School's Done!

Last week was bittersweet for Miranda and Derek. On Wednesday, they had Derek's final program and send off for his preschool. The kids wore their butterfly hats, sang songs, and then they introduced each child and said what they wanted to be when they grow up. There were some really cute responses, like- a butterfly, a doctor, a race car driver. I think Derek was the only one that said he wanted to be a scientist. They gave us a folder packed with journal entries with pictures and words, photos, and some projects. Derek had two really wonderful teachers, so we will miss seeing them. After the program ended, they had cake and ice cream for everyone. After all the good byes, Larry helped me get the kids into the van. Lindsey started screaming like crazy (I think it was because she wanted to do her seatbelt by herself- a phenomenon that had just started the day before). She didn't stop until 5 minutes after we got home. I think we'd barely left the parking lot before Spencer also was in tears because Derek wouldn't talk to him. I thought my ears were about to fall off! Then Derek joined in for no apparent reason. "Why are YOU crying?" I asked Derek right before we got to the house. "I'm never going to that school again!" he said with such a sad face. I was so surprised! I had no idea he was so sentimental. Larry explained to me later that he and Derek had talked about how you can feel sad when something is going to end, but that there is always something even better in the next class. He must have inherited Larry's sentimental genes because I have always looked forward to change.
Later that day, Miranda came home from "Mrs. Lower's Luau" with her friends. They had their field day and party. Thursday was her last day of school. Unfortunatly, she threw up that night a few times and in the morning, so we walked over to the school at the very end of the day so that she could say good-bye and give a treat to her teacher. It was an anticlimatic end to her first grade year.

Now on to Summer tidbits...
1. I unveiled our new chore chart, money chores list, and summer schedule on Friday morning- I will post more details about that later... I need structure, and so do the kids- especially Derek.

2. Larry waited anxiously in a long line to sign up Spencer for preschool next year. He made it in. It is across the street from Intel, and one of my good friends also has a son in the class- so I have some carpooling relief. With the new baby it will be most welcome. That means that I have a break from teaching preschool this year- I think it will be nice after 4 years.

3. My belly is definatly bigger. I have to break out my "big mama" pregnancy clothes.

4. Derek has decided that he cannot live with the Star Wars Lego Mobile Troop Transport that is now selling for $99. He is determined to earn $2 a day so that he can buy it at the end of the summer.

5. Larry took the kids and camped in his parent's backyard on Saturday night. I joined them in the morning for a Father's Day breakfast. They have so much fun there. Lindsey is just glued to grandpa. They were crazy tired kids, tonight though...

Wall E to the rescue!

Our house has been in an upheaval ever since we got the new bunk beds. I had no idea how much rearranging and reorganizing I would have to do to make everything fit! Luckily, Lindsey has done WONDERFULLY well in adjusting to her new bed. I was very worried after setting it up with her bumper pads, new pillow, guardrail, and blankets. I tried enticing her to get on the bed with me to lay down and kept calling it "Lindsey's bed". She showed no signs of interest. So, Monday night, I stripped off her crib and took the mattress away, so that we would have a go at it cold turkey style.
Fortunatly for me, Larry had printed out a picture of Wall E from the computer. Lindsey just loves Wall E. (I think this is mostly due to the fact that it's one of the only cartoons she has ever seen on TV or the computer- except Teletubbies). Larry shows her the movie trailers and she BEGS for more. So, he printed out the picture and taped it under Miranda's bed so that Lindsey could see it as she lays down in her bed. She just loved it and kept pointing to it and saying, "Wall E!" even when it was too dark for her to see. She has been sleeping well and without a fuss in her new bed ever since. It was so nice to be able to take the crib out of their room! Thanks, Wall E!

New Bunkbeds!

Well, after $500 and about 4 hours of work, the bunkbed is ready for business! We were quick to snatch this up as soon as we saw it on Craigslist. It's made of oak, has three drawers, and is super-sturdy. The people selling it even gave us their mattress pads and all their twin sheets- sweet! I had been hoping to find a white one, but after months of searching, I am VERY happy with what we got. It matches the crib and bookcase, so that is good, and now we won't have to buy another dresser. Miranda was so excited to try out her top bunk.

We will start transitioning Lindsey to the bed over the next week or so. We still have to finish getting the bottom bed ready for Lindsey- with a railing to hold her in and a pillow. I'm hoping she will love it and adjust quickly because I really want to take down the crib until the next baby girl is sleeping through the night and can join Miranda and Lindsey. Now we just have to figure out what to do with all of Miranda's Barbie and dress-ups that she had stashed under her bed, as well as all of her stuff she had hanging on the wall.

Super Cleaners

I have to tell you all about something wonderful the kids did yesterday afternoon. It was a typical, afterschool day, with all the kids at home, Lindsey sleeping, and Melissa (Miranda's friend) here. The girls usually get home, have a snack, and sometimes watch a cartoon. After they were done with that they usually make some art project or play outside. Well, yesterday was different. I didn't notice much for the first 30 minutes or so because I was totally absorbed in the book 'Angels and Demons'. All I know is that it got really quiet, and I could hear Miranda, Melissa, and Derek sneaking around the house whispering to each other. Then, I caught Derek's eye- he was under the dining room table sweeping. He tried to hide. That's when I noticed that someone had mysteriously cleaned all the paint supplies off the table. I played along while they cleaned the bathroom and the boys' room. They even sharpened a bunch of our pencils. Finally, they let me in on the surprise and showed me all of the cleaning they'd done for the past hour. It was completely unexpected. I was even more grateful because I'd been reading so much that day, and not paying much attention to the kids.

Other tidbits:
1- Derek LOVES Sudoku, thanks to Heidi's tutoring at the parade on Saturday
2- We got our third fish yesterday- a pure black molly- still trying to figure out a name for it.
3- We're probably getting a bunk bed set for the girls tonight- as long as it looks as good in person as on craigslist.
4- I DID finish the book last night. This is why I don't read a lot- I get absorbed and don't get anything else done. I'm still looking for an open week or so to start the Stephanie Meyer's series.

Exhaustion

This weekend was crazy- so full of activities that we are all exhausted! While Larry was at the campout with the boys, I had a "date" with the girls. We went out to eat, then had Frosties while we watched Strawberry Shortcake. The next morning, I took them to the OMSI until lunch. I really didn't want to go, but I was trying to help Miranda to feel really special. Luckily, I got a nap in because we went to the Starlight parade last night. We stayed the whole time, which meant driving back around 11:30. Derek fell asleep at the parade. It's a good thing that we stayed at home today (Sunday). The girls slept in until 9:00- a completely unheard of phenomenon- everyone always wakes up at 7 am. Spencer fell asleep on the floor at a fireside tonight. Hopefully, we will return to normal sleeping over the next couple days.
We tried waking up Lindsey for dinner tonight, but she just cried. So, Larry took her into our room and they had a nap for about an hour. Aren't they cute?

Super Spencer and parade

Super Spencer
I am starting to realize Spencer is not a real 3 year old but a super kid who arrived from Kypton.
Daddy date we went some 3 miles to McDonalds’ up and down hills on bike to McDonalds’ and no real need for rest for him on bike with wheels the size of plate, he should get tired but not him. Even coming back home he cruised on his bike.

Parade
Then there was the starlight 5k fun run, I was planning to push Spencer and Lindsey in stroller but I decided he could run a little bit, I think he ran at least 2.5 miles of it at high speeds. I couldn’t stay with him, telling my sister to stay with him as I would try to keep up. Lucky Heidi showed him how to give people high 5’s, he probably game several 100 of them with a crowd of 150,000 on the sides watching.
Also as you can see we dressed up, I will add a better pic with Spencer, Lindsey’s and BYU buddies later once I get it. Spencer was get big cheers from the crowds, I got more attention in this run than ever, lot of announcers were announcing my presence and kids would chase me to get high 5s if I missed them. I often surprised little ones holding their hands for high 5s with the runners when then saw me. I think I will look to get more star wars outfits next year for my team. Heidi dressed in BYU gear, and 3 buddies of my painted BYU on the chests. There were some scary costumes around in the 5000 ish runners at the parade but hey it’s Oregon, so running in a speedos not weird enough for some of these people.

Father and Son Campout

We had a great father and son campout from hot dogs over a fire and watching the stars to Derek making new friends. We even had a pie eating competition, fun day for the boys.