Cheering Camp

The girls went to cheering camp this summer.  It was fun and they enjoyed it.

Getting ready for their first night of camp!

Ella did not get into it much.  I was surprised.  She also acted very goofy most of the week and ended up sitting with me on the sidelines.

They had Lilly model the cheering uniform.  She was happy!

As you can see from the videos below, Ella was in rare form!  Very unusual for her but that week she was our little goofy girl.  Lilly enjoyed it but didn't show any interest to cheer in the fall which is why we tried the camp in the first place. 

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http://www.cliffordandgeorge.blogspot.com

Here is Lilly getting a ribbon for trying out a cheer on her own.  Yay Lilly!

Ella is in a white shirt, skirt, and striped pants in the middle.  She's the one doing everything but the cheer.

Lilly is on the end in a pink and white tank and black shorts/shoes.

The final cheer on the last night.  Lilly is in lime green tank in 2nd row and Ella is in pink tank in the first row:

New Space

I read a blog and got an itch to convert our dining room into a playroom.  We weren't utilizing the space so it was really begging to be used!  I was also very tired of the (pretty) plum/burgundy color we had for ten years.  Staying home with the kids makes me grow tired of things around the house and I must make changes!  Andy loves when he comes home from work and I have a new "plan."

I decided I'd try to do the room on a very small budget and use things we already had starting with the paint.  We had leftover yellow from our kitchen and family room but not a lot left.  We added white paint to make it a lighter yellow and to give us more paint.

First I had to prime since the red was so dark.  Fun.  Not.

 I then went to Ikea and bought and assembled shelves to turn into benches.  I bought MDF board and had it cut at Home Depot then bought 2 inch thick foam at JoAnne Fabrics.  We had one drape that Oliver tore when we were away at the beach so we used that for the fabric.  Andy wrapped it all together and stapled it to create our new playroom seating!

 New affordable Ikea curtains to bring all the colors together.

 We took down the chandelier and added a simple white light.

 I bought milk crates at JoAnne Fabrics and Andy cut them in half with a table saw for book baskets.

 The start to the reading corner!

 I love this sign I had at the top of our stairs.  I miss it up there but it works in the playroom.

 This was in Lilly's nursery.  Found it in Ella's closet.

 I bought these letters at Michaels and painted them blue.  They spell "CREATE" and that's exactly what the kids have been doing since the playroom was completed.

 I even repaired some holes and indentations myself!  I tried not to bother Andy with this project of mine as he has enough on his plate.

 I searched for the perfect cabinet doors at the Habitat For Humanity Restore and finally found them for $1 a piece.  I was sooo excited!  My poor kids.  I dragged them all over the place.

 I spray painted them white and then rolled blue on the center raised part.  I am not patient at all and didn't wait for the white to to dry.  We'll call them Shabby Chic...

 Screwed in magnetic clips to hold artwork and a metal plate to hold their name and age.  I'm not done putting up the metal placards but will get around to it this week.

Here's a video of the playroom in as it is today.  The kids love it and I find the girls in it daily drawing and creating.  I also love how the space brightened and encourages creative play.  Such a happy place now!

Swim Team Banquet

Lilly's swim team banquet was a fancy event this year.  For the first time in 3 years her team won a meet and they didn't just win one, they won them all!  The older kids were so excited they planned a fancy affair at a country club instead of the usual banquet at the pool.

The kids were excited to get all dressed up!

 Poor lighting but nonetheless it's a family picture.

 Lilly and her little best friend Lindsay.

 Lilly and Lindsay with her swim coaches Ryan and Alex whom she loves.

Here's what I go through to get the boys to smile for a picture.

 Selfie! Haha.

 The boys loved the banquet but got a little antsy during the awards portion.  At one point Gabe tossed a golf ball scored a hole in one in someone's glass and the glass shattered.  Yep, that's our life.

 Team picture!

The boys and Ella had a great time dancing!

Sneaking into the circle!


Andy and the pool president, Marc, posing as body guards.

Lazy Day of Summer

We're really enjoying the last lazy days of summer.  I can't believe school is right around the corner.  I'm nowhere near ready for busy early mornings, homework, and running around from school to school.  I'm also not ready to tell my boys goodbye 3 mornings a week.  Summer just flew by so fast.

It's nice to just lie around spending time with one another before the hustle and bustle begins...

Lilly's 1st Tri County Meet

 Lilly just finished her summer swimming season and did very well.  At 7 years of age, she is still an inconsistent swimmer and lacks the competitive bite that I'm sure will come down the road.  As the season came to a close we were surprised to learn that the coaches entered Lilly's 8 & Under relays into the championship meet (a 2 day allllll day meet that you have to qualify for except 8 & Under relays and then you can just take your best relays).

At first I was dreading the 30 minute trek at 5 a.m. on a Saturday that I thought was our first free Saturday of the entire summer.  Lilly's relays were events 7 and 57 which meant we were there for the long haul.  But as is usually the case, we had a great day and there was nothing dreadful to speak of!  We left at 5 a.m., parked, took a shuttle (aka big yellow school bus) to the pool where we schlepped our stuff to "Tent City" and got the girls ready to warm up at 6:25 a.m.  My friend Kristen is not a morning person AND she'd worked a 7p-5a shift at the hospital the night before so she didn't love my early morning happiness and singing in the car.  Neither did her non-early riser Lindsay.  But Lilly was in the back playing a kazoo and happy just like her momma.

Since we had first warm up we also had first pick of seats!  

Front row baby!!

It was an overcast and rainy day which was actually perfect because we were not hot at all and the kids were cozy in sweatshirts under their tent.

 Lilly loves swim meets because swim meets = junk food galore.  Give the kid $5 and she can stomach a boatload of candy.

Lilly watching some of the meet with me.

 It started to pour at one point and the girls huddled under a towel to play on their iPods.

 A friend was kind enough to score a poncho for me to wear when the rain started really coming down hard.  These pictures crack me up because of Lilly's face in the background.  In the first picture she didn't know I was taking it but she quickly caught on.  

                    

Lilly had a spectacular meet and swam all best times!!  She dropped 5 seconds in her 25 free and 25 back.  I think she got a little taste of what it feels like to have a great race and I hope it leaves her hungry for more.  

*Lilly swimming lead in the freestyle relay.  Lane 2 (look at flags) and swimming toward little girls in pink caps.

This year Lilly will swim all winter and I'm excited to see how she likes it and to watch her improve.  

Yay Lilly!  We're so proud of you!

Delight

 Do you know what has this crew so excited and mesmorized?

 A tree truck!! Any truck makes for a grand day in our house.  Tree trimming in front of our driveway is the icing on the cake.

Happy Tuesday!