Two Weeks of Summer Fun, Friends and Vacation Countdown

Maliana ~

Well...the first day back at work and school after a long weekend is always tough. We celebrated afterward with a trip to the library, DQ, and then the park. Love spending time with my girl! Here are some photos and FB statuses from our night...

~ Officer Mali and Officer Lion @ your service!
I don't know though...if these cops showed up
to help me, I might be a little nervous

Dairy Queen

~ Oh my goodness...we have been here 5 minutes waiting for M
to pick a slide while saying "There's so many to
choose from!" #firstworldkidproblems

Had to run to the store the next day while Daddy stayed home and hung out with you...when I left you went outside to play with just one neighbor girl. While at the store I got the following texted picture of you...Daddy is a much braver soul than I!

We both welcomed Friday with open arms this week and in the spirit of me being a little extra giddy on our fun Friday mornings together, here was my Facebook status:
~ in attempting to annoy Mali this morning, I repeatedly inserted her name into the lyrics of Firework on the way to school...over and over and over again. When asked if I was bugging her she said no. I told her that by the time she is a teenager, she will likely be annoyed by me all the time...to which she replied, "No I won't Mom!" (Really? Can I get that in writing, kid?)

After school we hit up the new Jeni's ice cream shop at Easton and you are officially a Jeni's convert now...currently in love (bordering on obsession) over the salty caramel. You "hoovered" your scoop and immediately asked to buy a pint of it to take home!

Of course, the Lego store and Build A Bear were on our list of stops before finally heading home.

howdy pardners!

A storm blew through that night so as Daddy promised, he took you into the front yard to hunt for worms. You've been looking forward to this for days. Unfortunately there weren't too many worms out but Daddy wasn't about to give up without finding at least one! And he did! The "grand worm hunting adventure" was a success!

Saturday we went over to Uncle Johnny's to visit after Daddy got his hair cut up that way...then came home where we lounged around the house, cleaned up (a little), napped, and then headed outside so you could practice riding your bike without training wheels some more. You are working on it and it won't be long before you've got it. You have a wonderful cautious streak so hopefully there will be very few (if any) broken bones in your childhood. I brought some watermelon out for you and Daddy and I love how you'd take a bite and just let the juice run down your belly. It really felt like summertime!

even Daddy joined in on the bike riding with
one of your bigger hand-me-down bikes

That evening I went to my 20th high school reunion (yeah, your mama is getting old) and you made sure to take me aside beforehand and asked me to promise I told them your name and let them know all about you. Ha. Deal kid.

Lesson for you...I really didn't want to go to this thing, but a good
friend talked me into it and I am so glad I did. I would have
missed a really fun time if I didn't go. So basically, make
sure you stay open to things even if you're a little
nervous...there's no telling what you could
miss out on if you let your fears or
worries get the best of you.

Sunday morning I was feeling a bit "rough" as I recovered from the reunion. Fortunately Daddy let me go back to bed for a bit while he took you to breakfast with Memaw and Papaw. Before you left, I heard you sneak back in the bedroom and felt you kiss me on the cheek two separate times. It was so sweet. We pretty much used the rest of the day to hang out at home and relax and play. I was working on the computer while listening to you and Daddy play a rousing game of hide and seek. At one point after finding Daddy, when it became your turn to hide again, you asked Daddy, "Can I use your spot?" Ha ha. Even Abby (the dog) got in on the action, running back and forth through the house and peeking into rooms and under furniture, excitedly searching for Daddy just like you.

Sunday evening we scooped up Aunt Lori, checked out her new haircut, and took her out for frozen yogurt. Always good to see that woman. She is up against the biggest challenge of her life right now and while I'm not always sure what to say or do, I do know one thing ~ we are going to love her to pieces through it all. As we sat there eating our treats, we were joking with you and told you that she is magic. Long story...(kids are so fun to mess with, ha), but that is what we came up with...so now we're hoping that some of her magic can get rid of the awful cancer she is battling. Fingers crossed...our Panty Brigade will soldier on for her. Love her so much.

Monday I went to work later and took you to school in the morning...man, I love those mornings! So much nicer than sneaking out before you're awake. Such a brighter beginning to my day when I get to see your smile!

After school we headed to Taco Bell where Audrey Ayi met us for some burritos and tacos. So many
of the people there got such a kick out of you...saying "Oh wow! She's just so happy!" You were a character and so excited when I told you that Audrey Ayi was coming to meet us. "Mom! Let's look for green cars!" You love your Audrey Ayi!

Of course, as soon as we got home, the kids next door and across the court inundated us and we played outside for a while. You all were quite entertaining on your motorized toys (jeep and motorcycle) and also painting the driveway (and the trash can, and each other, and our neighbor's dog, Vada). Ha.

Picassos in the making

hard to get a good photo but there is blue paint on her
ear and down the side of her shoulder

After coming inside, you had the idea to bake heart-shaped brownies in preparation for the home visit from your potential kindergarten teachers the next night. So thoughtful of you! And you surprised Daddy and I with a bit of knowledge from all of the baking shows you watch on YouTube (Nerdy Nummies is your favorite) and telling us we need to tap the pan to make the bubbles rise to the surface before baking. By God, you were right! Wow. So smart.

my little thoughtful baker

Both of the kindergarten teachers came over on Tuesday, Ms. Gormley and Ms. Fitzpatrick (who loved your Spidey shirt). Their visit was very brief but they brought with them some school supplies, fun summertime school prep worksheets, and an alphabet puzzle for you. You were a bit shy and didn't want to take a picture with them without me, but you grinned ear to ear when I took your picture with all of the goodies they brought. So awesome! I got teary-eyed when I started looking at everything and imagining you going to actual school...such is the life of a mommy. It all is bittersweet at one point or another. Here are the pictures that I put up on Facebook shortly after they left...

~ Mali with the school supplies and gifts that her Kindergarten
teachers just dropped off during her home visit...I think
her smile says it all...this kid is stoked to start school!

~ this brought back memories for me so I had Mali sniff
her school supplies and told her that this is what
the first day of school smells like.

The rest of the random days of the week while we counted down to vacation (yep, we're heading to the OBX on Saturday ~ woot! woot!) we spent hanging out at home, letting you crazy kids run wild, goofing around until dark most nights. Love watching you make up games, laugh, and play!

Lao Lao also came over to spend the night and help get you to school in the mornings while Daddy went to New York for a last minute business trip. So fun to have sleepovers!

relaxing in the cool night air with their technology

After my last day of work for the week, we celebrated by getting Spoon Me with Audrey and then heading around to run some errands before vacation. While at Target, Audrey picked out some really fun toys for you to play with while on vacation...all beach/vacation-themed. You are stoked to get into them! Audrey is so thoughtful. On the way home you had us in stitches with a very silly game you made up called "Goose Rocket"...don't even ask at this point how exactly it's played, I only know that I LOVE the name. Ha ha. Cracks. Me. Up.

Thank you Audrey Ayi!

So, signing off of the blog for now. Have to do the final preparations and packing for the beach...I can't believe we'll be on the road in just TWO days! Yahoo!!

Love,
Mama