Chloe's exciting news

We are facing mixed emotions this week. Five days before school is
scheduled to begin, we received word that Chloe qualified for the CATS
(Chandler Academically Talented Students) program which is terrific
news! She had to test in and score above the 97th percentile to qualify
for the program. The sad news is that she has to change schools and
leave all of her friends. Fortunately, the new school she will be
attending is about 5 minutes away from our home (in contrast to our 30
minute commute we were doing). This also meant that we had to scramble
to find Paige a new Preschool. It all worked out in the end.

July 20 2008 week events

So scheduling the girls' ballet class at 4:00 in the afternoon this
summer was a big mistake. By the time class rolled around, the heat and
the day's events had worn them out. They had their final ballet class
this week which served as a little performance showcase. Chloe did a
great job of listening to the teacher as they demonstrated graceful
ballet moves. Paige on the other hand was the true meaning of "free
spirit." She would start the move with the class but then it would
always morph into some sort of bending over with her hands up behind her
back, or spinning around, or just flat out laying down in the middle of
the floor. She even managed to take her ballet shoes off during one
part of the show. The one moment during the class where they were both
spry and lively was at the end--when the teacher was passing out lollipops.

We went to the AZ Science Center this week to visit the "Grossology"
exhibit. It basically was designed to explain all the gross things that
come out of, or happen inside of humans and animals. Needless to say,
it was a big hit with the girls. Paige's favorite exhibit was The Slime
Game that was set up like a game show and you had to vote for the
slimiest creature. Chloe enjoyed Burps and Belches which explained this
very phenomenon by participants pumping "soda" down a mannequin's throat
until enough gas built up and he let out a huge burp. It was too bad
that Daddy had to work--this would have been right up his alley!

Chloe and Paige are fans of the Fancy Nancy books (which basically tell
girls to accessorize, accessorize, accessorize). We decided to have our
own Fancy Nancy outing and get all dressed up and have a fancy snack
somewhere. The girls were very serious about making sure they had as
much jewelry and sparkley things as possible. They also helped me
accessorize (which explains the red hat with the pink dress and hot pink
feather boa). We then went to Starbuck's and got "fancy milk" (milk
with whipped cream) and used as many "fancy" words as possible such as
"superb, exquisite, delightful, etc.." We got many a chuckle from the
other patrons, but the barista who took our order knew right away "what
book we had been reading."

new journaling/blogging

I am attempting to begin blogging the events we experienced where we
took pictures to aid in my scrapbooking endeavors. I am just finishing
up scrapbooking 2006, so I am way behind. I fear I will forget the
little details for the journaling section of each scrapbook page, so I
am going to do it right after I download the pictures. Here goes

Today we attended the Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers baseball game at Chase
Field. The girls both earned tickets to the game by participating in
the summer reading program at the public library. They had to read (or
be read to) for a total of 40 books. Chloe dug right in when she got
her form and read the 40 books all by herself in a matter of about 6
days. We finished up reading Paige's books in about two weeks. Seeing
how they completed this the first few weeks of summer, and the eligible
games did not begin until the end.....it was a long wait. The girls
were so excited for the game! Grandma and Grandpa Ron came with our
family. We had seats pretty high up, but after you made it up all the
stairs, it was a great view. We brought in peanuts and cracker jacks to
make the experience complete. The girls were entertained until about
the 4th inning, at which time we went to the lower level where they had
kid's activities. They colored and played on a play structure called
the Sandlot. After that break, we returned to our seats where the girls
did a great job cheering on the Diamondbacks. "Let's go D-backs (clap
clap clap clap clap clap) was shouted when we were up to bat, and some
more creative homemade cheers such as, "Get out!" and "Get strike 1,
strike 2, strike 3, you're out!" when the Dodgers were up to bat. In
the end the Diamondbacks lost (which really made Chloe mad), but Paige
put a little perspective on the experience when she said, "It's really
disappointing that the Diamondbacks lost, but at least they tried their
best and didn't give up!"

recent quips

The following event just happened and it reminded me that I needed to
blog a few items.
Greg and Chloe were just sitting here eating popcorn when out of the
blue Chloe turned to Greg and said, "Daddy, you're weird, but I love you."

Chloe and Paige have both taken to saying the phrase, "Oh for the heck
of Pete's sake!" when something surprises them.

Two nights at dinner, Chloe could barely keep her eyes open she was so
tired. Greg said something to me jokingly and Chloe got very upset.
When we tried to explain that we were just kidding around with each
other, and that she was extremely emotional because she was tired, Chloe
said, "I know I am really emotional....that is one of my special gifts."

Yesterday when Chloe was trying to get Greg's attention and he was
distracted, she exclaimed, "What am I doing, talking to thin air?!?"

Where do they get this stuff?

piercing

Chloe got her ears pierced yesterday. It had been a long time coming.
I think she has been talking about it since she was 3 or so. Six months
ago, we even got as far as going to a place, filling out the paperwork,
swabbing the ear with alcohol and then she backed out. Yesterday we
were at the mall and we saw a Piercing Pagoda (I know, you are
saying....really!?!). We were eating lunch in the food court and it was
in view from where we ate. Chloe started thinking about it and said
that she thought she wanted to do it. We decided to go over and talk to
the lady after lunch to have her walk Chloe through what would happen so
she could make her decision. After lunch, she informed us that the
second shift lady was coming on in a few minutes and they could do both
ears at once. Chloe finally decided to take the plunge. She was really
brave and didn't even cry! She chose some lovely little aquamarine (her
birthstone) stones that look just perfect on her. She was filled with
so many emotions that she kept saying, "I can't believe I did it!" "I
was so brave." "I am so excited that I am going to cry." This
continued on for at least an hour after the actual piercing. It was a
really big deal for her--doing something that she had wanted to do for
so long but was afraid. Now all she can talk about is the different
kinds of earrings she wants to wear after her YEAR of wearing these
studs. She has tremendous earring plans for the future!