Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Oh My...

I think I am a good six (seven? eight?) months behind in posting about what's been going on in our lives.

Where to start?

Let's start with swimming...and memories...and goals. 

Marley and I are both SO OVER the fact that it's nearly April and the temperature consistently hovers around 35-40 degrees.  We have cabin fever bigtime!!  Our apartment seems to get smaller and smaller by the day.  We both miss having a real house, with a real yard, with a real swing set and a sandbox.  I miss my flower beds.

The other day we were talking about how it's supposed to be spring.  And then after that, it's supposed to be summer.  And summer means FAIRS, CARNIVALS, SWIMMING, FUN!!!!

Last summer we had a rip-roaring great time swimming at the pool at our apartment complex and at my parents' house.  At the beginning of the year, Marley was a little unsure about her swimming skills, so she did a lot of clinging to various people and flotation devices.  Unfortunately for me, I often functioned as both of those things. (more on that later)

As the summer progressed (and undoubtedly because of the encouragement of cousins and friends), she became a little more confident.

Every gal needs a little rest time...

By the end of the summer, she was flinging herself into the water with delight.

 {insert me trying not to shriek in fear...and applauding her bravery...

fake it till ya make it, they say}

I'm not gonna lie.  

I'm not a big fan of swimming.  

I'm not a big fan of anything that requires me to get soaking wet, drip dry, and repeat.   

Marley, on the other hand, has always loved all things water-related.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't mind taking a dip if the pool is heated

 

or if it's, you know, FLORIDA.

 Swimming was Jim's job...

 

...because he actually enjoyed  it.

 

I enjoyed watching them enjoy it.

That's terrible.  Bad mama!!

Marley will be five this summer.  She's been practicing putting her face under the water during bath time (yes, it's as funny to watch as it is to imagine!).  

She's informed me that this will be the summer that she learns to swim without floaties on her arms.

I'm OK with that!

She'll Laugh at This Someday...

Her: When I'm a mommy I'm going to clean my daughter's room every day so she'll never have to do it.

Me: Are you? I'll remember that.

Yup, that's the best that I could do.
She outsmarted me on the fly.

Cowboy Wedding

Recently, Jim's nephew got married.

It was an outdoor, cowboy-themed wedding, which was LOTS of fun!

It's been a while since we've gotten together with Jim's family, and it was so nice to see all of them.  Lisa made this incredibly yummy and beautiful cake.

Marley was quite the social butterfly, but one of her favorite things to do is to love on Uncle "Jonkey". 

* There's a story to go with that name...but I'm not sure it's suitable to tell out loud! *

Marley was ecstatic to dress up in the closest things we had in her closet to make her feel like a real cowgirl...

She was mostly just geeked to be wearing her new plaid shirt and some boots.

What's a cowgirl without her pony?!?

And then she discovered a field on the edge of the yard.  I showed her how to pick one (Is it called a foxtail?  I have no idea.  I just know I chewed on them when I was a kid, and there was minimal brain damage.) and tuck it in the corner of her mouth like a country girl.

 

Which she's not.

 

This endeavor brought on a variety of expressions as she tried to get the hang of it.

 

 

   Maybe lying down will help?

NOPE!

Oops!

Once the karaoke machine came out, she had the uncontrollable urge to dance.

 

Gotta pick some flowers too.

No, she's not mid-sentence in the picture above. 

That's a weird face she likes to make sometimes. 

 

Must've gotten it from her daddy. 

Ahem!

 

 

Here's my favorite picture of her from that day...

 

Wordless Wednesday

Change of Plans

We were supposed to go to the state fair.  My friend and I had loaded up her car and headed toward Indy.  The girls were chattering excitedly about rides and food and animals in the backseat.  And then it happened.  About two miles outside of town, the skies opened up and we were in the middle of a torrential downpour.  I pulled into the truck stop and she pulled out her phone to check the radar.  A swath of angry red and yellow stretched across the better part of the state.

 

Time to adjust the plans.

 

We told the girls that the fair was out of the question.

~Insert disappointed wails from the back seat...in stereo!~ 

A little bit of brainstorming found the vehicle headed North instead of East, on our way to Chuck E Cheese.  Marley and I have never been there.  What a fun place!

 

 

 

Especially if you're a lover of merry-go-rounds of ANY size!

 

 

There weren't many people there at all, so the girls pretty much had free reign of the place.

 

 

 

And because I'm a sucker for these kinds of things...

 

 

 

 

And the pizza wasn't too bad either!

Thank goodness for indoor rainy-fairday alternatives!