Friday, May 27, 2011

2011 Week 21


I love that the kids have lots of friends in the neighborhood, most of which feel free to stop by any time they want (the stopping by all the time part is a blessing and a curse). They spend lots of time riding bikes and scooters, playing basketball or baseball, or drawing with sidewalk chalk. But sometimes even though I insist the gang stays outside they find a way around me and end up doing something like this. (sitting on the sidewalk all playing their own DS/handheld video games) I had to laugh a little at their ingenuity. Then I had to grab the camera and snap a pic through the window so I didn't disturb them.

Most noteworthy event this week - our 12th Anniversary!

(the photo is bleck - I wanted a cute one but the timing was wrong as we were in a rush to get out the door and Ty wasn't doing what he was told and Kaitlyn, our photographer kept snapping the photo before we were ready. Maybe next time)

And it was a good one, though I have to say that it was painfully obvious that neither Sam or I cared to put much into it this year. We told each other no gifts (who needs them when we've got all this new stuff for the house and Sam with his motorcycle and...) and didn't get around to buying cards either. We didn't even get a babysitter and go out on a date (partially because we're still not quite familiar enough with anyone to impose our kids on them on a Sunday). But Kaitlyn, our sweet Kaitlyn who loves to celebrate things, woke up that morning and quietly made this picture for us before we even knew she was awake and brought it in to us (as we were still in bed) with a happy smile and a big hug. Great way to start the morning. Sam ran to the store for donuts for breakfast.

Kaitlyn really wanted to go to a park this weekend so we took the kids down to the base and found one we hadn't tried yet. It had this really pretty little lake and multiple little playgrounds, plus the big playground with some really unique things like a music section with all sizes of drums and xylophone-type stuff. The kids thought it was great that the geese left the lake and almost walked right up to us.

But the day was hot hot hot so we were happy to hop back in the car after a shorter than usual time at the park and go to an early lunch at Olive Garden. We had warned/threatened/cajoled the kids beforehand that no matter where we ate for lunch they had to not complain and if they didn't want anything it served then we would feed them something else later. We also told them that they were sitting together so Sam and I could sit next to each other for a change. And surprise, surprise - it worked! Not only were the kids well behaved, but they split an order of spaghetti (with the sauce on the side for Kate) and gobbled it up. Kaitlyn said we could now add it to her list of places she likes to eat because she hadn't realized the bread sticks there were so good :) So we were pretty happy about that whole experience.

We did some quick shopping then finished up our outing with ice cream from Cold Stone.

Ok so if our house wasn't the "fun" house of the neighborhood before (though I kinda think it might be as we get plenty of visitors), it is now. The kids were outside yesterday and caught a frog under our deck. They excitedly showed it to me, then after I convinced them that the poor thing needed to just sit down somewhere and not have them holding and bouncing it around, they set to work to build a "frog obstacle course" in the sandbox. Kaitlyn drew up plans and everything. They had a blast and really worked well together. I even overheard one of them say she was going to have her mom build her a sandbox at her house because it was so much fun. It entertained them for pretty much the entire evening.
When it was time to clean up and send everyone home, they did dump the frog into the trenches they had dug to see what he would do. And I was happy to see he obliged the kids and actually did hop down most of the track and back again without hopping out of the sandbox. I thought I had them convinced that we were letting him go after that but before I knew it the neighbor boy took off with him so I shook my head and figured it was his mom's problem now :)

Kaitlyn is supposed to make sure she gets her bug box back though - that thing comes in handy more often than you'd think. Like if she actually convinces to find a hermit crab at the beach, as she's been convinced she will do next time we go. She's talked about it nearly every day this week. They've been studying the ocean, fish, etc at school and she loves everything about it. She even sent me to the library with a list so I would be sure to find her enough books about crabs and the ocean so she could learn more.

Funny, it seems there's a lot about Kate this time around. In reality Tyler is more visible and spends much more time with me (how could he not with Kate in school and Sam at work?). Maybe the photos will show it next week.


Have I mentioned that's it's been HOT? That deserves to be noted, as having a full week of temps in the mid 90s (97 at 4 PM on Wed - eek!) as early as this in the year is really something we're not used to. I think they had a snowstorm in Utah last week. So it seems pretty strange to us, though not unusual for the area. I'm wondering how we're going to manage it when it gets REALLY nasty with the heat and humidity in July and August. Run screaming back to Utah maybe...? (actually we will, though not screaming as we go. We bought our airplane tickets this week for a nice long visit home this summer. They also broke ground for the neighborhood pool this week - wooohooo!)

Friday, May 20, 2011

2011 Week 20

Events this week:
-Friday was Field Day for Kaitlyn. One of our nice neighbors watched Tyler for me in the morning so I could help out with the events. Kaitlyn's class didn't manage to get to my stations while I was there, but I did get to wave at her (so she at least knew I was there. I tell ya - this school makes volunteering not much fun). After the neighbor dropped Tyler off (she was volunteering in the afternoon) he and I ate lunch with Kate in her classroom.
-We finally managed to schedule our "house warming" party with the guys from Sam's office. You know I was cleaning my behind off all week in order to get ready for it (because you also know that Sam was sure to show off the closets to everyone). But I'm happy to have now met most of the people he works with and a couple of their wives. Seems like a good bunch.

-Kindergarten/1st Grade Concert took place on Tuesday. Kaitlyn was very excited and did a fantastic job. She even got put in as a "prop" at the last minute because one of the other kids didn't show up and she did the job perfectly.



Tyler went to the concert with his first ever fat lip. The little guy was tryig to help me out by bringing the big garbage can in from the road while I unloaded groceries. The next thing I know, he's under the garbage can crying. Poor kid. It looked much worse in person :( but after a couple days of him babying it by drinking through a straw and eating pretty much only cut up bananas and yogurt it seems to be well on the mend.




-Oh yeah and I FINISHED THE FENCE! As of yesterday I no longer have to look forward to putting in my 2 hours staining every day. Woohoo!

Friday, May 13, 2011

2011 Week 19


This week was our final Saturday of soccer - woohoo! I think we were all getting sick of it. Kaitlyn really wasn't into it all and though she tried her hardest during their final "tournament" you could tell her heart wasn't in it. I think their team got 3rd (out of 4) but I don't think she paid attention to the scores at all. The kids Tyler's age didn't even show up but again that was ok. We were happy to leave early and go out to lunch.

But before we put away the soccer ball we made sure to take a photo with Flat Stanley. He spent Mother's Day with us, then we put him in an envelope and sent him back to Utah.




Ahhh Mother's Day. It was a very good one this year. Kaitlyn was all about the planning and made sure they were well prepared. She brought home some cute projects from school and a plant so I got to "open" all of them early.

Kaitlyn made sure to tell her Dad to turn off his alarm and asked if he needed to set hers so they could wake up before me on Mother's Day and fix breakfast. She's such a sweetie. It wasn't breakfast in bed this year, but they did all make waffles, hash brown's, bacon, and orange juice. After I opened my bigger gift (Photoshop software) we spent most of the rest of the day just relaxing and spending time together. Took it really slow in the morning, then went for a nice little hike at Raven Rock in the afternoon.
We were going to dinner out, but even getting their early didn't help us avoid the crowds so we changed the plan and stopped at the grocery store for supplies and ended up with pasta, garlic bread, and cheesecake. All in all I felt well-loved and appreciated by those cute kiddos (and husband) of mine.

Kaitlyn had the small camera with her to take a few photos of Flat Stanley and whatever else she wanted. I like this shot she got of Tyler in the car.After the relaxing weekend it was back to the hard work on the yard and house. We scheduled a house-warming party with Sam's co-workers (mostly so I could meet them and their wives) and I was scrambling to get the house super clean and the yard presentable. Sam took the time one day to finally track down some sand for the sandbox. As you can see, Tyler was in heaven.





(this is my view from inside the screen porch)

Friday, May 6, 2011

2011 Week 18

I'll just do quick photo comments this time around... Final sandcastle at the beach Friday morning before heading back home.

Teacher appreciation week this week. The school asked us to send a card one day (kaitlyn wrote cute little notes that told her teachers they are "the best ever in the school"), chocolate another day, and a flower a third day. I also put together these fun personalized supply boxes for her to take on one the days that didn't have an assignment.


Also working on getting Mother's Day stuff out in the mail. I put Tyler to work coloring pictures and for the first time ever he is actually into it. Usually he will spend all of 5 seconds scribbling then tell me I should do it for him. But surprisingly he has been spending hours on end in front of the TV with his Tonka coloring book and crayons. It makes me happy to see him finally liking it.


A friend from Kaitlyn's class back in UT sent her a "Flat Stanley" so we have been trying to take plenty of photos to document his vacation here with us before sending him back to them. Kaitlyn took Stanley and a camera to her class one day.

Kaitlyn got early out on Tues so the kids could go to the county fair, so a neighbor and I did just that. We spent most of the time in the carnival rides area where the kids had a lot of fun. I would have liked to see the rest of it first and not really do the rides, but when we did get around to exploring the rest of it, it was sadly disappointing.


There were a couple of tents with displays and people selling things. A very small area for the kids where Ty loved riding this little tractor and Kaitlyn got to hold a baby chick.

There was a tent with a very small show ring and like one of each of some VERY common animals. A baby calf, a bunny, a chicken, some goats...
Kaitlyn took the camera and had fun taking photos of the animals though. I love this one she got of the miniature horse.


And she insisted on keeping the camera and taking a picture of herself on the tractor ride back to the parking lot.





And the Never-Ending-Fence-Staining Project. I've been working on this one all week (a couple hours per day) and still not even half done.