Fourth of July 2014

This week is the Fourth of July. The girls really look forward to all the fireworks, especially the ones we let them have, basically just snaps, but, they get to help the adults set up the smoke bombs, tanks, parachutes, etc. We don't do the aerial type, just a bit too scary for me to trust.  We will be having a bon-fire and decorations.  Smores and the like.  Should be fun.

Holly and Myleigh are missing their big sister Katie, she has been in Taiwan for the past two months doing an internship for her TESOL (teaching English as a second language) certification.  She isn't due to be back until the end of July.  We get to skype and facebook chat with her, so, that helps to stave off some of the sadness the girls feel that Katie is so far away. When she gets back we'll have a few weeks and then we're off the Mexico for vacation.

Summer is not Holly's favorite season, because it means no school. Friends in our neighborhood are a few blocks away, so, Holly has a tendency to just want to hang around the house and watch movies.  We have introduced her to the classics- Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, Pete's Dragon, Stuart Little, just a whole stack of movies, and that has helped pass some of the time.  We also bought a bigger pool for the girls, as they did so well at swimming in the pools in Mexico last summer.  Holly and Myleigh both have snorkel sets that they practice with, and it's so funny to sit and listen to them in the pool, faces in the water, just the sounds of their laughter coming up through the snorkel tubes.

Holly learned to ride a bike without training wheels this spring.  She really likes the small two wheel bike that she has actually grown out of, so, it's going to be a challenge getting her to try the size that actually fits her. At least she obeys the rule to always wear a helmet,unlike Myleigh who keeps "losing" her helmet.

The school year ended on a positive note, with both girls moving onto the next grade, meaning Myleigh starts Junior High in the fall, leaving Holly as the only Asian child in her elementary school.

We have all of the kids living at home for the time being. James moved back in last summer so he could quit his full time job and just focus on finishing his degree.  He will graduate college in December. Katie and Mindy moved back from their apartment because Katie graduated this spring and will need time to find a job between now and when she starts graduate school in 2015. Mindy doesn't want to pay for rent, it's a huge struggle on her paycheck, so, she's going to just live at home until she graduates. Matthew started college this spring, so, he will be at home for a few years unless something changes in his plans. That means that Myleigh and Holly will continue to share their room for at least another year, and neither one likes the idea that much. They both want their own room. It's funny though, because for the few months that we had a spare room available, and Myleigh moved into it, they spent time hanging in each others rooms together as much as when they shared a room. I guess its more about decorating it their own style and being able to have privacy if they want it.