When we were in Florida for Spring Break our beach day was not good. It was pretty cold and the water was freezing. We were only there about 45 minutes to basically say we went to the beach.
When we got to Florida after our rv-cation the weather was perfect for the beach so we decided to drive Moose (the RV) to the beach and enjoy a good beach day.
Loading up to head over to the beach.
Playing games on the way to the beach.
Chillin in the sand.
Baywatch pose. How does she know that…I have no idea.
There were large crabs in the rocks they were trying to find,
Emilee got some water in her mouth and wanted to know what was wrong with it.
Uncle Kenny relaxing in the ocean.
So pretty. Probably one of our best beach days ever (except for the bahamas)
Aubry started covering the rock with sand so the girls decided to help her out.
They decorated it with shells when they finished.
Emilee was loving the warm water.
Allison loves having a little cousin to take care of. She will be a good mom.
Aubry is a sweet little girl.
The girls were great little travelers on the way home. They were a little bummed there was NOT any turbulence.
It was wonderful. We set up the canopy so we had some shade in the beautiful white sand for the kids to play in. The water was so warm. We didn’t really even need towels. There wasn’t that much of a temperature difference being in or out of the water. We went out into the water and played in the waves, but we settled at a little tide pool area that was pretty shallow for the kids to play in. They covered a rock in sand and decorated it with shells, splashed and played in the water, and of course collected shells. Usually we just see clam shells, but this beach had lots of the little tiny conch shells. I told the girls to only pick their most favorite ones because we didn’t have a lot of room in our suitcase. I then watched as Emilee started picking shells up as fast as she could exclaiming how pretty they all were and she just couldn’t leave any behind.
We were there for a few hours then we rinsed off and went back to the RV to eat a nice lunch with the A/C running. Having an RV is a pretty handy way to travel.
Kenny stopped at Bahama Bucks, which is an icee shop on our way home. We all got a delicious icee and finished the trip home. Most of us were asleep by the time we got home.
Once we were home the girls showered up and relaxed while Sherri and Kenny made dinner and I cleaned the RV up for the next renter that is picking it up on Monday. Another big help of our RV-cation is I have a lot more hands on knowledge now for the RV in general and for the whole process of preparing it and sending it off with a renter. When Moose left on Monday we have all of our RV’s out on the road for the next month. They have all been out a few times but this will be the first time all three are out for a while. Pretty awesome.
It was nice to have a few days in Florida before we came home. Once again I love seeing my sisters and spending time with them, but I am always sad when I leave that we don’t live closer to each other. Thank goodness for modern travel options but it would still be wonderful to live close enough to see each other whenever we want instead of a couple times a year.
So far I would say our summer has been going great!
Our theme for the summer ‘Work Hard then Play Hard’ has been going pretty well. We have to jump start it again when we are gone out of town for a few days or even if I work it gets thrown off. I guess it might be more accurate to say that if I insist on it, they are cooperating for the most part, and it is working. The overall quality of their efforts and work is improving too, which was one of my biggest grievences. The electronic chore chart seemed to be the key for them and me.
Along with working on improving our work ethics we have done a lot of fun too. We are chipping away at our bucket list of things we want to do this summer.
Swimming, has been going successfully. We have gone as often as we can. I love having three swimmers now too. Last summer I hired a lady in our neighborhood to do private lessons for the kids and she had Emilee swimming after a few lessons. My kids are not scared of the water and I have found for them that if I want them to learn to swim 5-6 private lessons is better than years of summer group swim lessons. At least here in Olathe Kansas. I usually have a brief 1-2 lessons to refresh everyones swimming skills or work on better technique if they are more advanced. I didn’t get around to it this summer though and Emilee keeps asking to take swimming lessons because she ‘can’t remember how’ so I did sign up her and Alli up for a few private swim lesson through the YMCA but still haven’t heard back from them. They have been getting better on their own just going to the pool a lot so I might end up not worrying about it.
We went to a pottery painting place a few weeks ago. We have done it before but we found a new place to try. Everyone picks out their own piece of pottery and then can paint it however they want. When we are all done painting we leave it there and they fire and glaze it for us and we pick it up when its done. Everyone likes it and has a fun time but Matthew could take it or leave it and Emilee suprisingly gets bored with it pretty quick. Alli and I spend a lot more time and detail so it takes us a lot longer. We were annoyed and feeling rushed by the end because Matthew and Emilee were done and not very patient waiting for us. We decided we would save that for a Alli and me day out next time we did it and leave the other two home.
Matthew had a busy week earlier this month. He wanted to sign up for a baseball camp and it happened to be the same time as the Vacation Bible Camp (VBC) he went to with his friend Finn that invited him. He spent the morning at baseball camp and then he ate lunch in the car on the way to VBC when I picked him up. He liked basball camp even though it was really hot. They had some new tips and drills for him that he learned. His favorite part of VBC camp is the food packing drive they do for Harvesters. They get to assemble bags of food for people that need them. They also have a shaving cream fight and fire truck hose everyone off on the last day that is fun.
Harvesters food assembly.
Shaving cream fight.
Shaving cream fight.
Alli has been working hard on her gymnastics. The gym offers 2 hour camps throughout the summer to focus on more specific skills so she likes to go to the tumbling ones. She has her front and back hand springs down pretty good. She can do them on the trampoline, she just needs to be a little braver to do them on the floor. She does them great with a spotter too.
We go to the library a little more often in the summer than we usually do. They have a statue of a bull dog that they hide somewhere in the library on Fridays. That is the day they like to go because if you find him you get to pick out a prize.
Emilee went to Target with me the other day and was dying to have me record her doing one of her ‘most favorite things ever’ so here it is for your enjoyment…Emilee slides on a red cement ball!!
Jovee had her birthday party at Chuck E Cheese this year. She gets to pick a friend to go in the ticket booth and try and get as many tickets as they can in a minute or something. I thought it was pretty cute when I heard she had picked Matthew to help her. Clever girl.
At the end of the year Alli’s Girl Scout Troop uses any of the leftover funds they have from selling cookies to do a bigger activity together. They had the girls vote between spending the night at the zoo, or spending the night at a horse ranch and then going on a horse ride the next day. The majority of the vote was for horseback riding. That is what Alli voted for much to her delight.
I asked Alli if she wanted me to go with her or let her do it alone. It could go either way with her. She said she wanted me to come so I signed up with her. It has been about a year since either of us has camped. We went camping as a family last summer. This is our first just her and I camping together though. We picked up her bestie Carlee and her mom and carpooled together to the ranch. The girls have actually rode horses at the ranch we stayed at before but this is the first time they spent the night.
We set up camp when we got there. I brought our little three person tent so that only her and I could fit in it. (Cranky lady-yes. Happier camper-yes.) I started setting it up a bit away from the other tents (for noise purposes) and went to get some stuff from the car. When I got back one of the leaders had moved my tarp and started staking it next to the other tents with barely enough space to walk between the tents. She smiled at me and said something like she wants us to all be cozy and in the action together. Later that evening the same leader announced she would be sleeping in her car instead of the tents-not very cozy of her if you ask me.
The leaders brought all the food so it was nice to not have to worry about packing all that stuff. They said to being a water bottle which we did, but they neglected to mention that meant and water to refill it the whole time. Luckily my kids annoying habit of opening a water bottle taking two sips then getting another one the next time they need a drink came in handy. I found enough partially filled water bottles in the back of the van to last for the time we were there. Which wasn’t very long but it was HOT!! It was in the 90’s with a 100+ heat index.
Friday night we went on a short hike to the lake, ate dinner, played games, played soccer, walked around the horse pens, played with the local dogs and cats, roasted smores and had a fun time together.
Allison doesn’t like eating smores but she is a very good marshmallow roaster so she kept the smores coming for me and then anyone else that would take them.
About 11 o’clock the leader called it for the night and sent everyone to their tents. Then one leader left and went home to return in the morning and the other one went to her car and closed herself in a quiet private sleeping area. The other three moms and myself were left with 8 hyped up on sugar girl scouts. Our tents were so close we might as well have all been in the same one. It was a long night and I was quickly reminded how much I don’t like camping in the summer in Kansas, but also in general. I am becoming less and less a fan everytime I do it. Everyone finally fell asleep sometime after midnight and we were able to sweat and try and get comfortable in silence until 5 am when some dog started barking and woke everyone up. At which point I discovered that at some point between 1-5 am I actually had slept deep enough to let a spider that was hiding somewhere in our tent-my sleeping bag specifically- had bitten me 7-8 times and I had huge welts starting all over my legs and torso. Reason number eleventy billion I don’t like sleeping in a tent. Since everyone was up we packed everything up and ate breakfast and got ready for the horse ride…and waited almost two hours to go. Did I mention the girls woke up at 5 am. We were supposed to ride at 10, but because of the heat and our early rising, they started getting the horses ready sooner and we started at 8:30 am.
It was quite a group of us, between the girls, moms, and guides there was about twenty of us. Alli road a horse named Luna which one of the guides told me was sometimes short for Lunatic because she was a little onery and sassy. The guide told Alli that she would have to be stern with her and give her a little kick if she didn’t want to listen or she would do whatever she wanted (eat, go a different direction, just stop). Alli thought that was great. She loves a free spirit take charge kind of attitude. Her horse did stop and hold the line up a few times too. One time it started running to catch up, the guide was worried Alli was scared until she heard her squeels of delight. I rode on Nelly. She was a little wobbly sometimes, I kept thinking we were going to fall on our faces, but she was a good horse and nice and calm. It was an enjoyable ride.
Once we got back from the ride, the girls helped put the saddles away, brushed and groomed the horses, lead them back to their pens and mucked out the stalls to earn their equestrian badge. I went on a short walk around the barn to loosen up my knees from the ride because I am getting old and could barely walk when we got back. When I returned from my walk the girls were just finishing cleaning the stalls. Allison was talking to the lady in charge about coming to clean up the stalls for her whenever she wants for just $5… the lady said, “sure you can pay me $5 to come clean them out.” Obviously it wasn’t her first offer from a girl scout. Ha!
We headed home shortly after that. The boys were at the Royals game for Matthew’s Christmas present, so the girls helped me air out and clean up all the camping stuff and we went to the pool. We had it all to ourselves so I laid in the zero entry part and dozed a little while they played. It was wonderfully relaxing. I’m a beach girl not a camper.
By that night I had about a dozen chigger bites pop up all over me to go along with my spider bites. Apparently the bug spray expired between the time I sprayed Alli and then myself. Luckily she didn’t get any bites. I was an itching miserable mess for the next few days.
I asked Alli if she had a fun time and wanted to do it again. She said she loved the horses part but didn’t really like camping. I am cool with that. We can do other fun activities together that don’t involve bugs, dirt, sweat, and port-a-potties all night long. Emilee who is usually inseparable from me is not an outdoorsy person either. She does not even like picking strawberries or blueberries with us because its to ‘melty and bugsy’ (hot, humid, and to muchnature). When I gave her a kiss goodbye before the campout she asked where I was going. When I told her she said, “See you tomorrow!” without a second thought. I guess we will all be softies together and save camping for ‘only when necessary’. At least in Kansas.
Allison had to be convinced to go to Girls Scout Camp at first. She was a little perterbed that it wasn’t actually camping. It would be more accurately described as a day camp I guess. She wanted to spend the night. She said she would still go once she found out that her bestie Carlee was going to be there though. She ended up being very happy that she went.
We made all her ‘swaps’ to trade. I have a picture of some of those in an earlier post. She ended up with over 50 when she was all done making them. She put about half on her hat for the first day, it was so heavy it kept falling off of her head. Ironically she traded some the first day then decided that she liked hers the best so she stopped trading so she could keep her own.
She was up and ready to go everyday without any proding. She laid everything out the night before then wrote a list to check off in the morning to make sure she had everything, even though she had already checked everything off on the list she made to pack everything the night before. Hehehe! That is a little bit of myself coming out in her-makes a momma proud. We share the love of making lists. Hahaha! Actually, I have seen Ryan do that too when he has a fun golf trip the next day or he is leaving on his annual Vegas Guys Trip.
She had a blast. The bus ride to and from the camp was about 40 minutes and that was one of the best parts. There were lots of crafts to do, they went fishing, hiking, zip lining, had a cook out, archery, and a little free time to make sure there was plenty of time to swap their swaps.
Camp was Tuesday thru Friday. When I was picking her up on Thursday I heard someone yell, “Bye Taylor, see you tomorrow.” To which Alli said, “Bye see you tomorrow.” I looked at her with a questioning look and she said, “Oh, I told everyone that my name is Taylor this week.” I don’t know where she comes up with her ideas sometimes.
Overall, ‘Taylor’ had a fun time and was glad she went. She is getting older and able to do more activities and be a little busier with her own stuff. It is helping her a lot to be happier and more satisfied. Sometimes she struggles with not getting to do everything that Matthew does, and has a hard time accepting that he is four years older than her. Someday that won’t be that big of a difference but right now it is pretty signifigant. She is very independent and motivated so she thinks that qualifies her to do anything an 11 year old can do. It is not just the age difference though. Matthew and her have very different personalities and their responsibility and realiability play a roll in it too which she doesn’t understand. I don’t expect her to grasp that either, it can just make for some frusterating repetative conversations for both of us.
She is still loving gymnastics, she decided to sign up to do Girl Scouts again next year, and is looking forward to resuming piano in the Fall as well. Top that off with being in 3rd grade and she should feel pretty busy with her own things going on.
First Day of Camp
Day #3
Day #2
Allison has always been a butterfly whisperer.
They dunked their heads in the water on the last day.
A few weeks ago Ryan and Matthew had something going on and it was a gorgeous night so we went to a park to play. I was pushing the girls in the swings and realized that I knew the person standing next to us. Her name was Nikki and her younger sister Sarah was my kids first babysitter. She used to watch them when I worked in the summer and then through out the school year for dates and stuff. The kids LOVE her. She was their main babysitter for about 4 years until she moved to California. They still talk about her and remember all the amazing times they had with Sarah. She is graduated now and actually just got back from a mission about a month ago. Her parents are still in California but she came to visit her sister for a few days and happened to be on her way to meet Nikki at the park. My kids were over the moon excited when she showed up. They were running and playing tag with her within 5 minutes and so excited to see her.
When the girls told Matthew about it later that night he was pretty disappointed he didn’t get to see her. She ended up stopping by later that week for a few minutes to see Matthew too. I thought he might be ‘to cool’ but he was just as happy as the girls and had perma grin the whole time she was there. Emilee couldn’t get close enough to her and Allison was trying to tell and show her everything about her life in ten minutes. It was pretty cute. I love that they have those fun memories of her babysitting them. I think Matthew was 6 the last time she watched them. Emilee was only 1-2 so she doesn’t even have any actual memories of her but the older two have built her up so much she loves her by association. I am glad we ran into her. She was only here for a week then headed home for a bit before going to school, so it was good timing.
Well yesterday was Matthew and Allison’s last day of school, and today was Emilee’s so we are officially in summer mode!
Emilee and I went to the elementary school for the last hour or so to watch the 5th grade slide show with Matthew and eat treats with him while they signed t-shirts and year books. Then we went to Alli’s class and ate popsicles and danced and took silly pictures with her. Then the whole school lined up in the halls and all the 5th graders walked through the school for their ‘final walk’ while everyone cheered and gave them a high five. It was a fun time.
Shirt signing.
5th grade teacher Mrs. Janovick
5th grade Final Walk
Ms. Cristi, Emilee, Ragin and Reese. Emilee’s besties.
Silly pictures with Carlee, Alli’s bestie. I am pretty sure the other girl in the picture is Alli’s nemesis for some reason…maybe because she is gutsy enough to photo bomb a picture. LOL
Emi had a fun time today for her last day and got her little preschool diploma and gave Ms. Cristi a big hug. She will see her a few times over the summer when I work, but once kindergarten starts next year we probably won’t see Ms. Cristi to often anymore. She is an awesome teacher. Allison and Emilee love her to death. They love her so much that Matthew holds a grudge against me for not having him go to her for preschool. (It was her first year and I already had him enrolled in another one when I found out she was going to do it). Apparently his preschool experience was hardly bearable.
Switching topics a little, a few years ago we started working with a therapist with Allison to help her deal with her emotions a little better. One of the things he wanted us to start implementing right away was a ticket system that basically for doing things we want her to do she earns tickets and then can use those tickets to do things she wants to do. It is supposed to help her learn cause/effect, choice/consequence, need/wants, etc. We started out all gung-ho and did good and then have been off and on after the first little while with it. I won’t bore you with all the details as to why but it has become a pain in my butt. Everytime we go see him I know he is going to ask me if we are doing it, and I always go in with the intentions of telling him where he can stick his stupid ticket system, and then I always leave telling him we will rally and try again. He is a good therapist…or at least good at getting you to agree with him to do something. So we go home try it again and start the cycle over again. Again, I won’t bore you with details as to why it falls apart and all the different things we have tried, but two years later we haven’t figured out how to make it maintainable…until now…I think…I hope.
I found an app the other day called Chore Monster. Basically it is the same thing her therapist has been wanting us to do. The app tells them their chores for the day and when they do it they get points and they can use the points for rewards. Same thing. Being electronic for some reason makes a huge difference for me. There is a parent app that goes with it called Mothershp. So I had to basically plug in the ‘master chore chart’ and the rewards and then the kids can get on any of our phones or ipads and find their chart. I can totally cater it to each kid and make it more specific for one and general for another. It is easy to change if something isn’t working (without certain kids even realizing it and throwing a fit), I don’t have to redo a whole chart or carry stupid tickets everywhere with me, or remember to get or give tickets because I didn’t have them on me. They don’t get lost, they can’t be torn up, scribbled on, or leave me mean notes. The parents are the only one with access to changing things. All the kids have to do it click ‘done’ or ‘claim’. I can even set it up for Matthew that he can just basically use it as a reference so he knows what his jobs are because he doesn’t need to be monitored as much, except for his electronic usage which this will do too. For the girls I get a notification when they complete a chore so I can approve it or not, which is awesome because I can check it right then to make sure it was done right or not. Which leads into another thing we are working on this summer.
Each summer we make a bucket list of fun activities we want to do. Each summer I also have to adjust and let go of my house being as clean as I like it all the time, which is something I like and want but I don’t want it to be more important than other things to me. I do feel like the kids should help contribute to keeping the house clean though since we all live in it and they should learn to care for their surroundings. So, last night Ryan and I told the kids that along with our regular bucket list we were going to have a summer theme too. We had a mini family meeting to tell them that the theme we picked for this summer is ‘Work hard and play hard’. We even made a poster to hang up to remind everyone of the theme everyday. Then we talked about using our time wisely and doing our jobs we are supposed to do, to the best of our ability and try our hardest the first time. We talked about how learning to work is good thing and helps them become responsible capable people. All things that Ryan and I have been wanting to improve and work on lately. Then we showed them the app and how it works.
Of course there was some skeptisism and baching but today was our first day and it went pretty good. They like that it is an app too so they get to use the phone or ipad to see their jobs and use an electronic. The app also gives them a ticket everytime they complete or cash in their points. Just a fun little side thing the app does is there is a little wheel they can spin with each ticket and win a ‘prize’. It is totally silly, the prizes are another spin if they get a smiley face, if they get a sad face it is a bag of hammers, or a dirty sock, or Matthew got a bag of farts last night. The wheel is just a little bonus. They don’t actually get anything from spinning but they think it is hilarious to see what is in the bag.
Today was our first day of implementing it. The kids got up and got their jobs done and then started using their points to play. It worked pretty good, they all did their jobs, they all have plenty of points, they all had fun doing things. It was a good day. Crossing my fingers that it keeps working.
We also started crossing a few things off our Summer Bucket List too. We went to lunch with dad. We got new books to ready at the library (first of many times this summer). We went swimming (also first of many times). AND we always have a night or two that we go fire fly hunting. A friend of ours told us about a really cool place she found that has tons of fire flies so the girls and I went to check it out tonight. It was amazing, there were thousands of them, we will have to take dad and Matthew with us another time (they were at a baseball thing). I took some pictures and videos but they don’t do it justice.
On the hunt for a fire fly.
Interesting how some bugs are terrifying and others are awesome.
Ryan is a big James Taylor fan. He has been since high school. When we were dating I was ‘tested’ to see if I was cool enough to appreciate a little JT music. I knew a few of his songs and liked them but wouldn’t call myself an avid fan or anything. Later on when our kids were born Ryan and I both sang them several different lullaby’s. I stuck with mostly a variety of primary songs. Ryan’s favorites to sing them were the Spanish ‘Aye, Aye, Aye, Aye’ song (which is actually a Spanish drinking song but the way he sings it sounds like a sweet lullaby and none of us understand what he is saying) and ‘Sweet Baby James’ by James Taylor. He is still one of our family favorites to sing to on our spontaneous road trip karaoke break outs.
A couple years ago, James Taylor did a one night concert at the Star Light Theater… we totally missed it, and didn’t even know about it until about a week after it happened. Ryan was more than a little disappointed. Chances of another opportunity seem pretty slim. Well, a few weeks ago when the girls and I went to the Sprint Center for Disney on Ice, I was looking at their upcoming events and noticed there was a one night concert for James Taylor in May! Yeah!! We got tickets and are going next week. Ryan is pretty excited. James Taylor probably won’t be doing concerts to much longer so he is glad we got another chance to see him. He is even missing Matthew’s baseball game to go, which is a very rare occurrence (Matthew isn’t missing it 🙂 ).
Sticking with the James Taylor theme I am going to post a video I have had on my phone for years. A little blast from the past. It is pretty stinking cute. We had to drop one of our cars off to get something fixed so the kids and I took Ryan to work. We were about halfway home and ‘Sweet Baby James’ came on and Matthew and Alli were singing it pretty good, so I pulled over in a parking lot and started it over to get a video of them. Matthew is about 7, Allison is 3, and Emilee who unfortunately is never shown in this video (I was focused on my singers and she wasn’t singing) is sitting next to Matthew is 1.u
After the concert…
We saw James Taylor last night. We had a great time, it was a good concert. I recorded him when he talked and then sang ‘Sweet Baby James’
Allison decided that she wanted to be in the 2nd grade talent show this year. Allison and her bestie Carlee and their friend Hailey put it all together by themselves at recess and signed up. I had seen Allison practice her part a little but I had not seen all of them do it until they performed it today. They did a great job. They wanted it to have gymnastics and cheerleading stuff in it, and have a good beat. They had a lot of fun doing it. I am proud of her for taking the initiative and planning and preparing something. She woke up at 6:30 this morning to do her hair and had me help her do her nails too.
Later that month she had her award ceremony for 2nd grade. I had to work but Ryan went and watched her get her ‘Amazing Author’ award. I think that is very fitting award for her. She is a creative thinker for sure. Ryan took a picture, I almost just think I should skip it but since I have it I will include it. I reviewed his picture taking responsibilities after he sent this and I found out it was the only one he took. :-/ Alli is just to the right or center with a white shirt and orange sleeves getting her award…kind of hard to see.
This has been a good week. I have tried to focus on ‘the little things’ more and enjoy the moments. There have been lots of good moments.
Allison has day camp coming up for Girl Scouts. They are supposed to make little trinkets called ‘swaps’ to pin to their hats and trade with each other all week. They suggested that each girl bring 15-20 of them to have ready to trade. Alli and I did some research together and found some cute ones she wanted to make and then we went to Hobby Lobby and got all the supplies for them. We have worked on them a little bit for the past few nights. She has at least 35 now. She is pretty excited. She is counting down the days until camp. The one on the left is a cotton candy swap, the middle one is a ‘squishum’, and the right side is a slime stress ball of course. It wouldn’t be right if slime weren’t involved somehow.
Emilee and I went to the Zoo together. She has wanted to go for a while but the weather or our schedule hasn’t cooperated. Usually we go with a group but it was just the two of us so she got to sit on any statue she saw, choose where we sat on the train, tram, and skyfari, and pick all the animals she wanted to see. Today we made cookies together too. I let her measure everything herself even though I had almost the same amount of flour on the floor as the cookies did when we were done.
She saw a polar bear, while sitting on a polar bear, while holding a polar bear!
We rode the carousel TWICE!
The back seat on the train is backwards, so its is like riding the train backwards!
With Matthew I have cornered him a few times and made him talk with his mom. He tries to act like it is an inconvenience but he loves it. Once he starts talking he just keeps going and going. He is good at including all the details he can recall. He had a double header tonight. He has been working hard on hitting lately and he has decided he wants to start working on pitching too. He had some great hits tonight but his play of the game was when he was playing 2nd and the hitter hit a line drive a little to Matthew’s left. Matthew ran at it then leaped and caught it in mid air and closed the inning. It was pretty awesome. He got a standing cheering ovation from me and the rest of the parents of course but he even had parents from the other team coming over and telling him what an amazing catch it was. He was pretty happy.
These are a few of Alli’s most recent art projects she has brought home from school. Allison is our little artist. She is very creative and when she does a craft for the first time it is usually at a level it took me several tries to get to. She is good at drawing, painting, chalks, making things from clay, or anything else. The other day she raided my craft drawer and is working on making a bird house out of popsicle sticks. She has a sweet little heart and can be very thoughtful. She often makes cards for everyone in her class at school and puts them in everyone’s cubbies at school.
I was talking with my mom today and was telling her that Alli started out good but took a quick turn and had a rough morning. Allison is so passionate, there is no middle ground for her feelings, whatever they are. She has always been like that. She has a very strong personality. She is very much like my sister Sherri. In fact it is almost eerie how similar they are. It is amazing how genetics can come through from different family members. My mom made the comment that she hopes Alli will realize how special she is. I couldn’t agree more. I worry for her that she is so harsh and defensive sometimes because she is unsure of herself. I pray everyday that I can help her develop a strong sense of self worth. She is very smart, she has a very quick wit and funny sense of humor. She can be the sweetest, most helpful little girl. She loves it when there is a little baby or toddler around so she can follow them around and help take care of them. She doesn’t have a shy bone in her, and is a natural leader. She loves trying new things. She likes knowing whats going on and being in on whatever people are talking about or doing. She tells me all the latest news from school for 2nd grade and 5th. She likes to walk home with a bunch of the girls in 5th grade with Matthew. I signed her up for a singing/acting/stunt show camp this summer. I think she will totally love it. Drama, drama, drama is what she loves. She likes to know everyone and their stories but she tends to have a few closer friends instead of a big group of friends. And when Allison decides you are her friend and she feels like she trusts you, you have her loyalty forever. She has a great memory. She is a strong determined beautiful little girl. I hope and pray she realizes and knows that. I am excited to see her grow into her potential.
