Pompeii

Lately Nicole has been almost obsessed with volcanoes and the story of Pompeii.  (I think she may have heard something about it in preschool.)  Everywhere we go, Nicole asks if there's a volcano there. We have checked books out of the library, watched videos on the internet, and tried to learn all we can about the subject. 

So I began thinking about the Brady Bunch episode where Bobby makes that volcano (the one that blows up on Alice).  And I decided Nicole and I would build our own volcano.  Of course, we used a plastic cup and playdough...and we ran out of the right colors...and it melted right away.  But Nicole thought it was great.  Here's the big eruption:

Swimming

We spent some time the other night at a friend's new house. They bought this place with lots of land, house with 4,000+ square feet and a wooden bridge over a creek that leads to a pool... for $165,000. Crazy. We enjoyed the pool and Nicole had her first experience diving off a diving board! (With her floatie safely around her.) Okay, so none of us (except the kids) are going to win any beauty contests but Britt in the swim mask ... left me speechless. One of the funniest pictures I've seen in a while. :)

VBS

Nicole, Allyson, and I were involved in VBS all week. (I volunteered in crafts...obviously they didn't know me when the assignments were made.) After each day we spent time with Nicole's good friend, Holland, and her little sister, Darcy. Tonight was the performance. Here's just a portion. Nicole doesn't seem too interested in the performance. I think it's because she spent the entire afternoon at Holland's house. I picked her up in time for the two of us to run to a favorite store and have a quick dinner together. Daddy and Allyson met us there. I love this picture of the two of them getting ready to watch the show.

Family bike ride

Nicole asked for "family time" last night so went on a walk/bike ride. It was such a nice evening. We love our neighborhood.

Allyson "talks family"

Allyson is talking more all the time. Here she says the names of several different family members. I'm sorry if we didn't get to everyone but she decided she'd rather have the camera for herself and the video had to come to an end.

Swimming!

Here are our little fish at Auntie Gina and Uncle Jeff's pool. This was a very exciting day as Nicole actually swam by herself for the first time. The video below shows Allyson jumping on the trampoline and then shows Nicole swimming. Yeah Nicole!

We also enjoyed some great swimming at Uncle Frank and Aunt Dusty's pool. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera then. Allyson especially loved diving off the rocks into the deep end with Uncle Frank. Everyone was shocked by how she showed no fear.

Chocolate Strawberries

We made chocolate strawberries one evening at Jeff and Gina's. The girls loved helping Papa dip the strawberries.

More Dance Recital Video

Nicole's Dance Camp Recital

The day after we returned from California Nicole was scheduled to attend dance camp. I wasn't sure, after getting home at 1:00am (weather issues with flight) if she was going to be up for it. But she loves to dance and hesitate. (At least I think she didn't hesitate...Allyson and I were sleeping in and dad took her that first day!)

We really enjoyed watching her recital, with some tumbling, ballet, tap, and jazz. She especially seemed to enjoy the free dancing with the ribbons. So cute.