

All of the kids really enjoyed Storey Lake (which I did not know was there) - they were able to see the turtles and even spotted a snake on the walk back.

The weather was nice and just a great day to enjoy God's craftsmanship.

Family Retreat

Our church had a family retreat.  It was a great time to fellowship and the video series we watched was pretty much in line with a lot of other things I have been reading/studying lately which was cool!

Lilly was super excited that she was going to get to sleep on the top of a bunk bed.  Mommy was a little nervous about how she would do.  First night, she slept great, but I did not because I was worried about her waking up others or falling off of the bed.

 Second night, Lilly woke up because of  a scary dream and wanted to sleep in the bed with me.  I don't normally let her do that, but since we were in a strange place and I didn't want her waking up the whole room of ladies, I allowed it.  Wasn't that fun, sharing a twin bed with a 5 year old. haha

Another part of the retreat that was super exciting for Lilly was getting to play with friends - on the bunk beds, on the playground, wherever!  She enjoyed being around so many people all weekend long (another reason that I believe she would love to have siblings).

My favorite part of the weekend was on Saturday afternoon when Lilly and I grabbed a little snack and took a walk to the water's edge. It was such a beautiful day and we were able to enjoy God's creation and have a wonderful peaceful moment.

Breaking Tradition, but Keeping it the Same?

The passed several years, it has been our tradition to drive out to Brenham, Texas and stop off on the side of the road for some pictures in the blue bonnets and then head over to the Blue Bell factory for some yummy ice cream.

2009

 

 

 

 

2010

 

2011 - We missed the blue bonnets, but we still made it to Blue Bell for a tour and some yummy ice cream.



2012

 

 

 Well, this year our friends who normally go with us were not able to drive with us, so we opted to do something different.

We found a place 5 minutes from our house that had some blue bonnets, so we drove over there and took some pictures.

Then, instead of Blue Bell, we headed over to Tutti Frutti for some frozen yogurt.

It wasn't exactly the same, but it was a memorable moment and we still got blue bonnet pictures. :)

You Didn't Come Give Me a Hug

A few months back, I went out with a friend for the evening and my husband put Lilly to bed.  She was asleep when I got home; however, I did go up and give her a kiss and hug when I returned.  I got ready for bed and was just about asleep when she woke up crying.  I went up to see what the problem was, thinking it was just a bad dream or something...but no.  She was upset because she thought I had forgotten to give her a hug and kiss when I got home.  I told her I had come up there, but that she was asleep and didn't notice me.  This made her very upset. 

When I put her to bed at night, I usually leave our dog Lucy in the bed with Lilly until I am ready to go to sleep.  So, I tell Lilly that I will give her a hug and kiss when I come up to get the dog.  She always insists that I wake her up so that she'll know I was there.  I tell her that I won't do that because then she might not be able to get back to sleep.

Our solution to this problem:

I put a stuffed animal on the floor beside her bed and I tell her that when I come up to give her a hug I will put the stuffed "friend" in the bed with her.  This way when she wakes up and wonders if I have been up to hug her all she has to do is look for the stuffed "friend" in the bed.

So far it has worked out great and honestly I hope I have many more years of putting a stuffed "friend" in her bed so that she will know I was up to check on her while she was sleeping.

She is Reading

We have been doing schoolwork off and on since Lilly was about 3.  This year we were pretty consistent with doing our preschool work until I received her kindergarten curriculum in the mail.  I began to look at it and realized that she knew a lot of the beginning stuff.  I knew I had two choices: a) I could go ahead and plunge forward with the kindergarten curriculum early and she'd be ahead or b) We could take a break from school work for a while and start as planned in August/September.  With all the uncertainties of the adoption process, I opted for choice b.  So, as it is, we are still learning every day, but just not sitting down to do actual school work. 

Here are some videos of her reading books we checked out at the library:

 

Houdini

Lately, Lilly has turned into a hider.  She wants to hide everywhere we go.  It started in the store - what a scary time for a Mommy when you look around and can't find your child anywhere.  Then, what a frustrating time when you realize they are hiding in the middle of the clothes rack.  I remember my brother doing this when we were little, but I can't remember how my mom handled the situation.  I didn't do much at the time, except to say no more hiding.

Then, there was the incident at church when I was working in a Sunday School classroom and turned around to realize she was gone.  I called for her, I looked for her and then it dawned on me that she was probably hiding, so I started looking behind things.  I found her, hiding behind the little kitchen in the classroom.  Again, I didn't do much about the situation, just said, "No more hiding."

Next, it was the car.  We drove to the store.  I got out of the car and went to open her door to let her out - no Lilly!  What?!  I look around to make sure she didn't get out and then I hear her hiding in the trunk of the car.  She had hopped out and jumped back there before I could open her door.

At the house, she hides and then when I call for her she doesn't come out.  I can usually find her but I do not like to play hide and seek all the time.

So, we finally had a talk about when and where it was ok to hide.  I explained that hiding is only good at home or when you are playing hide and seek with friends and that when I say come out, she has to come out.  After our talk, we played hide and seek.  It would have been more fun for both of us had Lucy not given away all our hiding spots.