September 30 - Fabulous Flair

Jillian and her friend Adelyn (as well as Adelyn's sister Audrey) were at the high school today for the Clear Lake Flairs Dance Clinic. They had a blast! They learned and then performed a dance routine to 'Get Your Sparkle On.' It was adorable! The clinic had a great turnout this year with close to 180 little kids. We were happy to see a lot of Orca swimmers there too. What a great fundraiser for the dance team. 

Fabulous Flairs

Audrey, Jillian & Adelyn

One of our favorite Flairs, Hannah!

Our other favorite Flair, Reese!

September 28 - Go BLUE!

High school swim season in officially back in session! Last Friday was the intersquad 'Blue vs Red' meet and Julia was on team Blue. Amazingly, all of her close friends on the team were also team blue so they were excited. It was a close meet but Blue came out on top by 2 points. Blue for the win!! 

 Julia, Mariam, Imina, Ava, Myah & Mia

Medley Relay - they just barely out touched red

The girls headed out to dinner after the meet to celebrate

September 27 - Mini Garfield

Louie T. Muffin ('Louie' to Luke, JD and Julia, 'Muffin' to Jillian and 'LTM' to me hehe) has been with us for over a month now and is settling in nicely. He loves to eat and I joke that he is a mini Garfield. He eats his (wet) dinner faster than Crumble every night and tries to eat Crumble's afterwards, stinker! He enjoys playing with Crumble and Bella and loves to snuggle with Bella. Jillian and Sophie play with him every day after school, pushing him around in strollers, a grocery cart, etc. The vet and vet tech absolutely love him! 

September 25 - Beverly Hills Baby Shower

I took a whirlwind trip to Los Angeles this past week to surprise Sarah (one of my best friends from college) for her baby shower. She told me her shower was mid-week on a Wednesday and knew I couldn't make it, but I secretly contacted her mother for the details and was able to swing a super fast trip. This is her first and probably only baby and I didn't want to miss it! 

I flew into LAX late Tuesday and arrived at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills around 11pm. This hotel was by far the fanciest hotel I've ever stayed at. I was shocked to find a pillow with my initials monogrammed on it! And although I took an Uber from the airport, they would have picked me up in a Rolls. Wowsa!

The shower was the following afternoon and Sarah was shocked to see me. In retrospect, we should have recorded her reaction but there was a lot of hugs and tears. The shower was absolutely beautiful and I'm so glad I was there for her special day. Afterwards, we went to her parents house for a little while to catch up and then I flew out that evening. It was a quick trip but so filled with love. I cannot wait to meet her little girl! 

And if you ever find yourself in Beverly Hills and want a fancy hotel or a fancy 'high tea', definitely check out the Peninsula. You won't be disappointed. 

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Beautiful baby shower

and beautiful hotel

September 17 - Ochs Orchard

After Jay and Rachel's beautiful wedding, we went back to her father's house the following morning for a bagel breakfast. There is nothing more delicious than an authentic NY bagel. Yum! We ate, helped clean up a little (folded up chairs, etc) and said our goodbyes to Rachel, Jay and Lola. Our next stop, Ochs Orchard!

Growing up in upstate NY, Greg, Jill and I all have great memories apple picking. Our southern children have never been able to experience the fun so we were excited to take them. September is very early to go apple picking (not sure I've ever gone earlier than mid-October), the trees were more vine-like and it was a tad warm, but we had fun. Yes, there were the "When are we leaving?" complaints but overall the kids ate some delicious fruit and homemade ice cream afterwards. Great afternoon!

After apple picking, we went back to the house. The kids went exploring in the woods for hours, we played One Night Werewolf, and made smores over the firepit. A wonderful end to a beautiful weekend. 

Apple Picking

Luke insisted on getting this zucchini and his bag was flagged by TSA  at the airport for it haha

One Night Werewolf

Smores

September 14 - Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Cook!

The kids and I traveled back to the north east to celebrate Jay and Rachel's wedding over Labor Day weekend. The wedding and reception were held at Rachel's father's home and it was an absolutely gorgeous property. Lush green trees with perfect weather, the day could not have been more perfect! The wedding was absolutely beautiful and we are so excited to officially welcome Rachel and Lola to the family. Jay is also in the process of adopting Lola so she will be a 'Cook' too!! Congratulations Rachel and Jay!! 

The reception was held in the backyard and it was so lovely. We also reconnected with family and friends that we have not seen in ages. What a wonderful weekend!!

Cousins

Jillian met Grandpa for the first time!

Greg & Jill

The beautiful bride

Jillian loves Lola

Love my babies!

Pose!

September 11 - Lucky 7

Age: 7

Grade: 1st

Favorite Class: GT w Ms. Neyland

Least Favorite Class: too early to tell

Current Activities: gymnastics & Girl Scouts

Current Style: girly!

Current Interests: Muffin the kitten, kitchen experiments, video games

Favorite Foods: mac & cheese. Nutella 

Best Friends: Sophie, Leeya, Penny

Dream College: too early to tell

Dream Job: for the last few months you wanted to be a singer and perform on stage with Taylor Swift. At 1st grade parent night, you said you wanted to be an 'Engineer so you can build love" (soooo sweet)

Place you really want to travel: Universal Studios (now that you are tall enough to do almost everything), skiing at Keystone

Fun Facts: you are the kid that wakes up early throughout the summer and weekends but is a sloth on school days! You are still our little chatter box and the most loving of all the kids with the fur babies. You love hair, makeup, dressing up in my closet and most of all-your sister and and all her friends. They have even curled your eyelashes already!

Mom Brag: You just started cleaning your room on your own. And you always give Apollo and Bella hugs before bedtime which just melts my heart. 

Let's celebrate: we had an epic birthday party at the roller skating rink with your class, some preschool friends as well as the Girl Scouts. Happy birthday Jillian!!