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Kaitlin actually potty trained Carmen. She told Carmen (who wanted to go to school when Kaitlin started) that she had to be potty trained to go to pre-school. Kaitlin ran up to me and told me excitedly that Carmen had gone pee in the potty. She later told me the same thing. I was excited and I had nothing to do with it. It only took Carmen two days and in her first week she only had two "accidents". Pretty good. Does anyone want to borrow Kaitlin? Just wondering.

So, now I had to find a pre-school for Carmen. This late I was worried. I went to a few that were scary. "Children NEED FIVE DAYS A WEEK OF PRE-SCHOOL or they will get behind and never make it....etc, etc. etc. " I even told one lady that studies showed that by the age of 12 early achievement shows so substantial advantage at all and that all this was so parents could feel good about themselves. She didn't deny it but still went ahead and said that they would be behind in kindergarten and have terrible self esteem. I told her my daughter was reading at the age of 4 at home because we taught her and the lady was still undaunted. Amazing. She was so believing in her cause that she heard nothing of what I said. I am sure you are not surprised to find out that Carmen is NOT going there!

We happened to go to the Gingerbread House and they had a cancellation for morning while we were there and we got it! Cool. Carmen loved her first day and wants to go back.

School starts in Omaha

School has started already in Omaha. I am not excited about it starting so early. However, Kaitlin was ready. Carmen and she were beginning to get on each other's nerves. Kaitlin loves her teacher and is excited that she is now a "grader" (in first Grade) not just in kindergarten.

Carmen wants to go too. I had decided to keep her with me for awhile longer but maybe I need to reconsider....

Munchkin Junction

All I have been doing lately is preparing for a consignment sale and volunteering for it...Oh, and taking care of my family in the meantime. I don't know how people work full time and take care of a family. I feel so blessed to be able to stay home with my children. I realize more, this week, what a blessing that is because I have been doing this sale and my Sister-in-law has been taking care of my kids more. Here's the URP to the sale:

http://www.munchkinjunctionsale.com/

You'll have to cut and paste it to see it.

I have been reading a lot lately and some of the books have made me really think. Kite Runner is one of these books and so is Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck. Kite Runner has been eye opening and a reminder of the fact that there is real misery in the world. Pavilion of Women is interesting because it reminded me how to really love others.

New Pictures

Here are some of the pictures that Heidi did of the girls.

Family Reunion (Water Activities Galore!)

We had so much fun on our family reunion. We went to an amazingly large swimming pool that was half water park (once with Beckie and her girls), went to Lagoon (an amusement park with a water park), had a water fight (Do you see a theme developing?) and had a pot luck and fireworks show for the fourth of July with my sister's husband's family, made a quilt together and just had fun with cousins, etc. I hardly ever saw Kaitlin. She was off with her cousins. Her is Carmen on the Merry-Go-Round at Lagoon.
This is a picture of Kaitlin on the bumper cars. Archie got a really good pose of her. All the younger kids loved the bumper cars. The older teenagers loved the big bumper cars too. We hardly saw any of the older kids. They were off by themselves having fun. All of us, however, got together for Rattlesnake Rapids (the ride like a river raft that gets you wet) because it was so hot. We were silly and did it at the end of the day, though, so the sun wasn't high in the sky and we never dried off.

This is Brody and Sara on the bumper cars. Debra's children are all so helpful to each other. I guess that's why she can manage 7 kids and one new baby!

This is the start of a water fight - the water balloon toss. The following pictures are of the water fight. I was taking pictures so I didn't get drenched - until the end when I gave my sister Pixie the camera momentarily.



Debra (my sister) with her new baby, Sara, Grandma, Kaitlin and Isaac all watching everyone else get wet. Kaitlin was hiding balloons behind Grandma to "protect" them for a big secret revenge play.

Kaitlin at the water tub which held the water balloons before the water fight began.

Here is a picture Ashley (one of Pixie's husband's sisters) got of the fireworks display we had at their farm. It was a cool picture so I had her email it to me. The wind kicked up and this is what resulted.