Christmas Cookie Decorating

So, Gabby invited over a few friends to decorate cookies. There were about 18 cookies per kid to decorate. After 5 or 6 a piece, the crazy crowd turned the frosting on themselves. This is what we got.

In the end, the grown-ups ended up decorating more than half of the 120 cookies. Oh well, it was fun and tasted great. After eating so many cookies, I'm not sure if any of the girls will want to eat dinner.

Visit From Aunt Debbie

I'm so far behind on my posts. Aunt Debbie visited in July and I'm just now adding these pictures to the blog. Better than not posting them at all.

Our old camera bit the dust about two months ago. We finally made it to Best Buy to get another one just in time for the holidays. Hopefully we'll take full advantage of it and take plenty of pictures. I'm hoping to get some other people behind the lense other than me. Not that I have a great desire to be photographed, especially as of late, but it's good to be in enough pictures to know that I existed.

Hershey Park

This coaster went straight up then straight down.

Gabby and Tameka waited 2 1/2 hours to ride.

Memorial Day Camping - Love The Socks

We had a great long weekend with Larry and Barb. Gabby & Taylor looked especially good in their colorful socks.

June's 3rd Birthday

Gabby planned an end of the school party with a few friends. Since we didn't have an official birthday party for June, Gabby suggested we get a cake and have a little party for June at the same time. It was a great idea that worked out great. Here are are a couple of the pictures from that day.

Junie's Got A New Do

The long and stringy hair thing just wasn't working for me, so Gabby and I took June for her first real haircut. This isn't the best picture, but you get the idea. It's basically a short bob. She was very patient up until the last 10 minutes of the cut and then we had to distract her a bit. Needless to say that we had to trim a little bit of uneven hair when we got home. It all worked out in the end. She's as cute as ever.

June The Techy

June loves trying to use the computer. My friend, Dianna, has some old computer games that have puzzles on them. The games are meant for kindergarden children, but June can already do some of the puzzles on her own.

We tried to find some online games for June to try, but we couldn't find the right ones. She still gave it her best shot.

Bonding

What's the best way to bond? Go camping. Today we planned to drop our camper off to get it inspected. We didn't use it last year and figured that we'd have some problems when we tried to hook it up to the truck, but it went great. I said to John, "Wow, there must be something wrong, because things never go this easy." I spoke too soon.

We park our camper at my folks house because we don't have room at our house. Getting the camper out of its spot takes a little bit of manuvering, first forward and then backward onto the road. Everything was going fine until suddenly the truck decided that it wasn't going to go in reverse. I could go forward all I wanted, but reverse wasn't an option. Unfortunately, to get out of the tight spot our camper lives in, you have to back out. I was freaking out thinking that there was something wrong with the transmission. I could see the dollars going out the window.

After trying going forward, then attempting back for about fifteen minutes, we decided to unhook the camper. I didn't know what was wrong, but I thought if we got the weight off of the truck, then maybe we could back it up.

Because of the hill that the camper was on, we couldn't get the camper off the hitch easily. We had to scrounge around my parents garage for scrap wood that was just the right thickness to raise up the tongue of the camper. We were fortunate that my dad has lots of that kind of stuff laying around. Thank you Larry!

When we got the camper unhooked from the truck, I tried reverse again, but no luck. I was thinking that I was going to have to pull my truck as far out of the way as possible and use my parent's truck to put the camper back in its spot. They weren't home, so I called to find out if there were keys somewhere that we could use. They didn't answer. It was getting complicated.

I don't know why, but all of a sudden, I reached down and jiggled the emergency brake. Ureka! Reverse was restored. We hooked up the camper for a second time and backed that sucker out before something else could stop us.

So, we were on our way to the camper dealership to drop our camper off to get it inspected. The only problem was, when we arrived at the dealership, it wasn't there anymore. There was a sign saying that they moved. Of course I didn't have the number with me, but John had his blackberry and we looked it up. We did finally find the camper place and chalked this experience up to our first camping adventure of the season.

Update

I haven't posted in awhile because things have been busy. My grandfather passed away a week ago, Monday, and my mother and I have been arranging for my grandmother to come to live close by. It has been busy trying to find a place for her to live.

Gabby spent all of last week home from school sick. The poor kid had some kind of respiratory infection, but seems to be doing better now. I'm hoping that the rest of us don't get it. Even though she's missed a lot of school this marking period, she still pulled out straight A's on this last report card. She's smarter than I was at the same age.

My fibromyalgia has been under control. I'm very tired and have pain, but I seem to know what to expect from day to day. Right now things seem to have leveled off.

June is growing like a weed. She suddenly seems taller. She's talking a lot and asserting her independence at every turn. It's amazing how far she's come since we adopted her.

John, like me, is exhausted all the time, but for different reasons. Work is so stressful for him. His worrying about it keeps him from sleeping like he should. That plus everything he does at home to pick up the slack for what I can't do, is a lot for him. He's a great guy.

Summer said hello today. It hit 89 degrees here today.

Guess Who Got A New Bike?

It's actually June's first bike. We saw it at Walmart and before looking carefully at the price let her ride it around the aisles. She was enjoying it so much that we had to get it. I couldn't believe the price...$45. Fortunately, John had a Wally World gift card and he said that we should consider it and early hoppy bunny gift. He even put his hand behind his head and did the fake bunny ear thing. Considering that June has no clue about the Easter bunny, I was thinking that he didn't have to be so subversive. It made me laugh though, so it was worth it.

A Face Only A Mother Could Love

I only wish I was this cute when I slept. Our psycho dog, as Gabby calls her, is perfectly calm while she sleeps. She doesn't snore, but her tongue hangs out a little. Mine might do that too. Better ask John.

Mr. Brown Can Moo

June loves books. All of us read to her, but special time with her big sis is extra fun.

Gabby has been having some foot problems. Dr. thinks it is a swollen growth plate, but not sure. He can't tell her whether going back to gymnastics is a good idea or not and thinks we should consult a specialist that deals with olympians. Okay, reality check.

Gabby and I decided that she could go back, but needed to ice her feet and take an anti-inflamatory after each practice. So far this has been working. If she starts having a lot of pain again, she'll be done with gymnastics. Only time will tell. She really wants to do gymnastics, but her health will have to come first.

Winter Dress Up

I came across this picture from colder days while organizing my photos. I'm not sure of the purpose of the faces. Maybe they wanted to scare away the camera.

The sunglasses that June was wearing were new. They are now missing a couple of parts. We haven't replaced them yet as sunglasses don't last long in Junie's hands.

Sucked In?

I'm helping out Mommy today. She likes it when I clean.

It's My Potty And I'll Poop If I Want To

June was so excited to sit on the big potty that she asked Gabby over and over again to take her picture. She only been potty training for about two weeks and she's doing great.

Tubby Time

June loves the water. Whether its the bathtub or the pool, she's all in. It's hard to believe that she's two and a half years old already. We've been home from China for 17 months. June has changed so much.

We measured June today and she is 27.5 pounds and 36 inches tall. Some of her favorite phrases are, " Be patient, Mom!", "Be careful.", It's mine!" and "I'm okay". One of her preschool teachers commented that June is "very two". We've noticed it at home too.

Gabby is no longer safe in her room since June has mastered going up and down the stairs. Gabby is mostly a good sport about it, but still want some privacy.