Roller Skating is a Blast!

We took Nia roller skating for the first time Saturday. We had so much fun! It's been a long time since I'd skated, but luckily the skill came back to me as well as A LOT of great memories from childhood skate times. I wondered if Nia would get tired of not skating well and of the falls getting to her. But she did great - she didn't want to stop and actually seemed to do pretty well.

Festival Fun

After their performances (see next post), the girls took in the festival fun. That's Maya and Bella behind Nia - more info about their wonderful family in the next post. You can tell they all had a blast. I've never heard so much laughing from these girls!

Olympic Training

Nia had her first gymnastic exhibitions this weekend at one of our suburb's annual festival. She was a little shy the first day during the first few minutes and it was touch and go whether she'd participate, or sit and cry. Fortunately she did buck up and had a great time. We're really proud of her and she's proud of herself too which is a great thing. The smiley girl next to Nia is Bella - her parents, Joe & Yvonne, are among our best friends here. They too went to the Air Force Academy and Yvonne studied engineering just like Ian did. She's out of the AF now and stays busy with her 3 gorgeous girls while Joe flies for Fed Ex with Ian.

Haircut!?!?

Nia and her best friend had a play date yesterday. I should have known better than to trust them when they got quiet alone in Nia's room. At one point their hairdressing play turned in to real hairdressing (!) - note Nia's newly shortened hair in one spot.... They both got in trouble, but I'm trying to remember that this is a rite of passage. On the upside they didn't do what I did with my best friend when I was little - I cut my friend's ponytail off, and she cut one of my braids off! So at least I don't have to cut all of Nia's hair trying to make it look ok like my mom had to do for me.

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great weekend in Atlanta. I really do miss living in that city; however, the longer I'm away the more I think I don't want to live in such a big place. Uncle Che and Auntie Vicki spoiled Nia as per usual, and we had a great day trip to the Atlanta Children's Museum. Auntie Vickie - thank you for the "Rock Royalty" t'shirt Nia's wearing! We love you guys!

Soccer

I'm really glad my girly girl wanted to play soccer! Her favorite is still gymnastics, but she is so excited to be learning soccer (and of course she loves her black and pink cleats and shin guards!). God bless the coaches - these little guys are a bit clueless and have a little bit of a hard time focusing! One little girl was running across the field when she saw a bug she wanted to look at...so she came to a screeching halt and bent down looking at the ground - seems this is common at this age! But Nia is doing really well with paying attention. :) Our first game is this Thursday - should be interesting!