NEW BLOG!

I didn't think it was possible, but we have officially exceeded the space limit on the blog! So, we have started a new one. Please visit here for our latest post about our trip to Michigan: http://kgl2009bjl92.blogspot.com/.

We will be posting on this new site from now on, but the original Katie's World will remain accessible in case you care to take a stroll down memory lane- there is a link to it at the top of our new page.

See you on the new blog "Katie & Caroline's World"!

Summer!

Summer was officially here this week, as we were around 90 degrees every day. Ugh! Appropriately, Katie's class was doing a beach-themed week, so at least she was able to dress in a "cool" fashion. She plotted for days about what outfit she would wear so that she wouldn't be too cold inside, not beachy enough, something that matched with a hat, etc.!

She wrapped up her session of swimming lessons and has advanced to the next level. As a special treat for the last class, the kids got to go down the water slide, which is a huge hit with Katie! And, it always brings back memories of our last Mommy & Me class when I took Katie down the slide just three days before Caroline was born!

As has become our tradition, she and I went out to dinner following her class, which always includes a trip to the sundae bar. Unfortunately, this also coincided with me first hearing the news about Michael Jackson, so I was a little reoccupied with catching a glipse of CNN during our meal!

Saturday morning we went to pick blueberries. We hadn't done it before, but found it was easier than strawberries since they grow on tall bushes with some at an adult height and others hanging down low. Katie got right down to business, while Caroline quickly became an eating machine.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a cinnamon donut from the farmer's little shop, which had everyone smiling!

The girls also played a little before we left.

That afternoon Katie had a birthday party for her friend Zach, which was then followed by a family cookout.

Jamie took her to the party (and participated in the water balloon toss) and then we all went for the cookout. After enjoying the bounce house for a while, Caroline quickly honed in on the Doritos.

Later, she cooled off in the slip & slide --with Dad's help-- as they practiced "Caroline bowling."

Meanwhile Katie and Zach decided to launch their own website (kids these days!). The url they picked does seem to be available, but I am all booked up on managing websites, so we'll have to see what they can do!

Sunday we used some of our blueberries to make a festive cake as we kic off the week of Canada Day and the 4th. The girls enjoyed making it as you can see from their full mouths!

After dinner the girls had their "baths" in the sprinkler along with the neighbor kids.

I told them that I wanted to tak their picture, which Jamie turned into an opportunity to spray them!

"I Love He"

This week Katie attended Safetyville Square with some of her preschool class. She enjoyed learning about the traffic rules and very quickly went from being intimidated by the policeman to ratting her dad out for not always wearing his seatbelt! I attended her graduation ceremony on Friday, which was very cute. Unfortunately, it was raining so we did not get to see the demonstration on the miniature town square, but the groups did perform a rhyme and/or song (recording below) before receiving their certificate.

Swimming lessons continued this week. Katie is doing well and, as you can see, has no fear about jumping into the deep end!

Saturday was the last soccer game of the season, and Katie had a good game against a very competitive team (the Blue Jays play together all year long and one of the moms enters them as an entire team - as opposed to requesting to be paired with a friend or two!)

It was a hot weekend, so we needed some relief and the girls requested the sprinkler. Unfortunately, Daddy could not get the nozzle off the hose, so he opted just to spray the girls instead!

Since Sunday marked both Father's Day and Katie's half-birthday (an occassion that we typically celebrate with cupcakes) Jamie found this fabulous multi-purpose cake. We ate cupcakes on Saturday night for Katie's Day and at the cake on Sunday for Jamie!

Sunday morning the girls got up and helped me make sticky buns for breakfast while Daddy got to sleep in.

Once breakfast was in the oven, it was a huge honor to get to go outside to retrieve the newspaper and take it to Daddy.

By then, the girls could wait no longer and they wanted to give Daddy his presents in bed. He received a razor, an iTunes gift card and some fabulous crafts from the girls.

After church, we visited a park and then got ready to take Daddy out to lunch.

During nap time, Jamie went in to his newly relocated office to get it organized, and once the girls were up, it was time for more water play.

Then, the girls went with Dad on a shopping trip to buy Caroline a bike helmet, so that she could take over Katie's two-wheeler as Katie planned to tackle riding her bigger bike on her own. Caroline wore her helmet for about an hour before dinner, and would have eaten in it, if we had let her!

Lily helped Jamie with the steaks . . .

And then after dinner the girls hopped on their bikes.

I think Katie rode on her own after just a few pedals and soon was taking off down the rode. Her brakes need some repair work, so it's difficult for her to stop, but she was doing a good job of using the grass and putting her feet down. She crashed into a few mailboxes, but all in all, she was terrific (see the videos!)

Meanwhile, Caroline happily pedaled along our culdesac and she caught on quickly, too, with the older kids cheering her on.

At the end of the day as we were putting Caroline to bed, I told her to tell Jamie happy father's day and that she loved him. She turned to him and said "I love he!"

P.S. This is our 300th post on the blog!

Outside

We'll start this week's post with a photo of Lily enjoying the summer weather. I think she's watching the birds!

This weekend was another one of those three trips to Lowe's ones.We had talked to a landscaper about doing some work in our yard, but then we received his astronmical bid, we decided to kick it into gear and do it ourselves. (Note: even with three trips to Lowe's, we came out ahead by a lot).

We did take a break from the work to go to Katie's soccer game. At this point, the season should be wrapping up, but we're into make-up games now, so the number of kids is dwindling. On the plus side, the kids who are there get to play a lot.

That afternoon while Jamie was digging away, Katie and I got to do the "fun part" and plant our planters of flowers. She was very excited to arrange all of the colors that she had picked.

That afternoon, no one napped and Jamie and I sweated outside. Ugh! Despite the lack of rest, we decided to go out to dinner as planned. It was not the most relaxing dinner out, but it's always nice not to cook!

Sunday included church, groceries and then more yard work. I am happy to report that we completed the landscaping with all limbs intact- it was touch and go with all of the shrubs we needed to trim!

Sunday afternoon, Caroline got dressed to play outside. Please note the big fuzzy socks and the patent leather shoes (not to mention the lack of a shirt).

That evening Katie and I went to my friend Ricia's house to celebrate her birthday (which falls on Flag Day- hence the flags). Katie had a great time playing with Griffin and the other kids, and could not believe I made her leave at 9 p.m. on a Sunday!