Lake & Life Lessons

We kicked July off by celebrating our independence at the lake with the family. There is something so relaxing about looking out onto the water, whether from a boat or a porch, that helps you forget the “real world” out there and just enjoy being with each other. We watched the fireworks from the party boat where Brayden was in direct competition with other boats in terms of who could honk first…she was really into it! I slalomed for a pretty long distance one morning before the water started getting choppy. Trent played golf, we swam in the rain, and the Snack Shack was in full effect with an expanded menu and Hanleigh’s first gig as a waitress (she took a lot of 15-minute breaks and still got paid). Aunt Patty taught Brayden about overhead and profit by going to the grocery store and using some of the money she made from last year’s sales, so it’s a great lesson in managing a business. It was great to spend time with the family and watch our girls and Landon play together, too.

Brayden continued another month of exciting camps: drama, afternoon exploration, girls rock, xtreme sports, detective, and cheer/tumble. She did great during all of them, but the ones that resonated the most were drama and cheer/tumble. Although, one day there was a bit of drama at drama camp (how ironic). Some little punk told Brayden that she kissed another boy (which didn’t happen) and started taunting her about it. She got really upset and started crying and didn’t want to participate in camp for another hour or so. The counselor made that kid and the other kids (who had joined in on the taunting) apologize to her, but not all of them did. I received a call from the counselor just to give me a head’s up that this had happened (so I’m glad he called me), but inside I was fuming. I wanted to find that little scoundrel and give him a knuckle sandwich. Trent and I then had the conversation with her that boys tease girls because they like them (Trent told Brayden that boys are just “stupid”, so she thought that was funny). I’m sure it was hard for her to understand why a boy would be mean if he liked her. She asked if Trent teased me when he first met me and I told her that, yes, he sure did. Ah, life’s lessons are so fun.

It’s discussions like these where you begin to realize what’s in store for the future when raising two girls. There will be nice boys, mean boys, nice girls, and mean girls. I want both of our girls to “dust their shoulders” clean of the people and things in life that bring them down or who don’t support them reaching their full potential. Brayden is such a sweet, sensitive, determined, persistent, and beautiful young girl. It is our job to instill the utmost confidence in her so that she can take challenges head on and deal with these situations with integrity. We know what the end goal is, but for now, we address situations in baby steps at the level upon which she can handle at this stage in her life. It is so amazing to watch her live, learn, and grow each day.

It’s also amazing how two girls with the same parents can be so totally different in terms of personalities. Hanleigh is our wild child. She has no fear and is very silly. We also baby her…I think primarily because we know we aren’t having any more kids. The “babying” may come back to haunt us at some point. The same food Hanleigh dislikes is the food that Brayden likes and vice versa. Although they are sissies (aka sisters) and best friends 99% of the time, there are times when both girls want to be left alone, and unfortunately, those times don’t always line up. It seems like one of them wants to play while the other wants to be by themselves. That’s a dance they’ll have to learn as they get older and get more experience interacting with one another.

Brayden had swim lessons the entire month as well and finally earned her yellow band. This swim test requires she swim the width of the pool, float on her back for five seconds and her front for five seconds. She passed it with flying colors, which means that she can go down the three smaller, shallower waterslides at the YMCA. She was SO excited to earn it! We went to a pig pickin’ for Trent’s workout group and had a great time at a pool party/cookout with Dad, Christel (and her granddaughters), Kyle, Erin, & Cooper. Trent attended a Y-Dads night out and took the girls to our neighbor’s birthday party while I spent some time at the Y with Momo, Kerri, and Becky. Us girls enjoyed a night on the town with bowling, a delicious dinner, and drinks. We had a nice adults-only dinner out with two sets of neighbors and spent some time at the pool with them while Trent played golf. My hair is now the blonde color that I want (better pics coming in August post), and it’s taken some getting used to, but I love it. Happy birthday to Abby, Grandpa Hall, and Grandpa Jones!

Brayden-isms:
• Trent went shopping and told Brayden, “I got you some workout clothes, like mommy has, for when you go to cheer camp.” to which she responded, “Ugh. That’s gross…with the bras in them?”

Hanleigh-isms:
• She told me one night, “When I stop peeing in my diaper, I get to wear big girl panties. YEAH!” and had this smile from ear to ear.

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