A Day to Catch our Breath...

Wow, what a week we have had! I have a lot to update, so grab your beverage of choice, sit back, and enjoy. First of all, we have found the best summer babysitter IN THE WORLD! Third only to the wonderful and original Ashton (now married), and our current school year babysitter Rose, who is slaving away at full time summer school in a double major program (we get her back in the fall), but we have the almost perfect ASHLEY for the summer. Our first summer babysitter did not quite work out as planned, and I found Ashley through the classifieds at Acxiom. Her mom, a friend of a friend of ours, posted an ad for her daughter looking for summer work. I called her immediately, she came over for an interview, and we instantly loved her! She is a junior at Arkansas Tech just up the road in Russellville, and plays volleyball for Tech. She is perfect for the Karl kids - loves to go and do - swimming, tennis, volleyball, dollar store trips, pancakes, lunches, picnics, you name it....and this is only her second full week with us! We are so lucky, and the kids just adore her!
So, speaking of going and doing, that is what the last two weeks have been. Jack just finished his two weeks of swimming lessons yesterday, and he made a huge breakthrough in his enthusiasm and confidence in the water. We are so proud of him! He also was at UCA Summer Strings camp every day this week. About 22 kids from age 5 to age 16 participated, and this morning they gave a final concert. Jack's group of 5 little ones played 3 new numbers that they had learned. He really had a great time, and after the concert today during refreshments, we got to meet some of his new friends....mostly the high school age girls telling him goodbye! Guess those baby blues continue to work in his favor. :)
Both kids had softball games on Tuesday and Thursday night. Gray's team lost in a heartbreaker against the only undefeated team in the league, 7-5. We get one more chance to beat them next Tuesday during our last game. We are currently in the running for second/third in the league. Jack's team won both of their games, but had a rainout on Friday. His little team has only lost one game, so I am pretty sure he will get a trophy out of this, which will be HUGE!
Gracie continues to work on her swimming and has added 5 day a week practices during the summer - two in the evening, and 3 in the morning at 6:30 - an hour of track running with an hour of swimming. This kid's stamina is amazing.
We are all looking forward to 'getting out of Dodge' this Friday for our beach vacation to Destin, Florida. We will have quite a group - the 4 of us, our friends Will and Toni and their daughters Madison and Riley, our friends Derek and Sharon, and their son Josh and his wife Heather, and their daughters Abbi and Emily Jo. Gracie just got back from Dollar Tree, stocking up on paper products for the condo, and beach toys for the kids. Counting down the minutes...
Summer in full swing...Denise