2 days down. . .

So far this has been the look of our summer vacation.

Awesome.

Summer!?

Today was the last day of school.  The kids wore jackets this morning which just doesn't seem right, does it?  The temperature is actually quite pleasant, but with thick clouds and a lot of rain in the last few weeks they weren't about to take any chances. So Jenna and Britton are officially done with the 1st and 2nd grades respectively.  Korinne completed her first year of Joy School and participated in a little graduation ceremony at a local park last night.

It was a little anticlimactic because she still has another year of preschool before she starts Kindergarten, but it was fun for her all the same.  The 6 families involved in Joy School this year had a dinner at the park.  Even though the clouds were dark and gloomy it didn't rain so it was quite nice. A good time was had by all.

Britton's class put on some short plays and invited the parents to come in and see them perform.  They all memorized their parts and had some simple costumes.  Britton was a school principal in one of them so that is why he is wearing a tie in this picture.  He did a great job and was quite animated. Unfortunately all I had was my cell phone and the video quality left much to be desired.

On a side note Britton has learned a new trick--if you call Mom from school, she will bring whatever you want right away.  The day after he got his braces he called me to bring him some wax to put on a bracket that was bothering him.  That worked so well that he called me a few days later to bring in a tie for his play performance.  Yesterday he called me to bring in some cough drops. Really? Cough drops? It's a good thing for me school is out for the summer.  Next week he might have called me to bring him a sharper pencil or something.

Birthday Boy

Before I sat down to write this post I overheard a conversation going on between Jenna and Korinne as they were coloring.  They were talking about what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Jenna talked about being a girl soccer player, a teacher, or a Mom.  I was standing by the girls when Korinne said, "I want to be what you are when I grow up." Flattered, I responded with, "Oh, you want to be like me?" She looked at me and said, "No, I want to be what SHE is when I grow up" pointing to Jenna. Moted. But then she said, "I want to be a Mom, (pause) but if that doesn't work out then I want to be an artist."  Good to know, Korinne.

Adam had a big day this week. 

He turned 34. (He had just taken off his hat when I took this picture)  He was so busy with work and the Father and Sons campout that night that we weren't able to do much to celebrate.  He asked for, and received, a blender and shoes.  Really, you can't get more exciting than that which is why we didn't even try.  My parents were in town for the night and participated in the fun/madness.  Adam and Britton went to the Father and Sons campout for the dinner and fireside and then started for home when the rain started coming down around 9 p.m..  It was cold and rained steadily for the next 8 hours.  They were glad they hadn't plannned on staying the night. Maybe next year. . .

This week Britton participated in the 2nd grade program, "Service Heroes" at school.  There are five 2nd grade classes at the elementary school and all year long they have been doing service projects and learning about how service helps our communities. They started out the year by doing service in their own homes, then they raked the leaves at the school, visited an assistant living center to sing and visit residents, tied quilts to be donated to hospitals and other community programs, and put school kits together to sent to children in Haiti affected by the earthquake.  They also had parents come in and share what they do for work that allows them to serve in the community.

Here they are ready for the program:

Britton is looking at my camera:

Here are just a few words from one of the song that they sang:

Together each boy and girl, we can make a better world

with a little prayer that you say,

with a little heart you gave away,

with a little laughter that you bring,

with a little song that you sing,

with a little tear that you cry,

and a little faith that you can fly,

Together each boy and girl, we can make a better world

It was really quite a touching program and they had a little video they put together that had pictures of all of the service projects they did throughout the year.  In the first grade they focus on patriotism and then in the 2nd grade they move on to serving others and making a difference in the world through service.  I'm a fan of their school and I really enjoy the programs they put together.

Proud to be an American

Last night was the 1st Grade Patriotic Program at the elementary school.  Jenna's class dressed as American Colonists and were standing in front of the stage.  They sang American songs, "God Bless the USA", "The Star Spangled Banner", & Neil Diamond's "Coming to America" and then each class talked about a symbol of our country and what it means. The Flag, The Liberty Bell, Eagles, George Washington, Abe Lincoln, The Pledge of Allegience.  I loved that the grand finale was "God Bless the USA".  Take that ACLU!  The kids did a great job and received a standing ovation.

Jenna was definitely in her element.  A stage, lights, costumes, she loved it all.  Her head bobbed to the music when other classes were singing and when she was singing she really got into it.  I knew exactly where she was because her body was moving to the music. 

Good job Jenna!

Ace of Brace

This is what Britton looked like when he woke up this morning.

This is what he looked like when I checked him into school at 9:15 a.m.

He has started Phase I of his orthodontic treatment and had 6 brackets put on.  Four in the front and 2 on his back molars.  He went with red and blue brackets because he loves his country and decided to be patriotic.  It will be an adjustment for him, but he was excited to get going.

Wow. I have a child with braces.  In all fairness he is the first in his class to get them and the Orthodontist anticipates that Phase 1 will only last about a year and then he'll get them off.  After a few more years, when the rest of his permanant teeth are in, they will go to Phase II and he will most likely get a full set of braces at that time.  The hope, of course, is that doing Phase I will pull his front teeth "out of harm's way" so we aren't dealing with a broken tooth which is very common in active boys with front teeth as far out as Britton's, and that Phase II will be that much shorter and easier when the time comes.

Next up, a nice hair cut.

The End is Near

The end of the soccer season, that is.  I think Britton has one more make-up game this Wednesday and then we'll be done.  It was fun to watch both Britton and Jenna play.  Jenna has discovered that she actually likes soccer (in fact she declared yesterday that she would like to be a professional soccer player when she grows up) and Britton just continues to improve.  It was very obvious this year that Britton has some real speed when he runs.  He literally ran circles around some of the kids on the field and if he and another kid were after the same ball it was always Britton who got there first.

He scored 2 goals at his game yesterday, so he was pretty happy.

I kept forgetting to take pictures so I didn't get any actions shots of Jenna.  Here she is taking a rest during the game.

Korinne kept herself busy by taking a lot of pictures without my knowledge or permission. Here are just a few.

Adam was a larger than life coach which can clearly be seen in this picture that Korinne took.

It was cold and rainy all week, but yesterday was beautiful. Here's to another week of (hopefully) good weather!

The Decoy

Some of you asked to see a picture of Korinne's new do.  There is a reason I haven't posted one--I have yet to take a decent photo of her with groomed hair.  She is either uncooperative or unable to leave it properly groomed for more than 10 min. even after peacefully submitting to the grooming process.  This is the best I could do:

I know people probably judge me, but I cannot keep her hair looking like it was actually done. I try and try but she doesn't even make it through an hour of church on Sunday before she looks like she just crawled out of bed and showed up.  Just once I would like it to still be cute when it's time for Primary.

Today is Mother's Day.  Adam decided he was getting a bit predictable with Mother's Day, so he shook things up a bit.  Instead of leftover pizza for breakfast he went with chocolate cake donuts. (You can't go wrong with either option.)  Instead of giving me Nutty Bars first thing in the morning, he gave them to me after church. (He knows not to mess with Nutty Bars, they are a must.) 

Instead of the usual homemade rolls and steak for dinner, he made rice and beans and steak with romaine lettuce and freshly cooked tortillas so that I could make a Cafe Rio inspired salad.  It was awesome. 

He got me a container of my favorite lemonade.

But what I really love is that he knew that the kids would pounce at the sight of the lemonade and I wouldn't be able to have very much of it, so he bought a decoy container of juice to keep them at bay.

He got out the juice and we watched as they swooned and cheered and when they were all happy and content he pulled out the lemonade for me.  Decoy juice--he thought of everything!  Jenna is such a juice lover that I actually heard her chanting this while she danced around with a plastic cup, "I love minutes and I love maids but I really love them put together". 

Last week when he asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day I was very clear, "socks."  All of my socks are worn out and I need new socks.  He not only got me socks, but he also got new washclothes for the kitchen, and a bundt pan.  I know I must be boring and practical when I was thrilled and super surprised. Yup, boring, practical. . .and very happy.

The kids have yet to catch the vision of what I really want for Mother's day.  Oh sure, they presented me with all of the super cute cards and homemade notes, and I loved them, but what I really want is a full day of absolute peace and nothing but happiness.  Today there was a lot of "Britton is teasing me!" and "Jenna won't let me sit there!" and "Korinne is refusing to help us do the dishes!"  Oh well, there is always next year. . . .

Happy Mother's Day to you all!

Banned from HGTV

Adam and I are both training for the WB relay in June.  When the weather is too cold/wet to run outside I run on my treadmill.  This means that during the winter/spring months I do a lot of treadmill running. To pass the time I record all of my favorite shows from HGTV so my treadmill time = HGTV time.  I have already embraced my inner-dork that leads me to watch "House Hunters"* and "House Hunters International"* religiously.  It's all in the name of exercise after all, and I never saw a problem with it until this week.

Enter Korinne.

Korinne is my buddy during the day since Britton and Jenna are in school.  She hangs out with me when I'm exercising and enjoys doing Yoga (or "Yoda" and she puts it) on occasion.  She can even do the "downward dog" pose on demand. When I'm on the treadmill there are times when she watches "House Hunters" right along with me.  It was all fun and games until I was helping her get dressed on Tuesday morning.

"Mom, I need a bigger closet.  This closet is too small.  We should probably move."
What?!
"Korinne, your clothes don't even fill this closet. There is more room in here than you need."
"No, Mom, it is way too small.  I need a bigger closet."

Uh-oh.  "House Hunters" has officially poisoned my child!  Yesterday she told Adam that our house felt cold and that we should move to a bigger house.  When Adam told her that we would never be moving to a bigger house she said, "Then we need to move to a smaller house so I won't have to go up and down stairs."  Oh dear. Korinne is officially banned from HGTV effective immediately.

* For those of you unfamiliar with "House Hunters" they essentially take prospective homebuyers through 3 different houses and after showing the pros and cons of each home the buyers pick one. At the end of the show they show the family all moved in and loving their new house. The show talks about certain features that are important to each buyer (i.e. big closets).


Ever since I cut 10 inches off my hair over a month ago Korinne has been asking for a haircut. "My hair is way too long, Mom, I need to get it cut."  Not wanting her to "pull a Jenna" and cut it off herself I took her to the new kids haircut place that just opened not far from here.

She loved it so much that she had Britton and Jenna asking for haircuts when she finished telling them about it.  After I took this picture she asked me to go back to the front and sit down. "Mom, can you please go sit down up there?"  She was feeling way too grown up to have her Mom hovering. 

This girl really keeps me on my toes.