Today, I am thankful for...my Taryn!!

Taryn running with her friend Alee during the Jog/Wheel A Thon.

Alma and Lorany made this cupcake cake for her tonight. She was so surprised!

My little Taryn is 10 years old today. Yes, that's right! The big double digits! She's been telling everybody that her birthday's coming for a week. I had her take ice-cream sandwiches to share with her class at lunch and then our church had a little get together for her after the service. She even got some gifts from a few of the members. I will be having a sleep-over party for her this Friday. It is her first official sleep-over and she is busting at the seams with excitement.
My Taryn is very special - so different from her other sisters. She has a sweet, tender heart. She has suffered with severe allergies and asthma since she was very young. She has also experienced some really bad eczema because of her allergies. I always feel so bad for her and worry for her, but she just keeps on going. She is very active and loves to run and play sports. She just takes her inhaler - and sometimes her nebulizer - with her, but she never lets her condition hold her back. I love that about her.
She loves music, fashion and crafts. She is my little bear and I am so thankful for her today.

Day 4 of Swim Camp...

So, the two older girls have been attending a swim camp (not over-night) that will last for two weeks. They are on day 4 now and have been loving it. They were both aprehensive about joining when they heard about all the exercising and running they'd have to do, but so far, they've been keeping up without a problem.
Besides learning to swim better, they've learned about water safety, CPR, first-aid, nutrition and more. Next week, the camp will continue at a nearby lake. They will get a chance to learn to kayak and knee board as well as some other things.
I've been going and staying and hanging out with a couple of the other moms. It would be too much for me to drive back and forth that distance every day, so I've let the little ones take full advantage of the play time as well. Everybody's happy and it makes for a great summer. Here are some pics I thought I'd share...

Hannah doing laps.

Marco playing in the wader pool while we pass the day away...

Naomi playing on the jungle gym there.

Taryn, who gets darker by the second - even with sunblock, helping a friend with sit-ups.

Hannah in the plaid shorts warming up with arm rolls.

Beauty...My Little Brown Bear...

My Taryn was invited to go to the zoo today with a friend and her family. She asked if she could take her money and I told her that she could. The family brought her back safe and sound. She had also taken an older digital camera that we have and she took several pictures. She told me she needs to print them to scrap them...LOL!

Anyway, she was so happy as she came up to each of us in the family and gave us (each) a souvenir that she bought - with her own money. Daddy got a pen with a bear and bear facts on it. I got a pen with a Koala bear and facts on it, Hannah got a bracelet with some sort of charm, Naomi got a giant L.A. Zoo lollipop and Little Marco got a board book about baby animals.

Then the father of the family that took her told my husband and I that he was very impressed with her. I thought he was talking about her behavior. I smiled at Taryn and told her that she had better have been good! Then he said that no - he wasn't referring to her behavior, although she was well behaved. He was impressed that she took the time to buy those things for her family members, spending all of her money, and did not buy anything for herself.

Wow. What a kid. I wasn't surprised, really. That's the way she is. I love her for it. She made my day and of course, Momma will find a way to make sure that all that goodness comes back her way, but she does not even expect it. Really. I am so thankful for my Taryn who is beautiful, inside and out!

She asked her friend to take her picture here, because her daddy loves bears. Awww...my little brown bear!

Today, I'm thankful for...

...my little brown bear, Taryn. She is my second child and she turned 9 today! My husband has always called himself Papa Bear and called me Mama Bear, Hannah is Sissy Bear, Naomi is Baby Bear, Little Marco is Bear Cub and Taryn is Brown Bear. We even have a dog named Oso which means bear in Spanish. LOL Anyway, it's just a little endearment for the Bear Family.
We will be celebrating her birthday with friends and family on Saturday, but I took her out today and just had a blast spending time with her. We went to see HSM 3. This was a big deal for her because Hannah has not even seen it yet. I let her pick where we'd go for lunch and she chose Pick Up Stix which is a Chinese type fast food place. After that, we stopped at See's candies and when they found out she was celebrating a birthday, they loaded her up with free samples and even a "SEE"gar. It was a giant, solid chocolate that looked like a cigar. She gave it to her daddy and they thought it was funny that she had a SEEgar.

9 Things I Love About Taryn:
1. She has a tender heart.
2. She is very funny.
3. She's a great conversationalist.
4. She's loyal.
5. She's competitive.
6. She's a good cook.
7. She's a girlie girl.
8. She likes to dance and sing.
9. She makes the best Senseo coffee ever!

Taryn with her SEEgar... =]

Ready to go sing and ooh and ahh!

Me and my brown bear...I have been crying on and off all day - my eyes felt all crazy. =[