The River

Our favorite place in the summer is at the river. The older the kids get, the easier it is to spend all day on the beach playing and swimming. This year, the kids made amazing progress in their swimming. AMAZING! The boys no longer wear life jackets and Katie is really close to swimming without a life jacket. The boys learned to dive and can nearly flip as well (off the dock).

Kids Triathlon

The boys did their 3rd triathlon this year. By now they are old pros! This is another event that last year I took the girls in the double stroller and this year they, again, realized exactly what they were missing. Looks like we'll have two more triathletes next year!

This year, cousins, Abby and Macey came too!

Next years newest triathletes!

 

At the finish line!

 

 

Dance Recital 2013

The girls took a combination tap/ballet class this year. They worked on their performance number all year. As it always happens, the fever appeared on dress rehearsal night. We pushed through. Molly had the fever for the rehearsal.


Katie wore her red boots to rehearsal and was so proud!

 At the rehearsal!

The night of the performance, Katie came down with the fever. She was miserable but insisted that she go to the performance. With some Tylenol, some Ibprofen, and some peppermint oil, she broke her fever just at performance time!

First Grade Field Day

At the end of every school year, the boys' school has a field day. There are several areas to do games and activities that the kids can run and do. Last year, I took the double jogger and pushed the girls around while we watched the boys. This year, there was no stroller and the girls realized they were missing out on something amazing.

One of the activities was putting on flippers and riding an "alligator' noodle while carrying a cup of water. It was a big hit!

Grandma Nancy and Dan helped out at the batting station. Katie decided to help grandma Nancy field balls.

 

Finally the girls found a station that was slow enough and at the right level for them and they were so happy! It had them take some big-sized tongs and retrieve balls floating in a pool. Molly was more than thrilled!

 

 

 

Preschool Graduation #1

The girls graduated from preschool this week. It was bittersweet. I am looking for a different program for them for next year, so it was a sweet moment to see them say good-bye. I am happy to have them back and not be handing them off to other people. I miss my babies! I will be sad to have time by myself to run errands and just breathe though!

Looking back, the girls have made so much progress this year. Katie has really made some emotional/social progress. She started the year so raw and not happy. She had a lot of change towards the end of the year and really handled it with grace. She will always be my kid that likes consistency and routine, but she's learning to do transitions and change and I couldn't be more proud. Molly started off the year shy and not talking. That girl is gone and now there is a talkative playful little girl that wants to be a part of everything. They made some great friends, and I enjoyed a couple of the mom's too. I'm looking forward to finding something a little better fitting and I'm so excited to see them take off really love school!

On the last day they had a little ceremony. Here's a few shots of them. Remember that first day of school, how little they were?

Now they are big girls. Ready for whatever comes next.

 

Japanese Week 2013

We always enjoy Japanese Week in Spok.ane. You might not know this, but Japanese was my minor in college. One of my best friends is Japanese and lives in Japan. So, singing in Japanese, etc is really fun for me and the kids love it too. Back on track...

Japanese week is in April in Spokane. A favorite event is the family day of events at Mukagawa. The kids love it and I love it!

Happy Birthday Katie and Molly (The Girls Turn 4!)

Holy crap! Can you believe it? Could they really be 4? These beautiful tiny babies?

Now they're 4?!?!?!

The girls had a couple different parties for groups of friends. They had a birthday party scheduled for the park, but the rain made us move it to Chuck E Cheese (big bummer for them...not). Their chosen theme being "My Little Pony."

 

They had a family party at home. The chosen theme being "Hello Kitty."

 

Then they had the party they had waited for. On a trip to Claire's Jewelry in the mall to get spray for their dance recital, the cashier had mentioned they do birthday parties. Mind you, this was about 3 weeks before their birthday....well, the girls absolutely fell in love with the idea. They were allowed to invite one person each and then they invited their mutual friend and neighbor Camden. They were so excited to get their makeup done, get their nails painted, tattoos put on, and pick out prizes. So much fun!

 

 

Molly claimed she could not turn 4 until Camden placed a crown on her head. This was imperative. The Claire's party actually happened a week after her actual birthday, but she wouldn't say she was 4 until she had been crowned. And the moment it happened, the joy was clear. Thanks Camden for being their prince!