Farewell Summer 2008.....

Hi everyone - I just wanted to post a quick post and let you all know that I am alive - it has been a wild and crazy summer with being co-director for my church's VBS, 2 trips to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, 2 trips thru Austin, a week in Savannah at the beach with my family, 2 sets of swim lessons, a case of Crypto for Maci (unrelated to the swim lesson pools but directly connected to a waterpark that is named after a certain state located in the Pacific), Maddie beginning Taekwondo and already going to an orange belt....oh, and somewhere in there I have managed to sell some real estate!!!

Maddie started a new school this year - so, that has been a bit stressful for her - however, I think she will end up really liking it. Of course, on the 2nd day of school she tried out a couple of karate moves on her teacher, so as you can imagine, that didn't go off too well. She promptly ended up sitting in the Headmaster's office!! While in his office, she confessed everything bad she had done to her sister in the last 2 weeks.

Maci will start MDO at our church in a couple of weeks....but, meanwhile, she has begun taking dance lessons (ballet, tap and tumble). She is really enjoying it I think - they tell me that she is a "fearless tumbler" - not quite sure if this is a good thing....????? At least we are experienced with orthapedics (Maddie had 2 broken wrists by the time she was 3)....

Hope to have more pics and stories to post soon....for now, Farewell Summer 2008!!!:)

GAS LEAK!!!! YIKES!!!!

It has been crazy since my last post - after finishing up swim lessons, it was then time to get the girls ready for our trip to Savannah, GA. I will post about our trip (we just got home today) later once I download the pictures. Well, on Monday (last week) - Jim and I thought we smelled gas outside. We have a outdoor fireplace and built-in grill that run on gas....so we call Atmos Energy - and, wow - they were here in 10 minutes!!! That emergency number is highly efficient I must say!! The worker took a look around and sure enough - we have a leak ---- somewhere....!!! Mandatory shut-down at the Garland White House....UGH!!! However, we are TRULY blessed that nothing happened. In fact, we smelled gas (we thought) on the 4th - and this was a day we had 40 of our closest friends and family over for a cookout/pool party - YIKES!!!!!

So, we are set to leave for Savannah on Wednesday and now we are without gas - meaning no hotwater (no dishwasher, washer, baths, etc.). Also, no cooking...all meals out if they can't be done in a microwave (I of course didn't mind that part much...)

In a nutshell, and $2500 later.....we have the NUMEROUS leaks fixed and are very fortunate indeed. The gas was turned on, finally, on Thursday!

Well, fast forward to today......I am in Savannah with the girls - packing to leave on a lunch-time flight - when I get the call from Jim - WE HAVE A GAS LEAK! What the.....??!!! The plumber comes out only to find that Atmos Energy's technician had incorrectly turned on the gas - so, there was so much gas leaking out that the ENTIRE STREET was in danger of what they call a "flash fire". OMG!!!!!!!!! In fact, the plumber said it is the "worst leak he has seen in a while". So, he corrected Atmos Energy's work and we were asked to report the negligence...

We are counting our blessings right now - just a tiny little spark could have ignited our entire street! Whew.....moral of this story - if it smells like gas, it probably is.....:)

Dolfin Swim School ROCKS!!!!

This swim school is absolutely AMAZING - if you have not heard of it - go to their website, http://www.dolfinswimschool.com/ and take a looky-lu... The classes are held at private pools in the University Park and Preston Hollow neighborhoods - it is a trek for us - but, well worth the drive - and money!!! But, we do live and breathe swim school for those 2 weeks!

One thing that I think is SUPER important for kiddos is to learn to be strong swimmers. This school does that. The teacher/student ratio is great - one of the first things they teach the kids is how to roll over and "rest" if ever in trouble. Also, they will do a drill where the children have to come in long sleeves and long pants and "fall" in the pool. This is to help with the disorientation that can happen when you fall into a body of water when not expecting it - and, having to swim with heavy clothes and shoes on as well.

I can't say enough about this school - Maddie (at age 4) went from being terrified of the water and getting her face wet to diving for a rock at the bottom of the pool in 2 weeks!!!

This summer was Maci's first swim lessons - she did great too!!! At age 2 she is now able to "motorboat" the pool and swim to the bottom to pick up her rock!! The video shows her doing her "kangaroo jumps"...so cute!

Doctor anyone?

I just have to share this website I came across that I am loving. It is a place where you can look up a doctor and see patient feedback as to their office staff, bedside manner, helpfulness, etc.

It is www.ratemds.com. While on this topic - who are your favorite doctors?

Here are mine:

Dr. Michelle Heintges (OBGYN)

Dr. Jerald Michaelson (Dermatologist)

Dr. John Porter (Pediatrician)

Dr. Dennis Kay (Opthamologist)

Momma horses don't have 3 holes!

Who knew?

Birds, bees, horses???

This morning, we went over to a friend's house in our old neighborhood for a playdate. Most of the kiddos are around 3 with younger siblings...this is actually Maci's playgroup, but she can't go during the year b/c she is in MDO on Wednesdays - and Momma is not giving that one up!!

So, we are driving on Sachse Road and see the horses - stupid me makes the comment, "Hey, look at the horses....". Maddie peeks out the window - I think she will just comment on how pretty they are, can we ride one, feed one, etc. - but, instead, she asks me:

"How do baby horses come out?". (WHAT!!!!!?????????? )

So, I say to her, "well they are in their tummies like Mommies have their babies". Case closed, right?

Maddie: "Do they cut them out or do they come out of a hole?"

Me: "Well, depends - possibly either way...."

Maddie: "Where is the hole?"

Me: "On their bottom..."

Maddie: "How do they pee?"

Me: "They have another hole for that."

Maddie: "How do they poop?"

Me: "There is another hole for that."

Maddie: "So momma horses have 3 holes?"

Me: "Yes." (of course I know where this is headed...)

Maddie: "Momma, how many holes do you have?"

Me: "(Ahem) 3"

Maddie: How many holes does Daddy have?

Me: "(AHEM) 2"

Maddie: "Hmmmmm. Are we almost to Kimberly's?"

Maybe not Grand Cayman but still fun....

I am sad to report, that we did not get our long awaited vacation to Grand Cayman afterall:( Jim and I had planned to meet my sister and her girlfriend there but as we looked at the weather reports, there was a HUGE tropical depression in that area dumping TONS of rain. I don't know about you, but the last place in the world I want to be during tropical weather is on a flat island - YIKES!!!

So, we started damage control plans.....first, we were going to just road trip to Florida's Emerald Coast (Destin area) - but, then that plan got tanked - long story - won't bore you with the details. In the end, my sister and I have decided that we will all try and go somewhere at the end of summer - maybe Mexico or Hawaii - somewhere tropical for sure....

Well, Jim I and I did something that many of our friends have done tons of times with their family - but we never have - we decided to take the girls on a vacation - just the 4 of us!!! It is not that we haven't traveled with all in tow - however, we are usually accompanied by MiMi and Papa or Pop and Grandmomma - never just US ....we feel so GROWN UP now - we survived our first family vacation all alone - imagine that - AND, wanna know where we went....Austin for one night and then Schlitterbaun for two!!!!

First we went to the Austin Childrens Museum which was FANTASTIC - they have a pretend Austin City Limits stage where the kids can pretend they are famous musicians - they can dress up, do the stage lights, pick the songs and see themselves on the monitor. As you can see - my kids aren't shy....

Then the next day we toured the Capitol - Maddie actually requested to tour it - isn't that amazing!!!!!! So, how do we turn that down.....

Later that day, we went shopping in San Marcos and zipped on down to our Featured Destination - Schlitterbaun. The #1 Waterpark in the WORLD for 10 years in a row - Grand Cayman can't top that baby.....well, maybe it can but let's not dwell on that.... The kids (and us) had a blast. So much so, that we have booked another trip there in August!!!! We stayed at the resort located at Schlitterbaun - so, it was SUPER convenient with young kiddos - especially one still in diapers. There was so much for tots to do as well - I had no idea - Maci has zero fear and went down all the slides with the speed of lightning - the crazier the landing, the more she loved it!!! Her favorite slide was the "octopus" - she can't say hamburger but she can sure tell you about the "octopus"!!!!

Maddie and Jim rode every single ride out there I think - she is a dare-devil too!!! Which she so did not get from me. My sweet little 7 year old went on the Master Blaster (the best watercoaster in the world apparently) and LOVED it - she took me the next day and I actually liked it - even though I was white as a ghost boarding it - she took great pleasure in my fear (too much I think???).