Swim, baby, swim

Avery has grown up at the pool.

Claire joined the swim team in the fall of 2008,

right after Avery's 1st birthday.

Since then, we have spent countless hours at

swim practice and swim meets.

Aves is as comfortable in a hot, humid pool room

as she is in her own bedroom.

So, it is no surprise that Avery can't wait to swim!

She has been talking about swimming and swim team

all winter and finally, this summer, it is her turn.

She started her very first swim lessons at Dowling this

summer and wow! she is a fish!!

Aves loves everything about swimming!

She jumps, dives, splashes and swims!

She loves to wear her goggles, they are almost always

on her face!  She loves to dunk underwater

and count to see how long she can stay under.

She loves to practice her "starts" off of the pool steps.

She can do her "scoops" and kicks and

front arrow.  She is even working on her

underwater handstand like the big girls

(if only she wasn't so buoyant!)

While I swell with pride and joy watching her swim,

I have been reminded lately that no matter how

comfortable she appears, she is still only beginning.

I am careful to sit with a watchful eye while

she continues to practice and grow stronger.

I am very grateful for swimming.  I am very grateful

that my girls have found something to be passionate

and excited about.  Now, if only I could find

a way to enjoy it without sweating to death on

the sidelines! : )

Aves on her first day of lessons!

She loves the "knee pose"

She was so proud of her own swim bag ~

Summertime fun!

Summer fun has begun!

The Rousehouse is in full summer mode;

sleeping late, playing hard, having fun!

Today was a beautiful day so we decided

to head out to the DSM Zoo.

There was a special Dinosaur Exhibit

going on and Avery loves dinosaurs.

As we were walking through the zoo,

reading the "Dinofacts" and collecting

stickers for the Dinosaur scavenger hunt,

Avery kept saying (to anyone who would listen)

"I'm a Dinosaur Expert!"  Too cute!!

This trip was special and sad for a couple of reasons.

1. All big kids. So crazy!  All I had with me

was my bag with 1 water bottle and a camera!

2. Again, big kids.  I noticed a few changes from even

just last year.  ~ No one wanted to feed the animals,

not even the fish.  Who doesn't want to feed the fish?!?!

~ We spent 1/2 as much time on the playset as last year.

~ Claire was "too cool" for some of my pictures.

~ Claire spent most of her time reading all the info at the exhibits

instead of actually looking at the animals.  Not a bad thing,

just a big girl thing.

3. My kids.  We still had a great time! Even though they're

growing up and maybe don't want to do all the

same things they've done in the past, they're still my girls.

They still loved the rope bridge, the giraffes and the ice cream stand!

They still ran around, played tag, picked on each other,

helped each other and occasionally grabbed my hand

for a brief moment, just to make sure I was still there.

My girls ~ 2011

My girls ~ 2010

My girls ~ 2011

My girls ~ 2010

Avery, the Dinosaur expert, with her Diego hat!

Avery loved the dinosaurs, until they roared.

Then she was outta there!

Despite being a little scared, she couldn't resist getting

up close to her favorite dino, "T-asaurus Rex" as she calls him.

We spent quite a bit of time talking to and watching Rex.

We all agreed, cycle of life or not, this was gross!

I had to get a shot of Claire, doing what she loves the most ~

All three girls got to feed the giraffes.  I was very impressed

that they each did such a great job.  Avery was so

proud of herself and "her giraffe".  Ella walked right up

and fed this one like she did it everyday!

We are blessed to have so many fun and educational things

to do around here.  I love getting to go out and enjoy

life with my 3 sweet, beautiful girls!

Enjoy ~

Why do they always do that!?!?

I love traditions, you know I do.

But, some traditions I could do without.

Like this one, "the cutting of the hair"!

Like all 3 year olds before her,

Avery decided to "cut her own hair" today.

We have a haircut scheduled for this afternoon,

but apparently Avery thought she could do better.

After a strong talking to (trying so hard to hide my

smile and giggle), Avery agreed to never, ever, ever,

cut her own hair again!

Notice the chunk of hair on the stool?

Avery upset about getting in trouble!

Trying to explain to me, "what's the big deal!?"

Happy to know I still love her, less hair and all!



Last day of school!

Schools out for the summer!!!

I have to admit, I love having the girls home!!

I love summer!

I love the freedom to sleep as long as we want,

eat breakfast when we want, play around all day,

swim and swim and swim,

playdates and camps and motorhomes

friends and family!

I am so grateful that I get to spend the summer

with my girls.  Snuggling and laughing and

breaking up fights!

Ahh, yes, summer!! : )

The girls both had great school years this year!

Claire breezed through 3rd grade and is ready to tackle

4th grade!  She received all S and E on her report card

(that's very good) and made some great friends.

Ella did great in 1st grade.  She grew leaps and bounds

academically and emotionally.  She made some great

friends and we are extremely proud of her!

I am a little overwhelmed to have a 2nd and 4th grader.

I can actually remember being in 4th grade, and it does

not seem like it was that long ago.

But, I am not going to dwell on how old they are.

Instead, I'm going to cherish this sweet summer and

my beautiful girls!

Ella and her band, "The Rockstars" ~ BFFs!

My big girl Claire!

Ella and Mrs. Welch ~

Claire and Mrs. Sander ~

Celebrating the last day of school with a little DQ

What wonderful sisters!

Wow, 3 great kiddos!  I am so blessed!

God creates them each their own...

We are having a wonderful weekend so far.

Aunt Jackie, and her dog McLovin, are visiting

from California.  We always love when we have

family in town!

Today, Aunt Jackie had some friends over and she

was getting ready to give them a tour of our

parent's house.  She turned to my three girls and said,

"Ella, do you want to give the tour?"

Ella got very shy and hugged her leg.

"Claire, do you want to give the tour?"

Claire just shrugged and seemed uninterested.

Before she could say anything else,

Avery pops up, spread her arms open and says,

"Come on people, let's go.  I'm giving you a tour"

and takes off with everyone to follow her!

I am always amazed at how very different my

3 girls are.  They are unique in every way

and consistent in their personalities.

God created 3 very special girls and I am

so grateful to be their mom!

Aunt Jackie and the girls doin' some art!

What goes around comes around....

A couple of weeks ago I had the great pleasure of

playing a piano duet with my daughter, Claire.

It was a very special day for me, but it was

also very special for her piano teacher.

Diane Alex, the best piano teacher in Iowa!, was

my piano teacher when I was young, and she

is now teaching my daughter!

We both had a moment as Diane was sharing

with the audience that I was her first "alum" to

come back and play with my own child.

We have certainly come full circle!

I am so proud of Claire.  I'm proud of

her dedication, her willingness to practice,

and her confidence playing in front of others.

I think I was more nervous than she was! : )

Enjoy ~

2nd Annual Rouse Family Fun Day!

Last year, on a beautiful spring day, Dave had the great idea

of taking a "skip day" and spending the day together as a family.

As many of you know, this was very difficult for me as I'm a rule

and routine follower and spontaneity is not my strong suit.

But, we did it and we had a blast.  Thus was born:

Rouse Family Fun Day Tradition!!

This year FFD was planned (yes, I planned our spontaneous fun day)

for Tuesday May 17th.

To add a little more excitement, if that's possible, we kept it a secret as to

where we were going other than, "it's not in Iowa".

It was so fun listening to the girls try to figure out where we might go.

On the morning of the trip, I handed each of the girls a "ticket" to FFD.

It entitled them to: "Omaha Children's Museum, Henrly Doorly Zoo,

and dinner at Spaghetti Works at the Old Market".

They were thrilled!  So we loaded up the car, popped in a movie

and headed out!

First stop was Omaha Children's Museum.

That place is awesome!!

Think Science Center times 100!

There was so much to do and the staff were great.

Bonus: free admission for Sci Iowa members!

Three girls ready for some fun ~

RouseHouse putting out the fire ~

As if there wasn't enough to do, they had painting

in the craft room ~

This trip had several "mommy moments" for me.

One of the most overwhelming moments was the realization

that Claire is growing up. It is a fact of life that she

will one day turn to me and say, "mom, I don't

want to go on FFD with you guys this year."

And I will cry and say, "tough stuff, get in the car".

And it will be sad.... but she will go anyway and

punish me all day for it, but I'll still love her! : )

But, this year, she was a joy and a sweety and

a great daughter and sister!

We had a great time in the craft area. 

Dave is the crafty parent in our group ~

While the big girls played with blocks

and cranks and pulleys, Avery layed on the floor

waiting for a pile of balls to fall on her, then laughed and

laughed and did it again.  Ahh, Avery!

She did learn to lift her own body weight with

a little help from dad ~

We wrapped up the museum with a ride on their carousel ~

Next stop was Henry Doorly Zoo.

We are Zoo people and we had a great time!

The crew, ready for an adventure ~

Everyone walked the shaky bridge, even Aves ~

We did the Skyfari twice.  Avery loved the views,

I loved the rest!

Avery's favorite mode of transportation ~

I love my little gorillas.  That's Avery's impression of the Gorilla ~

Ella's favorite was the butterfly garden.  Sweet, beautiful

and sensitive, just like her ~

My favorite part of the day was how well everyone got along.

This was are first "big trip" with no stroller or diapers.

We were just a family of five, walking and exploring,

enjoying each others company. 

I am very proud of how well everyone did and what

a great time we had because of it!

By the end of the day, we were all tired, but happy!

In their own words ~

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

Enjoy your family, enjoy your friends, Praise God!