Molly & Abby

It's week TWO of Kelly being in preschool four days a week. I forgot how much you can get accomplished when you only have ONE child......AND SHE NAPS!!! I don't think Molly has missed her sister being gone all day.....yet! Molly is loving her Mommy & Molly time! Molly have NEVER been the child who watches TV....which is totally opposite of Kelly at this age. Kelly loved the Wiggles, Elmo, Curious George, Little Einsteins, etc., etc., etc. before she was two! Molly on the other hand doesn't really care if the TV in on. Well, last week we started watching Sesame Street......and Molly actually watches it....especially when Abby is on!!!! She just sits there and says Abby and points to the TV. It's too cute! We have our one hour of TV....and then it goes off again! Molly and I have gotten to read lots of books, play with her babies, stack blocks, play with lots of toys, etc. We eat lunch....and Molly is off to bed for a good two hours!!!! YEAH....Mommy gets MOMMY TIME!!!! Quiet, no TV, no interruption, Mommy time! This is Kelly's sixth day of school and I have already
*cleaned and organized Molly's closet and got out Kelly's old 2T winter clothes
*cleaned Kelly's closet and packed away clothes that don't fit
*detail cleaned all three bathrooms
*done lots of laundry, cleaning, making dinners for when I'm at the pool, etc.
THIS TWO HOURS IS AMAZING!!!!

Molly loves Abby Cadabby.....I feel an Abby 2 year old birthday party coming soon.....

Brian's company picnic

Brian's company had their annual picnic at Eagle Point Park yesterday! It is a lot of fun....as so many of his co-workers have kids the same age. Kelly and Molly played with Anya, Lili, and Sophia (all 3.5-4 years old) and Raina (2 years old) The girls got to play in the sand area, playground, sprinkler, and the bouncehouse too! The evening ended with a trip to feed the fish at the fish pond. It was a nice family day!

Molly, Anya, and Kelly playing in the sand.
Cheese! Kelly's buried her feet!

Sister picture.....Molly loved riding these animals.

This is how we started at the fish pond....feeding the fish bread.

Eventually we got to sitting.......and yes, all that bread is from my girls!

....and then they wanted to get a closer look at the fish!

(the bread was all gone......)

The fish pond was a lot of fun!

Molly has a BIG DAY too!!!

So.....I guess Molly decided that today would be a big day for her too!!! (She didn't want Kelly to get all the attention, since it was her first day of school!) While I was in the bathroom, Molly carried her potty chair from one bathroom into the master bathroom......where she pulled off her diaper and went pee!!!! ALL ON HER OWN!!! She has been taking her diaper off the last few weeks here and there....but never actually went....but today was the first day! I guess maybe my prayers are being answered.....God couldn't give me TWO kids that were terrible to potty train!!! :)

Molly after she went potty for the first time!!!

Kelly's 1st day of preschool

TODAY is Kelly's first day of preschool! She has been counting down the days on her calender for over a month now.....she was so excited when she woke up.....she was ready to go! She will be going to preschool four days a week (Monday-Thursday) from 8am-3pm....yes, FULL DAYS!

Here's Kelly all ready to go to school this morning!
Showing off her Hello Kitty backpack!

She didn't want her backpack too far from her this morning......she put it on her chair while she was eating her special heart shaped banana bread for breakfast.

This is the only picture I got at school.....as once Kelly saw her two friends (Cambrie and Sophia) playing with the ponies.....she didn't want to stop to take pictures.......and she barely even said good bye to me! Like I said....she is more than ready for school!!!

My future swimmer?

Kelly has ALWAYS loved the water.....baths, pools, rivers, lakes, etc. You name it, she loves it! Tonight was Fidelity Family Fun Night.....were we have a picnic dinner (all free!) and get to swim at the Dyersville Aquatic Center for FREE too! Daddy and Molly went home....as Daddy is battling a cold. Kelly and I went swimming. She went down the slide by herself about 20 times, floated on her back (BY HERSELF) for 23 seconds, dove in the water from her knees (BY HERSELF), and swam 3-4 strokes (big ice cream scoops) to the wall (BY HERSELF) multiple times! She might just be my future swimmer????

See for yourself....these videos are at the end of the night....when I was already out of the water. She floated by herself for a few seconds for me to video! :)

The first one she stopped....and wanted to see the video. The second one she stopped because she got splashed by some older boy!

New neighbors = New friends!

Tonight we had our annual neighborhood block party. When we moved into our house almost 6 years ago......there were no kids. In the last two years, we have had two families move in with kids the same ages as Kelly and Molly! One of those two families doesn't actually move in until September 1, but they were invited to our block party tonight too! Kelly CAN'T wait for a friend....right across the street! Her name is Lexi.....and she is 3 months younger than Kelly (she will be 4 yrs. old in September)...and Kelly already knew her from going to our babysitters house. Fun times! The other family moved in a little over a year ago, and they have a daughter, Bella, who is one month younger than Molly. Hopefully, they will be friends too....when they get a little older!

Lexi & Kelly hanging out!
Kelly & Lexi enjoying their popsicles!
They BOTH love their braclets!

Bella and Molly playing peek-a-boo! They were both giggling so hard.....which made everyone else laugh too!

Another season in full swing....

My 12th season as the Head Coach for the Wahlert Catholic High School Swimming and Diving team is in full swing. I have 32 girls on my team this year....it's the first year in 8 years that I am over 30 girls on my team....so that's exciting! We have been swimming double practices and the girls are VERY sore and tired! Our first meet is NEXT TUESDAY (in ONE WEEK!) Time sure flies! Yesterday was our team picture day......

My team....minus two girls that were on vacation.
Returning STATE qualifiers!
Celia (JR), Jaclyn (SR), Ellie (SO), Betsy (JR), Emily (SO)

My Captains!

Visit from Grandma & Papa

Grandma and Papa Murray came over to visit last night. They brought dinner and dessert too! The girls enjoyed playing games, reading books, etc. It was a nice, relaxing visit!

Reading books to the girls before bedtime.
Kelly enjoying her sprinkled cupcake!

Molly LOVED her mini M&M caupcake too!

Thanks for bringing dinner Grandma & Papa!!!

RAGBRAI

RAGBRAI (the week long bike ride across Iowa) finished in Dubuque yesterday. My swimming and diving team held a fundraiser and we sold water and Propel to the bikers about 10 miles before the end of their 45 mile ride for the day. Kelly and I were there from 7am - 2pm watching all the bikers and selling lots of ICE COLD DRINKS! Kelly's favorite bikes were the "2 people bikes"!!! It was a fun day in the sun!

Kelly LOVES these two swimmers, Mary & Claire.

(She remembered Claire from last year.....and loved her the first time she saw her this season too!)
Kelly & Celia blowing their whistles while other girls are yelling......"Ice Cold Water and Propel.....Support Wahert Swimming and Diving!"

Sleepover & Music in the Gardens

Kelly and Ember have only been together two times in the last two years......but when they get together....they are the best of friends for the entire week! Ember is my cousin Stacey's oldest child....and they live in Airzona. They have joined us on our annual Wisconsin family vacation the last couple years and the girls have gotten along great! They are less than 2 months apart in age....and both love doing anything together. After our weeklong vacation, all the Arizona family members came to Dubuque for the weekend. As you know, we came back to water in our basement (along with Nancy & Gary AND Steve & Cathy - my aunts and uncles)...but we had already planned for Kelly to have a sleepover with Ember on Saturday night (7/24). We stuck with the plan, and the girls had a blast! I didn't want a flooded basement to get the best of us!

Ember & Kelly posing with their matching dresses from the zoo!
What's a sleepover without at bath for TWO?

Ladybug & Butterfly

Enjoying ice cream sundaes on the deck after lunch.

We met up with everyone at the aboretum for Music in the Garden. The girls enjoyed playing at the park...

...and feeding the KOI fish.

They decided it was more fun to feed the fish on the bridge!

The girls dancing to the music....they were really funny.....and totally adorable!