A girl and her shoes

How quickly a girl begins loving shoes! Flip flops, princess shoes, sandals, tennies, Crocs and boots: Lyra is not picky as long as she can wear at least 5 different pairs in a day. It also doesn't matter if they are hers, Lily's, the boys', mine or daddy's. As long as she can fit them on her feet (or hands), she is a happy girl.

A few family camp pictures

Here a couple pictures from Family Camp in Wisconsin. If you ever get the chance to go, I completely recommend it! Of course, it took us a week to recover but we are all healthy now and enjoying the last few days of freedom before school starts. And staying up way too late watching the Olympics! It was really interesting watching the Opening Ceremony with Lily. She is starting to "get" that she is Chinese and an American. We talked about China's incredible history and their many accomplishments from the past. Of course she was most impressed with the performers' outfits and insisted on having her hair like "the girl who had it up in the front" - I still have no idea what she meant but she settled for a braid.

Lily spent the day practicing gymnastics in our living room although she is considering diving as a possible Olympic dream - if only we could get her in the pool without screaming! Lyra just follows Lily around - she can't do the somersaults like Lily but she can roll and tumble which in her mind looks exactly like Lily's graceful passes. She has been sleeping wonderfully at night which makes her happier during the day (her parents are happier, too).

The Family - looking a little grimy after a week at camp.

Blue Candy? There's nothing in my mouth!

Fourth of July Fun!

Here are a few pictures from our Fourth of July celebration at my sister's home.
Lyra playing in the ball pit at the local festival. She absolutely loved it and cried when it was time to go!

The kids posing in their Fourth of July outfits.

Lyra sitting in a toy wagon - she is so tiny she could fit in it! The kids took turns pulling her around.

Watching the parade in the drizzle - we only survived half of it before it started to pour rain. Lyra tried to insist on staying but we could only tolerate so much water.

A long, sick week

This has been a tough week in for the Andersons. We were just starting to recover from vacation when Lyra suddenly came down with a cough. Within 24 hours she was incredibly sick and diagnosed with pneumonia. Thankfully we caught it very quickly and were able to keep her out of the hospital. She then shared the bug with the rest of the family so we all have bronchitis (except Harry who has the teacher immunity - the one that has seen everything). We are all on the road to recovery and preparing for school to start. It will be a big year this year; Harry starts his second year at AC, Tris will be a 3rd grader, Alex starts kindergarten and Lily will attend preschool there. So Lyra and mommy will have some together time alone. I am really looking forward to getting back on a schedule. It will be a busy Fall with soccer and gymnastics but it will be fun.