Lake Taco

After calling it Lake Taco instead of Tahoe since they were 2, Gracie made the observation this summer, "Hey, it's a food and a lake. Isn't that funny?" We think it's pretty cute that you're still calling it Taco after all this time. :)


We took our annual trip up north to Gardnerville in early July just as the heat was settling in across the southwest. The drive was a tad unpleasant this year, as we got delayed many times for a variety of reasons. It was actually quite comical the first day as we left Las Vegas and headed to Beatty, arriving around 9pm. Two little girlies in the backseat were NOT happy with this late arrival. Just a few of the complaints from the peanut gallery: I want my nice comfy bed! My butt hurts! I don't want to listen to all this racket! And of course the most obvious, I'm tired. I found this age of 5 1/2 to be the most capable of articulating complaints...might have to re-think the long days of road-trippin for future trips!

Eventually we made it to Uncle Bob & Aunti Diane's beautiful Gardnerville residence, met by lovely weather and lots of opportunities to be outdoors. After getting Kate's stitches removed in Truckee, we headed to South Lake Tahoe and let the girls run on the familiar Pope beach for awhile. Poor Katie wasn't allowed to get her chin wet and was so good staying on the sand or going knee-deep in water. We spent a couple more days at the beach, had a lunch at Wally's Hot Springs, made necklaces in Truckee, played at the park and enjoyed the view from the deck. Gracie and Kate enjoyed walking Bob and Diane's new doggies too.

The Drive Up
Wikieup "Jail", Hoover Dam Bridge project, Me and girls at the Dam in blowdryer weather, Mama and girls enjoying nature in the Lida mountains

Playing on the Beach

Fun Times

1) G & K with Angie and Gigi 2) sitting in Truckee with their new necklaces
3) a wishing well at Wally's 4) Wally's Hot Springs

Ouch!!!

In Kate's own words

On how she got the stitches:
I was jump-roping with yellow blankie at Mama's and I accidentally hit my chin on the floor. I banged it super hard so it bleeded. And then Mama put a wash 'closh' on me so it wouldn't drip. Mama gave me an ice pack and a paper towel to block the ice pack. And then my Mommy came to Mama's to see what happened. Mommy took me to the kid's hospital. They gave me some cold medicine to put on my chin. It got warmer and warmer and warmer until it was good. It wasn't that hot. And then they put seven blue stitches in and we left.

On getting the stitches taken out:
We got my stitches out in Truckee. It hurted on one of them but all the rest were really good. My chin looks better now. I have to put lotion on it every day to make it heal faster.

Staycation

We decided to try something new this summer in terms of vacationing so we took a drive maybe 2o minutes south to a pretty little resort and stayed for a couple of days. When we pulled in to the hotel, both girls spotted the waterfall and just gushed, "This is the best place ever!" Whew! Good thing we didn't waste our money on some exotic destination like Hawaii. Phoenix is just as nice...right??? Anyway, the girls very much enjoyed the pools and the water slide. It was nice to eat out and not have to wash dishes or clean up. We might have to make this an annual event.

The morning we left we went to IHOP for the first time, which Gracie calls HipHop. Both girls ordered huge plates of pancakes, filling their bellies for the long ride home.

Baby I'm a Star!

Wow, the first dance recital! Who knew it would be such an ordeal for a little 2 minute tap routine! From costumes, to make-up, to pictures, to rehearsals, etc., it seemed a little much at times but it was all worth it in the end, as the girls were absolutely thrilled to perform on the big stage for an audience. I will have their huge performance smiles etched into my memory forever. I was so proud of them (along with all the tiny tot dancers) for getting up on stage and dancing. It makes me a bit emotional to even think about it...these little teeny things just getting up there and sharing what they've learned. I'm so glad they had that sweet experience and that I got to witness it.

The girls danced to "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story; all of the numbers were from popular movie songs. Unfortunately I don't have pictures to share from the performance because we weren't allowed to take them, but I do have before and after the recital pictures. We did buy the video which is very sweet.

The girls with Miss Jessie, their fabulous teacher

Kate and Gracie with their friend Calle

The following three were from picture day

The Best of Tee-Ball

H-O
H-O-M
H-O-M-E-R-U-N
HOMERUN (clap clap) Gracie
HOMERUN (clap clap) Kate

Watch out sports fans, here they come! Gracie and Kate are the names...tee-ball is the game. It was so much fun to watch the girls play another season of spring tee-ball. Baseball is one of the only sports I can handle and actually enjoy, perhaps due to my childhood experiences watching my brother play little league...or maybe due to my time on the pitcher's mound playing softball. Either way, I'm a little attached to the sport and am happy my girls enjoy it too. They had a fun season learning a little more about the game and interacting with their teammates. After a 'team name' brainstorming session, the players settled on the Cheetah Monkeys. I think one of my girls contributed the 'Cheetah' part. Upon hearing the name, Mama and Papa bought a stuffed cheetah and a stuffed monkey to serve as the team's mascots. Cheetah and Monkey made an appearance at most every game. Here are some fun pictures from the season:

Gracie up to bat

She had this funny ritual of tapping her bat to the ground before she swung.
Some might say the tapping was a little excessive, but hey, she "whacked that ball".

Kate up to bat

Favorite Pictures

Gracie sprinting home

Kate waiting for the next play


Strong Gracie

The MVP's of the Cheetah Monkeys
Gracie, Kate, Hava

The girls with Coach Scott

At the Pool

To kick off swim season, the girls took swimming lessons in the month of May. They made quite a bit of progress in one little month and I finally feel more at ease when I take them to the pool alone. They know how to float on their backs if they get out of breath and to backstroke to the side. Their instructor, Ms. Reese was wonderful with them and taught them their forward stroke. Here is a short video of each from swim lessons:

Gracie

Kate

Skip to My Lou: a piano duet

Ms. Sandra gave the girls their first duet last week and they learned it quickly...not too shabby for 3 months of piano lessons! And of course I love that they are playing duets together. I hope this is the first of many.