It Made It!

At the end of March, Brenna picked out a Marigold grow kit as a reward for a good report card.  For the next four months it was over watered, under watered, left in the freezing cold, left in the scolding heat, and generally mistreated.  However despite all odds, we finally got a bloom! It made it!

Cookie Maker

A few months back Brenna chose a cookie making kit as a reward for her report card.  We made cookies that week and then I stowed the kit away on a high shelf in the kitchen in hopes she wouldn't remember it again for a long time.  Well, it hadn't been long enough when she started asking to make cookies with her cookie kit again.  It's not that I don't enjoy making cookies with Brenna.  I love working with her in the kitchen and she really enjoys cooking too.  But, this cookie kit has what feels like a million tiny pieces that all have to be hand washed.  Then we have to add food coloring to the dough which means at least a half dozen bowls and spoons to get different colored cookies.  Add all that to one excited little girls and you get one big messy kitchen.  But she sure did have a good time and she made some very interesting cookies!

Turtle Rescue

Recently the turtles of our community have been on the move.  One friend's explanation was that its mating season.  I'm not sure if that's the case, but turtles have definitely popped up in unusual places.  About a week ago, I was making a late afternoon run to McDonald's for a nutritious meal for my family.  After crossing the bridge at our big 4-way stop a turtle ever-so-slowly made his way across the intersection.  After evaluating the likely hood of him making it back to safe terrain on his own, I put the car in park, put on my hazards, and hopped out to retrieve him.  I had on no make-up, no shoes, and a t-shirt with holes in it!  At the moment I picked up the turtle, three cars met at the intersection and kindly waited while I made my way back to the bridge and walked down to the creek to release him into a more friendly environment.

Later in the week, I looked out my front door to see another turtle cutting through my yard, crossing into the street, and heading up Andrea Park in the middle of the road.  At the same time, Jacob was driving in from work and had to stop the car to let the turtle pass.  Brenna and I captured him and walked him back down to the creek.  Just call us the Turtle Whisperer!

Our Little Swimmer

I didn't want the summer to go by without making note of one significant achievement.  Last year even after taking two weeks of swim lessons, Brenna still struggled in the water.  She was deathly afraid of putting her head underwater and not a fan of getting her face wet in general.  She was terrified to be in water where she couldn't touch the bottom.

In preparation for summer, we put Brenna in Aquatots swim lessons in April with hopes it would improve her comfort level in the water.  My child, who was seriously frightened of going underwater, was dunked every day for 4 straight weeks!  When I made this statement to someone who asked how things were going, they responded "Isn't that water boarding?"  The coaches were fantastic and she quickly moved through the paces and was swimming on her own by the end of the 4th week.  After returning from vacation, she continued to progress by enjoying playtime with her friends at the pool.  Now, its like the fear never existed!  She's swimming in the "big" pool with no worries that its 6 ft deep, she's diving underwater for rings without hesitation, riding water slides, and even doing flips in the water!  I know that she's not a marathon swimmer, but she can doggie paddle like a champ!  Her new found courage has definitely improved our fun-time at the pool.