W&L July 2020

At the beginning of July we were able to get in one more group bike ride before it got into triple digits in Austin. 

PJ captured some great pictures while the girls were swinging on the swing!

One morning, I woke up to the girls fully dressed and ready for the day. I was even more impressed when I saw Lilly painted her own nails! She did pretty good too...

Independence Day means BBQ! PJ smoked this rib rack and it was delicious!

Playing with pop-its and sparklers with friends before the neighborhood fireworks display!

The fireworks were awesome! Lilly got a little overwhelmed by the end and thought everything was a little too loud and too exciting but overall it was a really fun night!

Some of the carnage before we cleaned up. 

Pool day! Wendy insists she cannot swim without her nose plugs. 

Gymnastics class day! The girls are in different classes working on different skills but they're really coming along!

Lilly's dance pose. 

We tried out the pool at our YMCA one day and it was a lot of fun! It's a little harder to go spontaneously since you need to make a reservation and the reservations fill up fast but it was nice to go somewhere different for a change. 

Lilly's 4 year old wellness check. Masks on!

She was entertaining me while we waited by showing me dance moves. I do not remember what she named this one but I was impressed all the same!

Mommy masks. 

Since having church at home for the last 4 months, Lilly has become more confident to pray during our service. 

Playdate with friends! Everyone had a blast!

Wendy wanted to do Lilly's make up one day....

Amongst all our fun, I found out in one evening that Wendy's school was going to be virtual for at least the first 3 weeks of school and that the Governor lifted his rule that schools had to offer in person options for the fall (so it's likely that all of school will be virtual) AND that Lilly's preschool was cancelled for the year. So that sent me in to a baking tizzy. 

Lemon-ricotta cake with lemon curd and a whipped-mascarpone frosting. Topped with fresh blackberries. They were beautiful and delicious! And it was a joy handing them out to friends. The whole experience made me feel a little worse about life being cancelled in 2020. 

Oh, PJ and I also booked a cruise and applied for the girls' passports. The cruise got cancelled a week later and the passports are going to take about 3 months to get here but we figured we can't go anywhere anyway!

Wendy has really taken to walking Baxter. He weighs about as much as she does so if he really wants to he can still pull her around but usually he's too lazy these days. 

We were also invited to a friend's house for an outside movie. We watched Yesterday. It was fun! But hard to stay awake since we had to wait until the sun went down to start the movie. 

Dance classes started up and at first Wendy and Lilly's classes were staggered so it gave Wendy and I some time to walk around while we waited for her class to start. They have since combined them (since they were the only two students enrolled anyway) and I go on walks with PJ or by myself. 

Off to Schlitterbahn! Masks are required for entrance to the park and while on the tram that will take you to the park. The girls are good sports about it all. 

PJ is too...

One of the fun play structures at Schlitterbahn. 

While we were preparing to leave, Lilly obviously felt tired and just laid down in the middle of the walkway to relax and eat her popcorn. 

We moved them over to the chairs to have some time to relax before we drove home. 

Gymnastics class!

There is a park close by called Emma Long Park that we checked out with friends one day. There's a nice little beach play area in front of a mild part of the river. 

Wendy had a blast jumping in off the dock!

I convinced Lilly to make some banana bread with me and she sported her new apron Nanna got her for her birthday. They are fans of the banana bread too!

Back at Schlitterbahn with friends!

Back at our pool trying to beat this heat!

It started raining but the girls still wanted to play so they splashed in puddles for a while until it stopped raining. 

Lilly climbing across the bars at gymnastics class. At the end she stood on the red mat and did a summersault down the mat. 

This is why we need school to start. When I tried to practice letter writing with Lilly it resulted in a 20 minute "fit" with Lilly very begrudgingly finally practicing her "Y"'s. 

Wendy at gymnastics class!!

Thankfully the girls also find ways to entertain themselves too. Such as giving Lilly rides around the house in her booster seat!

The first week in July the girls were enrolled in a 3 day a week dance camp. The theme was Frozen and friends! They had a blast and I was so impressed with the crafts and dances they were able to learn and do. 

A sneak peak of their dances. 

They create obstacle courses for the girls so here they are working their way through the obstacle course!

Performance day! The girls asked for a little bit of makeup and I was happy to oblige. 

They also got popsicles on their last day of camp. 

Wendy posing with Olaf. 

Trying to be Christof. 

And fitting in with the princesses!

Lilly posing with Olaf. 

And Christoff. 

And "freezing" things as Elsa. 

The next week they were excited to go to a "Rainbows and Unicorns" dance camp. 

Wendy making a beaded rainbow. 

And Lilly too!

Wendy doing some dance moves. 

And Lilly too!

Being a fish?

Each day the girls told me they had a different theme of a magical creature. The first day was Unicorns and they got in the car and said their names were Wendycorn and Lillycorn. Then they had a fairy day where they made fairy houses out of beads and cups. 

Butterfly day. 

Obstacle course. 

Performance day! Once again the girls asked for a little bit of make up and they got to wear pajamas as part of their performance. They also had a "Pajama party" where they got to make pillows, paint nails, and probably a lot of other fun things!