Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Enjoying it!

Goodness! Summer just seems to be flying by!  Here is a glimpse of the mischief that has been going on around here lately.  The heat and humidity finally fully descended upon us this week but up until now we have been savoring every nicer weather moment that we can.   Friday night we had a little cookout for dinner.  Jack found yet another use for goggles.  I think he looks pretty tough here.


That night we let them sleep outside on the trampoline.  Jack came inside before he fell asleep.  I slept with Max and Mer for a portion of the night but every time someone turned or rolled over the whole tramp would bounce, so I gave up at 3 am and came inside.   Of course they had the time of their life and "didn't feel any of the bouncing"


Jack doesn't look so tough in this picture but he loves to dress up lately and this day Meredith pulled out all the girl dress ups and styled the boys.

Of course each of these looks had superhero names associated with them.  Jack and especially Luke are really enjoying having the big kids home all day.


And this is Meredith. I remember when those purple pants came down almost to her ankles.


Jack came up with the craft for FHE.  It is a paper squid.  We had a little debate about whether it was a squid or an octopus and decided we should it a  "Squoctopus".


 Here's a favorite pastime.  But it doesn't beat our almost daily trips to the swimming pool across the street.  Thank you Stacey family!

 I realized that I neglected to mention Mer's first piano recital in my last post.  She did great!! She was super nervous but she really played well.  She will tell you that she messed up too many times. But there were only a couple of minor note errors.  She had fun I think.  Enough so to not complain about taking piano lessons or having to practice.  This was the only shot I got from the day.


Happy summer to you all.

Monday, June 6, 2011

1 Kid Down!

I have just 3 kids all week... Max is at Cub Scout Camp all day every day!  I'm sure he's in heaven. He had archery and a swim test on the agenda for the morning.   The other kids woke up and declared they wanted to go to the zoo this morning. I love being able to say sure and just take off!! Ahh Summer!

We snapped shots in the photo booth!


Off to the swimming pool!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

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!!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

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.


Wednesday, May 18, 2011

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.