Summer of swimming.

Wow our first year on swim team and it was a lot of fun. Sydney only competed in 3 meets but she did really well. At the beginning of the season she couldn't even swim the whole length of the pool but by the end she was only touching the wall twice during her race. She had lots of fun and met some really good friends. Sydney also got a t-shirt for being a record holder in the 6 year old group for one of her races. It is not fast but she got the record for the girls at the club.
Julia on the other hand figured out how to swim by herself. I was going to start her in swim lessons but then I figured what 2 year old learns how to swim maybe next year. Well she figured it out and by the end of the summer she was jumping off the wall and swimming back to the side by herself. We had a lot of fun and especially liked going off the diving board.

Sydney's 6th Birthday

Sydney celebrated her 6th birthday at Rainbow Playsystems. It was a great location for the summer so we were not dependant on the weather and we could invite all our friends and neighbors. The party was a great time and all the kids had fun. The guest list included molly moon, Lynch's, Delaney and paige(neighbors), Burdette's, Cheng's, Claire Kube, Molly Immesote, and many other friends.
We had a small family party too.

The Norwoods come to Peoria!

Diane and the girls came to Peoria in April 2010 for almost 2 weeks. We were so happy they could come and visit while Brian was off cruising on the USS Nassau. The kids were just so happy to be able to play with each other. Diane left for 4 days to go to Chicago and take a course for her special diabetes certification so that it wouldn't expire. I survived 4 days with 2 two year olds, a four and a half year old and a 6 year old. We had a great time and I was very organized to get all those kids fed 3 times a day. That organization left with the Norwoods though.

Mommy takes a cruise!

In February of 2010 Diane Norwood, Kim Bryant and Darlene Miller took a cruise with me to the Bahamas. The day started with a call from Kim at 0545 while I was still driving to the airport, she was running up to the door to get on her plane and the lady closed it right in front of her. She then proceeded to go and buy a new ticket on another airline that would hopefully get her there in time. I arrived in Atlanta late because of mechanical difficulties and as soon as I got off the plane I went to a ticket counter far away from all the craziness surrounding my planes arrival and asked the person if I could get on the next flight to Ft. Lauderdale since I missed my flight. She got me a seat on a plane leaving in 15 minutes. I made it on and now was just worried if we could get to the boat on time. I arrived and went straight to the baggage claim and found the van people that transport us to the ship, I was the last one to arrive and the van didn't really want to wait for my luggage and I didn't know if it would make it anyway. Kim had arrived and was waiting for me on the van. My bag arrived and we made it with plenty of time. Diane and Darlene had drinks ready for us when we entered the ship and we had a relaxing 4 days. We ate great food, sat out on the desk and got some sun with goose bumps, read our kindle's, shopped and just enjoyed ourselves.
It was a great get away!

Christmas 2009

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The year of the pink motorcyles! Santa brought the girls motorcycles this year and left them under the tree. The spend the entire morning riding them upstairs and then the entire evening riding them downstairs. Julia received a jumpy jump and enjoyed jumping on that for a long time. Sydney's tummy was upset that morning so we traded off going to church without the girls and by 1030 she was feeling better and ready to open her presents. There of course were big piles of stuff from mom, dad, nana and papa so it took a while but we sat back and just watched while taking pictures.

The girls received sleds which Julia really enjoyed watching TV in and even taking a nap that afternoon. Sydney received roller blades and was in the basement trying them out immediately. She really enjoys them and is getting ready for the roller rink.
Grandma Eve and Granddaddy arrived the next week with a trunk full of presents, Christmas seems to go on forever in this house. Uncle TC and Aunt Jenn also sent a big box of presents that the girls just loved.