Summer 2012

I didn't really intend to take another blogging break.  But it happened anyway.  Although I think it was for a really good reason - taking time for FUN!  This summer I was still facing a limited amount of vacation time after changing jobs in the spring.  So my supervisor was kind enough to let me work an adjusted work week for the majority of the summer - 4 long days at work with 3 day weekends.  It was a little tiring but worth the extra time with the kids and the ability to take weekend "mini-vacations."  So I went to Boston to visit my BFF from college, we took a trip to Dallas to visit friends, and then we took a trip to a condo at the lake.  We also had Uncle Scott visit us for a weekend.  And many "staycations" where all we did was lounge around the house or go swimming. 

This fall will be busy again because I agreed to teach another semester in addition to working the new job.  But I am going to take time to blog at least once a week.  Maybe I will try out a new format for my posts....At the very least I am not going to worry about "catching up" anymore.  The kiddos have plenty of memories documented on this blog.  And there will be more to come.  :)

'Twas the Night Before Kindergarten . . .

Big sis was so about excited starting Kindergarten by the end of Sunday night.  I even pulled out the hair dryer that evening to give her a pretty do for her first day back to school.  I'll have to save that for a motivational tool more often - she was ecstatic about the special treatment.  Sigh . . . she is such a girly girl!  At least we know Aunt K will come in handy if this "princess" trend continues.  :)

I stole this idea from somewhere to take a picture of her at the beginning of each school year in a men's dress shirt.  As the years pass (another sigh) we will have a reference for all of her growth.  She thought it was so silly and laughed about how big the shirt was.  My favorite part of the picture is that you can still see that she lost her first tooth this summer.

How did she get so big already???

Kindergarten 2011

Little Man's Promotion

Little man just had a big week last week!   Gymnastics was Tuesday and then Thursday was his "promotion" ceremony.  We dropped the ball telling everyone about his gymnastics demonstration.  But we had no idea the promotion party would be what it was until Thursday.  We had received a note about having a party at 4pm for his teacher on Thursday.  So I dutifully went out and bought a thank you gift and Disco and I planned on attending the gathering.  But as the week progressed we were informed that the activities started earlier and earlier and there was more to it than just saying thanks.  Thursday afternoon I hurried as fast as I could over to the daycare to find that the kiddos were wearing graduation hats and getting certificates and singing and having a potluck party.  I texted Disco as quickly as I could to let him know I had arrived but I spent most of my time snapping pictures on my phone, again.  I tried to video them singing but you can't hear a thing on the clip.  Sigh.

Anyway, little man was over the top excited again!  It was really a sweet little gathering of kiddos and parents.  Little man's "girlfriend" informed me that she was taking little man to the beach the following week.  Unfortunately that was not possible.

True to form, the party on Thursday ended promptly at 4 pm (which was when we were originally told it started).  Disco arrived just in time to walk us out to the parking lot :(

Little man will have to start in his new room this week without his best bud. She will be back the following week so if he is sad without her it won't last too long.  I hope he takes this transition well. We are a bit nervous because he told us all week last week that he didn't want to go to school anymore. This was his only sign of anxiety about the transition but from past experience we know to be prepared for a few pep talks and tears. Just in case.

Here are the pics from his promotion party - I just love how excited he was about the whole afternoon!

The Graduates

The Processional



Our Little Graduate



The Celebration (CUPCAKES!!)

He was just SO PROUD! :)

So proud, that he was doing a happy dance!

Gymnastics

Little man takes gymnastics at school.  It was a new program this year which cost a bit more but was SO WORTH IT!!!  They actually brought in equipment and the kids performed more activities by far than any of the other programs that have visited the school.  Little man was so excited that we came to watch his "show."  Big sis was just about as excited to go as little man was to have us there.  We didn't know what to expect and next time we should probably invite our other family members as well to see his "performance."  Disco and I didn't even think to bring a camera other than what we had on our phones . . .

At any rate, the kiddos went through their normal activities - songs, "balance beam", bar, more songs.  It was truly a controlled chaos situation.  All of the little ones were in "overstimulation" mode with parents and extra kids everywhere.  Little man was willing to do everything until the final songs.  Then he got shy and refused to participate with his friends.  And he also refused to pick up his certificate and medal.  When it was over he was really upset that he didn't get to sing and after a lot of coaxing from his gymnastics teacher he finally did it and was much happier.  We think he just got overly excited and was tired and hungry - the program ended about an 1.5 after our normal pick up time.

Here are some of the pics from the event :)

The Lake

Starting in July our summer became a whirlwind of weekend activities/trips (in addition to our week in Colorado - for which I still need to post Disco's pics!).  The final weekend trip was to the lake with Gaga, Bondo, and Aunt K.  The kiddos loved it!  The condo was just the right size for everyone to be comfortable.  We could even fish from the dock as we were lounging around the condo.  Too bad it was over 100 degrees everyday and it smelled like something died in the water just before we arrived.  No one was willing to brave the stinky dead fish water where we were staying (except big sis and Bondo - although I finally talked big sis into joining us at the beach instead since the rest of us were grossed out by the smell).

We overdid it Saturday by piling on the activities.  But they were all fun - digging for crystals, swimming at the pool, back to school shopping, sunset swim at the "beach", and dinner with the family at the condo.  Sunday we just went to the "beach" and ate meals together.  It was a lot quieter day but just as fun.  Little man even relented and fell asleep in my lap for a late afternoon nap.

We tried to talk Bondo into buying a condo so we can spend more time on the lake in the future.  But he wasn't "buying" our sales pitch.  Maybe we can keep working on it.  :)  At the very least, I hope we can rent a condo in the same area again next summer.  It was a nice trip!  All the pictures I took were from the crystal mine.  I really liked the red clay background.  FYI - we found more pretty crystals in the parking lot and washed out areas than when we were actually digging. 

And summer . . .

. . . comes to an end.  I still have more pictures to post of our Colorado trip.  And I'd like to post a few funny comments from the kiddos as well as a description of our final summer adventure at the lake with my folks.  But this week is officially our last week of summer.

Both kiddos will be in new classes next week - little man begins the 3/4 year old at daycare and big sis starts Kindergarten.  It was a whirlwind summer for sure!  Lots of traveling and time with family.  Which was really nice since we don't get to slow down and really visit with family outside of holidays.  And I don't think that counts since holidays tend to be crammed full of activities and juggling time with different family members.

Anyway, it has been a great summer!  The kiddos loved their activities when they were in school.  Big sis even grumped if I picked her up early from her summer program.  She also got to attend her first art camp.  And of course little man loves spending time with his "girlfriend" at school (they have been in the same class since their first days of daycare). 

I have to say I am ready to get back to a "normal" schedule.  And maybe this fall will bring cooler temperatures (this heat wave NEEDS to end!).  Although I will miss the extra time we all had together this summer . . .

Colorado #3

Tiny Town - Blowing kisses for a picture
to send to Aunt K

Love this picture!

Riding in the caboose of the
Tiny Town Train

Riding in the caboose

Ready to GO!

Arrgh!  At the Denver Museum
of Nature and Science

Cheeto-chocolatey smile on the ride home :)

Colorado #2

Oscar Blues Brewery - Everyone's Favorite

Rocky Mountain National Park

Relaxing once we were back from
the mountains :)

Colorado

We went to visit Uncle Scott in Colorado around mid-July this summer.  It was a fun trip and we haven't really slowed down since (hence the lag in blog posts).  After we got back from Colorado we had a busy summer fun weekend at home and then the next weekend we spent time at Big Cedar Lodge for a conference.  If you haven't been to Big Cedar then YOU SHOULD GO.  It is always worth the trip!  We have one more big summer fun adventure planned and then it is back to school. 

Our kiddos adore their Uncle Scott!  We made the trip caravan style with the grandparents.  While in Colorado this year we visited breweries (for Disco), visited my cousins, stayed in Estes park, swam, played on playgrounds, visited Tiny Town and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, ate good food, and read a lot of books (the books were for ME!).  Everyone traveled well and it was a fun visit.  Here are some of our adventures I caught on my phone.  I'll post more Colorado pics this week that I took and then also some that Disco took with the "real" camera.  :)

Road trip:

Vine Street Pub:

City Park:

Breckenridge Brewery:

Little Man's Favorite Book



The things they do . . .

Barbie school

Captured!

Ice Cream

The Fourth of July

I think the 4th of July is my favorite holiday.  I know I have mentioned the 50+ year tradition of family festivities more than once on the blog.  I could be nice and link to those old posts but I am being lazy tonight. ;)  Our 4th of July tradition is one that includes old friends, good food, new friends, LOTS of children, fireworks, watermelon, and fun times in the country.  This year we even got to see some floating lanterns soar over from someone else's firework display (like the ones from Tangled). 

Not many pics from us this year - just what we captured on our phones:

Practicing the day before . . .

 













Parachutes!!!