Ten Things I Forgot to Thank My Father For

Awww... you didn't think I could thank mom for all her sacrifices without thinking of some of the crazy stuff we put dad through did you?

Two really good lookin' people who were
destined to have really good lookin' kids.
And grandkids.

My parents have been married for over 35 years. They either love each other very much, or couldn't stand the thought of having to start over and raise more children. Since I'm an optimist, I'm going to believe it's the former. Dad was there right alongside mom, teaching and working to make sure my sister and I learned  how to be confident and independent - and not living at home for the rest of our lives.

Unlike moms, dads have a different kind of responsibility toward their children. Let's face it, if the kids don't bathe for a week and they break a fingernail or two before they learn to chew them off... would dad really care?

Fathers have a high tolerance for things mothers don't. That tolerance is what helps them teach their children about the great outdoors when camping for a week with no showers in sight. Nobody ever died of a little bug bite, and a bloody mess that leaves a scar but doesn't kill you "builds character". Dads know how to do "stuff". They fix things, build things, and jump in alongside you as if they too were nine years old. Dads deserve their own kind of thanks for the things we've forgotten.

Dad, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for:

1) Waking me up for school every morning. I now realize you probably dreaded waking me up more than I dreaded getting up. The cold water in the spray bottle though? That was genius.

"Like this Daddy. Good job!"

2) Yelling "Quit splashing!" and "I'd better not see water all over the floor in there!" Instead of just cutting bathtime from 30 minutes to three. You knew we were having fun. You also knew we were still going to get the floor sopping wet, no matter how much yelling was involved.

3) Going with me to the police station to take a bike safety class. And not being angry that I was required to attend because I got a "ticket" for riding on the wrong side of the street. Oh, and for letting me ride my bike all over town in the first place, even if mom wasn't so keen on the idea.

"...and if you turn the hose on really slow,
in the morning you'll have icicles."

4) Hanging the Christmas tree lights every year, inside and outside. Also, thanks for finding that one light that had burnt out. Thank goodness those are now "the good 'ol days".

I loved the icicles we had on our house in Florida. Sure, we knew you'd climbed up there with the water hose in order to get the icicles to form, but now I realize it was an extra effort you took just for the enjoyment of your family. (And trust me, I'm still talking about it three decades later - it was really fun.)

5) Teaching me to drive. (A stick shift no less!) I don't remember being traumatized or even scared when I got behind the wheel. I do remember the "mall cop" stopping us and asking what we were doing. I guess driving in circles in the parking lot at 9 pm on Sundays was a bit unusual back then.

"Daddy would never get this done
without my help!"

6) Teaching me the difference between a pipe wrench, adjustable wrench and socket wrench. You always let me "help" you do the jobs around the house, yard and in the garage. I learned a lot as you patiently taught me tasks that must have taken twice as long to complete when I was at your side.

7) Making me practice changing the tire on my car before letting me drive across the country. Oh, and showing me how to jump start a car. I wish I could remember what you taught me...

8) Letting me drive across the country. I still love traveling, and driving out to school in Wisconsin, on to New  York, down to Florida, and back home again holds many fond memories for me. I don't yet know what it's like to send your kid down the road with a spare tire and full tank of gas, but I can't imagine it was easy. Thanks for teaching me what I needed to know, and trusting me to use it.

9) Teaching me to respect my elders. Thanks for giving me a "dressing down" when I spoke badly about Grandpa, even though I know he drove you crazy too. Respect, loyalty and compassion were all traits you taught, not just through words, but through actions.

"Grandpa, Gracie says baseball games and camping
isn't just for boys. What do you think? Should
we let her in the club?"

10) Hiking up mountains, taking me to baseball games, camping for a week, and doing other things mom would rather not. I'd play outdoors all day and have a nice warm fire, dinner from a can, and s'mores when we got back to camp. Climbing Half Dome in Yosemite was by far the coolest hike we ever did. I still tell stories about that trip. (And my head swells with pride at the accomplishment - which would never have happened without your determination to get us to the top!)

The rules to baseball were explained over and over, and hot dogs and sodas accompanied my cousins and I as we watched our team play. I even remember playing baseball outside on Christmas day, and getting hit in the head with a baseball while sliding into home base... now we know what's wrong with me.

Kim and I still laugh about our trip into the Everglades. Only a dad would take his two girls primitive camping with "barking" alligators lurking about in the middle of the night! I love remembering the time we spent together. Those memories would never have happened if you'd left it up to mom!

Thanks dad, for everything.

Lies Our Parents Tell Us

By parents, I mean OUR parents - the Grands. Remember when you were a teenager, and you thought you knew far more than your parents did? Then you got smacked upside the head with reality and came to your senses? Well, apparently as we age, this process reverses. Your parents tell you things and think you won't catch on.

I'm a bit concerned this will continue to devolve, until they're actually spelling things again. "DeeDee, do you think Jen would mind if we fed I-C-E C-R-E-A-M to her children after taking them to the P-A-R-K during their N-A-P T-I-M-E?" If that conversation ever takes place in front of me, I've already got a game plan. I'm raiding the freezer and eating all the ice cream before they get back.

"She's kidding right? She couldn't possibly eat that
much ice cream..."
"We'd better tell PapaDeeDee to keep some extra
in the deep freeze."

Seriously though, the list of lies is astounding. Here are some of my favorites:

"The kids were great!" - I live with these short people. There is no way you had them for more than 24 hours without someone having a meltdown, eating the dish soap, climbing onto the kitchen table or - and I KNOW this one happened - stealing toys and hitting one another.

"We're just going to get them a little something." - I don't know if there was just too much LSD in the air when they were growing up, but a "little" ice cream somehow ends up being the ZiggyPiggy dish from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. A "little" gift takes up fourteen square feet of your living room, requires more battery power than the first supercomputer, and has it's own atmosphere. Which brings me to my next point...

The Grands are great! Mom and Dad will
never know we haven't slept all night!

"They went to bed a little late." - Clearly the word "little" changes it's definition as one ages. Eleven p.m. is not a "little" late. Eleven was my curfew just three months before I officially became an adult. Remember? Curfew? The time the Grands set as "too late"? Oh, if we could only reverse time. Let's see, my kids are supposed to be in bed by eight. They usually get to bed around ten when they're with The Grands. This equates to my waltzing into the house at 1 a.m. as a teen. If only I could have told them I was "just a little late" and recorded it for future use... but you know what they say about hindsight.

"Enjoy this time, it goes by way too quickly." - Nostalgia, n: a yearning to return to the past. Alzheimers, n: a progressive degenerative neurologic disease characterized by loss of mental ability. Nostalgheimers, n.: a progressive, degenerative loss of mental ability that begins the moment a parent is born.

Generally kept in check during the child rearing years, when grandchildren arrive Nostalgheimers rapidly erases all memory of potty training, temper tantrums, feces artwork and virtual heart attacks brought on by swingset mishaps. Left in its wake are nostalgic memories of the wonder of childhood, where your daughter sincerely asks to touch the moon, the search for a snail supersedes all other responsibilities, and the triumphant announcement "I did it myself!" somehow makes up for the fact that your child has walked into a fully populated room with no clothing, but two shoes on the right feet.

Christmas 2010

Unfortunately, a parent was born in September of 2008, and already the effects of Nostalgheimers is beginning to show in her memory banks. I was looking back on pictures from last year, when Mark had his "faux hawk" hairstyle. I'm already missing that soft red strip of hair down the middle of an almost bald head. Grace was enamored with the smallest of things... and her little face revealed all her emotions, because her words hadn't yet formed well enough.

"I did it myself!"

There is no cure for this disease. So, rather than confront the Grands with their devious behavior, I've decided to let it slide. It really isn't their fault, since it began the day they became parents. (Which makes it my sister's fault. In case you were wondering.)

I'm Not Dead... My Laptop Is

*Warning: This post is not meant for younger audiences. It contains lots of text and NO pictures. I'll try to make it vaguely interesting for those of you willing to brave a pictureless post.*

Did you know that veteran bloggers tell newbies that you should always leave your readers wanting a little more? That way they come back to visit your blog. Something tells me they didn’t mean to write regular posts for a year and then stop for an entire month. Just an educated guess.

Well, if it helps, I’m not dead. But my laptop *almost* is. So I’ve been babying it along, hoping to keep it functional until we get it fixed. The part arrived today (collective cheer) so I hope to be back to our regular programming soon.

In the meantime, I’ll update you on the last month. I was going to wait until the laptop was fully up and running, but as I called to wish my dad a happy birthday (Happy Birthday Dad!) even he asked what was up with no posts for a month… I get the distinct feeling Sunshine SAHM fans aren’t feeling very sunny.

So, here’s a quick recap – no pictures (they take lots of time and the computer is screeching at me even now).

Four weeks ago…

We were vomiting.

Well, Mark was vomiting. But the rest of us soon followed suit. Robert had to stay home from work to help me, and then he got to stay home so I could help him. The kids did pretty well – especially since the television ran about four times as much as it usually did. Deprogramming them was almost as much fun as having the flu.

 Three weeks ago…

We went to visit Papa and DeeDee, played in the dirt, and made plans for a “purple” birthday party for one cutie pie about to turn three. Everything about the birthday was “purple”. For some reason, “purple cake” was the order of the day, and she must have requested it at least three times a day. She saw some of her presents in the closet, and would say “Gracie’s toys? Gracie’s toys?” Somehow I managed to keep them from being played with until the big day, despite how adorable she was when asking for confirmation that they were indeed for her.

At some point, Mark decided to start in on his terrible two’s… just like his sister, he’s got an early start at eighteen months. Apparently my kids are as impatient as their mother. Mercifully, he has just begun to test the waters. He hasn’t had any full blown tantrums, but the signs are all there. Sigh. This too shall pass. (Right? RIGHT???)

 Two weeks ago…

Daddy was on vacation! We started with a visit from the cousins. We did lots of fun things, including going to a nearby park with a water feature. Mark was timid at first, but once he realized he could run through the water he loved it. Grace was still pretty cautious, even though her cousins were clearly enjoying it. After about ten minutes in the water she headed for the playground. She played there until we decided to pack it in then suddenly decided she really wanted to play in the water again. Surprise. We finished the night with ice cream cones. Mark was so exhausted he couldn’t even finish his. Everyone slept well that night! *grin*

Both of the kids are very verbal now. Of course, Mark isn’t nearly as good at communicating, but he is further along than Grace was at his age. He says things like “bye bye” when he sees a set of keys and “down” when he wants you to pick him up. So, when he pointed at our key holder and said “Bye bye down!” I knew he wanted me to pick him up so he could reach the keys. (Which he promptly took to the back door and tried to “unlock”.)

Yeah, I speak toddler. I’m smart like that.

Grace loves to say “Look at me mama!” as she climbs onto the swing set crossbars or jumps from the top of the toy chest. Lately, she’s been very vocal about wanting to “go bye bye” in “daddy’s big truck”. I tell her we are going in my car, and she screws her face into a disapproving look. She still heads for the back door though.

This week we were playing in the back yard and she ran up to me excitedly saying "Look mama, look!" She grabbed my hand and ran over to the side yard, me in tow. When we stopped, she pointed to the sky and said "Clouds!" 

I love that little girl.

She also loves to point out spiders. There are a number of them that hang out by the back sliding door. She will gaze at them (protected by the glass) and talk about the “ciders”, count them, and generally be fascinated. I’ve tried very hard not to pass on my fear of all things crawly. This week we saw a cricket. While she was very happy to talk about the cricket, she said “I’m scared!” when I tried to bring her close enough for a good look. Maybe some things are just genetic.

The cousins went home on Saturday, but our week had just begun. We went to the zoo, the children’s museum, the playground, on walks, and visited friends. It was an exciting week! All the new experiences resulted in random requests later. As we got in the car to head home from the store, Grace said “I want to go see the animals.” After deciphering the message (it’s much harder to speak toddler when the request is completely out of context from your activity) I told her we couldn’t. Later, she wanted to “playground”. At some point, I made the mistake of telling her we needed to take her to the beach someday. Since then, she has asked at least three times if we could go to the beach. Have I mentioned she’s never been?

Hopefully some zoo and museum pictures will make their way to Sunshine SAHM soon…

On Saturday we had a family birthday party for Grace. She loves all the people and having lots of kids over to play. She was much better at opening gifts this time. Last year, she was a bit miffed that we had her open a gift and then wouldn’t let her play with it. This year, the moment she finished opening one she would look at the table and ask for another gift.

Christmas should be really fun this year.

This week we’ve been attempting to get back to normal and slide into a routine again. Grace found her potty training chair in the garage when daddy was cleaning up from the party. She brought it into the bathroom… and Mark has fallen in love with it. He can play “poo poo” all he wants – this mama’s not ready to try at eighteen months again! Maybe I’ll get up the gumption when his second birthday rolls around.

I might have some new motivation for the potty training however. Grace and Mark lead busy lives, but Daddy and Mommy have lives too. (Sort of.) We’ve been house hunting. Some days I’m so excited I can hardly wait to decorate the kids rooms, get our family pictures onto the walls, and generally be able to make some permanent changes.

Other days, my children vomit on (someone else’s) carpet, slam the door into (someone else’s) drywall, show an interest in potty training (in someone else’s house), and smear the contents of their diaper on (someone else’s) wall… and I begin to wonder if we should wait a little longer before buying.

They say no news is good news. For us, this has been true (with the exception of my poor little laptop being on the fritz). I hope to be bringing you my parenting words of wisdom on a routine basis again soon. Of course, I’ve never imparted any wisdom prior to this, so don’t hold your breath. But keep checking back! (Or, enter your e-mail address into the box on the upper right sidebar. Your address will never be shared, and you get a nifty little e-mail with a preview of my newest posts along with a link to the blog. Easy peasy… and no more constant checking for a new post!)

Another (Few) Week(s) Gone...

Hmmm... the title says it all. If you actually make it to the end of this post, you'll know why. My last post was in mid-July. I think it's really rude that July just up and ended so quickly. It would have been far more polite to hang around a bit instead of rushing off like that. Oh well, maybe August will slow things down a bit.

Maybe.

I can hardly believe how quickly the kids are changing and picking up on new things. It's only been three weeks, but the pictures show all kinds of firsts, and everyday I'm reminded what fast little learners they are. Mark is saying new words everyday: wawa (water), nana (banana), uh-oh, shoes, all done, hi, and bye-bye are just a few. He also makes the sign for hungry, and even though he can't say eat, he gets his point across by heading straight to his chair when he wants breakfast. When he runs out of milk in the mornings, he stands in the doorway of the kitchen whimpering. Once he sees me headed his way, he bolts for the refrigerator door and tries to open it. "One sippy cup of milk, coming up!"

Grace is communicating quite well herself these days. She always pulls a chair into the kitchen saying "I wanna see. I wanna see Mama, I wanna see." Then she climbs on the chair to observe whatever it is I'm doing. Recently I was cooking at the stove, and Grace pretended to be cooking dinner on the other burner. When I asked what she was making, she replied, "Ice." Well, it was either that or PB&J, since those are the only two food requests she makes these days.

As I was slogging through three weeks of pictures I realized there has definitely been a theme the last few weeks. Mark discovered the water hose for the first time and took to it like a fish... well, you know.

Everything works better when you stick your tongue out.

He also mastered the "drink from the hose" trick.
Sort of.

That weekend Daddy got some time to himself while we headed to Disneyland Papa and DeeDee's house. After we settled in, Papa took Grace to try out the trampoline. Since "hop" is one of her favorite things to do, she thought this was the best thing evar.

"Look at me Mama! Look at me!"
(Another one of her favorite lines.)

After that, Papa washed his "big truck" and guess what? There was water!

"Uh, Grace? Why is there soap in the water? Are they
afraid we're going to find dirt somewhere or something?"

Lo and behold, Papa had a water hose too!
Mark was mesmerized.

"Look Papa! I already mastered the Drink from the Hose trick!"

As usual, my kids found the perfect spot to dry off:

"Gee Mark, all this land and they choose to cover it in grass.
Good thing we found a tiny spot of dirt to keep us occupied!"

After being such big helpers with washing Papa's truck, we went inside to help DeeDee:

"More cleaner please DeeDee!"
(Mark would hold up the towel for some cleaner,
then wipe the mirror. He wouldn't be fooled by a
"fake" spray of cleaner either, he waited for the real thing!)

"Hmmm. I wonder why DeeDee gives us three baths a day,
and Mama only gives us one bath every three days?"

After nap, cousin Lizzie (who was also visiting) introduced Grace and Mark to the new puppies born just the week before. Grace was very delicate with them, and did NOT want to hold any puppies. She was okay with approaching them on her terms, but if we tried to give one to her, or if they started to crawl toward her she would freak.

"Here puppy, let me pet you with one finger..."

Mark, on the other hand, had no such reservations:

"HI PUPPY!!"

"OOOOHHHH! You're smaller than I am!"
"How come you don't open your eyes?"

"Oh! You're waitin' for a kiss! Here you go...!"

Nope. No reservations at all.

When we went out front to put the puppies back into their house, guess what we found???

"Look Gracie! A water hose!"

Yep, he's got this trick down.
He should. He's had plenty of practice.

It took the kids about five minutes to figure out
the best spot to try and turn grass into mud.

Luckily, Grace is good at completing the clean up!

Uncle Kevin and Auntie Kim came to pick up Liz, and after all the excitement from the weekend, Mark was happy to find a great place to snuggle up and rest:

Uncle Kevin, a.k.a. "The Mark Whisperer"

The following weekend, the cousins came to our house to visit while Auntie went to the homeschooling conference. (I'm determined to go next year!) We played outside (sans water) and played some games too...

"Hey! What happened to my motor?
No stopping for the papparazzi!"

"Good job Grace! You're a super duper Xbox player!"
"Yeah, I learned it from my dad. Watch this!"

"Hey John! I'm a super duperer Xbox playerific! Watch me too!"
(Mom disclaimer: Neither of my children play Xbox.
They only play "controllers".)

Don't worry, amid all this excitement we got in some of the usual activities too. Grace was given "real" puzzles from her cousins. They varied from 12 to 24 pieces. She loves them. It's her new favorite request. "Play puzzles? Play puzzles?" She's amazingly good at finding the pieces and turning them to fit into the right place.

She's also had her first encounter with band-aids. She got a scraped knee, and it was enough to warrant some attention. Oy. Can I take that action back? She requests band-aids at all sorts of random intervals now! In the middle of a meal, halfway through a cartoon... and of course, as a ploy to keep from going to bed. I may hold some of the blame. When she asks... I usually give her one. What can I say? They're Strawberry Shortcake bandaids, and she's even cuter than the little redhead on the package!

Since we're past potty training, we're now into bathroom training. Or toilet paper training. Or put-your-underwear-back-on-before-leaving-the-bathroom training. Whatever you want to call it, we're there. Grace is pretty good at handling the mechanics of actually going to the bathroom, but once the deed is done she often ends up running around the house half naked. And typically with unwashed hands. Luckily, I have evidence that she is at least aware she's supposed to be using toilet paper:

Good thing there's a plunger handy.

This week the weather has been beautiful, and the kids have played outside quite a bit. I often have my camera in hand, which is how I managed to record just how quickly Mark can go from playing to eating:

Mud Pie!

I swear this happened in a shutter flash. I snapped the shot while reaching with my other hand to get the dirt out of his mouth. In the photo below, the water under his eyes is tears, not a product of the garden hose. He was quite irritated that I didn't let him swallow the dirt. Since then, he's eaten at least four handfuls. (That I've witnessed. I try not to think about what I haven't seen.) There's only so much I can do. So far he seems none the worse for wear. If he starts to grow turnips from his ears, I'll crack down.

He got this shirt as a birthday gift.
Someone knows him very, very well.

Another first for Mark this week was his very own, not shared, not-held-by-anyone-but-himself ice cream cone! He walked around with it stuck to his mouth like a bottom feeder for the first five minutes. He would suck on the ice cream like it was a sippy cup. Maybe he was afraid if he took it from his lips he wouldn't get anymore. Once he finally came up for air, he consumed it so quickly I barely got any pictures. Until he dropped it on the ground. That slowed him down - but not for long. It was mostly gone anyway, so I let him finish. Hey - you saw the picture up there. I'm going to take away his ice cream because there's a little dirt on it? Who am I kidding?

Must. Eat. Quickly.
Cannot. Share. Cone...

Of course, Grace loved it too. She made sure to show
my camera her treat, and her face says it all.
Yay for summer and ice cream cones!

"Grace? Do you think Mama will take away my ice
cream if she finds out I dropped it in the dirt?"

"Nah, she'll let you finish it. She's crazy nice like that."

Thanks for catching up with all the summertime fun! Hope you're getting some good times in this summer too. I'll leave you with just one more potty story - they're too entertaining not to share.

This week at breakfast Grace announced she needed to go potty. Seeing that she was finished, I excused her from the table and sent her on her way. (It's so nice not to have to accompany her all the time, even if it ends up in a small TP disaster on occasion.) As she sprinted toward the bathroom, I cleaned up Mark and let him wander free too. I heard them playing in the front room as I finished cleaning the breakfast dishes. It's so nice to be able to focus on something while they play and giggle, rather than running in to referee every two minutes. Once I was done, I headed in to check on the kids...

...and I found this.
The END(s)!

Another Week Gone...

I've been ignoring my digital life lately. Well, not really ignoring it. I respond to e-mail, comment on Facebook posts, and generally keep in touch with anyone willing to send out an electronic shout. When it comes to ME sending out the electronic love... I've just not been into it. On the upside, my house is getting organized (not CLEAN really, but organized) which is always a good thing.

Robert and I recently started attending a Bible Study group once a week, and we're loving it. I also volunteer one night a week with a community organization, which has helped me stay in touch with the non-mom side of me. I'm loving where we're headed as a family right now, and feel like I'm finally able to do some of the things I dreamt about when I imagined being a SAHM. Of course, I'm also doing things I never would have imagined - but I'm enjoying those things too.

Here is one of those things. Grace loves helping me wash dishes. I swear I only left the room for a minute to check on Mark... and this is what I came back to:

She had been fully clothed moments before.
(The "Good & Clean" washtub keeps it G rated.)

I finally waded through our camping pictures. We had so much fun! We arrived at camp just a few minutes after my sister's family. We set up the tent and camper, and then... it rained. And rained. And rained! The first afternoon was spent in close quarters, but the next day was beautiful, and we really enjoyed ourselves. Here are the highlights:

Step One: Corral the infant. Yes, that's dead brown grass
in the background. California is a desert you know...

Step Two: Allow the younger children to get out their
energy after a long trip by, uh, playing with a fly swatter?

Step Three: Get Dirty. My kids are experts at this part.

Step Four: Find a comfy place to sit and share a snack.

 All of the above pictures were from day one. Even though it rained, we still had plenty of fun.

There was a ton of wildlife - that wasn't so wild - that would wander into camp. We saw lots of deer, quail, rabbits and other fun animals. The kids loved it.

"Look Gracie! A deer!"
The kids were always thrilled when deer wandered into camp.

Grace was determined to pet a deer, and she came very
close to them a number of times!

 The highlight of the trip was the lake. It ended up being a beautiful overcast day, making for pleasant weather and great water temps. We swam, played, and had a nice picnic lunch together.

We're at the lake, so naturally...
my kids play in the dirt.

"What? You thought we'd get in the water??"

Grace did, in fact, get in the water. Even when her lips
began to turn blue, she insisted she didn't want to get out!

Mark doing his best Humphrey Bogart at lunch.

My precious tired boy in Papa's lap. So sweet!

 After the lake, we headed back to camp and made FIRE. (I'm convinced this is the sole reason my husband loves camping - because he can "make fire".) We roasted hot dogs for dinner and enjoyed a classic:

S'more's!!

 We had a wonderful time with family and can't wait to do it all again next year - even if there's rain in the forecast!

"The Girls"
Gracie loves her cousins!

After all this, we also got together with family on the 4th of July, and stayed up late (very late) to watch the fireworks. I thought they might get scared, but Grace and Mark both loved it. Our city puts on a pretty good fireworks show, so this may become a family tradition.

"Look Grace! Pretend the fireworks have started so
mommy can take a picture!"
"Dad? I don't get it."

This week we finally got back into the routine of things, for which I am grateful. When the kids get thrown off schedule, chaos ensues. Of course, the kids are learning and doing new things all the time. Grace's newest thing is saying "What?" in order to get a repeat response from her listener. She thinks it's great fun. I can't wait until she learns... "Why?"

Mark is doing something new too - watching t.v.!!! He's not as mesmerized as Grace was when she first was introduced, but he will now sit for quite some time and watch alongside his sister. I try to limit the television time in the house, but I must confess I'm a bit excited at having a tool to keep both kids occupied (and not fighting) for a short time.

While there are always new things to share, some things never change:

We played in the backyard, and the kids ended up
making mud pies. Again.

"Is there a prize for the dirtiest kid?"

"Yeah! The top two get their very own
bath! Let's try to win!"

Whew! You're all up to date with the Sunshine family. There's a lot of fun going on around here. I hope you're having lots of fun this summer, spending time with family and finding time to do something that is uniquely for you. Until next week...

Yay! You made it to the end!!!