Soul Surfer: Bethany Hamilton

I love to share inspirational stories with my nieces - stories about girls and women overcoming the odds and exhibiting strength and courage. If you're looking for a good role model, look no further Bethany Hamilton.

During my nieces' visit, we watched the movie Soul Surfer, based on the true story of a young surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack.

Her dedication and bravery are inspiring. My nieces and I were rooting for Bethany, cheering her on as if we were there on the beach watching her surf.

I visited her website and discovered that Bethany not only overcame her fears to become a pro surfer, she is a humble and charitable person with extreme faith. And she has a Blog!  She shares her experiences as she travels, telling her story as well as health tips and healthy recipes. 

This is a blog worth sharing with my nieces!

Back to Long Distance

Yesterday was my last day with the girls on their visit in NY. Last night I dropped them off with my aunt, who will spoil them for another day or two before driving them back home.

I loved getting to spend some quality time with them. We got to play mini-golf, we spent a day at the beach, played board games and watched movies together and spent some time with their great-grandparents.

Yet our time together is also bittersweet. It only reminds me that I don't get to do these things with them nearly as often as like I'd like to. Just seeing them requires time off from work and an eight hour drive. Being a long-distance auntie requires a little extra effort.

I think I'd like to make a scrapbook of their visit. This way they can look back and remember all the things we did together. And while I'm putting the scrapbook together I'll get to feel close to them and remember the fun times we had.

Painting Pottery

Today, my nieces and I were able to get in touch with our creative side. I took them to an art studio where you can paint pottery. I've been wanting to try out this place for a while and I was excited to be able to finally take the girls there. 

They had lots of things to choose from; they had everything from cups, bowls, plates and serving platters to little animal figurines. They even had the plates that go over your light switch that you could personalize for your bedroom!

The hardest part was deciding what to paint. I wanted something functional, like a serving dish but wasn't feeling artsy enough to freehand an interesting design. I finally picked out a little frog:

Bailey painted a puppy:

And Hannah painted a cheerleader figurine done in the colors of one of her favorite teams, the Buffalo Bills:

They have to be glazed and fired in the kiln before we can go pick them up. We can't wait to see the finished product!

This was a fun creative activity and made for a fun day!

What was the Best part of your Day?

When I was a kid, my family sat down at the table together for dinner nearly every night. While I may not have appreciated it at the time, looking back I see the importance of that time of day when we could all slow down and talk about what had occurred that day. 

I don't see or talk to my nieces every day, but when I do talk to them, I try to learn about the things that go on in their daily lives. "How was your day today?" Fine. "What did you learn at school today?" Nothing. These one-word answers don't give me any insight.

So last night at the dinner table, my fiance asked a question that he was used to hearing around the dinner table with his family growing up: "What was the best part of your day?" 

Everyone around the table shares the best thing that happened that day. There is no opting out - everyone has to answer - and there's no being negative - Nothing good happened today. The best part of the day could be as simple as sleeping in an extra few minutes or getting a good grade on a test.

When I started to partake in this tradition with my fiance's family, I found the responses to this question often brought out stories of the day's events, rather than just one-word answers.

And that's exactly what happened when my fiance posed this question to the girls at dinner. At first they thought it was silly. But it got them to reflect on their day and recall at least one positive thing that happened or one thing they're proud of. 

Hannah told everyone the story about how we ran into her godmother at the library and got to have lunch with her and her two kids. Bailey shared her achievement that she won a board game we played that morning.

I think it's something they start to look forward to, knowing they'll have an audience at the dinner table to share the best part of their day. We encouraged them to try this question at home!

So even if you can't all sit around the same table for a meal, ask in the car or at bedtime: "What was the best part of your day?" 

And don't forget, you have to answer too!

Summer Fun

I'm excited to say I'm borrowing my nieces for a few days!

The girls stayed with my fiance and I for a whole week last summer and we had so much fun. We took them to a theme park, to the beach and they each got to ride a horse for the first time!

I can remember as a kid going back to school after summer vacation and having to share what I did over the summer. I remember feeling like I never had anything cool or exciting to share - no fun vacations or trips to Disney like my classmates. I hope after a few days in NY, my nieces will go back to school with some fun stories to tell.


I picked them up yesterday and they will be staying with us for a few days. After we got in last night, we took a swim in the pool, watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants together, ate dinner and had time for a board game before bed. The game was Sorry and I was a little worried that the competition between siblings would create problems. But in the end we all got bumped back to Start at one point or another, and they realized it was all just part of the game. In the end, everyone had a good time. I wished I lived close enough to have a game night with my nieces all the time!

Today was a gloomy, rainy day and we needed a rainy day activity. So we spent the day at Rochester Museum and Science Center and watched the film Dolphins at the Strasenburgh Planetarium.


We had so much fun playing Sorry last night we decided to play another board game tonight. This time we played The game of Life.


Not a bad way to spend a rainy day!