Well, it's been a few month since I've posted anything on this blog.

Life sure has a way of keeping my busy.  Hard to believe that's it's already the middle of November.  Since my last post a lot of things have changed. Here's a quick list:

• This summer we took a road trip to WA to attend my sister's wedding, hang out for a week in OR and then attend my cousin's wedding.  It was a great trip with a ton of fun memories. It's not too often my entire side of the family is together, so it was extra special.
• We moved! We love our new house and especially our new neighborhood. Don's parents moved into our other house, so it's a win-win.
• The kids are at the same school! Alex started 1st grade and Katie is in 4th grade.
• Since both kids are in school all day, I've started subbing for the school district. I was a little worried about how it would all work out with getting the kids to and from school, but we've worked it out.  I prefer to take jobs at early start schools, (7:00-8:00 starts) because they get out just after 2:00 which gives me enough time to get to the kids' school by 3:20 when the get out.  Don takes them in the morning.  It works out great because they don't have to ride the bus and I don't have to pay for Safe Key.  Plus, I LOVE being there when Alex bursts out of the doors at the end of the day shouting, "Mom!" and telling me his day was great.  It's one of the best parts of my day.
• Every Wednesday I get to volunteer in both Katie and Alex's classes.  I truly love getting to know the kids in their classes and getting to be a part of their school life.  They both love having me there too.  I love both of their teachers.
• We're still following the Paleo Diet Lifestyle.  It's been a struggle with the kids sometimes, they still just want to have cereal for breakfast, but I've seen positive health changes in all of us, so I'm holding my ground.
• I'm taking an on-line 3 credit graduate class as part of the credits I need to renew my teaching license.  It's an interesting subject, but as no surprise to me, I really prefer the classroom setting over the on-line setting.  I also took a two Saturday one credit class, so once I complete this course I will only have 2 credits left to earn.  It's sure a change to say, "I have to go work on my homework." 
• Alex has been playing soccer this fall.  To my surprise, he really enjoys it and is a great player.  The thing about Alex is that he always gives it 110%. He is a very coachable kid and he has a great attitude.  I think it will serve him well in life. 

That's a pretty good update. Who knows when the next time I will post will be? I'm guessing it will be our Christmas letter, which this post seems to be a kind of rough draft.  :)

Day 17

I am over half way through my very first Whole 30 and dive into the Paleo world.  So far I've been very successful.  I'm so thankful to the friends who have done this before me and are so encouraging.  This journey has been pretty easy for me.  I don't miss any of the things I'm no longer eating.  I do, however, still have trouble with lunch.  I just really hate lunch.  Nothing ever sounds good. 

Don has loved all of the paleo dinners that I've made.  His favorites have to be the smoked pulled pork, and the World's Best Chicken.  I even managed to pull of feeding my book club last night, all of the food was paleo and nobody complained, in fact they liked it! 

My kids are so aware of what I'm doing.  Alex is always asking me, "Is this paleo, Mom?"  Katie says that she's going to "go paleo too."  I'm still waiting for that to happen.  For the kids it's going to be a slower process as they get used to eating a little bit differently. I'm just happy that I can be a good example for them and they are aware of what's going on and eager to ask questions and accepting of the answers.

Over the last 17 days I've done a bunch of firsts.

• Made home made mayo.  Delicious!!
• Made almond flour.
• Smoked a Pork Shoulder on the BBQ, then finished it in oven.
• Made delicious homemade Ranch dip/dressing.
• Went to Bunco and didn't eat one piece of tempting candy, and most importantly didn't have a hard time ignoring it.
• Brined Chicken.
• "Riced" cauliflower.
• Used coconut aminos.

I'm so happy to be on this journey.  Thanks to everybody who has been encouraging and supportive. I'll keep you posted.

A new Adventure

It's time for a new adventure.  I've done the research, I've seen my friends' results and I've decided to board the train.  I am going to start living a paleo lifestyle.  It's going to start with doing a "Whole 30" starting April 1st.  There is a lot of information, written by the experts, out there, so I'm not going to rewrite it.  Basically, I'm going to adopt a different diet.  In a nutshell: Eating fresh foods from good sources and eliminating all grains, dairy, legumes, sugar, & processed foods.

My story doesn't start now, my story began 35 years ago.  I came into this world as a big kid (9 & 1/2 lbs) and I stayed a big kid.  As a kid, I lived an active life style.  I spent countless hours outside.  Whether playing hide and seek, riding our bikes for miles, delivering newspapers, playing sports, or just hanging out, we were doing stuff.  I was never a great athlete, but that didn't stop me from playing basketball & softball from third grade through junior high.  I joined the golf team in high school. I was never good at running.  I was always out of breath. It never seemed fair to me that I was bigger than most other kids, but I didn't really dwell on it.  I didn't think it bothered me, but in retrospect, it has always been a burden I've silently bared.  I hated being bigger than my big sister.  I hated not fitting into the latest fashions.  I hated that clothes that did fit me were made for old, fat people. I hated that I felt like I wasn't doing anything differently that other kids.

I've always hated theses pictures.  See my thunder thighs and and general chunkiness.  Notice my sister (3 years older than me), notice, her skinny arms, legs and tummy! I do look happy, and I'm sure I was.  I was always a pretty happy kid.

I've never let my weight define me, but over the last several years, I've let it get out of control and it has buried me.  I know it's time for a change.  I know the change needs to be drastic, and I know the change won't be easy. I'm looking forward to the day when I don't think how much easier life would be if I was skinnier.


My goal is to be healthy.  I want to be able to do anything that I want and go anywhere that I want without worrying if my size will play a factor.  In September I started working out a Curves.  I've gotten in better physical shape, even if to an outsider it's not noticeable.  A few pounds have come off, but more importantly my energy and strength have improved.  I don't LOVE working out, but I do love the feeling when I'm done.  I love the feeling of putting myself first and doing something for me.

The funniest part of this journey is that I am armed with all of the information to be successful, but have failed so many times. What I lack is motivation and follow through.  I'm determined that this journey will be different.  That this journey will be successful with the help, guidance and encouragement of my friends and family.

My mom died too young. I see all that she is missing.  She would have loved being a grandma. She would have loved experiencing all of the things her grandkids do.  I want to have that.  I know I need to make changes now to ensure I have a chance to do all that I want to do.

There is so much more I have to say, and maybe one day I'll get my words together and be able to express myself.  Maybe one day, I'll feel brave enough to share all of my thoughts.  Until then, wish me luck, better yet, wish me strength and peace. :)
~Kerry

2011 Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends,



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! Once again the year has flown by and it’s hard to believe it’s almost over. We hope you have as many things to be thankful for as we do.


2011 started out pretty sad for our family as we said goodbye to our dog, Jerry, on the 2nd of January. The kids handled it pretty well, but it was sure strange to come home without a friendly face wagging his tail. In April we added a new puppy to our family. Quincy, the mini-goldendoodle, has been a great addition. He is super sweet and best of all doesn’t shed! Quincy has made our house a home once again. He even joined us on our summer trip to WA.


Katie is 9 and in third grade. She continues to love the performing arts. Katie takes piano lessons, attends drama classes and sang in the Clark County Children’s Choir. This spring she received her first communion and was lucky enough that her Aunt Erin, who happens to be her godmother, was in town to share the special occasion with her. Katie attended a two week drama conservatory this summer that culminated with a play. She still attends Gilbert Magnet school (communication and fine arts). When not performing, Katie can usually be found with her nose in a book.


Alex turned 6 this summer while on our trip to WA. He got to celebrate his birthday at the Point Defiance Zoo with cousins, aunts, & a future uncle! Alex is in Kindergarten at the Kids’ Co-op. He loves school and loves to learn. He is always picking something new to research. Alex spent the year playing flag football and basketball. He also continues to attend music/singing classes. He loves to perform. Alex also had quite a few visits from the tooth fairy this fall!


When not shuttling the kids between activities, Kerry finds time to participate in a couple of book clubs and Bunco groups. She also enjoys working in Alex’s class at the Co-op.


Don has had a few changes at work and is now an operations supervisor. It’s a nice change with more responsibility. On Friday nights you can find Don at the bowling alley where he’s rekindled his bowling hobby.


We’ve spend some great family time together. January took us to Phoenix to visit Grandpa and take in a Monster Jam event. It was fun to ride the light rail into the city. We also visited a gold mine. The kids had the best time swimming in the pools at Grandpa’s community. March brought us the chance to go to another Monster Jam even, The World Finals right here in Las Vegas. We saw a couple of local plays and even took in The Lion King at Mandalay Bay. In November, Kerry & Katie took a quick trip to WA to visit Kerry’s sisters and do some special shopping. To end the year, we took the kids to see the Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour Cirque show. It was great!


This summer we took a two week road trip to WA. The kids and the dog were great travelers. We spent a great day exploring Seattle. We rode the monorail, played at the Pacific Science Center, found the famous gum wall, shopped at Pike’s Place Market and ate some seafood on the pier. We also got to visit The Point Defiance Zoo and spend a day at Wild Waves water and amusement park. The kids enjoyed seeing their cousins and having a sleepover at Aunt Erin’s house. We also joined a bunch of family members to celebrate Kerry’s uncle’s birthday. Next we had a great couple of days enjoying ourselves with the Wilsons at their cabin on Bumping Lake. We ended our trip in Quincy at Kerry’s dad’s house before the long drive back to Las Vegas.


We are looking forward to many more adventures in 2012. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and blessed New Year. We hope if you are ever in our area you will give us a call.


With much love,


Don, Kerry, Katie & Alex Oppenheim

Top 11 of 2011

The Oppenheim Family


Our top 11 moments of 2011

11. Many visits from the tooth fairy for Katie & Alex

10. Kidshine & Matinee performances

9. Alex’s first reception in Flag Football and basket in Basketball!

8. Katie’s First Communion

7. Katie’s piano recital & Choir concert

6. Monster Jam World Finals, The Lion King, & Michael Jackson’s Immortal Cirque Show

5. Trip to Arizona

4. Quincy, our mini-goldendoodle puppy

3. Family Game Nights

2. Summer Vacation to Washington

 

1. Visits with Family and Friends!

25

25 facts that you might or might not know about me!

1. I do not have a belly button.
2. I  have never been stung by a bee.
3. My idea of a perfect day is spending it on the lake or river with my family.
4. I wish I was a better writer.
5. I've never dyed my hair.
6. My shoe size is 11!
7. I enjoy cooking.
8. I think I invented reality TV.  I had the idea as a kid of having a camera following me around to broadcast my oh so exciting life! LOL
9. I don't like any kind of melon.
10. I need a new hobby.
11. My thumbs look like big toes.
12. I wish I lived closer to my family.
13. My dream vacation is to go to Italy.
14. I've never lived alone.
15. I would like to learn to play the guitar.
16. I would like to take a pottery class.
17. I think I'm pretty witty.
18. My favorite color is green.
19. I can't touch my right shoulder with my right hand.
20. I've broken my collar bone and my wrist.
21. I don't like crowded places, especially shopping malls.
22. I'm not meeting my potential.
23. I went to Girl Scout camp every summer for a lot of summers.  It was the best!
24. I think instrumental music concerts are boring, and I played in band for 6 years and took piano lessons!
25. I love to play games, but have a tendency to help the other team or player if they are losing.

Childhood memory

4.  What is your happiest childhood memory?  What makes it so special?

This is a hard question to answer.  I had a happy childhood all around. I have to choose an event that occurred more than once.

 My happiest memories are boating with my entire family. There is just something so fun about packing up a lunch and spending the day at the river. I loved every part of it.  I loved tubing behind the boat. I loved swimming in the water.  I loved building in the sand.  I loved riding in the boat. When I think back to all the time we spent on the boat, I'm always happy.  Everybody was always having a good time.  There was lots of laughter and fun. It was a time when we all came together to get things done. We all helped load and unload, pack and unpack, and we all worked together. 

I can still close my eyes and feel the warmth of the sun, smell the exhaust from the boat, taste the sunchips, and hear the fun and laughter. I can remember the happy, tired feeling driving in the car on the way home. If I could recreate one event with my family, it would have to be a day on the boat.  

What’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever heard someone say?

3.  What’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever heard someone say?

Good question!

Whatever we do for our children, they will never learn to do for themselves.

I am sure there are many other things I could choose, but at this point in my life, I'm choosing this one.  It's true.  How are kids supposed to learn other than by doing? I once had a student in 5th grade who could not tie his shoes, button buttons, zip zippers, etc.  There really wasn't any physical reason he couldn't do these things, but his mother always did it for him and never encouraged him to learn how to do it.  Can you imagine?  He came to school in elastic waisted pants or shorts and velcro shoes. I sometimes wonder what has happened to that student.  What was his mother thinking??

I try and always let my children do things for themselves.  Of course I will help and guide them when they need it.  Giving them opportunities to succeed  gives them confidence.  Sometimes they fail, but they usually try again and figure out how to succeed.  I also love that they are interested in doing things themselves.  Katie has decided she really wants to be able to cook a meal for the family.  I'm glad she feels confident enough to do it. She's made a few simple things on her own such as corn bread and pancakes, but soon I will let her plan and cook the meal.  Of course, I will be right there to guide her along.

What about you?  What is the most sensible thing you've heard someone say?

Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?

2.  Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?

There are a ton of people I compare myself to for different reasons. 

First, I compare my self to my mom. I often wonder how she was able to be so calm with us kids all of the time.  What did she do when she was a stay at home mom? Am I showing my own children the same kind of love that she showed us? I compare myself to her is good ways too.  I tend to notice the differences between our lives and things how things are done.  For example, I prepare meals in a completely different way than she did, but still serve a few of the same dishes that she did. She didn't have nearly as many outside the home activities as I do.  Was she satisfied?  There are so many times I wish I could talk to her about her life when she was my age. I guess I find it intersting to think about how we are alike and how we are different.

I often find myself comparing my accomplishments with newsmakers.  I'm always impressed when someone my age or younger has made great contributions to the world or has become very successful in their career. It's not that it makes me feel bad about myself, I just find myself taking some time to contemplate my own successes.  I usually end up thinking about my greatest successes, Katie & Alex. Although it does make me wonder what I could accomplish if I put my mind to it!

I also compare myself to my friends.  I have thought about how our families are different, our life styles, and interests, accomplishments and marriages.  I have learned so many things from the people in my life and been inspired to change in little ways.

Food for thought!

Trying something new!

Really?  It's been since November that I've shared any thoughts?  I love reading everybody else's blogs, but I have a hard time motivating myself to write about anything. I guess it's because there aren't any really exciting things to post about. 

So, I found a great sight that lists all kinds of thought provoking questions.  I also found a list of 356 thought provoking questions. http://thoughtquestions.com/  I think that's a good place to start. I need to be more contemplative in my life.  Feel free to join along with me as I attempt to answer a question a day (or let's be honest, maybe a question a week!)

1. When was the last time you tried something new?

Hmm..   In the past few years of adulthood, I've tried quite a few new things.  I've tried a ton of new foods and found quite a few new favorites. I've tried new genres of books and found some books I really liked that I would not have chosen on my own. I can't think of any new experience that I've tried recently, other than new recipes which I try very often.  I guess the newest thing to me was trying Indian Food at an Indian Restaurant.  Thanks, bookclub!

Who has a suggestion for something new I can try? I'd love to hear your thoughts.  What have you tried lately?

2nd grade girl

Second grade has been challenging for my girl so far. Let's face it, it's been challenging for me too. It started the first day of school when she told me on the way home that she hated second grade.  I didn't take her too seriously, even when she told me before going to bed that she was going to call in sick in the morning.  It still didn't really sink in....until the next morning when she barricaded herself in her closet and refused to come out.  After some coaxing, she did come out and ended up having a better day. 

We are still struggling to love second grade.  Now, don't get me wrong, there are way more good times than there have been bad, but it has been breaking my heart to see Katie upset about school and homework. 

Katie is a thinker.  She always has been.  She understand things most kids her age don't.  People have commented on her "old soul" for most of her life. She is sensitive.  She has REAL emotions that she has to express. She is a girl who cries while watching a movie, both when things are sad and when they are happy.  I've seen her wipe tears away many times, she really feels what is happening. She is super caring and puts other people first. She is the first to give away things to someone who needs them more than she does. She's beginning to understand that she is a fortunate girl and that she is lucky to have such a caring loving family.

She still doesn't love second grade. She cries about doing homework. She doesn't like that her class gets in trouble.  She doesn't like getting punished as a class for things that she didn't do.  She doesn't like that other students talk and are disrespectful. She doesn't like writing. She feels stressed about doing work. She is a smart girl and has great ideas.  Her area of struggle is writing.  It takes her FOR EVER to write things. She is a horrible speller. These things cause problems when you are in second grade.   I wish for her that things would come easier. I hope and pray that she is learning some valuable lessons by having to struggle to do things.  There are so many things that she does well.

She has become a pretty great reader. She loves books and is gaining some confidence in her reading ability. She has to memorize a new poem every week, and by Tuesday morning she's got it down.  She doesn't just recite the poem, she performs. My girl has music inside of her.  She loves to sing and dance and she does so with gusto.  The girl has moves!  She's also a great problem solver.  She thinks logically and is good with numbers. She's also confident in most things. She's confident in her own style and is comfortable in her own skin. She doesn't sit back and let someone tell her what to do, she makes her own decisions and sticks to what is right for her.

Katie is a great big sister.  She loves her brother and would do anything for him. She is quick to sacrifice what she wants to make him happy. She always includes him in things and she lets him be a leader in their play. Alex is lucky to have a big sister who loves to help him.

I am blessed to be her mother.

3 new ones!

There are three new posts below this one. Don's miss out on all of the fun! :)

A Five Year Old!

On August 3rd, Alex turned 5 years old.  It really is amazing how fast they grow up. For his birthday, we had a family party. Alex choose to have ravioli for his birthday dinner. I insisted on making homemade ravioli.  I stuffed almost 100 raviolis.  Next time, I'll buy the frozen kind! 

Of course, the big theme for his birthday was Monster Trucks.  As his big gift, he got a room makeover. His room was painted Grave Digger green and the wall are now adorned with a giant Grave Digger Decal and lots of smaller Monster Truck stickers.  He loves it!

Blowing out the candles on the homemade icecream cake!

Wipeout! Wii game.

Do you think he liked the Monster Jam K'Nex set?

On the Saturday after the big day, we heading down to Sky Zone for a jumping good birthday party.  The kids had an hour of jumping on the trampolines, then it was time for pizza and cake.  I think all of the kids and the dads had a blast jumping. Alex had a great birthday!

Celebrating at Sky Zone!

Thanks for helping us celebrate Alex's birthday!

Second Grade!

Katie started second grade on Monday.  Before going to Open House on Friday she wasn't excited about going back to school.  After Open House she said she was excited.
Here is she before heading to school. It is our family tradition to bring flowers to the teacher on the first day of school.

Ready for 2nd grade!

Of course, once we got to school she was excited to see her friends. Here she is with her friends from first grade, Kaia and Hailey.

Friends!

Once the music played it was time to head to their new lines and head to the new classroom. 

Katie and her 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Blomquist

I was excited to hear about her first day of second grade when we picked her up from school.  She didn't have anything good to report.  She was disappointed in her day.  It pretty much broke my heart. She said the best part of her day was seeing her friend, Kaia. She complained that recess and lunch were too short, the kids in her class were annoying, and the day was boring. That night before bed she said she was going to call in sick to school in the morning.  The next morning she hid in her closet and said she wasn't going to school.  Heartbreaking!

However, we talked about things and she asked me to talk to her teacher.  She was concerned because in order to have "Fun Friday" the class has to earn it. She didn't think it was fair that even if she was good, ("because, I'm ALWAYS good") she might not get to have Fun Friday and she really loves Fun Friday.  One of her first lessons that life isn't always "fair."  We got to school and I did have a little chat with her teacher. I left hoping she had a better day.

Day two turned out MUCH better than day one! :)  Yippee! She even told me she made friends with the girl who was bugging her the day before. This morning, for day 3 of second grade, she had no complaints about going.  Yea!   I guess that first grade was so great that there was no way second grade could live up to it. She was spoiled in Mrs. Payer's class. I know she will adjust and have another great year at Gilbert!

A Cousin Visit

It's been awhile since the McCrady's came to Vegas to visit the Oppenheims.  We had a busy week and it was fun to get the cousins together.  Just about a week before their arrival, Jonathan broke his arm.  That changed our plans a bit, but we still managed to have some fun outings.

They arrived Monday afternoon/evening. After picking them up at the airport, we headed to Cafe Rio for a yummy dinner. When we arrived at home the kids had fun showing thier cousins around the house, playing for a bit and the it was off to bed.

Cousins playing with the Iphone!

Tuesday brought a trip to the outlet mall for school clothes shopping for the McCrady boys.  There was also lots of swimming.

Wednesday included a trip to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum.  The kids had a great time. Here are some shots from the visit.

Katie & Nathaniel checking out some of the fish.

Alex is dressed like a Marine Biologist!

They found the dinosaurs!

Thursday brought a trip to Sigfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. It was HOT!!! The kids LOVED seeing the brand new baby white tigers. They also enjoyed watching the dolphins. Here's the best shot of the four cousins in front of a lion.

Add caption

Watching the dophin training.

Friday morning was spent swimming at a friends' house with our playgroup. I didn't think I'd ever get Nathaniel out of the water.  He had a blast. I felt bad for Jonathan since he couldn't swim, but he managed to pull it together.  Friday night, Don took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese and I took Kristina with me to play BUNCO. 

Do you know how hard it is to get 4 kids to sit together nicely for a picture.  Here is the best shot we got of Grandpa's grandkids. Those boys are crazy!

It was a fun week with our family visiting. It's nice that the kids get to know each other a bit more. We are glad the McCrady's came to visit. Maybe next summer we'll be able to visit them in WA.

It's my birthday, I'll cry if I want to!

Well, I'm not really sad. Growing up I always had a countdown to my birthday.  I was known for loving my birthday.  Maybe it's the Leo in me, we love to be the center of attention.  5 years ago my birthday got overshadowed for a great reason, Alex was born the day before my birthday.  Now, this was kind of my own fault, since he was a c-section, my doctor had suggested my birthday and I politely declined that date.  I chose the day before, rather than the day after so that he would always have his birthday first.  Good move....I think.  But, it does mean that we will always have lots of dessert around our house this time of year, because I insist on having my own cake.  This year I made Alex an ice cream cake and I stayed up late last night baking a cheesecake for me.  The trouble is, there will be another cake for Alex's party on Saturday.  Oh well, gives us a good reason to have friends over for dessert, right?

Today I am the same age my parents were when I was born. Kind of weird and cool.  Made me realize that if I live as long as my mom, my life is more than 1/2 over.  I don't want to think like that, but those thought occur. It actually puts a fire under my butt to make sure I live a long life.  I mean, as much as I can control that! I really want to be around to see my kids have families of their own and be a fun grandma!

I spent yesterday afternoon stuffing about 100 homemade raviolis for Alex's birthday dinner.  Next time he requests ravioli for his birthday, I'm using the store bought frozen kind! Tonight's dinner will be grilled shrimp and steelhead trout.  Yummy!  Which reminds me that I'd better go get the shrimp marinating.

Growing up birthdays were always a big deal at our house.  I've tried to keep that tradition going with my little family.  I think I'm succeeding, now just hoping that translates to my family spoiling me on my birthday too. Maybe in a few years the kids will be making my birthday cake.

I'm looking forward to seeing what kinds of adventures I can have in my 34th year!

Future Rock Stars

A few weeks ago Katie and Alex attended a Rock Star birthday party.  They had a blast.  Every kid dressed in rock star clothing and had their hair and makeup done. Alex decided to have his hair sprayed red. Next they all had a photo shoot/fashion show, then recorded a song with a group, made a music video, ate pizza and cake, then did some music trivia.  Although it was really hot in the venue, all of the kids had a blast. Katie really like seeing so many of her friends from Gilbert.  Happy Birthday, Makalia!

Rock Star Alex!

Rock Star Katie

Katie and her good friend, Kaia

Playing Guitar Hero

A great quote

A little while ago I came across a great quote.  It really resonated with me. 

"If a child is given love, he becomes loving...
If he's helped when he needs help, he becomes helpful.  And if he has been truly valued at home...he grows up secure enough to look beyond himself to the welfare of others."
                                          ~Dr. Joyce Brothers, 1974
When I read this I thought how true it is.  I certainly hope that my parenting reflects this in my children. I believe that we are succeeding in this quest.

Maybe you are inspired too?  What is your favorite quote?

Summer time fun!

Don and the kids are at a birthday party so I have some nice quiet time to catch my readers up on our summer so far.  Do I really have readers to catch up?

The summer has been HOT.  So hot that Jerry started climbing into the bathtub to cool off.  It's funny because he never goes in the tub when we've tried to give him a bath!

The kids have spent a ton of time just playing together.  Sometimes I've been a little bored because they are so busy playing with each other that I'm ignored! We've also put together a lot of puzzles. Somehow I have ended up putting together many of the 100 piece ones that we've started.  Katie is becoming pretty good at putting together the 100 piece puzzles.  We've spent a lot of evenings playing Uno as a family before bed.

It's always fun to play with freshly made "kool" dough!

It's so nice that they can play board games together now.

We had a big evening out to see The Lion King at Mandalay Bay.  We all really liked it. It's a pretty long show and  Alex got a little restless, but the kids both really enjoyed it.  There has been lots of talk about the show around here.  After the show we went out to dinner at one of our favortie places, Strings.  We don't go out to eat very often and both kids got to pick a dessert.  They thought it was great!

He ate the WHOLE thing!

Our next adventure was our annual trip to San Diego. This time we had a nice visit with my cousin Theresa and her girls. The kids love swimming in their pool and Alex especially loves the slide. They also got to play some games with Leah and Rachel. It's always nice to get to spend time with family.  The weather was amazing, it was actually a little chilly in the evenings, but we weren't complaining!  We had a great day at La Jolla beach where the kids built and detroyed a great sandcastle. We took a drive up the road and spent a day at Wild Rivers water park. The kids had a blast! We spent a day at the fair where we met up with another one of my cousins, Andrea and her son Logan. The kids road the rides for close to 7 hours. We did manage to sneak in some time at the commercial building and checking out the animals.

Playing a game of Sequence with Leah and Rachel.

The kids and their sandcastle.

I think the tube slide was their favorite!

Imagine Alex's excitement when he saw this monster truck parked outside the fair entrance!

Alex and Logan, their birthdays are a day apart. Logan on August 2nd and Alex on the 3rd.

We've enjoyed lots of swimming this summer. We've been fortunate to go swimming at lots of friends houses and finally got our own pool open for business. We love our above ground pool, but it's not exactly ideal for swim parties! Someday we'll have an inground pool.....

The kids had two weeks of swim lessons.  It was sure hot watching from the sidelines.  Fortunately Grammy lives close to the pool and the kids got to stay with Grammy while the other had lessons. They both had a great time hanging out with Grammy, and sometimes Uncle Peter and Grampy. Grammy and Alex played lots of Go Fish.

Katie at swim lessons.

Katie and Don swimming at Chucks over the 4th of July. We had a great time and had the perfect view of the North Las Vegas Fireworks.

The Oppenheim pool open for business.  It's been great to jump in and cool off. Both kids are great swimmers.

Our next few weeks will be busy with summer camps.  Next week the kids have KidShine camp each afternoon and on Friday they will have their performace. The week after that Alex will be spending three mornings at the Co-op for Camp Co-op. The following week Katie will participate in the Co-op Alumni Art camp.  Whew! 

I love summer!

Random Thoughts

I keep coming to my blog thinking I should post something, and am never really motivated to upload pictures and gather my thoughts. So, here are some of my thoughts!

1. I can't believe the school year is almost over! Alex had his last day of preschool yesterday and Katie only has a couple days of first grade left.

2. I've been loving this weather and am not looking forward to the HOT days of summer.

3. We really need to get the garage organized so I can park the car in there again.

4. I am excited to get really working on my Lemongrass business. I need to book some parties for July. The new hostess program is pretty amazing!

5. Katie and Alex were awesome at the KidShine performances. It's always so cute. I love that every kid has a solo and a speaking part.

6. Katie's matinee was great.

7. Katie's got a piano recital next Saturday. Man, we've been busy!

8. Alex really, really, really wants to play tackle football in the fall and I think we might let him.

9. We are all excited to go see the Lion King in a couple of weeks. I love it when shows have Local deals. Buy one get one free is pretty good.

10. We are going to have a great week in San Diego in June.