Week 20

Random shots from the week

Grandpa wanted to document the water level on the river so the kids and I went up there with him. I spent the whole time worried they would fall in but their only concern was where to find the next rock to throw in the water.

We've got a lot of tulips and daffodils coming in this year and I've been so excited to see them. It's a good thing they don't seem to mind the snow.

Peanut butter from the jar while watching cartoons. Oh those kids!

The Pet Parade at Elk Meadows Rest Home (where Grandma Alene is now the recreation director). The kids spent weeks "training" Grandma's dogs for the event and even took the time to make them costumes (with Gma's help of course). It was a bigger event than I had expected and kids and residents alike seemed to enjoy themselves.

Ty, Dakota, and Gram (who goes to Day Care there twice a week) They all got suckers at the end.Kaitlyn and Tuffy, and her good buddy Taitley with her dog.

And a trip to the dentist. Yes, Kaitlyn picked a Whoopie Cushion as her prize for no cavities. She thinks it's hilarious. She tried to get me with it - had put her pillow on the couch with her blanket spread over it all hiding the whoopie cushion and told me "I just want you to be comfortable, Mom." She and Ty also think it's fun to pop up from behind the couch and sqeeze it at me. Too funny.
Ty was great too. No cavities and he let them clean his teeth, no problem. They're very impressed with my sweet kids. Ty got one of those giant balloons you can "bop." I didn't have any cavities either - but I didn't get a cool prize.

Week 19

Quick rundown of the week
-Saturday was up early to drop Sam off at the base for another voluntary deployment. I mean EARLY. Out the door by 5:45AM early. Then errands and lunch with The Girls. The kids had spent the night with grandma and grandpa.
-Final 2 days of Kindergarten countdown. Monday they got to pack a lunch and eat in the cafeteria. Tuesday they did a little program for the parents and were finished.
-Hello Summer Vacation. We're not quite ready for you and you obviously aren't ready for us. It's definitely not shorts-wearing weather out there this week. So we entertain ourselves inside plenty. I've done a lot of cleaning and reorganizing too.

Ty pretending to be a puppy

Kate imitating me, trying to get a photo of Ty the Puppy

Week 18

Time for Dance Photos! I decided to try playing photographer again this year. In the middle of the chaos of trying to get 16 two-three-and-four year olds in one place at one time I was regretting my decision. But we got it done and the photos aren't half bad.

Later in the afteroon on Friday the kids went back to the rest home to help hand out flowers after their Mother's Day program. Gram was playing her accordian when we got there, so we got to enjoy that for a few minutes before the kids were put to work. All those "grandpas and grandma's" just love the kiddos, who got all dressed up for the occasion.

Mother's Day took up pretty much the entire weekend. We spent Saturday morning with Sam's family. Then Wyatt made good on his promise of giving me a date night when I did his taxes so we dropped off the kids with him (at Mom's house haha) and Sam and I went to the movie and dinner. We also decided to stop by the Outlets while we were out and picked up some Sketchers Shape Ups for me for Mother's Day. We took the kids home, and the three of them (the kids and Sam) locked themselves in Ty's room for a little pre-mother's day planning before bedtime.

Everyone was up bright and early on Sunday. I got to lounge in bed pretending to be asleep while listening to the gang prepare breakfast (pink waffles) that they brought in to bed for me. Kaitlyn had the cutest little card and magnet that she had made at school. Then I got to lounge around some more while Sam started in on lunch prep. My mom and dad came over for ham, twice baked potatoes, and homemade rolls (that the kids helped roll out). After lunch we took the kids to the park. Then I spent the rest of the day lounging - seriously, didn't have to lift a finger to clean up dinner or break up fights or anything I didn't want to do. Ahhhh. Why can't Mother's Day be more than once a year? :)

The final highlight for the week was Kaitlyn's field trip. She was dead set on me going along to help chaperone so of course I complied. We went down to the This is the Place State Park (it's pioneer stuff.) The kids enjoyed it, though it was a bit more educational than they would have liked. But the kids were all surprisingly well-behaved (all things considered) and even the crazy, crowded, loud bus ride won't deter me from volunteering for another one...maybe. :)

This is Kaitlyn and her friends Sydney and Violet.

Week 17

Where did spring go again? We've had storms and cold temps for most of the week. That translates to a good part of the week spent indoors wishing we were outside. And not much else. We spent some more time going through boxes, reorganizing and getting rid of things we no longer need. We had a meeting with the recruiter. Kept the house clean and the kids mostly happy. Once the storms stopped we spent a couple of days watching the crew assembling the new neighborhood playground, which is going in right next to our house.

Kaitlyn had her final soccer game on Thursday. She has improved so much since the first week. And she loves playing. So it's a little bittersweet that it's over. But we're ready to move on for a while - it was pretty time consuming. Now it's full steam ahead into the end of the school year and on to summer.