Keara starts 1st grade!

The summer flew by and now we are back on our normal routine. I can hardly believe Keara is in first grade now. At first Keara thought she would be fine the first day of school without having me stay with her but she quickly changed her mind that morning. We went to her school a little early so I could take pictures and document the moment (yes, I'm a goober). We took her school supplies into her room and got them where they needed to be. We brought a plant for her new teacher and then we headed to before school care. There was hardly anyone there so I stayed with her. Generally she has breakfast in before care but she wasn't very hungry that morning. We quickly ran out of time and I took her to line up with here class. I was doing OK until that point and then got a little teary eyed as I was again seeing my big girl off to school. It is a scary thing for a parent. So many things are out of your control and you just want your to protect your child as best you can. Her teacher seems very nice. She is new to the profession so it will be a challenging year for her as well. The good news is that after Keara's first day I asked her if she had a good day. "No, I had a GREAT day.", she said. Let's hope it stays that way.

Mother and Daughter go to the theatre

I'm hoping one of the girls develops a love for the theatre as much as I have. I keep taking Keara and she does enjoy it but I'm afraid the stage itself might scare her off. Oh well, it won't stop me from trying. Today we went and saw "The Little Mermaid". The show was well done. The set was amazing and I really enjoyed the characters. Keara liked Ariel and Flounder the best. I wish I could have brought Kailei but she is still a little young yet. I do think parts would have scared her at times and it was probably longer then she would have sat quietly. I did take them both to see Hairspray (the movie) and they liked it. That is definitely a must see for you theatre folks out there. Anyway, it is never a bad day when you can go to the theatre.

Shopping

Well, Keara and I spent the day shopping. Somehow I managed to wait until the last weekend before she starts school to get her school supplies. When she met her teacher on Wednesday, her teacher asked Keara if she was ready for school to start. Keara replied, "No.". Not because she wasn't excited for school to start but because she didn't have her school supplies yet. So today we shopped until we dropped. We got all of her school supplies and then took care of getting items that we will need in the near future. I got halloween costumes, birthday gifts, baby shower gifts, dance class equipment and shoes for the girls. I felt so organized but also know I'll be back shopping before I know it (provided Zeb gives me the checkbook again). :)

New Arrival

We have a new niece and cousin. Anika (sp) was born on August 8th. She was 8lbs 2 ounces, and healthy. Her mom had to deliver her without an epideral (yikes!) because she came so fast. It was difficult for Lieu but both mom and daughter are doing OK now. Anika looks like her mom and a little like Kailei too. :) Kailei and Keara are just enthralled with her. Actually, Keara hasn't stopped talking about her new cousin. We are happy that everyone is well and look forward to watching Anika grow.

Still sick....and tired.

Well, Kailei has the croup. Sleep seems to be non-existent in the house right now but what can you do? Keara is doing OK so that is good. Tomorrow we will go and meet her new teacher for school. Keara is nervous as usual but hopefully all will go well.

Kailei had a horrible bloody nose last night. No one in my family every really had these so it always freaks me out. It seemed to be pouring out and was difficult to stop. Kailei was not happy and crying so that made it a little worse. We finally got her calmed down as Zeb showed her that having a tissue up your nose could be funny (thank goodness for Dad). Whatever works, right?

Horse Show Fun

Well, since we arrived home from our vacation Keara has been sick and now Kailei is. I started work again so it was bound to happen. I feel like we spent half of last year sick and hope this does not mean this next year will be the same.

With Kailei sick, Keara and I headed out to watch Mark in a horse show up in Loveland. He did a great job driving and we enjoyed ourselves. Tracie and family were there of course. Gary was put to work immediately so Tracie and I walked around, watched the classes and watched the kids. They rode some rides, ate junk food and played in the dirt. I was afraid Keara would never get clean but alas the layers of dirt did come off. I told her earlier she was just filthy and she promptly told me that "it was a horse show and you were supposed to be dirty." I couldn't argue with that.

Our Vacation - another long one

Well, now that you know how our week started it is only fair to shed some light on the rest of the week which was just fantastic. The McCann family reunion was a hit. I don't think anyone had a bad time. A big thanks to my cousin David, my Aunt AnnMarie and my Aunt Judy.

We stayed at Cheatheam Annex which is a military rec compound. They had lovely condos, houses and cabins for rent and my cousin David stood in line in the early morning to secure enough places for everyone to stay. We had a cabin and it was just great. Surrounded by trees and near a lake, we felt like we were in the mountains at times.

Tuesday we slept in rather late so we got a late start. We spent most of the day waiting for our luggage to arrive so it was rather uneventful until 6pm when the entire family got together. We hung out around the campfire, listened to the singing and guitar playing of Bill, Carter, Jimmy and others, ate smores (actually I think I ate an entire bag of marshmallows) and enlightened ourselves as to what has been happening in each others corner of the world. Keara and Kailei were both very shy to start so their interactions were limited to their immediate cousins.

Wednesday we drove to Virginia Beach which was just great. The water was a perfect temperature and although the waves were a little rough the boys (both young and old) had a blast body surfing. The girls went in and got mowed over by the waves but we were in nonetheless. Kailei enjoyed digging in the sand and Keara spent most of her time in the water. It was my favorite day of the vacation.

Thursday Kevin and Gary went fishing so the rest of us went to Jamestown. We meant my cousin and her family there (Sharon, Stefan, Kiernan, Maive, my Uncle Jack and Aunt Bernice) for a short while but then the kids got hungry and we split up. It was a very hot day and I'm not convinced the kids understand any of the historical relevance but they had fun climbing aboard ships, running through Indian tepees and walking through a colonial town. The kids got pretty tired in a short amount of time but we can say that we've been there at least.

Friday, Zeb watched the young ones and my sister, Mom and I got to go into Williamsburg for a nice lunch and a little shopping. However, this was the big night so we couldn't go far. Of course, since it was the official birthday party it rained. I could not believe our luck but it did pass over after a while. We took lots of pictures. We had a big picnic where each family brought there own food. They had pinatas for the kids and then we watched an amazing slide show of the family through the generations. So much time and effort went into this and it showed. We all received a DVD and I will certainly treasure it. Later we had cake and Nana was heard to say, "..that it was the best day of her life." That made it all worth it.

Saturday some folks went to the big swim park but Zeb played in a family baseball game and the kids went to the pool. It was another hot day so unless you were in the pool you really wanted to be inside. Some folks started their journeys back home so the numbers started to dwindle. Anyone who was left was invited to a pot luck dinner (which meant clean out the refrigerator) and we chatted until bed time. I really enjoyed this evening as well.

Sunday we had to check out and I believe my family and my mom and dad were just about the last to leave the place. We actually took off to Baltimore as that was where we were departing from on Monday. Mom and Dad took off to Ocean City to drop Mark off. When we got to Baltimore we immediately headed down to Inner Harbor which is a favorite of mine. We got to eat the famous Phillip's crab cakes and then we took a paddle boat ride at Kailei's insistence. It rained a little on us but we had fun and I think it totally made Kailei's day.

Monday we woke up bright and early and headed down to the National Aquarium. I LOVE this place and just had to get the girls there somehow. I was worried we might not get in but we didn't have a problem. We all had a great time. Right about lunch time we scooted over to the airport and headed for home. Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

This vacation was truly great. I hope my girls appreciated it in some small way. I have so many memories growing up surrounded by the McCann clan. It was always a blast to be in New York and have such a big extended family. I love that we are a part of this big, crazy, lovable bunch. And although we might not see each other as often as we would like, this reunion was definitely worth the 18 hours it took my family to get there.