July in Rewind

I know it seems I've dropped off the face of the blogging world, but if you take a look at my calendar for July you'll see that everyday was jam packed with activities and engagements and blogging had to take a back seat. And to top it off,  I'm terrible about taking pictures.  I always forget my camera, but I did manage to snap a few pics of our busy July.

 Most of July was spent at the pool- surprise, surprise- the single most valuable investment this summer was buying the pool pass.  We signed up for swim classes through the Rec Center.  Our first class was a "Mommy/Daddy and Me" infant class.  Both girls participated and it helped Piper develop a good relationship with water.  We also discovered that Brynn is a FISH.  Baby girl LOVES the water.  After the preschool class, I signed Piper up for the preschool level class and Brynn and I took a "Mommy and Me"  resistance class.  Once that class was over, I signed Piper up for a second round of it at another pool.  Some of the instructors got to know Piper and Brynn very well and we even scored a babysitter from it.  While Piper was in class, Brynn and I would play together and swim in the baby pool.  Piper did such a wonderful job and her confidence level soared.  She loves going underwater and will play in the "deep" end of the pool. 

Baby girl can't get enough of the pool

Pausing long enough to get a picture 

We spend about 2-21/2 hours at the pool, so we always bring food.  Bobby joked that I pack a 3 course meal.  I like variety.  You never know what the kids will want to eat.

 

Swimming Certificate!

 In the middle of all our swim classes, we finally got our living room furniture!  I waited 3 months for it and once it came we went nuts with decorating projects.  One such project was a magnetic chalkboard for the gameroom.  It's not magnetic- the paint doesn't work, but the chalkboard was a huge hit.  Piper drew flowers, shapes, and letters all over the board.

Piper has been really into drawing pictures and then mailing them off to the family members.  This is a birthday invitation- see the cake and candles at the bottom and then Piper wrote her name all by herself!  Usually, I have to help her with the "E" and "R.  I didn't even know she had done that- she just handed me the paper all folded up and I didn't unfold it until later that evening.  I wish that I had looked at when she handed it to me so I could've praised her right then and there. 

Someone else is very into art as well.  Brynn likes to try her hand at coloring the inside of her mouth with blue markers! 

 At the local Chick-Fil-A, they were having a "Sweet and Sassy" party.  I met up with some friends and their little divas.  Piper loved being treated like a princess. 

The Divas

 July was surprisingly rainy, we had some serious storms blow through and those storms kept us indoors for almost 2 weeks!  A house full of kids and 2 silly parents, made for lots of giggle fests.
 One thing we did was our own version of the "3 Little Pigs" except it was "The 3 Little Nemos and the Big Bad Shark"  Piper made up the story and used her tent as the anemone, Bobby was the shark and he got to wear the shark hat (no pictures of him though) and Piper, Brynn, and I were the 3 little Nemos.  Hilarious!  I took a video of it and I laughed through the entire play.  After we saw how much fun daddy had wearing the shark hat, we all wanted to wear the hat!

Brynn was the biggest, baddest shark.  She destroyed the anemone!

Piper played with her stuffed animals- tea parties, shopping trips, and puppet shows

Making silly faces for the camera

I can't open the dishwasher without Brynn trying to climb in it

After having so much fun, Brynn would just pass out on the shag rug 

July wasn't all fun and games, I worked my butt off...literally!  My legs look fantastic.  I'm at a great weight with only 5lbs to lose (10 if I feel ambitious).  My friend and I run 4 times a week, we average a 10min or less mile, and we run between 4-5 miles.  Our runs are challenging.  We run hills like crazy people.  I really need to take a picture of one of our "favorite" runs.  I'm really getting into running and finding it surprisingly...fun!

I know this entry made you tired just reading it, I'm tired after typing it.  It's amazing how much you can cram into 1 month.  As for August, we've been taking it easy.  In fact, the entire first week of August was spent at the pool- you should see our tans!