it's official

On her exact half birthday, Robyn is driving.

walk now for autism speaks arizona 2012

 It was a beautiful day at Tempe Town Lake.

Haley opted out again this year.

Maybe next year she will join us.

 It was quite the week at swimming lessons for Mia this week also.

The music played for her as she passed the silver jr. level and is now moving on to the silver level which means she can start competing in swim tournaments.

We are all pretty excited about that!

She is a good little swimmer and works hard.

 I sat down on the couch last night and found this little guy in the cushions.

I'm not sure what Quinny fastened the toilet paper on with.

It wasn't the purple paste like last time, and it is securely in place.

It is not much better than the Starburst - neither one is waterproof, but it is clear she does not want the little turtle to be an amputee.

I have a feeling this won't be its last artificial limb.

champ

Quinny told her swim instructor that there are invisible people under the water holding her up.
That's either really cool or really creepy.

 Ever since Quinny found out that you can earn ribbons and medals at her swim school she has stepped it up a notch.

The level she has been in (advanced survival) is a rather difficult level to pass, in my opinion.

The swimmer has to be able to swim using the SwimKids technique across the length of the pool fully clothed.

The technique is a repetition of floating on your back like an airplane, putting your arms up over your head, flipping over, blowing bubbles for three seconds, pulling one arm down, and then flipping back over to the airplane.

When done correctly, it propels the child across the pool and to safety.

Quinny was SOOOO excited last week when her teacher, Brandon (Robert and I like to call him the swim whisperer), told her to bring her clothes along to her next lesson.

She knew what that meant, it was time to test her skills.

She was more than happy to show the instructors what she could do.

She jumped, she breathed, she blew bubbles, she airplaned, she super girled, she abba dabba-ed, she kicked, she laughed, she concentrated, and she talked a lot.

And when her lesson was over, she got to ring the beloved bell!

This was the moment she had been waiting for.

She had seen other kids get to do it, and now she got to.

There was only a slight delay when she accidentally pulled the cord off the bell and they had to quickly reattach it.

It was announced by Indiana Jones that Quinny was moving on.

No more was she going to be an advanced survival kid - she was now a bronze jr kid!

It's Halloween week at SwimKids.

 The music played - literally, they play a fanfare.

She stood on the podium.

She received her medal.

She has been wearing it ever since.

 Who loves their Grammy?

These kids!!!

How do you know you have the best Grammy ever?

She helps you make scary spiders, and goes with you to the children's museum.

She eats lunch outside on the steps with you, and after all of that, she buys you yummy icey creamin.

Lucky Ducks.

a little bit of this and that

Since I wasn't on the vacation with Robert, Robyn, Eric, and Mimi, and I didn't take any of the pictures, this is the only picture I have left to post from their trip.  It is one that they sent to me while they were still gone.  From all accounts, they had a fantastic time.  Oh wait, there is one more picture.  Robert sent me one after he took a little tumble on the rocks.

Mossy rocks are slippery.

 Quinny, Haley, and I went out for Mexican food.  Quinn didn't know what the radish was so I told her to eat it.  She was less than impressed and asked where she could spit it out.

 Grammy came with Quinny, Allison, and me to Amazing Jake's for Field Trip Friday on the 12th.  We had so much fun!

 Quinn was the only one brave enough to ride the roller coaster.  She told me when she got off that it went so fast it made her tummy feel funny.  I am glad she didn't lose her lunch.

 They have unlimited ice cream there to enjoy, and boy did we enjoy it!  We ate countless cones.  Cheers!!

 They gave Grammy the slow go-cart.  Ha ha!  We lapped her a few times.

The Sunday before school started again Mimi hurt her foot.  Here she is limping back to the house.  She limped for a few days.

 Lecture face.

 Everyone's back in school, so I'm back on the road.  It was a nice break while it lasted.

Afternoon pick up the first day back after the break.

 Field Trip Friday on the 19th.  

Quinny and I enjoyed Hotel Transylvania.  We ate Milk Duds and drank Coke.  We loved it!

 The view of Red Mountain at Eric's soccer game on the 20th.  They didn't win, but it was a beautiful morning for playing soccer.

 Family Home Evening on the 22nd.  

We went to cousin Kristin's volleyball game at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.  Dixie lost but Kristin was awesome!!  Watching college level volleyball is very exciting!

 (back) Robyn, me, Ricky, Kristin, Lawrence, Grandpa, Grammy, and Karen

(front) Haley, Mimi, Quinny, and Eric

 My favorite innovative moment this week goes to Quinn.  She decided the turtle needed a new leg.  She attached a starburst on with purple paste and thought it was as good as new.  It didn't last, but she thought it was fantastic!

 Robyn teaching her sissy some tricks of the trade.  Okay, I think Mimi was just hanging around waiting for a taste of the batter.  Robyn was making banana bread for Young Women in Excellence.  She is very good in the kitchen!!

And I think that brings us to today!

Haley has been learning to drive.

Robyn gets her permit next week.

We have some practicing to do around here.....

vacation with dad - so far

best and worst

In less than 24 hours, Quinny has told me that I am the worst mother and the best mother.

She asked me yesterday why Jesus gave her the worst mother ever.

I told her she would have to ask Jesus that question.

She looked a little baffled.  

I'm not even sure what prompted her to ask the question.

There is usually a lead up that sparks the inquiry, but not that time.

I was pretty quick to inform her that there are worse mothers out there.

I then compared myself to moms that beat their children.

I guess I could have found a less extreme example of poor parenting.

Then today without any prompting or lead up, she told me I was the best mother in the world.

When all is said and done, I guess she is right.

There is a little of the best and worst in me.

I have my moments when I think everything is going pretty okay.

And then I have those moments when I want to tear my hair out in frustration, scream, and maybe hit something.

I am usually pretty good at keeping my cool - that's when I think I'm at my best.

Then there are the times I lose it completely - those are the worst.

Sorry, Quinny.

You're are stuck with me - the best and the worst!

our computer died

Our computer had been showing signs of sickness.

It had a weird growth creeping across the screen and it had been processing slower and slower.

We didn't know how serious it was until it just wouldn't start.

We coaxed and prodded.

We turned the computer on and off many times.

Robert even resorted to beating it a little.

It didn't respond.

So, long story short, Robert took it to a repair guy that was able to retrieve our music, pictures, and some files we wanted, and we are on to a new computer.

I need to backup more often....

So here are the highlights from the last couple of weeks.

Field Trip Friday - 9/28/12 - Sea Life Aquarium Arizona

I asked Allison and Quinny to imitate their favorite animals for this picture.

Allison said she was a jelly fish and Q is a sea horse.

Pretty good imitations!

 Haley was home from school for two weeks!

I LOVE year-round school.

I wish all of my kids were on this schedule.

She got to join us in all sorts of things like Field Trip Friday.

She also got to go to the doctor's, driving lessons, and practice driving a lot in these past two weeks.

 If you want to take a nice walk through a museum, park, aquarium, zoo, etc., read the postings, and learn about the things and animals on exhibit, then DON'T go with Quinny!!!!

She runs through these places like her pants are on fire!

Half of the pictures I have of her are blurry.

 Field Trip Friday - 10/5/12 - Arizona Museum of Natural History

 Quinny insisted on carrying around a banana so she could compare the size of the dinosaur teeth to the size of the banana.

Sure enough, they are the same size!

 She saw the quartz and said, "OH, that is BEAUTIFUL!!"

 Panning for "gold".

 She loved these wings.

The entire time she wore the wings she communicated in squawks and screeches.

Still holding the banana.

 She got Haley to "fly" her around the room while she flapped and squawked.

 Random My Little Pony Moment

To say she enjoys My Little Pony is an understatement.

I thought it was funny the other day when I found her watching My Little Pony with all of her Little Ponies lined up watching with her.

This week Haley is back to school and Quinny is home with me.

I have promised Quinny some fun adventures - we'll see how creative I can get!

The middle kids - Robyn, Eric, and Mimi - are having fall break, so Robert left with them this morning for California.

I am sure they will return with lots of pictures and fun memories!!