Fancy Hair

The girls and I were looking at Pinterest the other day, and we found some fancy hairstyles. These were the ones they wanted to try out. Of course, Brooke had to get in on the action, but she couldn't sit still for anything more than a clip! We will work on her endurance :)

T-ball and Gymnastics

We let the girls choose 2 activities this fall, and Adilyn chose t-ball and gymnastics. I was surprised that she chose t-ball because when we did BlastBall when she was 4, she did not like it very much. Gymnastics didn't surprise me because she told me that she wanted to do it last year. I really didn't want to send her to a fancy gym because it is pretty expensive, and I didn't think that she would like it too much. Because of that, we decided to put her in the gymnastics at the YMCA. I don't think it's very well organized, and I don't think she is learning too much there. She seems to like it though, and I guess that is what really matters. If she can finally learn how to do a stupid cartwheel by the end of it, then I am happy! We started out with t-ball, and we tried to get her to practice a little at home. She did not seem very interested at all. We got her new cleats, a new bat, glove, and a bag. Still, not very interested. When we found out that we were with our friends, Peyton and Eastyn, she showed a little more excitement, but still I was not convinced. BlastBall was full of tears and whining. I did not want her to be "that" kid out there whining and complaining. I was so worried that the coach would have to be coaxing her to get out there. Of course, I would love for her to be the best player out there, and I would love for her to be a natural at it - but the most important thing is for her to enjoy playing and try her best. The first practice went okay. It was very apparent that the coach did not know what in the heck he was doing. There were a bunch of dads out there trying to help, but it was very disorganized and slow moving. Adilyn did practice hitting, but she wasn't hitting very hard. She did throw and catch, it wasn't perfect, but I was happy with everything. I didn't have to bribe her to stay out on the field, and when practice was over she wanted to stay and play catch with me. I would say that it was a success! We quickly realized that the coach has no clue about how to run practice or how to place people on the field or even the basic rules. Cory offered to pitch to the kids, and so he has quickly become the assistant coach. We had two games on Saturday, and the first one was embarrassing! The second one went a little better. Adilyn seems to be enjoying herself, and she has only made a few comments about not wanting to play. When she is out there with the other girls, she seems to be having fun. Her swing has gotten better, and she is trying her best right now. I hope the positive attitude continues through the season! She was really excited about getting her "ladybug" socks and playing in the park after the game. 

I love having Adilyn participate in activities, and I love to see how her character is being strengthened by working with her teammates and pushing herself to get better. Even though she may not practice as hard as I would like her to, or she may not be as aggressive as I would like, I am glad that she is participating. I also hope that we find her "thing" that she loves. I don't think that it will be t-ball, but you never know! She did say after her first game, "Mommy, I am pretty sure that volleyball is going to be my sport!" We will see about that!

Blast Ball and Dance

Kacy chose to do Blast Ball and ballet/tap class at the YMCA. She is just following in Adilyn's footsteps for sure! She had to sit through Adilyn's dance practice every week last spring, and she was so ready to do it all herself. Ms. Brenda is her teacher, and she follows along with her very well! She seems to really love dancing. We will see how she feels about continuing at the end of the semester.

I remember when she was 2 and Addy was playing Blast Ball. She loved to run out on the field, go after the ball, and pretend to hit. Now, she is the same age Adilyn was, and she is doing it all for real! She has a great swing, and she is trying really hard to throw hard. She wants to practice all the time, and she really is showing some improvement. Her coach is great! He is fabulous with the girls, and he is teaching them a lot about how to do things properly. She has 3 other little girls on her team, and they are all pretty good! Her favorite little friend is Claire. Their game was chaotic, as to be expected, but she did great. She hopped on the field every time she was supposed to. She surprised me with how aggressive she was. That girl knocked down the other girls on her team a few times to get the ball! She ran after every single ball, and she was paying attention really well. Her swing was a little low, so she kept knocking over the tee, but when she got a hold of it, it was a hard hit! I love her little go-getter attitude, and I am glad to see that she is being more aggressive in Blast Ball than she was with soccer!

MOMS Club

I usually try to avoid large groups of women in social situations. What I mean by that is that I am not a big fan of being in clubs or joining things. I like having a few close friends, but I am just not very big on being "social" in groups. Dana convinced me to join the playgroup that she has been in back at the beginning of the summer, and I am really glad she did! I love that you can go to any events that you want to, but you are not forced to do stuff that is not convenient or interesting to you. I decided to lead the "Little Bookworms" meetings which are held once a month, and I have had a great time finding books and coming up with activities to do with the kids! Today, they had a new member meeting, and it was really nice to be a part of the group. I don't expect to be best friends with everyone in the group, but it is nice to get out of the house and spend some time talking to adults while the kids can interact with each other!

An Exercising Playdate with Just the Littles

It took me a while to figure out how to get into the groove of Adilyn and Kacy being back in school, but we finally have figured things out. I love spending time with just Brooke. It is so easy to just have one kid. She has become my errand buddy, my cleaning buddy, and my tv watching buddy! That sounds like we have no fun at all, but we do. There is some play time, some tickling time, and some dancing. It's not all work!
Kacy stays late on Wednesdays, so I try to do things with friends on those days since I don't have to rush to get her at noon. The other day, Sonja and I decided to get together with the girls and go for a run. We decided that since we only had 2 kiddos, we could use one double jogging stroller as we ran and we could just switch off pushing. They were so funny when we put them in there! Neither one of them made a sound the whole time we were running. Sonja and I could actually have a conversation without a million little kid questions. It was fun to have just the "littles" alone for once! It is so cute to see them together, and I can't wait to see them grow up and learn to play together. Right now they kind of follow each other around, watch each other, and attempt to share toys. I know one day we will look at them, and they will just be having a great time together!

Port Aransas Weekend

We had been looking forward to going to Port Aransas for Chad and Kristen's wedding for a while now. I was excited to get to have another mini beach vacation before the end of the summer, and we had a very nice comfortable condo to stay in. A making of a perfect weekend...except, Mother Nature did not provide the weather needed for this perfect weekend. Friday was rainy off and on. We finally decided to just go out to the beach for a little bit while it stopped raining. We got out there, and about 30 minutes into our playing, it just poured! It rained so hard that the raindrops were almost painful. The girls thought it was hilarious, and they got underneath our big beach blanket and they were happy as they could be. I think they even made a sand castle under there while they waited for the storm to pass. After the rain stopped, it got a little chilly, and the girls were done. Luckily, the rehearsal was out at the beach that evening, and the sun had come out. Adilyn, Kacy, and Callie played in the sand and the water, got super dirty, and had a blast! Saturday was not rainy, but it was cloudy and overcast and a little cool and ridiculously windy. Cory was golfing with Chad, so we hung around the condo in the morning and watched some extra tv. We finally went out to the beach with Tommie and Mike and played for a little bit. Brooke was scared of the crazy wind. Adilyn was cold. Kacy and Mike were the only ones who had fun in the waves. We gave up after about an hour, and we just went back to the room. The girls played with their Barbies in a warm bathtub for at least an hour, and they were perfectly happy! I was pretty bummed out about the lack of beach fun, but it is what it is! The wedding was Saturday night, and the girls made some new friends and had a great time. Before we left, we went to a souvenir shop that had a shark as the entrance way. The girls thought it was hilarious that we walked in a shark's mouth, through his belly, and out his bootie! I love going different places with them even when things don't work out exactly as you plan. All time spent together is time well spent, and memories made!

Another Henderson Wedding

Chad and Kristen got married in Port Aransas last weekend! They got married, but it was a bit of a mess, unfortunately. The wedding was supposed to be on the beach, but it was unfortunately crazy windy on Saturday. They couldn't set up a tent, so they had to find an alternate location. About 4 hours before the wedding, they decided on their location. There was a courtyard by a hotel that was available and perfect! We all get over to the wedding, and they officiant is not there. We are waiting and waiting and waiting. Finally, 45 minutes late she shows up. Evidently, there was some issue with the ferry. It was actually okay because a couple other people were stuck in the ferry traffic, too. But, come on, lady...you live in this area, you know the issues that could come up, you should have been there on time! Although Chad and Kristen didn't get the beach wedding that they imagined they would, it was just beautiful. All the kids had fun running around in the grassy area, the food was fabulous, and everyone had a great time. I am happy to have Kristen as part of our family, and I am so happy for the both of them to start their married lives together!