Bike riding update

Annabelle has started getting the hang of balancing on her bike. I think if Michael were able to devote 45 minutes every day to helping her, she would already have learned everything and would be riding completely by herself. But, unfortunately, he doesn't have that kind of spare time. He'll be gone this weekend and Annabelle won't be able to practice with him until next week. I hope she remembers what she's learned thus far. Last night, they went out to practice again, and Annabelle was doing really well.




Michael got super sweaty. I don't think the pictures capture how utterly soaked through with sweat he as. It was dripping everywhere!

International Folk Dance Festival

Last week was the annual Folk Dance festival. Dancers from all over the world travel here to perform. It's really neat to see. To start the week, they have a parade where each country does short dances from their native land as they walk down Main street. It had been raining all day, but cleared up somewhat in the late afternoon. The kids and I packed up our stuff and got a decent spot. We had a great time until out of nowhere about halfway through the parade, it started to pour and the wind was so strong. I didn't even have time to pack everything back up before we were pretty much soaked. Annabelle was holding the picnic blanket we had set up over her head, so she was somewhat protected. I put Jillian in the stroller while I cleaned up and tried to cover her as best as I could; however, I didn't know the wind was blowing the rain directly in her face. Finally, I had everything ready to go and we raced back to the car. Jillian was screaming her head off (poor thing was in the direct path of the wind and rain), Annabelle was whimpering and whining, and I was thoroughly drenched. Annabelle didn't want to take the blanket off her head, but she was having trouble running with it and was tripping a lot. There were two different people who took pity on us and tried to help. I'm sure we did look pretty pathetic. We finally made it to the car, and by this time, all three of us were shivering. I really enjoy this parade and was pretty bummed that it was rained out. Oh well. It makes for a pretty good story.

Reading

I try to get my kids interested in books when they're very young. Annabelle never really liked being read to. I would try every night and she would wiggle and squirm and whine until I let her get down off my lap. It wasn't until she was about 3 years old that she started to enjoy and desire being read a story to before she went to bed. Now, it's turned into asking for "just one more" after having read her just one more. She has such a vivid imagination and I've seen how books have just given her more ideas for her many "pretend games".

Annabelle, on the other hand, has loved books for several months now. We read several every night before she goes to bed, and even when she gets up in the morning, the first thing she does is walk over to her closet to pull out a book. I've often caught her sitting in the rocking chair in her room (our "reading" chair- she loves to climb on it all by herself) with a book in her hand babbling away in baby talk as she looks at the pictures. It's so cute.

Here's a video of Annabelle reading to Jillian. Aren't they so cute?! If you haven't figured it out, this was taken before church on Sunday and Annabelle really wanted curly hair.

I'm back..... at least for now.

I know I've been absent from blogging for a while and I apologize. It's been very busy around here lately, and I've found that when I think about updating my blog, I have no energy at that time to do it. Just to tell you a few things, in the last month and a half, we've had family here about 5 different weekends, Michael has been out of town at least twice, I've taken on 4 more piano students (that puts it at 15 students, 16 if you count Annabelle who has been having a 5 minute piano lesson every week), I've gotten a new, somewhat demanding calling at church, and I have two extremely active children. So, I hope that you forgive me for slacking on the blog.

Here's an update on the girls. Annabelle finished preschool done through the college, and we're trying to decide whether to put her in a private preschool this year, do the college one again, or not do any preschool at all. It's makes me want to cry knowing that one year from now, she'll be getting ready to attend kindergarten. It can't really be that time already, can it? She loves to play outside and be with friends. She is also learning how to ride her bike without training wheels. She's only tried with Michael twice and gets distracted very easily, but I think she'll catch on soon. Michael is very good about showing her how it's done. (Watch the 3rd video.)







Jillian just turned 18 months last week and is officially nursery age for church. I've been taking her there for the last 2 months though because she is very attached to me and I knew it would take some time for her to learn not to scream through the entire two hours of nursery without me. She has taken over Annabelle's old tricycle and loves to push it around (she's not quite tall enough to ride it). For the most part, she is a fun, energetic kid who loves to play outside. She is still a huge mama's girl and wants me to hold her all the time. I know it won't last forever and I should enjoy it while it lasts (which I do for the most part), but sometimes, I need my personal space and time for myself. Here is a video of Jillian's way of eating grapes. The first 30 seconds are the best. I should have stopped that camera after that.

Reading time during piano lessons

I teach piano to three siblings. They usually come at the same time, and two play downstairs while one gets their lesson. This last week, this is what it looked like: And I forgot to get a picture, but later during the lesson, Jillian brought one of her books out and joined the other three on the couch with a book of her own. It was hilarious. I'm so mad I didn't get a picture.

Zoo trip

A friend and I took our kids to the zoo a few days ago. It's not bad for a small town, but afterward, I longed to go to the St. Louis zoo. I remember going there so many times during the summer when I was a kid. Anyway, the kids had a blast and I really enjoyed getting out of the house.

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone enjoyed our Independence Day. I certainly did. We didn't have a grill, but how do you show your patriotic side more than having a barbecue? So, Michael bought one. We barbecued on Saturday and Monday. The food was delicious, thanks to the skills of Michael, the grill master. (He was really digging that title.)
We went to the parade in the morning and boy, was it long. But the kids seemed to enjoy watching most of it. I think by the time we were getting to the hour and a half mark, they were tiring out. But check out this awesome float. Sometimes I wish I had a cart this big when I went shopping.
Later, we went to see a big fireworks show. Once we got to the park, it was enjoyable. The drive and walk to where we ended up sitting and the walk and drive back to the car and then home was not fun. Jillian, who had been up since 7:15 am, out in the sun for almost the whole day, and had only taken about an hour and a half nap, did not fall asleep until almost midnight. She enjoyed the fireworks show, but was pretty cranky the rest of the time.

I love this country we live in. Happy 4th of July!