Little bit of this, little bit of that...

Once again, this will be a mish-mosh of photos but ones I don't want to forget or leave off of our family's journal.

Our pool remains open in September and we are taking full advantage. Plus, it's been warmer in the past 2 weeks than it has been all summer. Figures.

Izzy discovered the full snorkel mask and loves that it holds her nose plugged for her. We insist she still use her regular goggles to keep up the nose breathing/bubbles.

Love hate relationship these sisters have.

Bobo & Grandma got the girls a motorized Barbie Jeep for their birthdays (they call it their "Bowbee Cow"). This is driven (at a high speed I might add) to the park, the pool, and around the block on a regular basis. Laney refuses to drive And Izzy is mastering her turning skills and reversing skills. Three point turns are becoming a mastered skill. 

A few weeks ago we drove to St. Louis and met Mike's cousin, Josh, halfway for the weekend. Stayed at a fun hotel that offered a great pool and deck for kids and adults alike to enjoy. The next day we ventured to the zoo (it's free...and it's HUGE). Was a hot day but it was pretty special for our kids to hang out and all of us to reconnect.

Cousins

We officially went to Friday night polo 3 times this summer. Not sure who enjoys it more, the kids or the adults. I seriously have a smile on my face the entire time we're there. Picnic. Drinks. Dancing. Games. It's right up our alley.

We also went to the Moto GP race here in town (read: motorcycles at the 500 track that loop all throughout the infield). More sun and more family time.

Our very own Meghan competed in her first CF competition so of course we had to cheer her on. Let's just say after a few hours at the track I was kind of a mess of a spectator. But let me tell you...Meghan crushed it and I had a blast cheering for one of my favorite gals. Was so proud of her. And had a riot of an afternoon. 

The #PSMX13 crew continues to wod together. Something about working out with your close friends gets my juices flowing. That comaraderie. That you-go-girl. That recapping post wod with good friends? Yeah, that. I need that. And I love that we make an effort to do these things together.

Speaking of CF, it's the final countdown to the anniversary of my first competition, the Naptown Bracket Buster. Four weeks away. At this point I'm not going to get any stronger. Now it's about technique and maintaining cardio fitness. Think I've put in some solid hours at the gym...so I'm hoping it'll come to fruition come game day.

Push Press: Push it. Push it real good.

And like most summers, we ended August with a road trip to dad's house for a weekend of friends, family and the Crim. Unfortunately I left my big girl camera at my in-laws so I can't post any of his incredible new house. Those will come when I regain possession of my camera. In the meantime, here are a few from my phone...

Dad and Jazzy. That dog goes everywhere with him. Super cute.

Ran the 10 mile solo again. But I didn't mind at all. I LOVE this course. Nostalgic to my youth. But also incredibly difficult. The hills. One after the other. With no downhills. My goal was to walk as little as possible. I made it until mile 7 until I really had to rest/walk. I was so proud...no training and I did better than I did last year. Legs felt heavier but that's probably b/c I'm carrying a lot more weight/muscle than I am used to running with. After finishing I walked the 5k with Anna (and pushed the girls) while Dad and Mike ran the 5k. Love Crim day.

After the race we went to dad's country club for a few hours of swimming. Izzy got to show off her skillz and both girls got to jump off the diving board...Izzy sans floaties and swam beautifully to the side solo. 

DELANEY had her 4th birthday last week where we quietly celebrated after gymnastics at home with strawberry cupcakes. Mom arrive in town the day prior so Laney had a special week home with her.

Laney got twin Bitty Babies from Am.erical Girl. Pumped.

Mom got her a monogrammed carrying case (that we'll be using SOON to go to the A.G. store in Chicago!)

And last weekend Mike and I had a kid-free evening in Northern Indiana to celebrate a dear friend's wedding. We traveled with Kristi & Brian and the evening was so special. And fun. Lots of fun.

Cari made a stunning bride, of course

We didn't have any fun. At all. Or did we? It's hazy.

The girls loved having mom here...until next time, Roo!

Izzy had an adult tooth come in a few weeks ago behind her baby tooth. Last week it was very loose. Like hanging by a thread loose. But she wouldn't pull it. Monday rolled around and she was slurping her spaghetti and smiled really big after a slurp and I saw blood. But no tooth. Sister swallowed it. (!!!)

Have no fear...the tooth fairy still made an appearance:

Dog days of summer

Gymnastics girls

Final Friday night polo match (we actually saw a player fall off his horse and get tromped on - was scary!)

We had a great evening, even though DELANEY doesn't show it here :)

Saturday morning we took a family bike ride in our backyard. No more than 10 minutes in and Izzy fell. Then Laney fell. Mike and I ended up walking all the bikes home while both girls cried. We were a sight, I tell ya. Mike headed out for the gym and the girls and I packed up for the pool. The Barbie Jeep is much more efficient.

As previously mentioned, Izzy wear a snorkel mask. She's recently mastered how to us the actual snorkel. She will swim back and forth across the pool and not come up for air. But she'll talk or sing the entire way...through the snorkel. Under water. She is such a character.

Laney has finally built up her courage and is diving for rings all by herself. No floaties. No daddy pushing her under to get deep enough to grab. Just her. And she's proud. Can't blame her...we are, too!

It's not you, it's me...

A few days ago I made my blog private for some security/privacy reasons. It wasn't about you. Or you. Or you. It was about my family and our choices to have a public blog.

I started this blog when I found out I was pregnant with Izzy. For our parents that live out of town. Since then it has turned into much more than documenting our pregnancy. Rather, it's a place I document our daily lives. So the girls can one day trudge through the monotony that was their youth. Look at pictures. Read funny stories. This blog is about our family and you choose to read it and we love that you do.

In the past few days I've struggled with what to do with this blog. I researched what I could do to make it safer to be out there in cyberspace. So I used my resources at work and met with some of our IT guys (read: html literate) and made some coding changes, robot changes and search engine changes to make us feel more comfortable about having said public blog.

I have had 9 emails/texts in the past 24 hours as to why it was private. And to be quite frank, my reasons are private. But thanks for stopping by to read. To care what's going on in our lives. And I'll continue to blog as normal.

Carry on.

Izzy's First Day of Kindergarten...

This little girl started kindergarten last week...can you tell she was excited!!??

 A few days before school started the elementary had a meet-the-teacher open house and ice cream social. I was anticipating the evening all day and had a hard time concentrating at work, as I had so many ants in my pants. The four of us toured the school and Izzy's classroom. Her teacher gave a presentation to both the kids and adults. There was nervous energy in the room and I must admit, I had sweaty pits. A new routine to start. A new 'first' for Izzy. I love celebrating these 'firsts' with both girls. As Mike tells them, "Girls, your mommy is really in to 'big deals'!"

After meeting new friends (many whom live in our neighborhood!) we ventured on to the ice cream social where I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Our girl was going to be a kindergartener! Izzy came to sit on my lap after she was finished and I giddily asked her if she was excited to start kindergarten. To which she replied, "Not as excited as you, mommy!" I will never forget those words. I just beamed.

The morning of the first day of school was a brisk 55 degrees. Which means the dress we picked out wasn't conducive to outdoor pics but I was determined to capture the monumental morning. Hence Izzy's crying, pitiful face. But have no fear, as soon as we got to school she perked right up.

 Her backpack on her back, she skipped into school. She and Laney explored a bit, as Izzy goes to a before-and-after program that is homeroomed in the cafeteria. Mike and I learned the routine of sign-in, backpack placement, breakfast line, et al. I tried to capture a few more pictures as I was doing my best to extend each minute I had left with her. After all that excitement I wasn't ready to let her go. Sweaty pits and all.

 After we were finished with pictures Izzy was directed to line up for breakfast in alphabetical order. Among other kids of all grades. That had been to school before and high fiving their friends. Ummm, Izzy knows the alphabet but notsomuch how to line up by last name. We helped her out and she was sandwiched between two fourth grade girls who immediately oohed and ahhed over our sweet little Izzy, taking her under their 9 year old wings. Then she was off to choose her breakfast. I made Mike stay a little while until she got to her table to eat so I could leave knowing she was happy. She sat down with older girls. Placed Monkey right in front of her bowl, then jumped right into animated conversation. We knew it was time to let her spread her wings and fly.

After her first full day in her new school I greeted her at the car in the garage. As soon as her door opened she was talking a mile a minute; Izzy was excited and wanted to share every last detail with us. She made new friends. She ate all of her (self-made) lunch. She had recess (the teeter totter was her favorite). Read stories. Art class. Bottom line....kindergarten was a success. After she completed telling us all about it she said, "Ok I have to stop talking because I have to make my lunch now!" Well then.

Quite a different response than my mother said I had after my first day of kindergarten. Mom says I came home, plopped myself down and told her 'I don't think I'm going to go back tomorrow.' I had gone to pre-k and pre-school for a handful of years prior and apparently kindergarten was simply boring for me. Izzy has mentioned a bit of the same (they aren't doing hard math problems yet...which has actually brought her to tears). But thankfully she wants to go back :)

And every day since her first day she comes barreling into the house from school and immediately makes her lunch for the next day. Last night Izzy gave Mike and I a play-by-play of what her typical day looks like. Unsolicited. Detailed. Animated. She walked us through all of the rules (only one voice in the classroom at a time, where to put your lunch box, when walking in line you 'hold a bubble' in your mouth, etc), all of the daily routines, and all of her sweet little commentary on her friends she makes before and after school whilst playing on the 'big kids' playground.

To be a kindergartener again...it's so sweet to relive it all with Izzy. Warms my heart.

And this little Buggy returned to G.oddard School last week. She missed her buddies but thankfully attended a few summer birthday parties to keep up with her friends. I remember how much Izzy learned in pre-K and how far she came in that short time she spent with Ms. Scott. And I am looking forward to seeing the same growth from Laney. She's already started writing her name on paper and writing the alphabet.

It's going to be a big year in our house. Lots of learning, growing, developing and fun. Here's to a successful year of building strong, healthy, smart and compassionate little girls.

Since you've been gone...

Just a few things that have been going on around our house as of late...

Girls spend every day at the pool that it's nice outside. Luxury of being home with a nanny in the summer.

Iz & Lane love to play out on our deck...too cute.

While I was away in Mexico two very big things happened in the McCulloch household: Izzy learned to swim independently across the pool (& dive for sticks!). Huge win for Izzy, as we haven't had her in swim lessons for over a year. Mike said it'd happen organically and it did. And every waking moment she now wants to go to the pool. Love her and how she is growing up!

And the other thing that happened was that Mike finally installed his outdoor shower. He's been talking about it for a few years and decided to pull the trigger while I was gone. Per his usual style. I have yet to see him (or any of the girls) use it. Hope he likes it. And the cold hose water that comes out of it.

A rare snuggle that melts my heart. They have a love/hate relationship. I get it...as I've been there.

I've been making some pretty big gains in the gym as of late. Coach has us on several week cycles to gain strength and the work is paying off. Got 4 pretty big PRs over the last 2 weeks. Starting a pretty intense pre-competition cycle starting this week...going from working out 6 times a week to now 8 times a week. Will be tough to maintain but after seeing the gains as of late, I'm pumped to see more. Bring it on!

We have discovered a local polo club near our house and Friday nights they have matches. Pretty much the most fun family night we've had in a while. Going back this week to do it all over again.

In between quarters (even though they're not called that) you can go out and play on the field and even stomp divets!

Sunbathing Izzy while her sister naps

Got a long run in with the Perfect Strangers (6 miles for me is now considered long, my oh my how times have changed!)

Spent a day with our old friends the Moosebruggers. We toured their new house and many acres, watched hours of the CF Games, dined outside and made s'mores by their campfire. Was so enjoyable to spend the day together like old times. My talks with Meg are good for my soul.

We spend almost every night (weather and schedule permitting) at the pool. Gets our sillies out and is quality family time for us. We pack a cooler and our jammies. Showers are taken there instead of baths at home. We have it down to a routine and I'm sad this will be coming to an end soon with Fall approaching.

Can't get this little diving diva out of the pool. She throws, retrieves, throws, retrieves, swims a lap, throws, etc. She's turned into a little fish and I love that it all happened organically. Not forced. On her own timing.

Izzy bought a jump rope (among other treasures) with her piggy bank money. She's been slowly getting the hang of jumping with it. We turned it into a family affair...gave me some good double-under practice.

Had special Feller family time a few weeks ago. Spent an entire day with them and it was so much fun. We laughed. We swam. We replenished an empty cooler. Was perfection. And long overdue.

The diving duo: Izzy & Luke

Love bugs: Jacob & Laney. Two peas. One pod. Melting heart.

And here is a picture of the school supplies we had to buy for Izzy's kindergarten year. She and I had fun hunting for everything on the list. Not sure what she'll do with 16 dry-erase markers and 8 glue sticks but I'm positive it'll be amazing. Sister started kindergarten yesterday and she LOVED it. Will post on that next. Until then, enjoy these last few weeks of summer!