Making new friends

On our walk to the YMCA the other day, Cambrie said to me, "Mom, I'm running out of friends." Yes, that is very true. We are some of the last ones out of here this summer and there aren't that many kids her age around anymore. I told her that when we move to Colorado we will make new friends. Cambrie responded by saying, "We need to make a new Hailey, Ashlyn, and Lucy." My first thought was how we are going to do that....LEGOS....paper and glue....wooden dolls? And I laughed to myself. But Cambrie's concern is a very valid one. We have been very blessed while we've been out here with tons of kids for Cambrie to play with. We had playgroups, date nights, YMCA child watch, even the neighbors in our apartment complex. I'm not sure what we'll find when we move. It's making choosing a new place to live difficult. There had better be friends for Cambrie wherever we end up...me too in fact. I have love, Loved, LOVED having so many friends here. We are all in the same situation in life. We all have student husbands going through the same student woes. We are all poor and living completely off of student loans and welfare. We all have young kids. We are all separated by our families and only have each other to rely on for birthday parties, holidays, and emergencies. I have no doubt that we will make new friends, but I'm dreading the loneliness that comes first. Maybe we will resort to making new friends out of building blocks and crayons for awhile.

Houston sprinklers

During the summer months Houston Park turns on its sprinklers for the kids to play in. It's freezing water but when it's blazing hot outside that is just fine. Cambrie and Aubrie played in the water together the other day. Aubrie's idea of playing in the spray included dipping her head right in front of the spout and rolling around in the puddles. Cambrie's idea of playing was running just along the outskirts of the spray. I don't even think she got wet. She claimed to be cold enough that she needed to warm up on the cement benches. Even though she go crazy in the sprinklers, we still had a good time. Thanks for playing with us Aubrie!

New food shivers

McKenzie has been pretty receptive to most new foods. She'll open her mouth to eat it but her face with scrunch up and she'll shiver like it's the most disgusting thing ever. Hilarious!

Hershey, PA

It's taken us four years to make it up to Hershey, but we finally made it. I knew I was in heaven when even the streets were named Cocoa Ave. and the streetlights screamed, "Chocolate!" Why didn't we come here sooner? We started our adventure at the Hershey Gardens. Flowers, flowers everywhere. I'm surprised Cambrie's nose didn't get tired because she insisted on smelling every single one of them. Roses were definitely in bloom. I wanted a cute picture of the girls by the flowers, but it wasn't to be. As soon as I snapped this picture, Cambrie got up and walked away. McKenzie isn't a pro sitter yet and instantly fell down right in the rose bushes behind her. She received a few scratches on her face from the thorns. Oops. I didn't try this pose again. Cambrie wanted to help me take pictures of all of the flowers. She's a budding photographer (ha, ha...get it?). Her favorite area to play in was the children's garden. There were statues all over the garden. This statue was Cambrie's new favorite friend. They danced, sang, and smelled the flowers together. Cambrie climbed on some the statues there. I figured that was okay-they're just begging to be climbed upon.There were Hershey Kiss fountains that shot mist in the air. And even Hershey Kiss seats around another pool. What a poser!Cambrie had been really excited to see the butterfly house, but I was not paying attention and they closed before we made it. Luckily there were some strays that were fluttering around outside and that satisfied Cambrie. The butterfly benches helped too. This is my favorite picture of the afternoon: We met up with my dad later in the evening and visited Hershey's Chocolate World. I didn't know what to expect, but I figured the Great American Chocolate Tour was pretty amazing if teenagers were running to get in line. It felt like a ride at Disneyland. You sit in a car as you are paraded past singing cows, cocoa beans, and candy bars. At the end I realized why teenagers were running for this ride, there were free chocolate samples afterward! At the gift shop Cambrie went crazy. So much candy everywhere! She finally settled on a stuffed Hershey Kiss toy from my dad, and named him No-Name Beso. Yes, that is his name. She loves it!

5 Months

I haven't been on as on top of it with McKenzie's montly pictures, but I finally got around to getting her 5 month pictures taken. Here they are: She was a great little model and smiled the whole time. I love them!

S' more please!

We had a BBQ picnic for dinner last week just to mix things up. After we finished our delicious burgers, the coals were still warm and we pulled out a half-eaten bag of marshmallows to roast.

Cambrie thought it was a sticky ordeal, but worth the effort. I was craving more than just roasted marshmallows and since we are out of the standard graham cracker, I settled for my teddy s'more which was equally as tasty.Yummm...front porch cuisine.

Toddler Obsession

Quick poll:

Does your toddler have an obsession with poop? And by obsession I mean talks about it, jokes about it, creates it out of dirt, and names things Poop. Please comment and make me feel better about my toddler...

Eat here ---->

This was the place by Bobby Flay.

Here's where we sat.

Here is my burger.

Here are our fries.

I sum it up by saying...eat here!

YUMMY!!!

Memorial Day

Our weekends for going to the beach are numbered. So despite the possible Memorial Day weekend vacationers and traffic, we went to the shore. To our surprise the crowds were minimal and it was a fantastic trip.

It was a typical shore day with skim boarding,

snack eating, towel laying,

and hole digging.

But there were some surprises. McKenzie actually sat up on her own! I let go of her and she didn't fall down. When she was still sitting unsupported I ran to get the camera and actually recorded the moment. She hasn't repeated this since then, but we're on the right track! We also saw a dead shark on the beach. Would you believe that we've seen sharks and dolphins at the Jersey shore? Cambrie was a little nervous to be so close to a shark, but she stood next to Blake long enough for me to get a picture. We spent the entire morning and most of the afternoon on the beach. Unfortunately all of us came home burned-Jeremy's back is red, McKenzie's face looks like a strawberry, and Cambrie and I have toasted legs. Today we are all wearing our most comfortable clothes so that our burns don't have to touch anything. McKenzie spent the entire day on a towel under the umbrella but despite wearing a hat and sunscreen her face is really burned. I feel so bad about everything. We even reapplied! Agh! I guess there's a price to pay for every adventure.