I am caught up!

Okay everyone I have officially caught up. In blogging I realized that I am not taking nearly the pictures I have taken in the past. It's sad to say that I have ZERO from when the Schmidt's were here visiting! Yes, very lame! But you can visit Sheri's site at http://chongoandblondie.blogspot.com/ to check them out. She was on the ball and took some!!!
The days are getting extremely hot and my brain is beginning to fry a bit. I think today will top out at about 114. It's very strange when you get up and it's already 100 by 9am. They are predicting the monsoons will soon be upon us so that should be interesting. I am looking forward to the rain spells but unfortunately with that comes the humidity. I hope you are all doing well back home and if you feel the need for some sunshine please know that our doors are always open to you! We'd love the visit! I'll blog later once I have something new to blog about!
Blessings-
Shannon

The girls start Karate and other Misc Pics

The girls are doing karate this summer. Greer will most likely continue but Reegan wants to try to do both softball and soccer in the Fall. Brynn lasted all of 2 sessions and then refused to go. She would rather watch from the sidelines than participate. Oh well, not going to fight her.
The misc pictures are from Western Days that the girls had at school, Brynn doing the cake walk at the sock hop and Reegan and her friend Alexis on Easter (yes I said Easter, and yes they are in their bathing suits!!)

Swimming Lessons

The girls just completed their first 2 weeks of swimming lessons. I was able to get three of them into the pool at the same time! It was awesome! Brynn, who has never had lessons, started in Level I and went from refusing to put her face into the water, to full on dunks/bobs. Greer was in Level III which was beginning stroke development. She has always been a fish so she did really well. Reegan was in Level IV which was stroke refinement. I was a bit concerned about Reegan on the first day once I realized that she was in a competitive lane that ran 25 meters and 5 ft 6 in deep in it's entirety. She had to do free-style the entire length up and back right off the back.... but she proved me wrong. she didn't even hesitate. She also learned the back stroke, butterfly and a few others that I don't remember the names for. They all advanced to the next level so they are on a waiting list for the next session that starts on Monday. Hopefully they will all get into classes.

Trip to the Phoenix Zoo 5-30-08

While Mom and Dad were here visiting we took the girls to the Zoo. Unfortunately for the animals it is not anywhere near as "progressive" as the zoos back home. We got a bit of a late start so by lunch time we were all baked... can't remember how hot it got...maybe 100. We walked half of the park, ate lunch, and then took the tram around the other half. It was fun seeing all of the animals. The best part of the entire zoo for me was the "Monkey House". You actually walk into their enclosure and walk amongst them. The only thing keeping them inside the monkey house is corrugated plastic which they can't climb. You could actually reach out and touch them if you were dumb enough to do so. The zoo guide told us that they have canine teeth and like to bite and touching was definitely a no-no! The little squirrel monkey in the tree in the picture below was one that we saw.

Friends B-day party at Pump It Up

There is this awesome place called Pump It Up where kids have their birthday parties. Two huge rooms filled with these gargantuan blown up slides, bounce houses, etc. Reegan had gone a couple of times, but this was Greer and Brynn's first go around. They had a blast!

Greer's End of School Party 5-27-08

Greer's End of the School Party had a fiesta theme. They did crafts, played games and had a HUGE pinata! It was amazing to watch how Greer took Brynn under her wing and included her in the classroom festivities! If only it could be like that more at home!!!! All in all it was a fun day. It's hard to believe that the kids have been out of school for over 3 weeks already.

Reegan's End of School Day 5-22-08

Reegan had her End of School Party on May 22nd. I was in charge of doing the games and water activities for the class. The kids ate pizza, played a bunch of games outside (before the lightning struck which forced us inside) and ate popsicles. The Schmidt's were here so Skylar was able to come along and meet Reegan's classmates. They had a really good time. Sooo much energy!