Aftermath, Hanna, & Week 7 (finally)

Oops...kinda forgot to post an update about Fay. We came out A-OK! There were downed trees, debris, and lots of standing water. The water levels in the golf course lakes were really high as were the marshes and rivers. But, the electricity never went out and we were alllllllllllll good. ;o)

Sean had come in after Fay left for a hot second and then was back out to sea for a little bit. He finally came home and worked through the entire Labor Day weekend. One day he'll get to sleep in. But, now he's back out again. Hanna was looking like she wanted to come and visit us but everytime I check the forecast, she's going out further into the Atlantic. Still, the government likes to protect their multi-billion dollar assets and sent the subs out. Nothing like a huge expensive piece of metal banging into the piers!! So, we're a single-parent household preparing for a possible hurricane again. It's all good though. This'll give us some good alone time to try to clean the house for Sean's birthday (9/6). We're not exactly the cleaning-type of people...but this'll be Sean's best birthday gift ever as well as pull double-duty getting ready to get this house listed on the rental market. =D But, yeah, Hanna doesn't look too bad so far...at least it doesn't look as bad as it did for a while! So...YAY!

On to Week 7. Kaia finished her week off with American Idol. It was very cute. They sung Lean on Me (which had a stereotypical Native American theme to it...not sure what was up with that) & Since You've Been Gone. The latter was really cute and the two main singers were soooo good!!! Mom also surprised Kai-Bear and was she ever so surprised and overjoyed!! It was so cute to see/hear how happy my little munchkin was!!! So, Mom came in just in time to enjoy Kaia's very last camp performance. Kaia had so much fun and was pretty bummed to see it end. But, alas, she now has lessons up the wazoo (may I reiterate how I never thought I'd be putting them in so many classes...shoot, as well as homeschooling too....hahahahaha).

Speaking of lessons, they're loving them. Kaia's hip-hop teacher (Miss Holly from summer camp) actually wants to move her up to the 7-9 year old class. She thinks Kaia's going to make it big one day. That's fine...as long as she goes to college too. ;o)

On to some photos...

Turkey Jaron & Overjoyed Kaia with WGG (World's Greatest Grandma)

Fay

We've been dealing with Fay and all her loveliness all day long. This morning wasn't too bad as was this afternoon. Tonight the wind is crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrazy and lots o' rain! Normally...ain't nuthin' but a chicken wing, but I'm worried about the poochies!! There was a tiny break where it didn't rain for a hot second...so hopefully they got some "bidness" done during that time. It's just crazy right now hearing all the rain and wind slam against the house. I had packed up just in case we needed to evacuate and still am ready in case we need to leave for any reason...biggest one being the lack of electricity. That should be fun finding a hotel with my 4 kids. ;o) Hehehehe. Like I said, I've been through worse weather, but having the 2 human kiddies & 2 canine kiddies and no braun (well, besides myself...har, har, har) makes things interesting. ;o)

Anyhoo...I'm sure everything will be all good in the morning. Till now, I'll enjoy the sounds of Fay and all the frogs screaming outside....ahhhhh, FL and all its wonderful wildlife! But seriously, I'm trying to watch the finale of "America's Best Dance Crew" and the frogs are drowning out the tv! I can't imagine how it is for los animales outside right now. It's pretty gnarly out there!

Sean's still out to sea, but I'm sure safe & sound! Mom finished up her 2 week stay (well, a little less than 2 weeks) Tuesday evening...just in time to get out of dodge down here. It was a fabulous visit and the kids (and I) were super bummed to see her leave.

I still owe y'all a recap of Kaia's last week at camp. This week, was just seeing Mom off, Kaia NOT having her first day of dance class, and both Kaia & Jaron taking their first Spanish class!

Alrighty...recap's on its way when things die down a bit! Till next time, kiddies!

Just a Tease

We're heading down to Miami to celebrate our dear (great-)grandfather's birthday with Mom (who arrived safely yesterday) in the morning! So, I'll update about week 7 next week when we get back. Meanwhile, here's a teaser...a video of Kaia's finale.



Also, video messages to Ba-ba from the kids.

Kaia being her usual silly self...including feigning being scared of Jax. So silly!! Especially since this little girl has no fear when it comes to dogs!

Into the Homestretch...Week 6: The Emperor's New Hair

So, we are winding down and about to enter our last week of camp. Kaia's theme last week was jazz & the performance was "The Emperor's New Hair". It was really cute. I also registered Kais for dance for the remaining months that we are here. Yup...dance. I always thought I'd get these kids into martial arts & piano...even though I KNEW that Kaia is naturally gifted for dance. SO, yeah...we're doing dance...but she really wants to do martial arts too. We'll wait on that until our next move though. Jaron is also registed for some classes too! YAY! So, we'll still stay busy (or rather, busiER) for our time remaining. Kaia will be taking ballet/tap/jazz, hip hop, musical theater, a princess class, & Spanish classes. Jaron will be taking a pirate class & Spanish classes with Kai Bear. I never thought I'd be one of those parents putting their kids into everything and their mother, but I guess this is me compensating for robbing Kaia's kindergarten year (well, at least until we move). Yeah, I'm still doubting my abilities to homeschool until we move. BUT, the ever-so-supportive BFF of ours, Jaimee Martino, has sent me a nice book to help me get past this and get ready to give Kaia a rockin' few months with Mommy Kindergarten teacher. ;o) Thank you, Jaimes...I LOVE YOU!

Anyhoo...Sarah, Kaia's buddy, was the Emperor and rocked out the role. It was a really cute skit. Kaia was one of the townspeople. I also had a momentary freakout when I turned the camera on to take a photo of the set...only to discover I had no memory card!!!! I had left it in the laptop AT HOME!! ARGH!!! But, being the one who always plans ahead, I had an extra memory card in the case. I only remembered this after resigning to the fact that I'd be missing out on recording week 6 and Sean wouldn't get to see it. Also, after the performance, the girls kept wanting to go to the art studio to see the baby deer. I had no idea what these two were smoking until we got to the studio and lo & behold...a baby deer!! One of the fathers works with a wildlife foster program. So, pretty neat!

Oh yeah, like an embarrassing mother I'm destined to be (ok, I hope not), Kaia has her first major crush. Well, I'm hoping it's actually her SECOND major crush with Kuya Austin (Martino) having been the first. But now she's older and getting all giggling and shy (yes, I said shy) when she mentions Liam. Liam had told me a few weeks ago that my "daughter is very, very beautiful". ;o) What a little charmer! He's even come to the car to help Kaia get out before too. This past week, he had given her a ring he made in class. I had pulled out a pipe cleaner with a "L" bead on it in the morning, only to find out from Alexandra (Liam's mom) that he had given her a ring the day prior...which was the pipe cleaner bead thing I had found. Ahhhh...Kaia's following the tradition of Lee girls having blond haired, blue-eyed first crushes. Kim's first crush was blond, but now she likes 'em dark...hence my brother Jason. ;o) I tend to like 'em darker, but there's something about Legolas...maybe those ears. ;o)

Alrighty...on to the good stuff.

The townspeople walking in.

Townspeople in front of the Emperor's wigs.

Sarah & Liam

Of course, No Fear Lee-Espiritu is closest to a wild animal.

Still the closest...w/other No Fear Lee-Espiritu bringing up the rear.

Savannah, Kaia, Liam, & another classmate (sorry classmate, I don't know your name!)