The Midway

We finally anted up the hefty ticket price and visited The Midway. It was actually pretty neat and the kids had fun, too. They have an entire walk through that is just for the kids and at the end they find a volunteer veteran and answer a few questions get some adorable wings. Walking around an aircraft carrier like that is pretty awe inspiring. And I've pretty much crossed that off of my list of places I would ever want to spend a lot of time in! I admit a few times while walking through the non-airconditioned narrow hallways that I had panicky feelings of claustrophobia! But it was a fun experience and I'd definitely do it again and listen to the adult tour.

Fraternical Twins

Lia decided that her and Mattie are "fraternical twins" -- a cross between identical and fraternal twins. I think she's a genius.

Doctor Perks: The Time Share

After being married and poor for over ten years now I'm SO ready to experience the perks of being married to a doctor. Or really, just the perks of being married to a man with a job will be great, too! Early this summer though, one of the families that Tyler did some tutoring for offered us their time share in Del Mar! We were skeptical at first -- I mean, it was only about ten minutes from our house so how fun could it really be. But honestly, we had a great time!! It's a small place right on the cliffs in Del Mar. They had a great heated pool and it was just a short walk to the beach. Next to the pool were a few grills so we cooked some food and just hung out and relaxed. Danielle, my mom, Bob and Mattie came too! We had a lot of fun. It was also fun to feel like a normal family that vacations even if we were just pretending. At least by the time we do get to do fun things I'll feel like we've really earned it after all these years!!

Swim Competitions

Lia is our little fish and she got good enough that she participated in a swim competition at her swim school. She came in first place in her heat and third place overall in her age group! She had so much fun and is so cute with her little stroke and her little buns up in the air. So proud of her!

SUMMER TIME!!

Summer time means that Mattie Rose and my mom are here!! The kids were SO excited for them to come and it definitely did not disappoint. It's amazing to me how much these three are like brothers and sisters. They even look alike! We spent a lot of time walking and playing at the beach and loving every minute of it.

We even found a jelly fish that looked like a placenta. 

And a giant sea slug that was still alive (we prodded it just to make sure, of course). It was bigger than Mattie's foot, and her feet are big!

Dentist Woes

I finally got up the courage to take the kids to the dentist to have their teeth cleaned for the first time. I know I know. The kids are old and should have gone years ago. But I have such a deep rooted fear of the dentist that I just couldn't do it. Honestly, even walking through the doors knowing that the appointment wasn't even for me took all of my courage. My fear of the dentist is real and paralyzing. Seriously. Anyway... I found an awesome children's dentist and the kids both had a great experience!

Lia had no cavities! But poor Max had FOUR and one that required a small root canal. I was really sad about it at first but it helps to remember that I inherited awful teeth from my dad and I'm afraid Max has gotten that from me, too. We are diligent in teeth brushing and dental hygiene at home but sometimes it just isn't enough. Luckily, Max's experience with getting his cavities filled was a great one!! Dr. Warner was AWESOME and Max was seriously brave about it! He didn't even want me to go back with him!

Max was so brave that I took him to Target, droopy numbed face and all, and let him pick out a giant Lego set. Then I let him eat popsicles and made him smile for some photos while laughing at him. It was great!