Soccer Camp!

Last night was our first night of soccer camp, which officially kicks off our soccer season. Because of the way that Ali & Emma's birthdays fall, they both get to play on the same team (AWESOME!). Karis is on their team also. Aaron is one of their assistant coaches. Meg is playing on a K-1 girls team. The beauty of it all is that both teams practice in the same place, at the same time! Does it get any better than that??

Naturally, at the end of the evening, the Mommies wanted their photo op.

My 3 little soccer girls

Ali (posing like a super-model!)

Emma (She's very proud of that ball, can you tell?)

And finally . . . my little half-pint. She was very excited to see that she and her friend Lucy showed up as twins . . . both with black shoes, white socks, black shorts, and grey shirts. They even had their hair done the same was. When you're 5 . . . that's totally awesome!


And finally, my shot of Emma & Karis. They requested that they laugh for this picture. It amazes me how 7 year olds can make themselves burst into spontaneous laughter! : )

Fun with Friends

We enjoyed some time with our friends, Nate & Lucy yesterday. The kids all has a blast, and I just couldn't resist these cute ones of Julie & Nate at the piano. They had a grand old time playing a rather interesting duet!

A Trip to the Zoo

It's been AGES since we've been to the zoo! But after a couple of rough days at home, I decided that we needed an outing. STL Zoo here we come . . .


Our first stop was at Caribbean Cove. It's a new exhibit at the zoo, and it was really cool! Sting Rays! Yes we got to pet the sting rays. We even happened to arrive when it was time for them to eat. Meg made it very clear that she had no interest in feeding them, so I bought four cups of food. I fed them once and commented on how it felt weird (they basically suck the food right off of your hand). Well my comment ended the festivities. The other girls suddenly lost interest!

The girls all really enjoyed petting them.


Emma's turn

Meg took some coaxing, and Julie needed to be lifted so she could reach, but everyone got a turn and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Penguin & Puffin Coast - Always a favorite of mine (especially b/c it is thoroughly air-conditioned!)

I think we've taken this picture every time we've gone to the zoo. The kids always love it!

Julie & Emma wanted their chance to sit on his back!

It was a fun, but hot day (It's amazing how hot 80 degrees can feel with sun & humidity!) : )

Happy Birthday Dear Megan (A little late!)

Well, Meg's birthday festivities are finally over. Yes, they were much more drawn out than I was expecting!

S'mores Pop Tarts for a birthday breakfast! I searched all over for birthday candles and was only able to find a #2. So, I just cut it into a straight candle. It was the best I could do . . . and searching for those candles caused quite a catastrophe later on!

Yes, I apparently dropped a bottle of puppy pain pills on the floor while I was looking in the basket for the candles. For whatever reason, Bella decided that she would like to eat the entire bottle. All that was left was the lid and a bit of the orange bottle. The good news is that we discovered it right away, and because the lid said "veterinary" on it, we knew what she had eaten. The bad news is that Meg spent much of her 5th birthday at the vet watching Bella barf up those pills . . . along with all of her breakfast. It was lovely.


While we were getting ready to go to the vet, I let Meg open her present from her sisters so she could bring it along with her. A mermaid Barbie! She was wanting one of those to play with in the pool! Yeah!

Daddy met us at the Vet's office so that I wouldn't have to deal with 4 kids plus barfing dog. That afternoon we went to the Geldmeier's house to swim. Lucky us, Daddy got to come along! Mrs. Geldmeier even made cupcakes for Meg!

Next on the agenda was to bring dinner to the Drinkard's, who have recently brought home baby Cole from India. We enjoyed some chat time there, and Meg got to play with Lucy. At the end of the day when Aaron asked her what the best part of her birthday was, she responded without missing a beat . . . "Playing with Lucy!"

Lastly, Meg got to choose where she wanted to go for dinner. She chose "Veggies" (a.k.a. Chevy's) There she opened birthday cards that she got in the mail, and her gift from Mom & Dad.

Yeah! $10 from Great Grandma!

This one is slightly blurry, but I just love the look on her face! A Webkinz Jr!!!

She named her Cherry

We heard someone else get the Chevy's birthday song, and surprisingly, Meg wanted it too. That hat is still a big favorite!

And there ended Meg's actual birthday . . . but wait! There's more!

We had planned a Baby Doll Party for her and her friends that was to take place on Friday. Well, at 10:00pm Thursday night Meg woke up with a fever of 104! Lovely! : ) Yep . . . we had to reschedule. So. Tuesday after VBS, her friends all came over, and they had a blast!

The party table

Baby beds and the clothing/diapering station.

All the stuff for the feeding station, waiting to go into the kitchen after lunch.

The playground. (The plan was for this to be an outside party, but the weather didn't cooperate. These swings were all supposed to be hanging from our swing set, but I had a sudden brainstorm of how to make them work indoors.) The kids all thought this was fabulous! In fact, this was the first station that they all ran to!

First Aid! This was supposed to be in our tent outside ("The First Aid Tent") but went into Meg & Julie's room in the end. Complete with a doctor's kit, band aids and bandages.

Lunch time! Hot dogs, chips and applesauce were on the menu. Banana slush punch to drink.

The servant's quarters. Ali, Emma, Jonah and Karis were our helpers. They each manned a station, and they were awesome! Unfortunately, there was no room at the table for them, so the kitchen floor had to do!

Ali manned the playground. They loved it!

Here's Dr. Jonah. I gave him the stuff and he set up his office. He even turned the Rubbermaid container over to make an exam table. He was such a good sport. I also gave them a box of rubber gloves. These might have been the hit of the party. Needless to say, they are all gone now!

Emma took on the feeding station. She helped the girls put one bibs, find bottles, burp cloths, etc . . .

Karis was in charge of clothing and diapers. Then we realized that she didn't know how to put on a real diaper (let's face it - she has no reason to know that!) Mommy stepped in and saved the day!

Back to work . . . Karis helping Meg with her baby.

Each girl got a diaper bag that was filled with a baby blanket and 2 diapers (Huggies Preemie Diapers - they LOVED that!) They also got a "wagon" to pull their babies around in.

Anna G. with her diaper bag and wagon (and a naked baby?) Hey Anna! Go see Karis!

Lucy giving her baby a bath.

Julie had a blast with the Band-aids!

Meg's matching dresses were a gift from Anna P.

Blowing out the candles!

Her party was a huge success! (And I was glad to finally get it over with! : ) )

But wait . . . there's more!

Now on to the Klarner's house for July/August Birthdays. Emma scored here . . . Early birthday presents!

A digital camera for Emma!

Littlest Petshop from Aunt Brooke

And FINALLY an American Girl Doll! She was thrilled to get Kit! : )

Emma and Megan blowing out their candles!

It may have seemed like the birthday that never ends . . . but it did! It was a good one (in spite of a few minor issues) and I can't believe my little Meg is 5 now! (Incidentally, she is still riding in a car seat, because she only weighs 37 lbs. Hopefully she can move to a booster seat before she turns 6!)

Move Over, Mia Hamm!

This fall, Ali, Emma and Megan will all being playing on soccer teams. Recently we got out all of the cleats, shin guards, etc . . . to figure out what we still needed to buy. Well, Julie felt rather left out and took it upon herself to try on a pair of cleats that are about 3 sizes too big on her. No matter . . . she had a blast! And you have to love that she's wearing them with a sun dress!

Splish Splash

This year we decided to take the plunge and get a pool. As you can see it's just a quick set pool from Walmart, but the kiddie pool just wasn't cuttin' it for our family anymore. It has really proven to be much more hassle than we were expecting, but now that the hassle is over (Lord willing!!) we have found it to be well worth the hassle. We've really had a blast!

Meg has really gotten over her fear of the water. She is very willing to put her face in and is doing quite a bit of doggy paddling. Ali & Emma are all about swimming through people's legs and fetching diving sticks. They all love doing "the whirlpool" . . . it's the perfect size and shape to get spinning! Julie is just barely tall enough to stand with her face out of the water. Aaron & I love being able to jump in when we are dripping with sweat after working in the yard!



Pool time with the Alligood kids!

Meg's "Easy Button"

Meg is the 3rd of my girls to "figure this out." Julie has yet to try it . . . I have full confidence that her time will come.

Mommy: "Megan, you need to go clean your room"

(Which is quite a disaster!)

Megan: "Yes Mom"

3 minutes pass

Megan: "I'm all done!"

Mommy: (With full confidence that it is NOT done) "Ali, can you go check her room for me quick?"

Ali: "I checked it . . . it's done"

So, I make my way to Meg's room and am shocked at how clean it is. Then I opened the closet:

She was a sad little girl when she discovered that Mommy isn't an idiot.

A conversation that I overheard between Meg & Julie:

In reference to a new Littlest Petshop Toy:

Julie: What kind of animal is that?

Meg: It's a meerkat

Julie: What's a meerkat?

Meg: It's a cat that like mirrors.

Gotta love it!

Bummer!

I expected to be uploading and blogging pictures of Meg's 5th birthday party tonight.

That isn't going to happen.

We've been preparing all week, and last night 4 very excited little girls went to bed anticipating a Baby Doll Party the next day. At about 11:00 pm one very sad little girl woke up crying. Poor Meg! 104 degree fever!

No party for her today!

We are hoping to reschedule for one afternoon this week. We're watching the forecast to see which day looks most promising as this will be an outdoor party.

So, all that to say . . . no pics right now. I'll post the ones that I have of her actual birthday soon, and hopefull party pics by the end of the week!