The start of a new week

Today was a busy, emotional, fun day.  Phillip & Megan departed shortly after breakfast, leaving Kayla and I to our own devices and plans for the day.  I won't say things always went well, but we are doing good and I think she had a lot of fun, despite her dramatic moments.

I won't write much tonight but will caption each photo and that will be plenty.

Goodnight all and have a lovely Monday!  (If that is possible.)

Miss Kayla.  Always ready with a pose.

Under the spray at the Nelsonville Pool.  She loved going under and out, under and out, etc.

This would be a perfect picture if her eyes were open.  The colors are so bright and her smile is so sweet.  Part of the picture I cropped out was her new 'friend' sitting beside us.  Within minutes of being in the pool Kayla had made a friend and left me in the dust.  It was cool though, I loved watching them play.

Another picture, another pose.  Love the water falling behind her.  Just wish she had been a few feet back and it would have been falling on her.  :)

Kayla's new friend and I showed her how to do handstands and she immediately mastered it.  She is so good in the water.

A chalk drawing.  (Right to left) Kayla, Aunt April and a heart.  So sweet!

The artist at work.

Our chalk drawings soon took on a theme.  This is Kayla and I at the ocean swimming.  Notice the clouds and sun above us and the waves in the ocean and sand below us on the ocean floor.  Oh, the details.

Another picture of Kayla and I swimming.  This time just lovely blue water and a 'coconut' tree.

My drawings.  A tent with a campfire and Kayla.  (I was inside sleeping, according to sources.)  The second half of the drawing is Kayla fishing in a pond with lily pads and lots of fish.  (Again, according to sources I was sleeping in the tent for that drawing.)

Bubble blowing time!

An Ariel puzzle and Kayla so proud of her accomplishment.  

Play Ball!  She actually hits pretty well.  Now, to work on throwing...

Beware the dangerous throws.  Though she looks innocent, she has a wild arm!

More bubble blowing.  I love the look on her face and how excited she was to make huge bubble creations!

This is Wednesday's Post: Field Trip (and a picnic)

So this post was meant to be put up yesterday but Blogger wasn't working, so here it is now.

Today I had to work most of the day.  But, it was field trip day!  While for me field trip day can be filled with lots of stress (like busses arriving late, again; no check to take to pay for the theater rental; parents who don't understand how to tell time; etc.), this was a fun field trip all in all.  We went to see Cars 2.  Awesome movie.  The kids loved it and we all had a wonderful time.  (Popcorn and fruit snacks were enjoyed by most.)  Then, back to the rec. center for a regular afternoon.  I had to run to the store to get a few supplies (only one cart load today, easy day.)  Those kids love to eat and we are going through a lot of milk! 

Meanwhile the kids (including Nick) were at the pool and then got some play time after snack.  I was running around like a crazy person (unloading groceries, prepping activities, dealing with trouble makers and injuries, and so on & so forth.)  But the end of the day came and Nick and I headed home.

We stopped at the store and after a major debate, we decided we'd have pizza for dinner.  As a picnic!  (And breadsticks,  we have to have breadsticks.)  We enjoyed our picnic; talked to Grandma on the phone; took a walk to the park in Albany for some playground time; talked to Mommy, Daddy and little brother on the phone; then a little wiffleball practice and off to get ready for bed.  Another busy, fun-filled day. I'm not quite as exhausted today; hopefully tomorrow will be the same.  Putt putt is in the works for tomorrow afternoon.  :)  Now, time for a few photos.

Another day, another Pool

I am hoping by now Nick is asleep.  He should be exhausted and barely able to function at this point.  Somehow though right before bed he still had energy and wanted to play while we were reading books.  When do we lose that energy?  It must be during puberty, as most teenagers as usually tired and pre-teens usually have way to much energy!!

Today I took a half day off (partly to be with Nick and also to use up some comp time. I'm full up again and my boss isn't happy.)  So, we took off and went out into the park to eat lunch.  Then we had a real adventure.  Bicycle practice.  It was...good.  Not great, good.  No major falls, but a few almost falls.  Only a few moments actually riding but, I hope we learned a few things and all practice is good practice.  Then I decided, since I wanted a walk, we would walk on the bike path a bit.  So off we went.  Up from the Community Center 1/2 a mile, rest and back.  It was nice and we saw lots of flowers, trees, vines, birds, etc. 
 
Now, as my post title may lead you to believe we went to another pool.  I was going to just take him back to our pool in Athens but, decided instead to go to Nelsonville.  It is a bit more fun since it has a much larger shallow end, and several water features.  We had a great time and Nick got to try out his new goggles.  HE PUT HIS HEAD THE WHOLE WAY UNDER THE WATER!  It was really exciting.  We just need to work on keeping the mouth shut. 

Finally back home for dinner, time for Aunt April to work on the car, and of course, play a little wiffleball at the field across the street from my house.

I am exhausted.  I slept like a rock last night and I will again tonight.  In addition to the great sleep (which I never have) I am also substantially more tan, my weight is down a little, and I am dealing with my pain much better when I am busy, busy, busy.  It gets easier to push it away when you have someone else to look out for and other things to do.  (That's why I do so well at work too!)

Well, here's some photos.  Hope you enjoy them and sorry for all the rambling.  Good Night!

A lovely flower beside the picnic table where we had lunch.

Snowballs!!! I love snowballs.  Also beside the picnic table.

A caterpillar we saw while looking at some wild grape vine.  2 lessons rolled into one. 

Nick walking along the bike path.  When the wind blew and the grasses moved he said they were bowing to us.  Why thank you!

Nelsonville Pool

Going under the spray.  Goggles on.

Posing for a picture.

I love this picture.  The water, the angles, the light, and the way Nick is 'swimming' and putting his head underwater.  My new background for my laptop.

His head is all the way under.  That is so awesome.

Batter up!  We were working on form and focus.  Focus is the big one.

Wild Pitch!!!  Again we were working on form and aim.  And focus.  but, at almost 6, that's pretty much the biggest thing to work on for anything.  Focus, focus, focus.

Oh and one last note, I had to share this.  Yesterday I started a file on the desktop of my laptop titled "Nick's Week."  I wanted to keep all our special pictures separate so I'd have them to maybe do something special with.  Anyway, Nick saw that and now I have to open it and scroll through all the photos intermittently so he can see his week.  So cute.