July Update (Lily 7, Clara 5)

I can’t believe that summer is almost over! We have been so busy this summer that I feel nostalgic for last summer when I worked 3 days a week and we had more freedom to go to the pool and relax. The beginning of this month began slowly with an adoption/ baby shower and the girls going to camp and became a lot busier towards the end with my nieces visiting for 2 weeks. This is also like a vacation for me because Lily and Clara have been attending Camp Nana and Pop. This past week I have gone to work every day then headed out to my parent’s house for dinner and helping get the girls ready for bed before I leave and go home to a quiet house...honestly it’s comparable to a weeklong stay at a 5-star resort.  

 

Lily July Update: 

 

Lily is excited and nervous to start 2nd grade and her first year at a new school. I have my fingers crossed that she knows some of the kids in her class from her summer program. Both of the girls were very excited for their first playdate at our house when some friends drove to Maryville from Knoxville and they immediately started talking about having a sleepover. We also met someone when we were at the park that Lily knows from her summer program. I’ve noticed that Lily does a lot better meeting friends if she’s in a smaller group vs in a classroom or larger group.  

 

 

Loves: 

-doing flips off the diving board 

-fruit roll ups 

-movie nights 

-swim lessons 

-the movie Rocketman (from the 90s) 

 

Hates: 

-waking up early 

-turning the ipad off  

 

 

Clara July Update: 

Clara has been having a ball as well at Camp Nana and Pop with some of her cousins. I keep telling her how many days she has before she starts kindergarten and she tells me “shhh mommy stop talking”. I have been reading Harry Potter to the girls at bedtime. They decided they wanted to read it after our Yellowstone trip and their cousins (who are visiting) were talking about how much they loved it. Clara is prone to mixing up words from Harry Potter in the most entertaining ways. Ex: Baltimore= Voldemort and basset hound= basalisk. I think it’s safe to say that if Clara were writing the Harry Potter series they would have been completely different books.  We also celebrated Clara's 5 1/2 birthday at a gymnastics place in Maryville. she loved ziplining and the obstacle course.  

 

Loves: 

-flips off the diving board 

-press on nails  

-fruit roll ups 

-running full speed at me when I walk in the door (ouch) 

 

Hates: 

-waking up for school 

-having to walk anywhere at all before 7am 

the girls had a great time at my friends adoptions shower

slip n slide at Nana and Pops house

spending their target gift cards

meeting baby Holden

Holden is Lily's godfather's baby

press on nails

clara tries her had at dog training

it was not very successful

cousins visiting= bubble bath

Olympic opening ceremonies

Clara's kindercare graduation 

Clara's birthday party

zipline

June Update (Lily 7, Clara 5)

 June was such a busy month. At the beginning of the month we moved to our new home in Maryville with the help of SO many amazing friends, my family and movers. It took 2-3 days but we are completely moved into our house. I’m not saying we’re completely unpacked but we do have more things out of boxes than are in boxes and our house is slowly looking less and less like an episode of hoarders. Only 2 weeks after we moved in, we packed out suitcases and flew to Yellowstone and the Tetons for a week long vacation. Tips for visiting Yellowstone/ Tetons: 1) bug spray, 2) sunscreen (my shoulders after our hike can prove it) and 3) if you see a large group of people using high powered cameras/ scopes to look at seemingly boring landscape stop and ask what they’re looking at.... it’s usually something interesting.  

The girls have also started Adventure Club (summer/ afterschool program) at their school. Every day of the week has a different theme (STEM, library day, virtual field trip, movie day) as well as a day when special guests come (zoo mobile, candle makers etc). The girls are both always nervous in the morning and Clara has been asking if she can come to work with me but I know they have a great time there because they tell me so every day.  

 

Lily’s June Update:  

Lily really enjoyed the trip out west...especially the part where she got to spend time with her cousins. The 4 older girls were constantly switching who they were riding with in the cars. Before we went on our trip I asked Lily what animal she wanted to see while we were there. First she said that she wanted to see a turtle but after some discussion about how were weren’t going to be looking for turtles she said a bison. We saw so many bison that at one point one of my nieces said “ugh not ANOTHER bison”. If you asked what Lily learned about Bison, she would probably say that they have a HUGE head and a really small butt....very educational and not wrong they are very front heavy.  At old faithful, where we stayed the longest we had the perfect cabin setup= our group was in 4 separate cabins that were pushed together and connected by doors on the inside. The kids could run around and not worry about bothering anyone.  
 

Lily loves: 

-souvenir stores  

-playing with her cousins 

-iPad games 

-baseball caps 

-swimming 

 

Lily hates: 

-having wet hair after swim lessons 

-having her hair brushed 

 

Clara’s June Update: 

Clara had a great time on our west trip. She is now BFFs with my cousins husband. Throughout the entire trip she referred to the car my aunt and uncle had rented as “Mark’s car”. She said she wanted to see a bear which we didn’t see but we did see wolves, a coyote, bison, elk, pronghorn deer, mule deer and a pine marten. If you asked Clara her favorite part of the trip it would be playing with her cousins and the souvenir shops... she also might tell you that bison have small butts. We also spent a lot of time seeing geysers, paint pots and mud pots (her favorite). While we were out watching a wolf den Clara was playing and found a 5 inch long old rusty nail, she promptly put it in her bag and we forgot about it until we got home. I’m not sure how but it got through TSAs heightened security without getting flagged.  

Clara Loves: 

- sleep 

-pretending to walk with a cane/ be a granny 

-Mark (cousin’s husband) 

-Calling people "Bro-citis" (we don't understand it either)

Clara Hates:

–being woken up early

-the feeling of taking off/ landing in an airplane  

river walking with nana and pop

birthday party

we made friends with a neighborhood cat that 

the girls named Georgia Sparkles

coloring with Mark

headless Clara

while we were all watching the wolves Lily found

a butterfly

looking for trilobites it was like a rock easter egg hunt

watching Heidi with Aunt Rachel