June Staycation

This summer, instead of going away on vacation, we let the vacationers come to us! My mom and my sister, Jessica, came out for almost 3 weeks in June. We had a BLAST! Here are some of my favorite highlights (with a couple of lowlights as well): * A game of RIPPLE a day (or three or four). Aly and Grandma are obsessed!

*hitting the splash pad and going through the "car wash" with Jess.

*hours spent trying to get rid of Kylie's diaper rash, then finally having an antibiotic clear it up!

* Giving Jess her birthday present on Father's Day and having her push it away with a "What-the-heck-are-you-doing, I'm-not-a-father" look on her face. :)

*Swimming at a friend's pool.

*A girls shopping day at Old Navy - and watching my mom get all the same shirts as me, just like the good ol' days. :)

*hitting the beach a couple of times and getting to swim with the girls & Chris.

*Aly losing her retainer in the ocean, everyone searching, not finding it, but finding other stuff (a hair thing, a snorkel mask, etc.)

* Yummy frozen yogurt at TWIRL after the beach. The best time to get frozen yogurt!

* playing out on the boogie boards with Kate.

*Watching the most amazing sunset I have seen in a long time. Even through the trees it was gorgeous.

* Going to see Marmaduke for free (we got what we paid for), knowing that my mom and Jess weren't all that crazy about the movie, but they were crazy about hanging out with me and the kids, so that made it fun anyway.

*Grateful that my mom would take Kylie and rock her to sleep, then watch the rest of the movie in Jess's wheelchair, so that I could be completely hands on with Kate in the theater.

*Going to see Cars 2 for Kate's birthday, but not really seeing hardly any of it because of trying to keep Kylie from eating popcorn off the floor (ew!), and passing popcorn, candy, and drinks back and forth the entire time!

*Watching Kylie have a blast pushing Jessica's walker around the living room and kitchen. Excellent walking practice, I tell ya. (Um, yeah, that's why it's called a walker.)

*The YMCA pool. It was perfect for everybody: zero depth entry for Kylie, 3 ft max depth for Jess, water slide for Aly and Lise, and Kate was all about swimming to and from the stairs to demonstrate her new skills from swimming lessons (more on that later.)

*Splash pad at the YMCA for when the life guards took their 10 minute break every hour.

*Watching Kylie trying to catch the drips in the waterfall.

*The late night talks with my mom and sister, analyzing and solving the problems of the world. :)

* The general craziness that always ensues whenever a bunch of Jackman/O'Gwin girls get together. (Above picture taken at Michaels, as my mom was trying to entertain the kids while I shopped.)

We had a TON of fun when they were here and miss them terribly now that they're gone. Come again soon!