Goggles!!

 Max is my inventor!! He's a problem solver and finder of all lost items.  I really would love to fast forward life real quick just to see what this kid ends up doing as a profession. 

Tonight was his turn to make dinner.  Of course he chose to make his favorite... "cruncher salad".  He had a little problem while slicing the green onions.  His eyes kept stinging and watering from the onions so he solved the problem by getting GOGGLES!

 What a great idea!  Maybe we should keep a pair in the kitchen drawer.

Summer is in full swing now and we are trying to stay busy.  Today we worked on a little craft project.  The kids used up the leftover tiles from our kitchen backsplash and designed mosaic pictures.  Next we plan on affix them on to stepping stones for our back yard.  We'll see how that goes.

Mer has been taking piano lessons since January and this Saturday is going to be her first recital.. I am excited!!

The Big ONE ONE.

We had a big day to celebrate on Saturday... Mer turned 11.

ELEVEN!!! 

Where did the time go? 

Fruit salad and Fruit Smoothie for breakfast as requested.

Followed by presents of course!

We saw a lot of these smiles... Doesn't she have a beautiful smile?

 

After presents we headed for the movies.  Kung Fu Panda 2 didn't disappoint.  SKADOOSH!!

Mer and I went for haircuts and a little shopping and came back for a little swimming before dinner.

She requested a Dark Chocolate cake with Dark chocolate frosting from Doug's dessert book .  Fruit for breakfast, dark chocolate for dessert...she is absolutely her father's daughter.  They pretty much have identical taste buds.  Even though she drives me a bit nuts at times, I really love this girl!  She is my right hand and a ton of help. She is so smart and has a good kind, happy heart.  She was all smiles and appreciation today.   It has been such an adventure to watch her grow up.  I know we have a bit more of that to see and I'm crossing my fingers that we'll get through it okay.   We had such a nice day together as a family.  I just don't want to forget these little snapshots of our happy days.

Happy Birthday Mer!

Jack is officially a Preschool Graduate!!

Thursday (last week) Jack graduated from preschool.   He's old and he's definitely ready for kindergarten but, I'm slightly sad he's growing up.  I mean, could this kid be any cuter??

Receiving his diploma.

Can you find him singing in this group?

 

He had two of the very best teachers!!

We will miss them very much!

 Luke is glad to have his play mate home full time.  Toward the end of school Luke would wake up and ask if Jack had to go to school today.  When I told him "yes" he would give a big grumpy sigh and say "I not want him to go to school today"

Jack who used to tell me he didn't want to go to school, now misses his friends.  I think he'll actually be looking forward to kindergarten.

Congratulations Jack!  We love you! You have the rest of your life ahead of you.  What will you become?   I hope you will stay the sweet, loving, kind, curious kid that you already are.

Current Mischief

Wake up Max!!

Good Morning Luke!

  Hello Jack!  Today is your last day of school today...and there's a pizza party to go to.

 I am happy to report that these kids have successfully kept their rooms clean for the last 10 days!  That is, clean before bed and clean when they leave for school in the morning. I've heard it takes 10 days to start a habit,  I'm hoping this is true and that we will be starting the summer with a clean room habit. HA!  Saturday is their 2 week mark and I think we may be going to the newly opened Chuck E Cheese nearby as their reward. Either that, or the Movies, there is a deep division among the voters. 

Luke and I are having a nice relaxing morning today.  Our last bit of quiet play before Jack  and the rest of them join us home for the rest of the summer.   Jack's preschool graduation ceremony is tomorrow morning.  Max and Mer's last day is Monday!

Luke wanted to make sure I got a shot of the car zooming down the ramp. 

One more thing I've been meaning to post.  Around Christmas time Doug made Max a special poster to hang in his room that said "Giving is better than getting".  It was the lesson Max needed to hear at the time.  The other day Max made Doug the same poster and added another little page to it...a lesson he thought dad needed to learn..."Saying nice things to your child is better than yelling at your child"

And that is a little taste of the mischief at our home lately.

Soccer season ends

Soccer season is coming to an end here.  Jack and Max had their last games on Saturday.   I thought  I'd share some of pictures of the season.


Jack really got into it toward the end of the year.  Instead of circling the pack as everyone kicked the ball, he decided to get in there and try and make a goal.  In his game last weekend he shot 5 goals.

Max had a great year as well.  He was the youngest in his age bracket this year but he used his small size to his advantage weaving in and out of the tall kids with his fancy footwork. 

Mer had a great season as well.  She loved having her dad coach.  She was great at playing forward and proved herself to be a tough goalie.

I think Doug had a good time coaching as well, though I know he's glad to be done for the summer.  Mer's last game is this saturday.

 

Things are about to slow down here quite a bit.  We are all looking forward to that.  

Good things are Happening Here.

The kids have kept their rooms spotless since Saturday.  They even worked hard to tidy them up before heading off to school this morning.  On the way to school I told them I'd take them to the movies or rollerskating if they could pull this off for 2 weeks.   They said they were "in".  YES! Doug says it'll never happen.  I'm crossing my fingers that they won't lose interest.  We need to seriously make some changes around here in that department.  After Jack put his toys away tonight he voluntarily laid out his clothes for morning.  Whoa! Good things are happening here.

Two more weeks of school!!  Oh my!

I love you Mom!!

Thank you Mom!

 Happy Mother's Day!!!

Our Disney Weekend

We drove home on Monday from our GA trip...went to school/work for 2 days and then trekked back to Orlando to spend a couple of days at Disney World.  We went to Epcot and then Animal Kingdom.  Here are some pictures.

It was the Flower and garden festival and this year they did Cars and Toy Story 3 gardens.

Doug was a little under the weather for the last half of the day.

Here's Jack and Max waiting to ride Mission Space, the favorite ride of the day. (not for me, they owed me one for riding it with them since Doug wasn't up for it, I get so sick from it.  Anything for my boys)

The next day we hit Animal Kingdom. 

Meredith took a picture of EVERY animal we saw.  Here are a few of the highlights.

Luke wanted to say Hi to every character he could that day.

Luke was big enough to ride Kali River Rapids this time but he got so wet that he wouldn't ride it again.  However, he did say that was his favorite ride of the day.

My favorite was the Finding Nemo Show.  I didn't get good pictures but it was awesome.

Here is the gang at "It's tough to be a bug" 

Fun times!