Summer Sports

One of the great things about our school district is the summer programs they offer.  The main one they do is swimming.  We tried it a couple years ago and didn't much care for it, so we don't do it with them anymore.  Plus the swimming is so crowded and fills up so fast and it's difficult to get a spot.  This might be because it's free.  Who knows?  There are many other sports programs that are offered though, and this summer since we'd be mostly in town the whole time, we decided to try some of them.  We asked Emma about it and she said baseball would be fun, so I signed her up.  While I was there I signed her up for tennis and soccer too.  Why not?  I told Emma if she didn't like them she didn't have to go after the first class.  Since the programs are free we wouldn't be out any money, and the way they run the programs made it so Emma not showing up wouldn't ruin the class for anyone else or prevent anyone else from signing up and taking the class themselves.  They do it all on a punch card system.  You are given a punch card for each sport and you may attend six times.  There are several locations and days and times each week for each sport, so it makes it easy to make up class if you are sick or out of town or if there's bad weather.  And it was easy for us ensure she didn't go to all of them on the same day.  Usually all three were on different days.  A couple times we doubled up, but it still worked out great.

Emma has loved all three that she's done.  Her favorite is baseball, but she really likes tennis and has enjoyed soccer.  I don't think she'll do all three again next summer, but probably baseball and tennis.  She's been keeping up with her taekwondo this summer too, so she's been very busy with all of this.  I love seeing how hard she works though and I love seeing her get a good sweat from working out.  She is such a strong girl.

Here are just a few pictures I finally remembered to take on her last day.  She did both tennis and baseball that day.  And I forgot to bring my camera to soccer, so no soccer pictures.  Oh well.

New Glasses

For a little while now I've been dragging my feet about Emma's eyes.  I've thought a few times over the past couple of months at least that Emma might need glasses.  I wasn't thrilled at this thought though.  I really didn't want her to need glasses, for several reasons:

1. Her face is so flawlessly perfect I didn't want it hidden behind glasses.
2. Kids break things and lose them, and glasses seem like they'd always be the victim, bringing lots of headaches and trouble.
3. Emma has darling sunglasses.  That she won't be able to wear anymore.  They're really cute.
4. The cost.  Ugh, it's just something else to have to deal with right?
5. I was hoping to pass on my perfect vision to her.  Why did she have to take after Eric on this one?

But finally, right after the school year ended, we took her to get her eyes checked.  Wow.  She completely bombed the eye exam.  I was standing right next her, and wow.  I couldn't believe she couldn't see the letters clearly.  I wanted to just turn to her and say, "Come on Emma, this is easy.  The letters are right there.  Just use your eyes!"  Unfortunately she was using her eyes.  They failed her. Sigh.

It turns out Emma is near-sighted.  Just like Eric.  Stupid Eric passing on this stupid gene.  I have always loved Eric in glasses by the way.  I just didn't want Emma to need them.  Right now her prescription is a little stronger than Eric's.  I think she tried on every pair of frames in the store at least three times before settling on two final pairs.  Oh man, I can't tell you how much I hope she doesn't break or lose these things.  I could really do without having to spend this kind of money on something not fun very often.

But really, I'm so glad she can see well again.  It was so fun for the first few days after she got her glasses, listening to her tell us everything she could see even if it was far away.  She told us while we were home.  She told us while we were driving.  She told us while we were at the grocery store.  Everywhere.  I am so happy for her.  And really, now I can't believe I didn't take her right in to get her eyes checked when I first thought there might be an issue.  I feel a little guilty.  Because, as Brian Regan said, "Man, [she] could have been seeing things!  How can instantly improved vision not be at the top of your to do list?"

And in the end, my number one reason for not wanting her to need glasses ended up being a non-issue (Stupid unfounded fears!  Why must you always get in the way?).  Emma is just as darling as ever in her new glasses.  Perhaps even flawlesser.  Yup.  That's a word...probably.  Both pairs are just darling on her.  And she loves them!  Sorry for the poor lighting in these pictures.  This is the day we picked up the finished and ready glasses.

This rim on this pair has two different colors.
The top half is a sort of copper color and the bottom is a teal blue. 

These are the arms of this first pair.  The pattern is really cute with greens and pinks and a little blue.

Her second pair is really a dark blue color, not black as they appear here.

This is the inside view of the second pair.  A light blue with a fun pattern on the inside of the arms.
It looks really nice with the sort of navy coloring of the front.

And finally, do yourself a favor, even if you've already seen/ heard it, and watch this six minute clip of Brian Regan talking about the eye doctor.  So funny!  I had an almost impossible time not laughing all through Emma's exam thinking about this.  I had to stifle laughs as each new test was done.  A few times my shoulder's were just shaking as I silently giggled while simultaneously praying the doctor wouldn't suddenly ask me a question.

Another Family Visitor

We were so happy and lucky to have Eric's sister Melissa come visit us recently.  She was able to come during Emma's last week of school.  We loved every minute she was here, and can't wait to see her again.

We were mostly staying close to home during her visit because Emma had school that week, but we still managed to have fun.  Between lunch with friends, helping a friend make some crafts for girls camp, Emma's taekwondo classes, and games at home, we kept fairly busy.

We started things off by heading out to Lake Geneva and enjoyed dinner at the Sprecher restaurant while we were there (it's Emma's favorite!).  It's always so pretty out there, no matter what time of year it is.  This time of year, however, it's super crowded.  Wow, there were so many people everywhere!

No visit is complete without a trip to the Jelly Belly store (at least according to Emma).  She lives for the sample bar.

Emma's last day of school snuck in there, and I almost didn't get a picture of her.  The one I did get is a little blurry, and was after she got home.  Phew!  Barely made it.  I can hardly believe she's done with 3rd grade.  I swear it was only a year ago she was finishing 2nd grade!  =)

We celebrated her shorter final day by going bowling.  And I'm sticking with the story that I bowled so terribly just so that Emma could beat me.  It was a special gift in honor of her having done so well in school.

Following the bowling we took Melissa to the shooting range.  It was her first time, and I think she might be hooked.  She did a great job.  Emma of course watched from the room behind the range.  This picture was taken from there.  The plastic windows don't really lend themselves to great photos.

For Melissa's last day in town we decided to go explore Milwaukee a little.  First stop: Sprecher factory for the tour.  You get all the soda you can drink on the tour, which sounds great, but you quickly realize how little soda it takes before you start feeling sick.  Adults get some free beer samples too, but of course, we did not partake.





My brother-in-law Brad just happened to be in town on business for a few days, and this was his last day in town.  Lucky for us he had a few hours to kill, so he joined us the rest of our day.  It was great seeing him!

We went to see a gorgeous lighthouse.  I don't think it's possible to take a bad picture of this place!  The grounds were also very amazing.  There were bridges with great iron work, and a path leading down to the beach that looked like it was out of a fairytale.  Melissa even made a crown of flowers for Emma.

Next stop was the riverwalk.  It was the perfect day.  And we bumped into the bronze Fonze.  Ehhhh!

After some late lunch (or early dinner if you like) we headed to the beach just to dip our feet in the water.  Eric and Emma attempted skipping some rocks too.

I think this picture is funny because it looks like Eric just hit that bird with his skipping rock.

Across from the beach was this magnificent house.  This was its backyard.  Whoa.  I would love to try to get used to having this for a backyard.  As long as I didn't have to maintain it!





We then sadly had to take Melissa and Brad to the airport.  It was so much fun seeing them both (even if only for a few hours Brad!).   We hope to see both of them again soon!

Emma and Eric just had to end the day by trying on one of their Sprecher souvenirs and enjoying their favorite Sprecher soda.  Grape vs root beer.  Personally I prefer the root beer.

Princess Ball

Each Spring our Stake holds a Princess Ball for all the girls 8-11.  This was Emma's first year to be able to go.  She was very excited.  As soon as she heard it announced several weeks earlier, she told me she knew exactly what dress she wanted to wear - her white dress from her baptism that my parents gave her.  Eric even let her choose the tie or bow tie he wore.  I gave her two options for her hair, and she chose the up-do.  Then I threw on her tiara for good measure.  Seemed appropriate.

The evening went as follows: upon arrival everyone had their picture taken (copies were given out the next day at church).  Then everyone went to the gym where they had tables set up for dinner.  Each table had everything it needed for the meal, so no one needed to get up.  They had rolls, meats, cheeses, etc. for sandwiches, along with chips and a vegetable tray and fruit bowl.  Sounds yummy, and not too messy for the girls in their fancy dresses.  There was a cake for dessert, and while they ate the cake, there a was a little program that consisted of a short slide show with pictures of various lighthouses along with quotes from general authorities about letting your light shine and about young women.  This went along with the theme which was "Let it Shine".  Following the slide show there were a few short messages given (mostly just testimonies) from some of the primary leaders from the wards.  Then the program portion was over.

The dance floor was quickly cleared of the tables, and the dancing began.  The DJ had a good mix of upbeat songs and slow songs, as well as one that was only the girls in the middle (basically to give the dads a rest).

Emma had so much fun, and can't wait until next year.  I love that they have this activity just for the girls.  It's such a fun opportunity for them to spend some extra special time with their dads.

Okay I think I could just die with how perfect this picture turned out!  I am constantly amazed by how absolutely stunning Emma is.  I know that's a total mom thing to say, but I can't help it!  She's gorgeous!

And here's a short video Eric took of the girls dancing.  This was one of the rest songs for the dads.  The coloring if off in the video because unbeknownst to Eric, the camera was on a really weird color setting when he took the video.  Oh well.  You can see Emma close the middle in her white dress and silver heels.  This explains why her hair do was falling out when she got home!