In The Garden

Before lunch, we went and picked blackberries at Lewis Farms.  My mom and Chase were the first to "tap out".  It was toooo hot for them.  So my mom, Chase, Claire and Henri went to sit down and drink water while Audrey and I worked on filling up a second bucket of blackberries.  We usually get ice cream when we're done picking, so the kids were quite disappointed when I said, "No way, no ice cream.  We've had ice cream every night since Friday!"  

We have a few different gardens at our house-- an herb garden, vegetable garden and a flower (aka butterfly) garden.  Here are some pics that I took....

A white onion flower.

Tomatoes almost ready to pick.

Dragonfly in the flower garden.

Sunflower growing in the flower garden outside Chase's bedroom window.

Black Eyed Susan

Movie Day

Yesterday morning, Chase, Aaron, Ryan and I went to see Transformers.  Claire and Henri stayed with my mom and Audrey... that was a first for Henri!  He's never been without Aaron or me, but he did really well.  So the movie... Chase was so pumped.  He got a little nervous during some parts, but his eyes were glued to the screen.  Overall the movie was pretty good... not as good as the first... but still entertaining. 

After the movie, we met up with the non-movie goers at Wendy's for lunch.  When we were through-- and everyone had eaten their Frosties-- my mom headed back to the house with Ryan and the rest of us headed over to the grocery store.  As I was walking out, I heard an old lady say, "You could be John Edwards twin."  And low and behold, there was John Edwards-- he has a place on Figure 8 Island.  One never knows who you'll end up standing next to in Wilmington.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool.  It was another great day!

Jumping In

We ran out of dog food this morning, so we had to make a trip into Petsmart.  We have a path that we take when we go in:  First, we make a b-line to the birds.  Chase was quick to notice that the bird he wanted was gone.  Had to reassure him that it went to a good and loving home.  Once we pry the kids away from the birds, we get what we came for-- dog food.  Then we head over to see the homeless cats.  Claire really wants a kitty of her own.  We held a couple, but I told her that we had to wait for Dad because getting a new pet was a big decision.  While not feasible or realistic...if it was left up to the kids and me, we'd have rescued them all!

After we got home, we finished cleaning up the house-- it was a mess from the day before!  Then, Claire and I played some games (Scavenger Hunt & I Spy) that she got for her birthday.  We were all getting a little sleepy, so we decided that we were going to watch a movie... until... Claire said, "I thought we were going to go swimming?"  So much better than sitting inside... so in the pool they went.  I, as usual, went to the garden to pick sugar snap peas, green beans, and tomatoes.  And, of course, pulled weeds.  I pulled and pulled for about an hour and a half...dirty, beads of sweat dripping down my nose... and then a mosquito bit me.  That was it for me.  I put down my sunglasses and kicked off my Rainbows and said, "Hey Chase!" as I ran and did a cannonball into the pool.  The kids were beyond confused that I jumped in the pool with my clothes on!  Henri and Claire just couldn't get over it.  Then Claire, Chase, Audrey and I all ran down to the deep end and did another cannonball together!  So much fun!  Unfortunately, it started to thunder... so we got out of the pool.  

After dinner, we all ate some of Claire's ice cream cake-- except Claire ate a chocolate chip cookie before finishing my cake.  Henri attempted to eat the ice cream cake with his fingers... he was a mess!  Once the kids got cleaned up, we watched "The Cat in the Hat" movie.  Chase seemed to like it, but everyone else... not so much.  If you haven't seen it... don't bother. 

At bedtime, Claire really wanted to sleep with someone.  I told her that she had to sleep in a bed, because-- quite frankly-- she's a mess the next day if she doesn't.  She began tearing up about how she never gets to sleep with anybody (note: she slept in either Chase's or Henri's room for nearly a week while Lindsay and Adam were here).  Seeing how cute she was and the longing in her eyes...I said, "How about you come sleep in my room later."  To which Claire whined, "But I'll forget... I always forget to come in."  "Ok, why don't you take your pillow and go now."  With that, she asked if she could take her babies and went off to sleep on her Dad's side.

The Umbrella Friends

5 ans

Today was Claire's 5th Birthday! 

A different scene from 5 years ago when she was born.  

Claire was born 3 1/2 weeks early.  We were planning a homebirth for mid-July, so naturally Aaron rescheduled his summer guy's trip to Vegas for the weekend of June 25.  Aaron in Vegas, Ryan in Costa Rica and my Mom in St. Louis.  After a horrible nights sleep and a day of laboring with my 2 year old son (Chase) by my side, Claire was born (at home in my garden bathtub with the help of midwives) at 9:59 PM.  

But everyone was here today!  Meme, Aunt Aud, Uncle Ryan, Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Adam, us and some good friends.  Now... Aaron did have to leave at 2:30 to go to Vegas... OH the irony.  We had a pool party, where 4 of Claire's friends came over and 2 having brothers... Chase had a friend and Henri made a new friend.  They're all such great kids... lots and lots of fun!!  I LOVE seeing them all jump into the pool together or teaming up on Uncle Ryan.  

Claire, Anna Leigh (half), Emma, and Clara 

Before dinner, I fed the dogs in our garage (with the door open).  It began to thunderstorm and our oldest golden (Buddy, 14) wandered off.  Now he may be deaf, but whenever we get a hard rain with thunder and lightning... he panics.  He did it nearly a year ago... wandered off and we found him (thanks to a nice man) nearly 2-3 miles away.  I had about given up tonight... and we decided to go ahead and go to dinner.  When we got to the front of our neighborhood... there was Buddy walking on the road... drenched... almost smiling.  Thank goodness.

Chase, Claire, Henri and Aunt Audrey eating a Brickle Brownie at K38

Lindsay, Adam and Raegan left for St. Louis this evening... a little sad...we're going to miss them.

Last Dance

So... Claire's last day of dance on Wednesday didn't start off so good.  Everyone was there to watch and while she wasn't ready to "perform"... she sure did put on a show.  She was bossy and did her mad/pouty face for the first half of the class.  But once Aunt Audrey came in and I joined in the dancing... she perked up and started having fun!  She was really LOVING doing the acro part of class-- back bends, handstands and crab walks.

Miss Christy showing Claire that she knows how to make a mad face, too.

Claire finally came out of her grumpy mood and had lots of FUN!!

Commercial Whaling

Ok, so I know that this blog is supposed to be about our family... so you're probably wondering WHY? I've posted this.  After thinking about it... what better way to get to know our family... then to know what matters to us.

To learn more, visit: The Whaleman Foundation

To read the petition, visit: 

http://www.socialvibe.com/charities/35

New Pictures

Over the past few days, I have taken lots of pictures!  I've added 2 new albums to:

http://daniellerpictures.shutterfly.com/

From the kids with Raegan to Chase riding Misty!

Birthday Day

Chase had a crowd at horse riding lessons today.  He was in good form... showing off what he's learned to Meme, Aunt Audrey, Aunt Lindsay, and Uncle Adam.  After his lessons, we all went to Learning Express for some birthday shopping and then to lunch at Flaming Amy's.  
Later in the afternoon, my Mom, Lindsay and I made an Apple Crostada for my birthday... it was so yummy!  Chase, Claire, Henri and Audrey went swimming right up until dinner was on the table.  

Father's Day Beach Litter

Whenever we go to the beach, we pick up litter.  With Audrey here, we had some extra hands and eyes... because cigarette butts sure look a lot like dried up reeds.

Father's Day

For Father's Day, we took the boat to Figure 8 Island.  The kids all had so much fun, and Raegan enjoyed her first trip to the beach!

Play Catch Up

It's been a few days... I know!  So lets rewind to catch up!

Tuesday my Mom and Audrey got here right before dinner.  The kids and I went into the airport to wait for them and Henri was not thrilled about that!  He thought that "we" were going to go on an airplane... and there was no way he was going to get on an airplane.  Not only did he have a 'death grip', he also told me over and over, "I no want to go on airplane."

Wednesday, I did a 30-minute presentation for a Tri-County teacher workshop at Airlie Gardens about Sustainable Schools Initiative.  My Mom, Aud, and the kids played outside.  When I got out my Mom said, "We were bad" as she held up an empty bottle of Cherry Coke.  After Airlie, we took the kids to Hugh McRae Park... also known as the "Big Park".  As soon as we got there, the ice cream man pulled in.  SO, since I didn't let the kids get anything last time, I-- of course-- let them all pick out something.  Typical Chase, he picked out the biggest thing that he could-- a cup of cookies and cream ice cream.  The kids played for about an hour, then we went to Claire's dance.  Since Claire wasn't having a recital this year, her teacher invited us to come watch.  Claire was still tired from the day before (she woke up at 5:30... no nap... and went to bed around 9:30).  Needless to say, she was putting on the grumpy face.  Finally, at the end of class, she put on her smile and Dad, Aud and Meme got to see how much Claire LOVES dance.  At the end of her class, Miss Christy had snacks-- cupcakes, cheetoes, chips and juice boxes.  Now last Wednesday, Chase really wanted to go to Bojangles (you remember the cryfest, I'm sure :) ).  So this week, we followed through with an early dinner at Bojangles.  And he ate SO much Bojangles on top of all the other stuff that he had eaten from 2:20 to 4:30 , that his poor belly was pushed out and he had a tummy ache.  Back at dance, the kids played while I danced.  Aaron picked up the boys and my Mom, Claire and Aud stayed for hip hop.  

Thursday, we (minus Aaron) went to see "The Tale of Despereaux" at the Mayfaire free summer movies.  We stopped at the gas station to pick up candy, but bought our drinks at the theater.

Candy (KitKat, 3 Skittles & 2 M&M's): $ 4.25

3 Small Sodas: $14.50

I think that we'll be sneaking in some drinks next time!

After lunch, Claire's friend Emma (and her Mom and brother) came over to swim.  The kids had so much fun-- it was such a gorgeous day!  At 5, we all left.  We met Aaron and Ryan at Cracker Barrel for dinner.  I had my mom grab a shirt for Chase that reads "Will trade sister for tractor."  He thinks it's hilarious!  After dinner, we went to a Wilmington Sharks baseball game.  We had lots of fun and Henri, especially, loved it.  It was the first baseball game the kids had ever been to... and they had a blast.  We stayed until 9 PM.  On the way home, Henri was so talkative:  "Oh no, don't go that way", "Oh, that is not good." and pointing out all the lights.

We spent Friday afternoon at the beach.  We (including Ryan) took the boat to Dockside for lunch and then parked the boat at Figure 8 for about 3 hours.  The best thing about going to the beach on Friday is that it's almost completely ours.  Only 2 other boats were there and they were so far away from us that you couldn't even barely hear them talking.  Aaron and I went on a litter walk.  I picked up litter-- he drank beer and pointed out litter.  We found: suntan lotion bottles, beer bottle caps, glass bottle, plastic bottle caps, aluminum can and foil, about 20-30 cigarette butts, plastic bags/pieces, rope, sand bag material, and a Styrofoam cup.  It's sad that people just toss their junk onto streets, in the water, or at the beach.  Start looking around and you'll be amazed at what you find.  Next time, I'll take a picture.  Until then, check out this: 

"A Tale of Entanglement" 

Today, we went to the Blueberry festival in Burgaw.  It was squelching hot!!  Lindsay, Adam and Raegan got here a little after 2.  Raegan is soooo big!! She took her first dip in a pool... and really enjoyed it.  Chase so loves babies... watching him with her, I think about the days when he used to tell me that I should have a million babies!!  Henri, on the other hand, isn't used to a baby crying like Chase and Claire are... so he gets a little nervous when she starts to cry.  I'm sure he'll get used to it just as soon as they have to leave!

Shwew!  Ok, I think that's it!!  Caught up!

Stop, Look, and Listen

Last night after dinner, the kids and I watched some videos of a elementary school chorus. The kids really were loving seeing other kids singing... even Chase. Those kids have an AMAZING teacher... Chase was really impressed. Our favorites were:

"Just Dance" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0FPZolbYns)

and

"Landslide" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2p5augniQA&feature=related)

Fast as a Speeding...Chase

Sunday morning, Claire was still sick with a fever. Aaron was heading over to his Rover shop and Henri was going with him. Aaron told Chase he was leaving, but he was busy building LEGOS, so it must not have registered. Until... Aaron was pulling out of the driveway.

I heard the door open... then I heard the garage door open. And then I heard, "Dad, Dad!!"

Before I could stop him or pick up the phone to call Aaron, Chase was 2 driveways down... barefoot and in his pj's. I have never seen Chase run SO fast. As soon as Aaron answered his phone, I told him that Chase was running down the street after him because he wanted to go. "Tell him to get ready and he can come" he said.
"I can't even see him." I responded.
And with that, I heard.. "Oh, here he is." Chase had almost made it to the entrance of our neighborhood!!

Words of Henri

Claire asked for Gatorade and Henri started saying,

"I not have a fever today. Gatorade good for me, I not have a fever."

Last Day of Gymnastics 6-10-09

Henri getting ready to do a "spider hang".

Henri and Claire doing a "bear walk".

Rewind to Thursday

Thursday, the kids and I went to the Wilmington Police Department Demo day. Of course, since I had planned for us to go somewhere... the kids all slept in! So we got there about a half hour after it started. We learned about how the police use helicopters, finger printing, horses, and the canine unit. Henri was very nervous and wanted to be held the entire time... however, it was so HOT!

The Wilmington Police Department horses. Ages 6 & 8... we forget their names :)

We stayed for a little over an hour and then went to the landfill to return the recycle bins. Luckily for us, it didn't stink that day!! Chase counted 4 tractors at the landfill and would have liked to get a closer look ;) That afternoon, I got a call from CFCI. They had a spot open for Chase and they wanted to know if we wanted to enroll him for the fall. Of course, I said yes. Chase is a little bummed. He was really looking forward to being home schooled. We told him that he just needs to give it a week... and if he still wants to home school... then we'll figure it out.

Last night, Henri went to bed first. He was tired from a very long day. We went to Target, enrolled Chase at Cape Fear Center for Inquiry (CFCI), Jeter's for lunch, and Kohl's Frozen Custard over at Wrightsville Beach. It's the only Kohl's in town now. I was telling the kids about the "finger" incident and why there are no Kohl's. Chase couldn't stand to listen!http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Finger_found_in_frozen_custard_by_North_Carolina_man

Anyway, we got home and the kids played upstairs until Aaron (and Ryan) got home. They were coming back from Virginia. Aaron bought 2 D-90's from England and had to pick them up at the port. The kids were so excited to see the Land Rovers. They like to crawl around in them and "inspect" them ;). It was another HOT day yesterday. Chase really wanted to watch "Transformers" with his Dad... so we all ate licorice and watched the movie. We finished off our day by playing tag in the front yard. Claire is super fast. I finally stopped to let her tag me because I was worn out from her chasing me! After we got Henri to bed, Claire, Chase and I sat at the table eating a snack and looking over our new Where's Waldo book. We had 5 books, and found the sixth book (to complete the collection) at Target. Claire really has some keen eyes!

This morning, Claire woke me up whining. She said that her belly hurt... turns out that she has a fever of 101.4. Last weekend, Chase and Henri were sick and honestly, I had thought that she had escaped getting sick....I guess I was wrong.

Words of Henri

"I think I is a man."

Nine Years

Henri had his last gymnastics class today. Typical, he and Claire had so much fun. That is... until the end. It was awards day. When they called Henri's name to get his trophy... he didn't want to go. So I tried to go with him... I picked him up and he started crying. Needless to say, I accepted the trophy on his behalf :) Thinking that it was a half day of school for Chase, I rushed over to his school... only to be shocked that there were no cars waiting in the pick-up line. We went inside and I learned that it was a full day... oh, well... I still checked out Chase. We walked to his classroom. The kids were getting ready to go outside for recess, but when Chase saw us... he grabbed his stuff and was ready to bolt!

Claire started dance at a new studio. Her teacher moved, so we followed. It's a lot further away... but Claire loves Miss Christy. She's the only girl in the class now... I think that she was a little bummed that her friends weren't there... she still had lots of fun goofing around with Miss Christy. And in the end, Chase got involved as well as another girl from the class after Claire's. She had lots of fun doing jumps over the rivers (scarfs laid out), doing wheelbarrows and handstands. After dance, the kids and I went to Hugh McRae Park-- the kids call it the BIG park. We ate cantaloupe and the kids played with an older boy... special needs boy. They were chasing him around the playground and had so much fun! After my first dance class, we all (including Aaron) went out to dinner. Chase was none to pleased about the selection of "A Taste of Italy", he really wanted to go to Bojangles. He bawled and bawled, but eventually he got over it. While I was at my hip hop class, Aaron took the kids to Dairy Queen and to Brian Tate's to play.

A lot sure has changed in 9 years!!

Bedtime

Henri said, "I'm small like this bear. But I'm getting taller... like Dad, and you... and Chase... and Claire."

"Mom, you no wake me up."

We picked Chase up from school early today and met Aaron for lunch. When we got home Chase played with his transformer, and then we went swimming. We swam for nearly 2 hours! Chase and I raced across the pool... I gave him a head start and I swam underwater "blind"-- not having goggles and wearing contacts-- I keep my eyes shut. We did flips, handstands... you name it! I was whooped! Henri and I got out to eat a snack and he almost fell asleep in the chair! He put his towel over his head for probably 10 minutes. Luckily, Chase and Claire got out and they all went inside-- while I pulled weeds-- to play Mickey Mouse clubhouse.

$$ = Transformer

Yesterday morning before Chase left for school, he gave me a note. It read:

"Get my DoLers when you pik me up from scooll."

On Sunday, Chase completed the amount of money needed to get his Transformer. And after school, he really wanted to go to Big Lots!. And so we did.... but not before I rolled Chase's finger up in the window! I had the windows down while we walked up to school to get Chase... when we got back in the car... it was HOT... so I started to roll up the windows... Chase had his hand on his window-- why he didn't move it?? Not sure... but his finger was pointing up and stuck. It hurt really bad... and of course, I felt really bad. Had to tell him that it was OK to suck on his finger :) Well, in pain and all.... He was still so excited to go to BigLots!, but when we got to the toy section the Transformer that they had wasn't $9, it was $19. AND, it wasn't exactly what he wanted... so we decided to wait. I could tell that he was bummed.

So we went to Luna Pops. And then stopped at Learning Express-- just to check. But they didn't have "real" Transformers... there's some kind of StarWars toys that transform.. but they aren't the real thing. Anyway, we played there for a little bit... then went to Chase's horse riding lessons. Still a little bummed about the whole Transformer thing-- and rightfully so... he'd been working hard and really looking forward to getting the toy-- he was a little off riding Misty. I really thought at one point that he might fall asleep while riding her-- luckily, he didn't!!

After horse riding, I decided to take the kids to Toys R Us. Chase found his Transformer toy. Optimus Prime... he's the leader of the Autobots. Claire really wanted to get something-- BAD-- but I told her "no"... but I snuck something for her birthday :) As soon as we got home, Chase was ready to Transform Optimus from a semi truck to a robot. The directions were so confusing, but we figured it out!!

Up!

Aaron got home from Dallas yesterday afternoon. Although Henri had Chase's fever, we all went to see Disney's Up! We all got separate drinks... except for Chase and Aaron... because we weren't sure who was going to get the fever next! A big tub of popcorn, skittles, and peanut M&M's... and we were set.

The movie was SO good!! Is one of the BEST Disney movies ever made. It was sad, funny, exciting... you name it! The kids really loved it, too. Chase was literally on the edge of his seat in anticipation of what was to come next and laughing so hard. Claire & Henri were tucked back in their seats, in anticipation of what was to come next... AND laughing so hard.

That isn't how it was supposed to go!!

Once again, Claire woke me up this morning with "Mom, I'm hungry." I looked at the clock and saw that it was 7... thank goodness. I also saw Henri right next to me and Chase next to Henri... nearly covering him with his pillow. Henri is a slight bed hog ;)

After I got up, the kids asked each other if they wanted to go upstairs. I quickly shot in with, "Don't you want to eat breakfast first." A quick "no" followed. "But Claire, you said you were hungry?" Well, she wasn't anymore... they all headed upstairs and didn't come down until 9 to eat!

We spent the morning cleaning Claire's room. I had this idea that I could rearrange her furniture, but when I realized that it wasn't going to work... Claire was set on making it work. In the end, we put everything back... just moved some of her toys around to make it look/feel like we did something other than wipe down baseboards!

Ryan came over around lunch to mow the grass. We were heading out for lunch, so he came with us. We went to Blockbuster and rented some movies. When we got home, the kids rode their bikes for a little bit. Then we went into the garden and started the task of weeding. Why must there be SO many weeds?? We all dug up some red potatoes... got 7 in all. I love finding potatoes... red jewels in the dirt...they are so beautiful. Chase, Claire and Henri pulled out the old spinach plants, raked the weeds I pulled, transferred the piles to Henri's wheelbarrow and dumped them in the compost bin. We got one section done and the kids were ready to go inside... all for different reasons. Chase was pushing to go inside the most, because he was ready to watch his movie-- Transformers.

Now, I was hesitant to let him watch it. He's the boy that runs away and hides his eyes during movies like "Madagascar", "Ice Age" and well... almost every movie we've ever seen. But he really wants to see the new Transformers movie in the theater (when it comes out on Claire's birthday) that he was determined to watch this movie and prove that he wouldn't get scared. And he did. He didn't cover his eyes, stand up in front of the couch, start to walk away or complain one time. Claire, however, wasn't liking it... so she got to play a computer game. Eventually, she came around when I explained that the transformers are just drawn on a computer, the actors real names and that the one actor is married to the girl that sings "Boom Boom Pow". Henri had no problem with the movie... didn't flinch once. Now... Claire, Henri and I will not be going to see "Transformers 2" at the theater this summer. In fact, I'm still not crazy over the idea of Chase going to see it. The point of renting the first one was to show him how scary it is. Well... obviously, that backfired!!

A little off

Claire was the first one up this morning... woke me up at 6:36. Since Henri was still sleeping, I decided to let Chase sleep in. I got him up a little after seven to get ready for school. He was a little mopey and said "they're just doing the talent show today, do I have to go?" For some reason-- maybe it's because the school year is about over and he's met all of his 1st grade goals or the fact that the swine flu is traveling around some of the schools-- I said, "Sure. You can stay home, but we're going not just playing all day."

Of course the kids played. One of the greatest thing about having three, is that they're their own playgroup!

I needed to take in the paper to the recycling center, so we went to Sahara for lunch. The kids ate their ice cream by the water fountain. Chase noticed that there were coins in it and after pointing it out to Henri and Claire, Henri decided that it would be fun to move the money around. Typical Henri, always has to mess with stuff... AND make a mess!!

When got home... we colored, cut, and glued. Then the kids went upstairs to play. Next thing I knew, the kids were headed back downstairs with Chase leading the way. Turns out he had a headache... his neck hurt where it comes into his upper back. So we read some books. Chase read his "Transformer" book in a flash... guess that I should get him the next level! Then, we all watched "Mythbusters" as they built a 7-foot LEGO ball and tried to roll it like this youtube viral videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFGVzt7c5bY. It was very cool... they proved that the video is definitely a "myth". Then the kids watched "Tom & Jerry" while I checked the garden and got the eggs. Which, by the way, the lady bug eggs have hatched... adios aphids!!

For dinner, we went to Cici's Pizza. Henri has a thing for the candy machines at the front, and while we were getting our food Henri went back up and then when I called him to come back... he got confused and walked in the wrong direction. He started crying... Chase grabbed him and carried him over to the line. After a hug and some reassurance that it was ok...I explained the importance of not wandering off to look at candy. Typical of Claire at Cici's... she ate wonderful... salad and everything. Henri ate so much more than he usually does-- 2 1/2 pieces of pizza, a bowl of pasta, a brownie and a cinnamon roll. But for Chase, it was at Cici's that I realized that he was definitely not feeling well. He only ate one piece of pizza (usually he eats around 4), chicken noodle soup AND he didn't complain when I only gave him one brownie and one cinnamon roll. He even didn't want to stop and get donuts for breakfast tomorrow... he said, "Can we wait to see if I'm not sick in the morning?" Of course, we'll wait.

This evening, the kids rode their bikes outside. I watered/fed and moved some flowers. Chase asked if we could go inside. Claire and Henri took a bath while Chase got ready for bed. Before bed, I took Chase's temperature (just to check, because honestly... he really didn't feel warm). It was at 100... hope it's not swine flu ;0!! Glad I went with my gut and didn't send him to school today.

Seeing IS Believing

We walked into Chase's school carrying Wendy's for lunch. When we got to the cafeteria, we learned that the kids were eating in their classrooms because they were setting up for the 5th grade social to be in the cafeteria and the gym. We got to Chase's classroom and since they were watching a movie, we waited outside. Until Claire said, "They're all eating." I said, "No they're not. Are they?" Claire responds while looking in the window, "Everyone, but Chase." Sure enough, the kids were all eating their lunches... everyone except for Chase! Oops! We went in and got a table at the back of the room... I can only imagine how the fries must have smelled to the kids eating bag lunches! After lunch, we went home to meet Aaron for lunch. Of course, we already ate, so he and Ryan ate lunch together :)

When we picked Chase up from school, we had to go inside for a end of the year parent teacher conference. And when we walked in we heard: "Take me on a trip, I'd like to go some day. Take me to New York, I'd love to see LA". Sounded like we were walking into a club, a prom or maybe a homecoming dance. Turns out it was the 5th grade social. The 5th graders were all decked out in their "prom" attire. Girls in dresses and heels and boys in their sports coats! Personally, I think it was a little (ok, A LOT) much for 5th grade... especially seeing the parents in their "prom" dresses. It was interesting to say the least ;) Tangent finished! Well, Chase has done really well this year! He's exactly where he needs to be on EVERYTHING! And, most importantly... he started off the year hating to read and now... he really enjoys reading. He had the most amazing teacher this year.

Aaron flew to Dallas this afternoon. He's giving a seminar/talk? to about 200 doctors. The kids and I wrapped up a pretty uneventful evening by watching this bug in its nymph stage shed it's skin and step out as a bigger bug. It-- like watching a caterpillar make it's chrysalis--is one of the coolest things that I have ever seen.

Sorry for the clarity. I was excited and I had 3 kids that were excited! I just couldn't keep the camera still! But the black/gray thing under the orange bug (believed to be a wheel bug nymph) is the orange bug's old body. Absolutely amazing!

Tuesday, 1st Grade Picnic: Updated

So as I posted these pictures, I realized that I didn't even post about the picnic!! It was a beautiful day at Ogden Park. The 1st graders stayed with their respective classes through different centers such as, the playground, bouncey house, beach ball volleyball (Chase loved!), kick ball (Chase got a homerun!!), and bubbles. It was really well organized... lunch was a little hectic as all 130 first graders, parents and siblings gathered under the shelter to eat. The volunteer Dad's (of course) grilled hot dogs... funny how all of the men ended up around the grills!! Aaron met us at the park just before lunch and stayed until after we ate our ice cream or popsicles from the ice cream man. The students were all so great... they stood in line single file waiting for their turn to pick their frozen treat. Once again, we checked Chase out at the park, instead of sending him back to school. We brought the five recycling bins-- that we picked up at the landfill last week-- so the kids helped me put all the plastic bottles into 2 bins. We filled 2 extra-large trash bags full of bottles!

I didn't take many pictures the day of the picnic... it was pretty hectic. One picture that I wish I would have taken was Henri stomping in the mud by the spigot. It was a mess, it was disgusting and Henri was loving every second of it!

When we got home from the picnic, the kids ate a snack and chilled out for awhile. Then by 4:30, they were ready to go swimming. They swam just until dinner... which I had to practically pry them out of the pool!! Everyone went to bed early that night... we were all wore out from a long day of activities!

Before 7 AM Day

This morning, everyone was up before 7. Claire woke up because she was hungry. She knew immediately that she wanted two eggs. Why Henri woke up-- I'm not quite sure. He was, however, still a little sleepy. While I got breakfast ready for Aaron and Chase, Henri and Claire watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Chase watched while eating his cereal... I eventually had to pause it, because Chase was moving so sssslow. I spent the better part of the morning tying up the loose ends on the SSI newsletter. Last one for this school year!!

As usual on Wednesday's, Henri had gymnastics and Claire joined in. Every week, Henri does something that he didn't do the week before. He's getting less clingy, but it could be the benefit of having Claire in the class with him. The kids were swinging on the rope into the foam pit. I decided that I would show them how to do it... Wow!... that is so much fun!! Now, if only it were water!!

At Claire's dance class, she was very lovey. In the middle of dancing, she would give Miss Christy hugs. She especially has come out of her shell... she's like a different child! She's so focused when she's dancing and very talkative and has lots of fun! After dance, the kids and I ran into the grocery store to pick up 3 lemons, so that we could make strawberry jam. We ended up getting green grapes, too. Henri and Claire insisted!

During dinner, the kids and I told jokes. Chase is big on this whole "made you look" thing. By the way, Claire thinks it's "major lock"... child comes up with the strangest things. Henri is trying out the knock knock jokes. "Mom, I have joke... knock knock" and then he says the last thing that we were talking about. It's super cute. After dinner, I got the kids in the tub for Aaron and rushed out the door to my hip hop class (switched from Thursday nights). When I got home, Henri was sitting on the floor (by the front door) butt naked doing puzzles. He said, "Hi Mom." When I went up to him to give him a kiss, he said with a smile, "I saw you." Then he was back to his puzzle. Once he started getting tired, he came and watched "Men Vs. Wild". Will Ferrell was on tonight... hilarious.

Crazy Good

Claire and I played "Princess Crazy 8's" while Henri ate his breakfast. He woke up last, as usual! Once he was done, he played one round and we all ended up winning one hand each. Later on, I had Claire do a math assessment. I've been looking at math curriculum for the possibility of homeschooling and want to make sure that I get the right level, should I decide to home school. Claire loves stuff like that... she was 2 questions away (counting to 100 and knowing coins) from 1st grade math. She's a smarty! Henri "played" along with Claire and at the end I split the coins between the two of them for their piggy banks.

Chase had a special visitor at horse riding lessons today. Aaron came. Chase was so excited because this was the first time that his Dad had been to watch since he started back in April. He was ready to show his moves... well the moves he can make Misty do :) He's getting pretty good, too. After his horse riding lesson, we came home and Chase helped me do some stuff around the house-- he really wants to get that Transformer toy he saw at Big Lots!.

Outside, I picked some tomato horn worms off of our tomato plants and fed them to the chickens. AND... I picked a few tomatoes! So exciting... and they were soooo good! Also, saw a ladybug and some ladybug eggs... aphids beware! After we cleaned up from dinner, we had blueberry cobbler. Claire and Henri had "Fish Food" ice cream. Yes, it was good :)