Young Women Volleyball Practice

Wednesday night we played volleyball at Young Women's.  

There is a stake volleyball tournament in March

and the girls wanted to work on their volleyball skills.  

We practiced serving, 

passing,

and setting the ball.  

Some of the girls have played for school volleyball teams and were great about giving tips and encouragement to the other girls. 

I love when they help each other. 

I think in March 

the girls are going to do well.  

Finally we put all the skills together and played a game. 

Every one got a chance to serve and we so lots of improvement in one night. 

I love working with these young women.  They are so amazing. 

Getting Back to Reality

Tuesday morning I watched the girls while Sarah and Tony to pick out new carpeting.  The Monday before I left for Indiana, the grinder pump in the basement stopped working.  It flooded and created a huge mess in the basement apartment.

Adeline was still sleeping.  All of a sudden I heard the bedroom door open and out came little Miss Adeline.  She had woken up and crawled off the bed, toddled to the door and opened it by herself.  She is starting to be such a big girl. 

Adeline had a granola bar for breakfast.  

Our new storage shed is almost finished.  The crew was outside working while I was with the girls.  The siding is done and the door has been ordered.  Almost done. 

Monday

In Maryland, Izzy started her week of horse camp! I can't wait to hear all about it. 

Sarah, Abby, Ellie, Adeline, and I ate breakfast, loaded the car, said our Thank Yous and Goodbyes to Susie and Scott and then headed to the airport. 

Fortunately there are no photos of us lugging everything from the car rental return to the ticketing counter.  Sarah had Adeline in a front carrier and was pushing Ellie in the stroller and carrying Adeline's carrier/carseat.  Abby had her backpack on and was pushing my small suitcase.  I had my back pack on and was pushing/pulling a big suitcase and carrying the bag with the two other carseats.  Again, I am so glad there are no pictures.  It was not a pretty sight, but we made it!

Moving sidewalks are fun! We were able to grab and eat a quick lunch before our flight.  

The flight was packed.  There were no empty seats.  Sarah had Adeline as a lap baby and they sat with Abby.  

Abby and Adeline had such a fun time together.  

Ellie and I sat behind them.  We had fun playing with her toys and coloring in her new Doc McStuffins coloring activity book.  

Sarah said it was much easier having Abby beside her.  Abby and Adeline had fun sharing a seat.  

These two are so cute together!

Next we had to get our luggage.  Again so grateful there are no pictures as we made our way to the Long Term Shuttle waiting area, loaded our stuff on the shuttle, rode to the long term lot, unloaded our gear from the shuttle and then got everything and everyone loaded into the van.  

I drove home so Sarah could hand out snacks, retrieve dropped toys, etc.  The ride home was good.  Abby and Ellie both took a little nap.  

We were glad to get home.  Gary and Tony carried everything in for us.  Gary even cooked dinner for us.  Carne Asada, rice, and sugar snap peas - yummy!  I got everything unpacked.  I still have to unpack the boxes I brought from my parents' home, but that will be another day.  

We had a great time on vacation.  I got to spend some time reading and relaxing.  We had fun with the Ainas on the lake.  I got to spend time with my siblings and their spouses.  We had fun going through old pictures and music at the house.  I was able to get some furniture from my childhood home and just enjoy being with family.  It was a good vacation.  

Crazy Spaghetti Night

The Ainas heard about Crazy Spaghetti from the Elys.  They tried it at home and Sarah blogged about it here.

When Susie read Sarah's blog post, she thought it would be fun to have Crazy Spaghetti while we were visiting.  So we did some planning for fun dishes and utensils and of course we had a beach theme.  

The table is already for our Crazy Spaghetti. 

The girls were so excited to have Crazy Spaghetti with Aunt Susie and Uncle Scott. 

Adeline was ready to participate. 

The girls were eagerly waiting for their spaghetti. 

I had an Olaf cup and a dinosaur head from a sand toy to eat with. 

Ellie had a fish and a dinosaur foot to eat with. 

Abby had a coconut cup and a dinosaur leg bone. 

Scott had seashells and a dinosaur bone. 

Adeline had a watering pitcher and a dinosaur bone, but use the tray and her fingers instead. 

Susie had a goblet and a dinosaur leg. 

Sarah had a beach pail and a dinosaur tail. 

Ellie was a very enthusiastic participant.  

It was a fun way to enjoy our last dinner together.  

Then it was time for packing, bedtime, and Sarah and I played one more game of Mexican Train Dominoes. 

Last Day at the Lake

Sunday morning, Gary and Tony took off for Maryland around 7am.  The rest of us had a leisurely start to the day.  Abby and Ellie enjoyed eating lunch at the high table. 

Ellie and Scott played a matching game with dominoes.

Abby kept busy sorting and packing little treasures that Aunt Susie gave her. 

Ellie kept busy moving from one activity to another. 

We headed out to the beach after 1.  Ellie and I were buddies going down the stairs.  

Abby was ready to fish again.  That girl caught more fish with a butterfly net than any of us thought would be possible. 

Aunt Susie and Ellie played in the water. 

Here is a good picture of the boat.  Fun times!

Abby looks so grown up here!

Adeline played with Uncle Scott

which gave Sarah some time with Abby as she worked on swimming in the deep water. 

Ellie practiced her back floating skills.  The day in the cove made her more willing to go out in the deeper water at the beach. 

Abby continued to practice jumping in and swimming to the ladder.  As long as there was a pool noodle close by, she was calm. 

Adeline and Uncle Scott had a fun day together  

Ellie was all smiles on the way back!

She was thrilled to get to sit by Aunt Susie and Grandma. 

Abby wanted to be on the top deck on the trip home. 

Adeline took over Aunt Susie's seat again and kept Uncle Scott busy too. 

As soon as we got back to the dock, Abby was ready for more fishing. 

She managed to catch a few more fish before it was time to head up to the house. 

Tony and Gary like to tease Sarah and I about blogging and making pic stitch photos.  So on their drive home to Maryland they created this cute pic stitch picture!

Love these guys!