One More Week

The summer has flown by eve3n though it has been two weeks longer than last year. I think Em is excited and Abs opinion on going to a regular school is mixed sometimes. I think she will do fine though. I hope.

Abs has been performing her play every day since Thursday. They are doing Aladdin Jr. and it is really cute. I'm glad that she managed to stay out of trouble for these three weeks so she could participate in the production.

Em has been with my mom since her friend was there visiting her Grandma next door. Em has been sewing and designed a purse and is working on a quilt. She makes clothing too, but not anything yet that I will let her wear outside of the house as too much skin is showing!

Junior plugs along and goes with the flow. He has been staying with my MIL and playing with the puppies while I take Abbie to her performances and volunteer backstage.

The puppies are getting huge! It looks like there father was a black lab and the mom is part lab part mutt. I think the puppies will be bigger than their mother. I am sure they will once they are old enough to partake in the leg of lamb dinners with the other two dogs. I wonder if she will start cooking multiple legs just to keep everyone happy?? Crazy I tell you.

I've been missing the cycling classes at the gym due to Ab's schedule at the theatre so I have taken up running again. I love to run, but my knees do not. Once the girls are back in school I am going to have to go back to the doctor and figure out what we can do to make life easier for my knees.

DH is out in the box so I haven't heard anything for the past two days. He absolutely loves to go to the field when they are out there training and not just sitting around. I'm sure he is roasting, poor guy. He'll be home before we know it.....remind me of that next week when all the children are home and we have no concrete plans. I sure hope Hurricane Dean doesn't show up and keep us in the house because of the rain!

Busy Busy

I don't know how some people can think that I have time to do anything when I stay home with my children. I am busy from the time I get up till the time I go to bed and if for some reason I am not, there are a ton of things I should be doing!

Junior had another well baby today because he still needed his immunizations. He got 5 shots the poor little guy and is passed out in his crib right now.

It's almost 11 and no call from the VLA Theatre yet so maybe Abs is behaving? Abs has a friend who is attending the same camp and her mom sent a backpack of things for them to do since they are bored. This is definitely not as well run as the previous acting camp that she went to. I know that they are short handed, but to expect a bunch of little kids to sit in a chair for hours on end is ridiculous.

We are meeting friends at the pool after acting camp and then we have a predeployment briefing for NTC this evening. I have managed to go to the gym three days this week but I will probably have to take tonight off. I wanted to do the endurance ride on Saturday but we are going to go to Sea World and use the free tickets for the military.

Tomorrow we get Em from Operation Purple Camp. I can't wait to hear all about it! I hope she has had a great time and made some new friends.

On a funny note, Junior has learned to say "Mow" for meow. He hauls around this little stuffed kitten that he got from a vet convention in DC. So cute. I'll try to get it on here.

Here we go again...

Abs started acting camp on Monday and this time it is only from 9-12 so I figured it wasn't enough time to get bored or in trouble. Guess she showed me! They called me today because she pinched someone and she kicked someone. She promises me she did not kick anyone but she admits to pinching someone. I had to pick her up immediately and if she misbehaves again then she is out of the camp. I don't know what else to do with her. I told her she needed to go to her room when she got home and she has been there all day playing nicely by herself and only coming out to potty and eat lunch. I didn't mean all day!

Any ideas?

Camp Purple and other things

Abs started her next acting camp today. This one is from 9-12 and they are putting on Aladdin Jr. I think that the short day will help her get through it with minimal problems. She is excited and they are auditioning for parts tomorrow. I hope she is happy with what she gets! It should be a really cute play. They gave us a CD of music to practice so I am sure we will all be singing the songs by the end of the three weeks.

My in laws kept Abs and Junior today and my mom and I took Em to Camp Purple. I was unsure of what to expect, but it all worked out. They were very organized with setup and had different stations that we had to go through--MRE's (where we signed up to eat lunch with them on Friday), TA-50 (where they picked up a disposable camera and an Operation Purple bracelet), Currency Exchange (where we gave them money for the trading post), Canteens (they were given a water bottle), etc. It was cute. They also had a world map where the children put pictures of their Soldiers around the edges. It was really neat to see all the moms and dads pictures and sad at the same time. They are all missing out on so much in their children's lives.

Anyway, we got Em checked into her dorm, she had a swim test and we left her singing a song about a frog that got run over by a car and was licked up by a dog. I am sure it is one that she will drag home and we will all be singing within a few days of her return.

The drive home was quiet and DH was able to get the kids from his mom's house and attend the FRG meeting and I made it to a cycling class. DH cycled from our house to my mom's house on Sunday so he was more than willing to pass on attending class. They also are allowed to miss PT the next day when they attend the FRG meeting.

The kids are all nestled in bed (I am sure Em is still up since I think they had a dance party scheduled till 10:30 tonight, those wild partiers!) and DH is packing for NTC. (NTC is the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, CA, where they play war and train for Iraq) He will be gone about a month or so, but with summer winding down and school about to start I am hoping that we will remain busy and the time will pass quickly. He will miss my birthday, but he has missed the last 5 I think, so I am starting to get used to it. Who needs cake anyway! Certainly not my hips!

Sick

Yesterday DH and I went to the gym for the spinning class. It hadn't even started yet when they told us Junior had thrown up. DH went and got the kids while I completed the class. (Go me!) They all came back to pick us up and DH thought that Junior had just spit up due to his reflux. Everything was fine and we went home and DH went to the late spinning class.

This morning about 3 Junior got sick. He only got sick twice and he seems to be doing better. After changing his sheets and clothes and starting laundry I started scrubbing toilets. Nothing says "I love you" more than a clean toilet when you are getting sick. I figured if it is contagious I wanted to be prepared, especially since Abs put Junior's binky in her mouth and Em was drinking out of his sippy cup at school registration yesterday--when will they learn????

Anyway, Junior is napping and no one else is sick--so far so good. Abs starts another acting camp next week and Em goes to Operation Purple next week so we need to be healthy! Not to mention my mom doesn't want to get it!

Acting Camp Update

Apparently both of the girls had a great day today. I don't know much more, but Em was participating and Abs had 4 boys fighting over sitting next to her both in the chairs and on stage. Em got the part of a turtle and Abs will be a soldier (guess she wants to be just like dad!).

I will celebrate with Olive Garden with the outlaws...don't know how much of a celebration that is, but it's better than me cooking!

Stay Tuned...

to see if my children will be booted from acting camp. Apparently Em preferred to sit under the table at craft time and Abs was too busy getting into everything to pay attention. Em has almost the entire play memorized and they got the script yesterday. No telling what is going on in Abs mind.

I guess they get their assigned parts tomorrow--Em is hoping to be a turtle and Abs wants to be a soldier. Maybe they should worry about being able to continue rather than which part they would get. My nephew is enrolled as well and apparently he is doing great.

Hopefully they can pull it together and make it the entire two weeks! Keep your fingers crossed...maybe one day something will be easy for us!

First Morning

My mom dropped the girls off at acting camp this morning and my nephew was waiting on them. Abs had three new best friends before my mom had finished enrolling them and Em was already hungry and had broken into her lunchbox.

Abs went walking with my mom this morning and that seemed to help burn off some excess energy. Keep your fingers crossed since I am trying to avoid staying there the two weeks with them! I have too much to do here.

Hopefully the afternoon report will be good....