Abby loves her family

The other day, Abigail and I were sitting together when Frances approached. I said something about, "There's my girl!" Frances shook her head, so I asked, "Who are you?" Abigail shouted, "She's a SUPERHERO!"

Abby frequently makes comments like, "You my fam-a-lee.... right, Mom?"
and "I like my fam-a-lee."

Surfer girl

Frances now has her very own surfboard! I found it on craigslist, and the guy who sold it to us is in the business of re-selling boards. He asked me Franny's height and weight, and recommended this board for her. It is a softboard, not fiberglass, so it won't hurt as much when it hits her (or someone else). It's never been used, still in the original packaging. I'll have to figure out how to attach the fins (it comes with a special tool for that purpose). Frances has a spring suit, as well as two people who've offered to help her learn to surf. She did a little surfing about a year and a half ago with her friend August, on his board, and could stand up and ride the waves on her third try. My athletic child...


And who would have thought that a little child born in Kazakhstan would end up being a California surfer girl?

Bossy baby

Abigail loves Kathleen's dogs. Lacey and Boomer are a mix of Mastiff and bull terrier, and are very gentle and patient. Abigail is fascinated by them. Initially, she was afraid of dogs, but she overcame that, and now pats the dogs, plays with their big feet, sits next to them and drapes her body across them... and those dogs just look at the family as if to say, "Can someone get this kid off of me?"

We visited Kathleen last weekend, and the weather was warm. Abigail walked up to Boomer, who had his mouth wide open, panting. "Hey!" she admonished him. "Close you mouf!" I had to tell her that panting is how a dog stays cool in the heat.

For some reason, Abigail wanted to get nose-to-nose with Boomer. Maybe she thinks that he will listen to her, if she looks him in the eye...

Who needs water?

We recently went out to visit the Anderson family in Redlands, for eighteen-year-old Kariana's high school graduation. They had drained the pool to do some maintenance, and while it is empty, they are having fun with it.

In one of these photos, you can see that there is a set of patio furniture in the shallow end of the pool! And the butcher paper in the deep end is there to serve as a movie screen, for movies projected onto it.

Abigail was initially reluctant to walk around in the empty pool. I think it kind of freaked her out! And although you can't see it in the photos, when it is empty, I realized that this is a big pool! Frances played in it for a while, having a ball, so Abigail naturally wanted to follow her big sister. Frances kindly spent some time holding Abigail's hand, until finally, Ab was running around in the pool like Frances.

Frances was having fun figuring out what would make interesting photos, like her hanging from the ladder on the side of the pool.

When it was time to go home, both girls were still happily playing in the pool. I wonder what Abigail will think the next time we're in Redlands, and there is water in the pool?!

Fun with Stickers

When you shop at Trader Joe's, the checker often gives your children stickers. Not just one sticker, but a strip of 6, or 10, or even 20. From these photos, it is obvious that we've been to Trader Joe's, and that my girls get creative when left to their own devices in the backseat of the car with a strip of stickers!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a good weekend! Having that extra day was such a blessing.
The weather was really hot, and Friday night was kind of a drag, since we got stuck in a horrendous traffic nightmare (the major artery eastward out of SoCal was closed due to an accident). However... Saturday morning, Frances was able to play with her friend Sienna for about 4 hours, and that freed up the television so that Abigail could watch Blue's Clues and Elmo. After Ab's nap, we ran a few errands, including a trip to the thrift store, where we bought lots of books for both girls. Frances is into Nancy Drew and Saddle Club books these days. We all went to bed at a reasonable time. Ahhh....


Sunday after church, we went out to visit my parents. We hadn't seen them since early April, but my mom's health has stabilized somewhat. We celebrated a belated Mother's Day, with my dad and I following mom's directions to cook a delicious dinner. Frances was able to watch her favorite shows on cable TV (which we don't have), and Abigail played non-stop. She and my dad built with blocks and read books together, and she is such a busy child that my mom was tired out from just watching Abby!


After we left my parents' house, we stopped by the Lindfors' house to play, and the Waites were there also. Frances, Colby, James and Clayton played basketball, while Emily, Abigail and Karley played with doll strollers. It had been a busy day, and was a late night.


Monday morning, Frances was up at 6:40, but Abigail slept in until about half past eight. The girls stayed in pajamas for a while, and played "slumber party" in Abigail's new bed. We ran a few errands, and then came home for lunch and a nap. Abigail looked like she was going to fall asleep in her car seat on the way home from the grocery store!


Even Frances slept, for about 90 minutes, and admitted that she felt much better after a nap. While they slept, I actually sat down and read a magazine. I could have been doing laundry or cleaning things up, but I decided to take a break, too. We went to the Waites' house that afternoon, where the children played with water balloons. Frances and Colby ended up playing basketball in the neighbor's driveway, while Abigail and Karley pretended to "swim" in the wading pool, which had about six inches of water in it!



After having dinner with the Waite family, we packed up and came home. Abigail fell asleep as soon as I put her to bed, but Frances tossed and turned, got up a few times to use the bathroom or get a drink (really to see what I was doing). But I think that the three-day weekend helped us all to relax and unwind a little.

Gymnastics Update

This Tuesday at gymnastics, Frances was able to do a back handspring unassisted! She was so happy! She goes to gymnastics three days a week. Two of those days are 90-minute group lessons, with about 10 girls in her Pre-Team class. On Tuesdays, she has a semi-private lesson. There are just three girls in the class, hand-picked by the coach. Frances, Olivia and Kelli all would like to be on Team one of these days, and are all willing to work hard. And the semi-private actually works out to be less expensive than the group lessons, since the coach can set her own price. Frances loves her Tuesday class, and we have heard that the coach of the competitive team has been asking about little class... We'll have to wait and see what the future holds.

Oh, and Abigail is now in gymnastics, in a preschool class on Tuesday afternoons. Finally, there was a preschool class at the same time as one of Fran's sessions. Abigail has a long way to go, even for the basics, but what she lacks in skill, she makes up for in enthusiasm!