six flags

this past friday, we took the girls to six flags in new jersey. it was supposed to rain all day, so the park was almost empty, which means we (okay, maybe just clay and the girls) rode a lot of rides with no lines to slow us down. i have to admit that i spent most of the day with my feet firmly on the ground doing a search for amusement park injuries on my iphone, while clay and the girls had no trouble at all trusting a teenager to strap them into roller coasters that went 80 mph. my family called it overreacting, i call it a healthy love of life. i'm glad they had a good time, though.

i can see clearly now....

since the speakman girls do everything together, it would only make sense that their eyesight would go bad simultaneously as well. the girls went for a routine eye exam this week and they all needed glasses. that trip to the eye doctor led to a visit to the dentist...only maddy could chip a tooth in an opthamologist's waiting room. anyway, they all like their new glasses and so do we.

hailey's art exhibit

several of the kids at the ymca day camp took art lessons as a part of their program. the art teacher selected 5 students whom she felt did the best work and put them in a show at a local federal credit union. hailey was one of the students chosen. her teacher said that she rarely comes across students who so easily grasp artistic concepts and have such a good understanding of color. she made me promise to keep hailey in some kind of lessons. i don't think we could stop this girl from drawing if we tried. she's always at it. my only question is...if she's so great with color, why can't she choose an outfit that matches on her own?

long time, no blog :)

wow!! has it been that long since we've updated everyone? my apologies to family and friends. it's been a crazy, hectic summer, but i'll do my best to catch you up on the highlights.

1. i finished my first year of teaching in nyc. i had a great year with my pre-k class and i'm looking forward to another year of fun.

2. lusinda left to return to her home in south africa. i'm so glad we got to share this experience with her. she was a life-saver and is now a permanent part of our family. we went bowling at chealsey piers for her last night.




3. in may, the kids were treated to a special trip with nana and papa josh. they spent a little time in nyc seeing a broadway show and visiting the american girl store (poor papa josh), and then they set off for gettysburg and hershey, pennsylvania to do some sightseeing and to visit hershey's theme park.






4. in late june, we visited albuquerque for the first annual winfield family (that's angela's side) reunion. we had a blast catching up with everyone, swimming, eating good food, going to gardunos (i don't think there's ever been a family event that didn't include eating at gardunos), playing wii, shooting pool, and laughing till it hurt. our family consists of 7 children, 4 of which have spouses, and 9 grandchildren (soon to be 10!). we number 22 in these 3 generations.









5. we celebrated jessica's 11th birthday by taking a 3 hour cruise around nyc. we had a great time learning some interesting facts and little known history about our hometown.



6. the girls spent 4 weeks at day camp at my ymca, so we got to see each other throughout the day. then the girls left for camp mcallister in upstate new york. they spent two weeks swimming in the lake, horseback riding, making new friends, playing outdoor games, going for hikes, etc. don't feel too bad for clay and i, though. we celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary while the kids were away. clay made the most of our two weeks of freedom. he planned a special dinner and/or event for each night and he swept me away to a castle in the hudson valley for the weekend. we'll spare you pictures on that one :).