Best Summer, EVER!

Well, it would be hard to beat the fun in the sun, every day at the pool with Rochelle, Brynn and Caden, that made up our last summer, but I think the kids just LOVED having their "looney Meg", as she has been affectionately nicknamed, here for the summer.

It was probably a big eye-opener to marriage and young children, and a great birth control method, for her to live at our house this summer. (probably remarked how she didn't want her marriage or children to be...like I used to do before I realized how little control I have in all that)She pampered us, cooked, did laundry, took the kids to see wondrous things like the "Holy" Mammoth (Mikey couldn't understand the whooly concept), Pool days, Zoo days - we had an elephant mom and baby visit our small zoo and they do camel rides and a new baby giraffe was born this last month too!

They often mixed up the mom and meg and just called her mom, which was appropriate since whenever we were out in public with me, meg and the kids people would think they were hers anyway. Our duplex neighbors moved in a month after we did and thought that Justin had two women and that Mikey was my kid and Aislynn was Meg's because they just couldn't fathom that Aislynn was mine when she looked so much like her aunt. It's a good thing I was the one who gave birth or else I might have been questioning it too!

Meg also helped with our spanish instruction. I have yet to convince Buck to speak spanish to the kids full-time and in fact, I probably speak more spanish to them than he does, but Megan is a secondary education Spanish Teacher major, so she taught lots of vocabulary to the kids. Mikey's favorite is Gato = Cat and Aisy mostly likes elephante = elephant, because she doesn't pay very much attention and I think that's all she remembers. Mikey also likes to say Adios Che and we used the "Muzzy" spanish teaching DVDs that are put out by the BBC - not that great but the kids liked them and they would copy what was being said on the TV. We'll see how the whole spanish thing comes along. Mikey has a great memory for the vocab, but sissy doesn't seem too interested.

Anyway, we will miss having Meg here. Justin will miss his nightly wheel of fortune partner, as I am no competition and I think Meg was ahead on the W/L record. But, I'm sure she's enjoying the single life again, being able to take a shower whenever she feels like it or leave without packing the whole house. Yet there is just something about the big hugs and kisses these little ones offer to readily and being able to see their excitement about everyday life that reminds me why they are so wonderful.

Of course, with the end of summer, comes the beginning of school for me and part-time daycare for the kids. Mikey has moved up to the pre-school class and Aisy is in the 2 year old "Explorer" class. I really like the daycare they are at. They are flexible with my schedule but more importantly they have the same teachers move up with the kids, so Aisy's teachers are in the new room too. They also do many great activities and have lesson plans and structure that help the kids thrive.

Their first day was only 2 hrs, since I only have one class on Mondays, so we started off the day by going to the zoo - yes, those are harnesses - the only way to travel with two toddlers who won't stay in a stroller.

Mikey with his Nemo backpack and all the school supplies he gets to use now that he is in the pre-school class, like markers and scissors and the lined alphabet pad. His favorite friends are Max and Jayla.
Aislynn doesn't like to pose for pictures, she's just too much of a busy body with her own agenda. I think she is soooo much like her dad because whatever she wants to do is the most important thing and don't even try to redirect her. She also has a nemo backpack because she wants everything the same as her brother...sound a bit like me, second child syndrome.

(But I can capture a fleeting moment of pure emotion every now and again as seen in the picture below - we were trying for a good 2 yr old pic but I got this instead)