Cafe Bowser

Happy 4th of July!

July 2010 Desktop

Haven't done one of these in awhile...

Bronze Junior

So proud of Taylor!  She graduated her Junior Bronze swim level last Saturday!  To graduate this class, Taylor had to swim the entire length of the pool (across and back) on her own doing (1) airplane to (2) supergirl to (3) roll and swim to (4) flagpole and back to (5) airplane.  She had to do it all with clothes on!

Here she is with her pajamas on and her teacher, Miss Amanda, watching diligently while she did her thang for the Deck Manager.

Taylor did great and passed her test!  She got to ring the bell signifying she was moving on up to the next level!

Here is our Bronze Junior Champion on the podium after receiving her medal (and t-shirt and prize).  Taylor is done with the survival classes now and moves into stroke development.  She will now start the Bronze level which will teach her the basic freestyle stroke and side breathing.  Considering I can only doggy paddle, I'm impressed!

 

California Vacation 2010

I uploaded a photo album (on the left hand side of this blog) with pictures from the first two days of our vacation in California last week.  Stories to follow some day...

 

Coin Purse

So I was in Vegas last weekend for my cousin's graduation from UNLV.  One of the little prizes that I brought home for the girls was a coin purse. 

Taylor:  Mom, what's this called again?

Me:  A coin purse.

Taylor:  Does it go in your wallet?

Me:  No, it carries your coins.  Ladies used to carry them back in the olden days.

Taylor:  Like in the 50's?

Me:  Yeah, and before then, like when your Great Grandmas were young.

Taylor:  Like in the dinosaur times?

Diamondbacks vs Phillies

There is a little girl in one of the Kindergarten classes at Taylor's school whose Dad is a professional baseball player.  The Dad (Nelson Figueroa) was just picked up by the Phillies a couple weeks ago as a Pitcher.  During the off season Nelson volunteered a lot in the Kindy classroom and a lot of the kids got to know him. 

The Phillies were playing the Dbacks on Saturday and Nelson's wife arranged it so a bunch of people from the school could buy seats right above the Phillies bullpen (where Nelson would be - he wasn't supposed to pitch).  There was 107 of us that went on Saturday.  Even cooler - the normal pitcher was hurt so Nelson got to play!  This was the girls' first professional baseball game.

 

We got to our seats, which were awesome, BUT they were in the SUN!  Thankfully isn't want' too long before the sun went down, but until it did, it was hot and the girls, in true girl fashion, complained about the sun in their eyes.  SOOOO, they got Dbacks hats :-)

This is Taylor's friend Lily.  She is in Taylor's class (and is SUPER smart)!  Rumor has it that her parents graduated from MIT.

Jarrod enjoyed explaining the game to the girls.  Taylor would watch the jumbo tron and tell us every time Nelson was pitching or hitting.  The girls both had a really good time (which was surprising).  They both asked when we could go again and if we could sit closer to the "batting people" next time.

Our neighbors down the street have two twin girls that go to Taylor's school and we hang out with them a lot.  Anna and I joke that Jarrod and James have a total bromance going on.  This is what you get when you ask two guys to smile for a picture:

This is Taylor's "boy" friend in school.  His name is Spencer.  He is THE sweetest little kid.  Taylor was totally embarrassed to take a picture with him, but she did...blushing all the way.

The Phillies won (yay) and there were a lot of foul balls and home runs!  It was a really fun time and a fun first for the girls.

Princess Tea Party

Last Saturday Payton attended a birthday party for her friend Amara.  Amara was celebrating her 3rd birthday and the theme was princess tea party.  The invite said to dress in your princess best, so Payton chose her Snow White get up, complete with plastic high heels.

When we arrived at the party, each girl was given a princess box (instead of a goody bag).  The box was full of dress up items; a feather boa, necklaces, gloves, rings, purse, ring pop, wand, stickers, etc.  The girls were SO excited going through their boxes!

Here is Payton and Amara playing with their ribbon wands:

 Payton's beloved Paigey Pie also attended the royal gala.  Paige was in Cinderella's wedding gown.

Here are all of the Princesses dressed in their Princess best:

After playing (and posing) outside, we all went in for princess activities.  The girls made crowns and picture frames.

  (She's gorgeous isn't she?)

After princess activities, the girls all went to the table for tea (chocolate milk) and finger snacks.  The table was totally decked out with real dishes and tea cups.  They dined on pb&j cut into shapes with cookies cutters, raisin bread sandwiches with cream cheese frosting, little quiches, fresh fruit and more.  The girls were in HEAVEN with their tea cups. 

After tea, they all sang Happy Birthday to Miss Amara and dined on mini cupcakes with pink frosting.  The party was totally adorable, 100% girly and my little princess left feeling like she was a Queen. 

Payton graduated!

I think about three days ago I told you on here that I thought Payton would be in her beginning survival swim class forever because she cried through every lesson.

This past Saturday, a new child woke up ready for swim lessons (it probably helped that Taylor was full of drama about her new junior bronze class, so Payton could have dumped nail polish on my bedspread and she'd still be the good kid that morning).  She had no drama and I told her if she was a good girl with no tears during her lesson, that she could go to Urgent Care with me (that's the equivalent of pick what you want in the toy store).

She was PERFECT for her entire class.  Actually she was quite the show off and class clown too.  Payton did airplane all by herself for 10 seconds.

Mr. Justin looked at me half way through the class and asked me if she had tested out of beginning survival.  I looked at him like he had two heads.  Uh, no, she hasn't.  He said that this was the second week she's been doing airplane on her own and he thought she was ready to test out!  Payton did it again for the Deck Manager and he passed her!  She was SO excited to go ring the bell!  Since I wasn't anticipating this big day, I didn't have the good camera with me, so the shots are pretty blurry.  Here she is after ringing the bell!

Here is a picture of Payton during "play time".  She was so excited that she got to do her noodle by herself since she graduated.

Just like her big sissy, Payton got to stand on the Champion stage while they played the Olympic theme song.

Then they gave Payton her yellow medal!  This is Payton's first sports related award.

Payton was so proud of her medal.  She wore it all day (even to Urgent Care with mommy) and made us go to Grammy and Papa's house so she could show it off there.  We're so proud of her!  Now she is in the intermediate survival class.

 

Swimming Lessons

At the end of February, we enrolled the girls in swim lessons.  We decided we couldn't go another summer without them knowing how to swim (or in Payton's case - float and get to the side/stairs safely).

We signed up at SwimKids USA and it has been a fabulous experience.  Both girls had to do an evaluation to see what class they should start in.  Payton started in Beginning Survival and Taylor started in Intermediate Survival.  We go every Saturday morning and Taylor has REALLY shown us that she is growing up.  The little girl that sat on the sidelines of soccer and ran out of Rollie Pollies crying is no more.  She is six, she is a big kid and she was out to prove it!  Payton...well...not so much!  Payton does not like swim lessons, we haven't been able to stay in her room and watch because she cries for us non-stop.  I watched for about 5 minutes last weekend and then had to leave.  Once we leave, she actually stops crying and can be seen laughing and smiling.

Here is what Taylor has been working on:

 
This is the "supergirl" position where they put their arms above their heads, roll over, put their head in the water and swim until their hands hit the wall.

The "airplane" position.  This is what you do if you fall in the pool.  Airplane until you are rested and then supergirl and swim to the side of the pool (or yell for help)

My Tater, swimming to the steps with her head under water.

This is the only picture that I have of Payton in swim lessons.

So last weekend was very exciting for Taylor.  Her swim teacher said she was ready to take her swim test to see if she was ready to graduate from Intermediate Survival.  The Deck Manager watched Taylor do all of her different tasks and she passed with flying colors!  She got to go over to the graduation bell and ring it (this is a big thing in swim lessons).

 

After class was over, she got to stand up on the Olympic stand because she was a new SwimKids champion! 

 

They played the olympic theme song and she was given her medal for passing Intermediate Survival. 

Taylor starts Junior Bronze this weekend.  We are so proud of her!  Even Payton told me "my sissy did great".  Hopefully Payton continues to cry less at each lesson so she can be the next champion!

Easter 2010 - Part Two

We spent the second half of Easter day at Mom and Dad Bowser's house.  We went over for the kids' traditional egg hunt, yummy food and at times...very interesting conversation (interesting when it is stories about what the kids have said recently).

I had the girls pose for a couple of pictures before we left for M&D Bowsers (shocking, I know) and we have Aunt Debbie and Uncle Terry to thank for these adorable little outfits:

After I was done with the group photos, I told the girls to get in the truck so we could leave.  Both girls sighed and rolled their eyes at me and I said "what"?  They said "what about pictures by ourselves"?  So, here are the individual pictures, true to each one of their personalities:

Taylor:  Prim and proper, arms at her side, perfect smile, left leg bent a little at the knee.

Payton:  At the count of 3, she does this little maneuver while saying "cheese"!

At M&D Bowsers house, Auntie and Uncle gave the girls glow in the dark bunny ears.  Taylor refused to wear hers...(1) it would mess up her hair and (2) a chin strap?  really?  Payton was totally game and totally cute.

The kids had a lot of fun scouring the backyard for their designated color of Easter eggs.  This year was especially fun because inside some of their eggs was a note that said "see Grammy Bunny for a special treat"!  They each got candy and a giant bubble wand.

Before we headed inside for 7 layer dip, BBQ and sundaes, I snapped some pictures of the kids together.  I think we've got a good looking generation of Bowsers here.  Payton (3), Taylor (6), Mason (2) and Simon (6).