I am SO bummed

No swim pictures to share today!!! Sarah decided to be a little snoot again, and go back to her old ways. For the most part, she basically sat on the steps for her lesson. I told the instructor she might as well use her time on Mary because all Sarah did was argue with her, and wouldn't try anything new. Grrrr...I really was hoping that after last week, we could move forward, but I guess not. All week she has been promising me that she would jump in (I only asked for once) but she insisted that she would do it 5 times. Well, I didn't even get my one that I was asking for. We are taking a week off, and then Mary will continue with her lessons. Sarah really will too (but we aren't letting her know that) , but for now we will just focus on Mary until Sarah decides she is ready to try something. The instructor and I are hoping that when she spends all her time with Mary, and when Mary continues to have such a great time, that Sarah will get jealous and get over whatever is holding her back. I guess only time will tell. But boy am I struggling with this stubborn child.

Sorry about no pictures, I was just so disgusted with Sarah that I didn't even get my camera out to take pics of Mary. She was really practicing coming up for quick breaths while she swims. (and doing a pretty good job at it)

Youth Bowling outing

A few weeks back, the youth had a bowling outing, and I showed up with the girls to snap a few pics of the youth...of course I also had to get some of my girls!!

Nature pics

These were all taken on our walk last night. Some were ones I really liked, and some were ones the girls requested to be taken. :)

God gives us a beautiful canvas!

Evening Walk/Photoshoot

Last evening, the weather was nice and the girls and I had a bit of cabin fever, so we decided to take a walk through the park. We started near the gazebo/pond and followed a walking path. It was a longer trail than I anticipated, but the girls did great, and we really enjoyed exploring. Can't wait to do it again. I wish we had taken this walk when my dad was here visiting, because there were SO many photo ops, that we just couldn't pass. And the girls were in just the RIGHT mood for taking pics. Bee, especially was finding spots to pose for me.
Not only was I finding nice pics to take that evening, I was also keeping my eyes posted for some cool areas for senior pics. I have one young lady already lined up, and hope to get a few more. In this park, the picture possibilities are endless...I love it!!

They are FRAMED.

Just experimenting with framing through some major limbs that were down.

Dad will remember these rocks, the girls really LOVE posing here.

"What a heavy rock to hold, mom!!"

Beautiful girl

Beautiful sisters

I just LOVE these girls!!

It was such a fun evening spent with them.

They both had the urge to "surf" on this rock. And you should have seen their little hips shaking!!

It was still a bit muddy, and I didn't know what obstacles we would encounter, so the girls wore their rain boots.

Americas next top model!

I love this one!

She just sat up there and was SO natural for me...I love it!! (If only I could get them to be this natural for Easter pics, I'd be in great shape)

Doesn't get more natural than this.

Checking out the pond

She picked this area and pose too.

I was experimementing...trying to get their reflection in the pond. WOOHOO!!!

And that's all she wrote...the END

(I am SO thrilled, I just discovered this morning that Picasa now lets me post more than 4 pics at a time...woohoo. Makes posting quicker and easier for me. Be prepared...there may be many more posts coming!! I still haven't posted Disney!!)

Alice in Wonderland

The girls posing with some cast members

And now posing with our favorite cast member...Miss Laura.

Miss Laura and some more of her friends

Daddy, his girls with Alice and some other cast members.

Oops, didn't mean for this one. I guess Picasa will now let you do more than four pics. :) Anyhow, we went to a middle school production of Alice in Wonderland. They had a really nice breakfast thing beforehand where the kdis could eat and then color or play games with the cast members. (and get pictures) The girls LOVED it!! And the kids did such a great job in Alice.

Bee Bubbles

This one cracks me up. To think that exactly ONE week before this, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with getting her face wet. She has come so far. I just hope this next lessons shows as much improvement as this one did.

I am loving swim lessons, just wish they weren't so expensive. But we do realize that the safety of our daughters is worth the expense in the long run...the knowledge of swimming can save a life.

And sorry, but I did post a LOT of videos this evening. The girls wanted me to share them on here, and since I gave up facebook for Lent, posting on here is the only way for my Dad and others that do not live close to see. Enjoy!

Boo Swimming

I can't believe how fast Boo picked up the skill for swimming. By the second week of our lessons (and they are only 30 minute lessons shared between the two girls) she was off and swimming. And each week she is improving. At this point, she can swim as far as she can hold her breath. We are working on her with breathing to the side as she swims, but that is taking a bit of work. Plus with her new skill of doing hand stands, and her love for diving for rings, she is expanding the amount of time she can hold her breath for. Boy does this make me realize how quickly my girls are growing up. And we are OH SO PROUD of both of them!! I can't wait to enjoy this summer with them.