Another Fun Day

Today we decided to go to lunch with Lance. We actually brought our lunch and ate in the quad at a table on the fake grass. It was a nice lunch and the kids always have a blast while we are there.

While we were eating about six men from Lance’s office walked up right as I took the last bite of my sandwich. That was awkward! Ha! I am meeting all of these men with my mouth full of sub sandwich. And then I was afraid to talk once I was done with fear of lettuce stuck in my teeth. They were all friendly but didn’t stick around long. One of the men was so complementary of Lance and mentioned that Lance is the best at what he does. That was such a nice thing to say.

Please notice Hayes’ sweet little face in the picture below…

After lunch we headed out for some shopping. Hayes was playing around in one of the stores and smacked right in to the corner of a wall with his right cheek. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and he walked away with a nice little bruise on his cheek. After that we headed home for Hayes to take a nap. After naps we had some friends over to our pool for “pizza and a pool night”. The kids played for about an hour in the pool (all except Hayes…he seems to be the smart one…the water is freezing!). Finally the daddies showed up with dinner and we all sat down to eat. While I was getting the big kids food, Hayes took a tumble and caught himself with his forehead. Now he has a huge “boo-boo” on his sweet little face. He is in good spirits though and doesn’t seem bothered by it at all. If you ask him where his boo-boo is, he will point to the top of his head so hopefully that means it doesn’t hurt too bad.

I guess it is a good thing we don’t have family pictures scheduled any time soon!

Reese’s Last Day of School

Reese had her last day of school today. She was super excited and jumped right out of bed. We took some pictures before she got on the bus. And boy does she look so grown up!

Some good ole silly posing.

Sam wanted in on the action too but Hayes was still sleeping.

This year’s last day of school went much smoother than last year so we got to have the fun we wanted to have last year. I talked to the mom’s at our bus stop and we planned to have water guns and water balloons for when the kids got off the bus. Reese knew what was coming and was so excited! As soon as they were all off the bus, we soaked them and they loved it. We left the water balloons in the cul-de-sac for them to have fun with and they had a blast.

I think the mom’s had just as much fun because I didn’t get many pictures. The kids were soaked by the time all the balloons were gone and the guns were empty. The mom’s that had middle schoolers asked if they could borrow our sign and guns and decided to refill and wait on their kids to get home. They waited behind some bushes and ambushed them. I was sitting on the front porch and just heard squealing and then see the middle school mom’s chasing down their kids. It was too funny!

Lance got home a little bit early around 5:00 so we decided to go to Moe’s for dinner. While at Moe’s we ran in to one of our neighbors from the bus stop and two kids from Sam’s school class. It was a busy night. We also treated the kids to a Blizzard to celebrate summer and then ran to the mall for a quick second. It is going to be so nice to not have to stick to bedtimes for a little while.

And here is a comparison of the first day and last day. Bows…she won’t wear them much any more. And the first day of school and picture day are usually the only days I can get her to wear her hair down.

I can’t believe I have a second grader on my hands now!

Daddy’s Helpers

One morning Lance was working on the table and Hayes wanted to be out there with him. He was sparring the table and didn’t want Hayes touching it. Luckily it was breakfast time so I just set Hayes up with his breakfast outside so he could watch Lance work. Sam wanted in on the action too.

Sam’s Last Day of School

Sam had his last day of three year old preschool today. I can’t believe his school year is already over.

This year has flown by and he has grown so much.

His school had planned a family picnic today with bounces houses and lots of outdoor fun. However, the rain changed all of that. They decided to have an indoor play day. Each classroom had a fun activity set up and the classes rotated from one room to another.

The kids seemed to really enjoy themselves even though the rain ruined what they were most excited about.

I think Sam’s class liked the parachute the best. They were crazy in this room. They shook the parachute like crazy, bouncing balls all around it. At one point all of them huddled under the parachute and were giggling and giggling.

Sam and his best buddy from class, Caleb

Sam and the cutie he said he is going to marry, GiGi. However, “she is NOT my girlfriend…I am just going to marry her”.

Sam had a great year this school year. It was a little overwhelming for me because this school is so much bigger than our old preschool but we survived. It is officially summertime for this sweet little boy!

Hayes ~ 18 months

Hayes was 18 months on the 1st. Wow! He is getting so big. He doesn’t have many words but he makes a lot of noise! He knows what he wants for sure.

He spends a lot of time in his stroller because we are always on the go with the big kids.

He is usually pretty good about it until he finally realizes that Sam is running around. And then he wants out!

He still loves to hang out with the men around…

His most favorite place to be is outside! He loves to run around, throwing any kind of ball he can get his hand on. I have no doubt he will be some type of athlete. He discovered the fun in the sprinkler over the weekend. Lance turned them on to water the grass, Hayes was fully clothed running through the water.

He likes to have his picture taken if it is his idea. He will see the camera in my hand and say “Cheeeee”. If it is not his idea we get a very serious, non-smiling picture.

He is not friendly to most people around. If you try to say hello to him, he will pretend like you are not there or shake his head no. However, again, if it is his idea he will wave to everyone and act like the friendliest kid around. One day he was doing this in the grocery store and everyone was ignoring him. Finally an older lady walked by and said hey back to him and he wasn’t sure what to do. He is also a bit of a bully to his friends. He has started pushing them with a huge grin on his face. I think he is just playing but he experienced his first time out over the weekend for being mean to his friend. He did not like that!

He is not a big fan of having to take a nap but he sleeps great!

He is dramatic! He screams if he is not getting his way…like having to take a nap.

He is rocking the curly hair! It is pretty amazing!

He loves the water! He loves baths! He will fight Sam to be able to sit closest to the running faucet. If he sees Sam getting undressed faster than he is he tried to jump in the tub with his clothes on. One day Reese turned the shower on to warm up and didn’t close the door. Hayes got in and was soaking wet by the time I saw him. He was so happy! I think he is going to love the pool this summer!

We just turned him around to face forward in the car a couple of weeks ago. He thinks he is such a big boy now.

He is healthy! We had his well visit this week. He weighs 26 lbs, 7 oz (79%). He is 32.75” tall (61%) and his head is 18.75” round (57%). He is still bigger than Sam was at the same age by about a pound and 3/4” but his head is the same size.

Happy 18 months, Hayesey Baby! We love you!

She Scores!

Soccer season is over. Our Saturdays are free again for a while. Most of Reese’s soccer season consisted of a lot of character building. Her team lost pretty much every game they played. This was most of their first/second season playing U8 with five kids on the field, including a goalie. In the seasons before they have only played 3 v 3. To wrap up the season, the Y put on a tournament. They brought a bunch of YMCA leagues in our area together and tried to match them up against teams that were on a similar level. The girls had so much fun actually getting to play instead of getting beat!

They played so well together. They passed well, talked well, and just overall looked great! They tied their first game, won the second, and lost the third (to a team they played in regular season). And Reese scored!! She actually scored twice that counted. One other time she scored but they called it back because they said there had been a hand ball right before she scored. The other time it hit the inside of the post…which I am pretty sure counts but since the refs were high school girls you can’t really get mad at them.

She also experienced her first injury. There was a girl in the second game that was a beast. She could kick the heck out of the ball and will probably make a great defender one day. Some how one of her balls ended up on Reese’s nose. There was some crying but no blood. I think she was more scared. Her coach called me over to comfort her and I gave her a cold water bottle to hold on her nose. See below…

After their final game, they had cupcakes and received their trophies. The girls were most excited about that all day!

The thing I am most excited about is that Reese has said she wants to play again in the fall. She has done so well and I think she could be really good at soccer if she keeps it up!

First Grade Show

The week we went back to school from spring break all of the first graders put on a show at Reese’s school. The music teacher used animal book to make a musical. It was pretty cute. I, of course, forgot my good camera. Fortunately I had my small camera in my purse.

These are some of Reese’s best buddies in class.
Ava, Reese, and Sydney (with her little sister)

With my little camera, I couldn’t really get a great picture of Reese on the stage.

It was a cute show and Reese had a blast! She really loves to perform.

Surprise Party

This past weekend was a busy one. We were on the soccer fields both days due to make-up games. In between the fun of soccer, my cousin threw my uncle a surprise 60th birthday party. He thought he was going to a wedding shower for Becca so when he walked up to all of his friends and family saying “SURPRISE!”, he was truly surprised. At one point he looked at my aunt and said, “This is unreal!”. It was sweet!

I, as usual, forgot my camera. I was so sad not to have it but I used Papa’s camera instead. His is way nicer than mine anyways. He was manning the video camera so I used his still camera. Here are two pictures from that day.

Papa and my monkeys

Reese had a soccer game at the same time as the party was starting so Reese, Lance, and Hayes all missed the surprise. They were able to make it about an hour after Uncle Hawk arrived. Reese was excited to see everyone and not miss out on too much.

The picture below is of the men. My uncle’s go-to outfit is khaki pants and a white button-up shirt. So, all of the men dressed the same way. Too funny!

What a sweet, special day!

Outdoor Dining

For the last couple of months we have been looking at patio furniture. We really wanted to be able to sit outside and enjoy dinner on the back patio. At our old house we didn’t really have a great place to have an outdoor table so I have never really looked in to it before. I was shocked at how much some of the sets cost. We were both a little hesitant to pull the trigger on that for now.

A few weeks ago we were at the house of some friends from church. The husband is pretty handy and had built them their own outdoor table. We were so impressed with it. For years, Lance has said he wanted to learn how to woodwork. So, he and another guy (who is super handy too) from our life group got together, shopped for some reclaimed wood, and went to work.

The legs before sanding…

The legs after sanding…

I asked Lance to take pictures throughout the process and I am so glad he did. It it cool to see how it all came together.

It took them a full working day to make the table which now makes me understand why tables like this cost so much money. I am sure once you know what you are doing the process moves quicker though.

Lance was so grateful for help on his first attempt at woodworking…and of course the use of tools.

I can’t remember the exact cost of the wood but I would venture to say that once all costs have been spent we will only have paid a quarter of the cost of a purchased table.

I am so happy with the way it turned out. We still have a bit of work to do on it…sanding, staining, finishing…and of course, buying some chairs. We think we will be able to fit eight people around this table…possibly ten on a tight squeeze. I can’t wait to use it!!

I will update once everything is complete.

Robot

Last week Reese’s homework from her Target class was to work with a partner to come up with an invention. They came up with the idea in class and then came home to collect items around the house to take back to school. She only has Target on Fridays so she had the whole week to be excited about making this invention. Reese and her partner, Ava, came up with a book eating robot. They both said they love to read and always have books laying around their rooms. The robot was invented to clean up and keep up with their books. Last Friday, Reese walked off the bus carrying this huge robot. I thought it was so cute and creative.

It has plastic cups for legs, Kisses for eyes, spoons for arms, and Glow in the Dark necklaces for antennae.

Reese was supposed to take this back to school (on the bus) so Ava could have a turn to take it home (on the bus) so I asked Ava’s mom if she would rather us drive it over. She said, “Just send me a picture!” 

We were both so proud of our girls and their creativity. I think Reese really enjoys the fun things she gets to do in Target. But just as her teacher said, she does not like the fact that some things are so challenging she just doesn’t know how to do them...shoot, some of the things she does in there are challenging for me. Things have always come pretty easy for her and now she is being challenged in a way she never has before. I am proud of how hard she is working in there though!

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter weekend. Friday afternoon it was rainy so I let the kids dye eggs. I need to remember to do this earlier with them so we can use them as decorations.

Saturday started off rainy. It was going to be a busy day of soccer, tennis, birthday parties and church…but the rain slowed it down. Soccer games were cancelled so the kids and I took it easy in the morning while Lance ran a quick errand. My Sunday tennis match was rescheduled for Saturday so we weren’t playing on Easter Sunday. It was rainy the whole time we played but we got our matches in! It was another fun match and another win. Three in a row! On my way to my match, I dropped Reese off at Hallie’s house. They had been invited to a friend’s birthday party from our old neighborhood. They were both excited to go and see some old friends. After tennis, we met Reese at our church for a family fun night. They had an Easter service and then fun family activities afterwards. The kids had a blast even though it was drizzling the whole time we were there. We had dinner, played in jumpies, rode a train, got faces painted, and so much more fun with our friends. For some reason I can not get pictures from my phone of that day so hopefully I can get those on here soon.

Sunday morning Sam woke up first. He was good to wait for Reese to wake up so they could go downstairs. They were both super excited to see what was left in their baskets.

Hayes slept through the fun so he didn’t get to check out his basket until we were all ready for church. He was ok with that though.

He was most excited about the basketball left in his basket.

Once Hayes was done with his basket we tried to get some pictures of the kids. We got a few cute ones but Hayes was not interested in picture taking when he was outside.

We thought maybe some kisses would do the trick but no such luck.

After church, we came home for lunch and naps. After naps, we went to Lance’s parents house. There the kids had so much fun jumping on the trampoline and tackling their cousins. We ate a yummy dinner and then had an Easter egg hunt. The kids had a lot of fun doing that and got lots of great surprises in their eggs. We forgot our camera so Lance got some pictures on his phone.

We had a great day celebrating the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus!!