Isn't She Beautiful?

Above is a photo of my pretty girl. Below is her eating lunch in a box, because doesn't everybody eat lunch in a box? Puts new meaning to the word "Box Lunch" !! Ha ha ha, I couldn't resist that one!
Is it wrong of me to look at her little face and think she is the cutest thing ever? And even better, she has such a personality and has such a great sense of humor. She cracks me up every night......she cracks herself up also. Ahhhh, to appreciate your own sense of humor is a gift ;) So, the director at the daycare stopped me today to ask me if I thought she was a handfull. I believe her exact words were, "Do you think Regan is going to be a handfull her entire life?". Uh, yeah, I do. The director calls her "Raygee" and pretty much lets her run the office. The director took to taking her on walks and she says now when she stops in the room if she doesn't let Regan go on errands with her then Regan absolutely will not give her the time of day for the rest of the day. The director also adopted a little girl from China about 6 years ago and I think she has a soft spot for Regan. She likes to go in the director's office and watch the classrooms on the video monitors. She really, really wants me to go outside and wave to her from the camera that views the front door. I did it once, I put my foot down at going outside everyday to wave like a dork at the camera. Isn't it enough that I wave at myself for the camera everytime we go to Publix?!?!?

To back up, Regan got placed in the 3 year old room. Partly at my request, partly at her teacher's request. The first week was dicey. Regan's two year old teacher got moved this school year to teach the threes. I didn't want Regan switched again as she had had three teachers last year and I thought that was ridiculous. Because Regan is potty trained, the daycare made an exception and allowed her and one other little girl to move to the threes. I also wanted her to have older children to help her model better behavior (ha ha ha) and language.

I love how the classroom is more structured. They have circle time, a lesson plan, activities, circle time spots, etc. This daycare has a religious affliation to Lutheranism and they have a bible lesson everyday. I like that and feel it is a bonus to their curriculum. There is also a visual behavior chart consisting of a smiley face, straight face, and sad face. I like that they are backing up their expectations with visual supplements, even though I thought it would go right over Regan's head. Amazingly, it hasn't gone over her head and she puts the dogs on sad faces all the time when they do not act according to her expectations;)

Regan started back to school two weeks ago. The first week she had sad faces (really bad days) for three days! Her teacher was obviously upset with her because she wouldn't keep her shoes on, wouldn't clean up, wouldn't share, was crabby and kept running out the door. Regan and I had many talks about her behaviors, especially running out the door. She is not allowed anymore to even touch a doorknob and if this continued, I was going to have to say she wasn't allowed within ten feet of a door ;) Come to find out, she was running out the door when the teacher was changing the other kids. My thought was that if you had to go into a restroom and change a child, there should be another adult in the room. I had erroneously thought that if Regan had to be potty trained to make it into this class this meant that all the three year olds in the class were potty trained. Guess not.

Anyhoo, I am thrilled to say that she is getting the routine down. I am also pleased that she actually got stamps and stickers yesterday for helping everyone clean up their stations without even being asked. Who says rewards don't go a long way? She hasn't run out the door since Konnor told her that he was not happy with her choices (I have no idea why she chose to listen to him, but I'm not complaining!). The daycare also started a Parent Advisory Group and four other parents and myself were invited to join. I'm really glad as it shows the daycare is looking for support and parental input.

Our other big challenge continues to be drop offs. Regan has been going to this daycare for over a year now. When will she stop crying everytime I drop her off? It is so rough to see her upset like that even though I know she stops soon after I leave (I have been known to lurk to make sure it is alright!) Her teacher wants her to learn to sit still for circle time. I wish her luck on that one. She is only two after all, and one of the most busy little two year olds I've ever seen.

Oh, one other big milestone. Regan is really beginning to enjoy arts and crafts. I mean REALLY enjoy them. I craft whenever I can and she now has her little art box where she will color and draw for quite a long time (30 minutes or so). Her teacher says she worked on her painting today for 50 minutes! She is so proud to show me every afternoon what she finished in class and wants her artwork displayed on the refrigerator.

Things Just a Keep on Breakin'

The newest in the line of casualties seems to be my computer and possibly my clothes dryer. Both of which I would be lost without. I'll start with the dryer. I could dry my clothes faster by having Regan the whirling dervish hang on to them and run around like she is so good at doing. I LOVE this dryer and will be heartbroken if it doesn't work. It is a hand me down from my mom and is awesome. Nothing special, nothing fancy, but it does it's job:it dries clothes. Or at least it used to. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a laundry quirk. All of my clothes have to be dried and then ironed. Pretty much all of them. While in PT school, I actually burned a hole in a pair or soccer shorts because I thought they needed to be ironed. Silky soccer shorts and an iron do not mix.

Next: the computer. It must have been over a year ago, because Joel and I have been broken up for over a year now, a virus took over my computer and tried to destroy it. I still think somebody (not myself, hint hint) must have downloaded something with a virus. Anway, a friend of my mom's rebuilt my poor computer and it hasn't been the same since. Even though it got all of it's guts revamped, it still suffers. My email is always glitchy. If you haven't had a return email from me, now you know why! I have over 400 unread emails in my box because of my computer and it's haywire ways. I recently tried emailing a person who is adopting a little girl from the same orphanage where Regan lived. I was trying to attach pictures of the orphanage only to find out a couple of days later that I had actually sent pictures of random sightseeing. How embarrassing! So, now I have to double check all emails with attachments to make sure they are the correct attachments. That is if my email works at all. So, if I haven't emailed you back.....I'm trying! I am now going to attach some pictures and hope it works. Regan and Konnor both started school last week. Later this week, I 'll have to talk more about it, right now I"ll get on with the pictures before my crazy computer decides to boot me off (another wonderful trick it has learned.)

Tonight's Entertainment

It's hurricane season again... Bleh! Hurricane Fay has decided to come and party this evening. Luckily, it won't be as bad as Charley who came as a Category 5. That is the one hurricane I've been through that was really scary. It went from a 4 that would hit north of us to a 5 headed straight towards us. I'll never forget visiting my friend who lived in Port Charlotte (the city north of us), who got the worst of it........her neighbor's toilet was in her front yard tree. It's never a good sign when a toilet has beome a tree ornament. It was hard to drive around here in Cape Coral because all the signs and power lines were gone and so we had no landmarks to go by.....and I had no electricity for 2 weeks(that really sucked)! Regan's first hurricane and she was really hyped up with all the activity and bringing all the lawn stuff into the garage. She thought it was great fun. At least one of us did!!! If we have electricity, I"ll post tomorrow about the last couple of weeks....I am so behind!

2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony - Beijing***Updated*** See Below

One World, One Dream. The Great Wall.

Countdown Clock, Tiananmen Square.
Buildings in the Forbidden City getting a much needed paint job and face lift in preparation for the Olympics.

Our guide, Happy, who I so hope is enjoying the Olympic Opening Ceremony.


I just finished watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I am so in awe of the entire ceremony and the symbolism. One of the things Bob Costas said that really rung true (and this is just one that I am thinking about right, there were many more) was about the complete and soul deep pride the Chinese felt about hosting the Olympics. Our Beijing guide, Happy, talked on and on about the Olympics. She only got to see her parents once every year or two because of how expensive it was to travel. Her biggest dream was to go with her parents to see the opening ceremonies. Back in 2006 when I was in China, there were Olympic emblems everywhere, including the Great Wall. Back then, you could sense the pride that the Chinese people felt over the honor of hosting the Olympics. It is also mind boggling to me to think that Regan is a Chinese daughter who can also share the great pride in her heritage. It actually brought tears to my eyes to see this pride and to be able to relate and to look at Regan and see some of her heritage. As I said in my last post, I am unable to post new pictures. I enjoyed looking back on some of my pictures of Beijing and I so enjoyed being able to see in my mind the Bird's Nest Stadium. We drove by this awesome stadium on our trip to the Great Wall. Back then, it was little more than a shell. I looked back on old pictures and even though I know we took a picture, I can't find one. I am so ready to go back for a visit, China is such a beautiful country.

UPDATE:

I'm scared, People, scared! Regan is really on a roll! Last night, after I stayed up until 3 AM working on a craft, watching some Olympics, printing coupons, etc....I woke up at 5 AM because something just didn't "feel right". That feeling was finding Regan up, having turned on the tv and was happily watching the opening ceremonies that were being replayed on NBC. What did she have to say for herself? "Look mommy, firework". I didn't mention earlier that she was soooo upset with me because I made her go to bed before the ceremonies were over. If this is the kind of stuff she is doing at the age of 2, what in the world is in store for me when she is a teenager?!?!?!?

P.S. I do have a chain on my front door and a locking bar thing on the sliding glass door so that she can't get out. I think a trip to Target is in my future to buy every locking device known to man. And you know the real unfairness? Tricia, I am actually a goody two shoes, and always have been! I learned from my brother what things NOT to do. My brother was the one always in trouble, sneaking out (I only did that once and he was involved in that little escapade), and too many other things to mention. Konnor, his son, is the most well behaved little boy ever (except he is becoming class clown). When Konnor was two, you could look at him funny and he would cry. Tell him not to touch something once and he wouldn't go within ten feet of it, ever. Where is the justice in this?!?!? (I'm lucky that I took lessons from my mom and hopefully can stay one step ahead of Regan. Maybe I should take a note from my mom and go ahead and nail the windows shut now as opposed to waiting until she is sneaking out at 16?~?~?)

Bullets

I am so far behind on everything in life! I am going to bullet this post because otherwise it would be even worse than my usual rambling, meandering posts!

• On Sunday, we took a last minute road trip. Drove five hours to my grandparent's house. Dropped off my mom and nephew. Drove another hour to my friend Leslie who lives in St. Augustine. Met her new baby!!! FINALLY home from Guatemala. She was sooooooo cute (Maya that is, not Leslie!). The purpose of the trip was to drop off a bunch of baby stuff for Maya and Leslie since I won't be needing it any more :( My baby is growing up so fast! Spent a couple of hours with Leslie. Drove an hour back to my grandparents, ate dinner, visited for an hour or so and back on the road for another five hours! Regan was not so pleasant the following day, but I can't blame her since we had quite the trip!



• I lost the camera charger to my camera. Borrowed my mom's camera and lost the camera cord. End result: no pictures to put on post, so I am going to do past photos.
• I am so excited to see the Olympics! I have been to Beijing and am so excited to see again some of the places we visited! Our Beijing tour guide, Happy, said her greatest wish was to get tickets to see the Opening Ceremonies. I so hope she gets to go, she was an amazing person. In her words, "I crazy like the olympics!".
• Konnor got his Stanford Ten (standardized Kindergarten test) results. He did awesome! Scored in the 98th percentile for reading and the 95th percentile for math. Yeah!
• Regan has not had any more on purpose potty accidents since the incident in the library. I did the whole ignoring thing. I went back to praising her when she used the potty and it seems like it was a temporary thing...thank goodness!!!
• Regan is saying alot more words. She is now using time words: Today, later, now, etc. She picks up a new word just about everyday.
• When I bought my new refrigerator, I never thought about the fact that she can get in the freezer section. I was a little surprised the first time I caught her watching tv, totally naked, sitting on the couch eating an ice cream cone!
• Note to self: Buy refrigerator door locks.
• Regan's trick of the week is to climb the counters. She scared me to death a couple of weeks ago when I found her sitting on the stove. For all the obvious reasons that is not okay. She pulls out the bottom drawer, opens up the cabinet door that is next to the stove and climbs from one to the other.
• Note to self: Pull off the knobs on the stove, remove the bottom drawer.
• Regan's other trick of the week was to lock herself in the bathroom stall at Burger King. On the big Road Trip, we stopped and had breakfast at BK. I took her to the potty before breakfast. After breakfast, my mom took her to the potty and she ran in, ran to the first stall and locked herself in. She must have noticed what kinds of locks they used during her first visit and cooked up this scheme while walking to the bathroom. Fortunately, she unlocked the door herself although I would have almost paid to see my mom try to crawl under the stall door!!!!
• Regan learned to blow bubbles during swim lessons this year. The instructors always made a big deal whenever she would put her face in the water to blow the bubbles. I think they were a little too enthusiastic. Last night, I was getting her stuff together for bedtime. She was told to go potty before bed. I'm in the master bedroom, she is in the master bathroom and I hear a suspicious sound. It sounds suspiciously like bubble blowing. I walk in and her rear end is stuck up in the air as she is blowing bubbles in the dog's water dish. I know what everyone is thinking.....gross! I thought: thank goodness it wasn't the toilet!

Library Stuff

Regan's new obsession is The Doodlebops or Boo Bops as she calls them. As I have mentioned before, there are very few tv programs she will sit and watch for more than 5 minutes which isn't necessarily a bad thing. She is OBSESSED with the Doodlebops now and asks for them every day. I just happened to have this keytar I got on clearance last year and never gave it to her. I pulled it out yesterday and she is in heaven! Below is Konnor following his Dance Dance Revolution Wii program at the library.

I found a new favorite quote from Dr. Seuss:

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

On another note, Regan has a new trick up her sleeve. She first did this little trick at daycare when she didn't like the substitute teacher she had. I thought we were over this particular little unpleasantry and then a couple of days ago she started pulling it out of her bag of tricks again. Her new trick is to wet her pants to show her displeasure about something. She will stand right there, look up at you and say, "I go pee pee" while she wets her pants. She did it yesterday at Sears because I wouldn't let her out of the stroller and tonight at the library because she was upset because the Latin Music Festival program was over. She was able to sit in the circle with "the big kids" and practice playing all the instruments and she loved being able to go to the front (she usually has to sit in the back with me because she is too young for the programs, but this was a program where they sang and danced and she wanted to go so badly I let her go with Konnor and no one minded she was there). She was not so happy we had to leave and let me know it in her most unpleasant way. I had just taken her to the potty about 30 minutes before and had no idea she could leave such a mess. Anyone got any suggestions? And no, I am not putting her back in pull ups after she has been potty trained for almost half a year. I am now packing her going out bag full of shorts, socks, underwear and spare shoes and I thought we had permanently retired that bag:( And can I tell you that I didn't appreciate the guy who stood there and watched me with Regan and gave me a disdainful look because she had her accident?!?!? It was on tile, I cleaned it up and I felt like telling him to give me a break as I am sure he had an accident or two while he was in his growing years!

On another sad note, the library programs are over for the summer. They were awesome! Konnor has a final summer Wii program this Friday and then they will have sporadic programs throughout the year. They are also stopping the evening story times. I am so upset! Regan went to her second one this Tuesday and actually did pretty good as they had alot more movement involved. They are moving them to mornings. It has been nice and we have really had a great time and Konnor has learned alot, completed several trivia contests, earned two books for his reading, and Regan has really enjoyed herself also. The librarians know Konnor and Regan by name now and Regan goes up to their summer desk to get stamps on her hands. They know what she wants when they see her coming!

Red Letters Campaign

My blogger friend, Kristi, brought to my attention Red Letters Campaign. As part of my involvement I will try to answer some of the Blog Buzz questions. I have never been very eloquent at putting my thoughts into words, but I would love to give it a try. This week's question is:

“How do I do this, moneywise? I want to adopt, but it seems so overwhelming. We don’t really have $20,000 in the bank, ya know!” Please blog about your experience, ideas, insight, fundraisers and other ideas that worked for you while raising your adoption money.

Especially as a single woman, I get asked this quite often. To be perfectly honest, funding adoption was the most difficult and daunting part of the entire process. I worried and continue to worry that since I am the only breadwinner that if something happens to me how in the world would I pay the bills? I often feel like I am juggling several balls at one time and that at any minute I may drop one of the balls.

With that having been said, there is no possible way I could put a price on the priceless gift that is Regan. When explaining it to other people I would explain that they would never think twice about financing a 20-30 thousand dollar car, so why the stigma associated with the necessary expenses associated with adoption? I have no magic solution to fundraise money for adoption. I personally took out a home equity loan (back when the housing market was decent and I actually had equity!). I personally did not feel comfortable fundraising and asking for donations. On the other hand, my family did and continues to help me tremendously. When Regan was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital for a month with a life threatening infection 3 weeks after she arrived home, it was my family who helped pull us through that awful time. I ended up having to take an extra month off from work and the hospital, doctor, and medication bills were astronomical. My family provided both emotional support and financial support when they could. I began delivering a paper route as my second job and my mother came over after work and helped me bag and throw the route. That being said, I have always worked a second job to assist with finances. I am fortunate to have a job that allows me to work varying hours to meet my schedule. When I work late, my family assists me by picking Regan up from daycare. It is not ideal, but being single it is what it is.

Instead of concentrating on financing adoption, I concentrate on saving money on a day to day basis. One of the things I try to do is save all my change. I always try to pay with dollars and then put away the change in my change bucket. I know it must be irritating to the cashiers, but even if something is 1.02, I try to pay with two dollars so that I'm not using my change.

Another thing I am going to try to start to do is clip coupons. I'm not so good at this because it takes organization and time (two things I'm not great at), but last week I saved 19 dollars by using coupons at the grocery store. Of course, I hadn't shopped in forever so I needed to stock up. I can't imagine I would save that much every week, but hey, even if it is only one time that is 19 dollars I know have in my pocket!

This Christmas, we are going to try to make most of our gifts. I think it will not only be cost effective, but really fun also!

I am really good at shopping sales! I shop clearances for all of Regan's clothes and shoes. It may seem ridiculous to some, but when there is a good sale I stock up on clothes and shoes in sizes that Regan will grow into. Target was having a huge sale on shoes. The most expensive shoe was 4 dollars. The cheapest shoe was less than 2 dollars. Shoes and clothes do not spoil and they never go bad, so I buy clearance and store them for when Regan grows into them. The picture below is of my weekend finds. I bought 32 pairs of shoes for 85 dollars. Three of the pair were for myself. You can't beat that! Several weeks ago that had a clothes clearance and had shirts and skirts for 1 and 2 dollars. I stocked up, of course! If I don't stock up, she is still going to keep growing and I will still have to clothe her (as much as she would be happy naked!) so I might as well stock up on clearances and save myself hundreds of dollars.

Another thing I do is try to find activities to keep the kids occupied that cost little or no money. Who says that to be entertained you have to spend a ton of money? Every summer we attend the free library programs. Konnor loves them and I enjoy them also! We also go to the park, bike ride, nature center, free movies, etc. We have also found that some places (like the nature center) have annual passes that are really cheap and provide entertainment all year! I guess this post is more about how we save money in general as opposed to how to fund adoption, but it really is one and the same in my house!
We played board and card games Saturday night. I promise, I do clothe Regan!!! I never realized how often she strips down to nothing until I pull out the camera and realize she has little or no clothes on!

Just Going for a Stroll

Heading to the movies. Notice her "collection". She has to bring several things with her whereever she goes. She will systematically collect her things on the way out the door.
Mommy, where are you going? Below is a picture of last year at the movies. Haven't they grown?!?

Do you ever have those moments or experiences where nature just tickles you and you are amazed at what you are seeing?

I do and I had one of those moments today. I was heading home and had to stop in the middle of the road because there were about 10 of these slimy things wiggling around and trying to cross the road. I have never seen anything like it so I stopped to take a picture. They are walking catfish! I guess because of the TORRENTIAL rains we have had that they decided to go out for a stroll and see more of the world. The pictures don't do it justice but just imagine a group of these things "walking" down the road while enjoying the day!

We had a busy day today going to one of the free movies at the movie theatre. We watched The Bee Movie. It was pretty cute. We then ate a quick lunch and Regan had a really quick nap. Then we headed to the library for their program. We went grocery shopping and then headed back to the library for Family Storytime.

I wasn't sure how Regan was going to behave during the movie and she did really good. Not so good during story time. We are REALLY working on Regan sitting still, listening, and not touching. The touching thing she does really drives me nuts!!! She can't keep her hands off of things and we go over it ad nauseum! Grocery shopping is not a good thing. We are going to be going to story time on a regular basis so that she learns and is exposed to a situation where she needs to sit and listen. Hopefully it will rub off and she'll learn before she hits puberty;)

Crafts and Adoption Picnic

Blurry elephant ribbons.
Just because she is cute!

My little monkey at the playground. She can hang forever!

She didn't want to eat at the picnic, just climb!
More mommy!

My latest craft was to decoupage scrapbook paper to make a key holder. Anybody who knows me for more than 5 minutes knows how scatterbrained I am! I spent countless wasted hours every year looking for my car keys. Hopefully this will solve the problem!
Pony tail holders made out of buttons I covered in fabric.
Hey, did you notice she matches my couch?!?! I obviously have an issue with liking plaid.
I promise I clothe my child. She just loves to be as naked as possible!

I worked on some new crafts this week. I can hardly believe that summer is almost over. How come it never lasts as long as you think it should???

Today we went to a picnic hosted by our adoption agency. A small group of people attended, but most importantly I got to meet the great Delaney! She is 3 1/2 years old and came home to her family 2 weeks ago. I didn't take any pictures of everyone because I just wasn't good about taking pictures. Also, I didn't get to say a very good goodbye because Regan decided it was time to show her little rear end and act up so we left rather quickly. That's life with a 2 year old!

Another new development: I have posted in the past about how Regan calls me Becky. For whatever reason I am now Mommy. Unfortunately, she calls every man she sees "Daddy".

Trying to Catch Up

You may think that I am taking a picture of my beautiful, dressed herself, don't judge me on the uncoordinating outfit daughter, but I'm not. That little piece of goodness she is standing next to is our new refrigerator!!!

After over a month we finally have a new refrigerator!!!! The only way we survived was by mooching milk from my mother's fridge. We now will have cold goods!!!

On another note, my grandparents came for a visit over the 4th of July weekend. I love when they come to visit for so many reasons. They love Regan to pieces and she gets absolutely spoiled rotten. My 94 year old grandfather plays and plays with her and that is so good to see....for both of them. I also love that it is one of the few times I get to know that there are several other pairs of eyes watching my little bundle of hyperness and I get to craft. My newest thing is trying to make handpainted clothes. Having a little girl who likes JoJo and knowing that all things JoJo are almost obsolete, I decided just to make my own stuff. My family has now decided that Christmas is going to consist primarily of hand made stuff and I am so excited! The following pictures are of my attempts at handpainting clothes. I can't draw worth a flip and so I cheated by following pictures, then just painted them.....it was really easy and didn't take very long at all. It was so much fun to do, now I need to get it together and paint the area around my new refrigerator. I had an entire month and didn't paint the space where the refrigerator sits. I thought there was no need, figuring my new refrigerator would cover the wall. This refrigerator is much smaller than my old one so of course you can see all around it and notice I didn't paint the wall behind uniformly. Arghh!!

Why did they have to take Bear off of tv? No one can cha cha like Bear can.

Below is my grandmother participating in the craftiness, I want her to teach me how to sew next time they come down.

Not so sure I like the shoes, and I absolutely think the socks look like a 1st grader painted them, but Regan likes them so that is all that counts. They started off as white canvas shoes and I bought the last pair. I wish I had thought of this sooner because I could have bought alot of white shoes and just painted them all different colors. Oh well, I am now on the lookout for cheap white canvas shoes.

My JoJo's? That is what she keeps saying.

What do you mean I can't wear them right now?!?!?

We had a good fourth of July just hanging out together and working on our different projects. We didn't make it to fireworks because of the bugs and Regan was scared, but we drove around the neighborhood and enjoyed all the neighborhood fireworks. I think alot of them were better than the real ones! It was really a good time and Regan got to where she really enjoyed watching them.

Our Summer So Far

Regan's new obsession is with sunglasses (gasses as she calls them)
Posing with two of her favorite things, gases and fwip fwops.
At the fishing tournament.

Whew!! It has been a pretty busy summer so far! I am working summer school, but that ends next week and so the great battle to pay bills begins in earnest as I won't get a paycheck for over a month! I am so sick of money and the lack of money being on the forefront of my thoughts every hour of the day, but then I realize I am so lucky compared to so many and so I need to stop my whining. Okay, I"m done!



I am stalling from going out into the humid, hot, humid, hot, humid weather to finish mowing my lawn. I turned off my sprinklers in the hopes that all my grass would die and most of it did, but unfortunately, the weeks are heartier than that and are taking over. Some of them are ridiculously tall and so I could no longer take it.....I had to mow. I. hate. to. mow.



We have done numerous library programs, including a magic show, reptile show, Ding Darling Animal Refuge Show, a funny singing play, and others. Konnor also got to play a Wii for the first time as they have Wii games on Fridays at the library. They sign up six kids for 1/2 hour slots, for three or fours hours in the afternoon. It was Wii sporting and had a bowling competition going. I was afraid he wasn't going to get how to do it because he had never played before and alot of the kids were very comfortable on the Wii. I shouldn't have worried as he was high scorer out of the entire day!! 586 pins on the game they played!



Regan and Konnor are both in swimming class. Konnor learned how to swim a couple of weeks ago when we went to Sunsplash for the $5 dollar days. He now needs to work on endurance and confidence and he loves it! Regan, not so much. I really need to get her in a pool more often. She loves, loves, loves, water and has a blast when playing in the pool, but hates, hates, hates swimming lessons and clings to me like a barnacle.



We also went to the Calusa Nature Center and went to a summer nights program where we saw more animals, watched a Planetarium Show (I loved it) and went to a camp fire and ate smores (and yes, it was over 90 degrees, but at least it kept the bugs away!). Regan did not like smores, I was quite surprised! They have a turtle tank there, and Regan continued her terror of turtles. We have a membership to the Nature Center so I think we are going to go quite often so that hopefully she will get over her fear.



Konnor went to a fishing tournament this weekend and had a blast! He caught one fish!



My grandparents are coming down for the 4th of July and so we are looking forward to their visit.



Okay, enough stalling, I need to go mow before it starts raining. Why is it that the rain isn't cooling, but just makes it muggy?!?!?!