March Madness

Now this is what I call March Madness! It was hot enough outside that our house was 83 degrees and the kids busted out the swimming suits and pool to do a little swimming. I just hope the nice weather keeps up or I'm going to have some pretty sad kids and husband!

Soccer Success

My soccer boys.

Robb coaching


Caleb's really getting into the game.

Today Bryce and Caleb had their first soccer practice. They have been looking forward to it for weeks now. Robb agreed to coach, really for the sole purpose of convincing Caleb to play after the bad basketball experience. Robb has been reading up on soccer and practicing different games with the boys to find ones that will work for their age.
We met the rest of the team at the soccer fields for practice at 10:30. A couple years made a huge difference in how soccer went! Last time they played all the kids were nervous or crying and clinging to their parents. This time all the little boys got out on the field with the exception of one kid that hung out on the sidelines for a while. They were all anxious to play the games and practice the skills that Robb was teaching them.
It was really fun to watch Robb coach. He did a great job and it looked like everyone had a great time. They practiced for a majority of the hour and the last 15 minutes they had a scrimmage with one of the other teams. No goals were made during the scrimmage but they did a good job following the ball and trying to get it away from the other team. It should be fun to see how their first game goes. I was SO proud of the boys for going out there and listening good while their dad coached. It was so fun to see them playing a team sport!

Preschool Conferences and Kindergarten Registration

Standing in front of the school.

Checking out the playground.
On Friday, we had Bryce and Caleb's preschool conferences. I wasn't too worried what the teacher had anything negative to say but I was excited to hear how they were doing and get some pointers on what we could work on.
She had nothing but good things to say about both of them which made me a proud mommy. She said that they were both very polite students in class, they included everyone in the class when they played and were very conscious of other kids feelings. I was very happy to hear all of those things! She also said that they were great in art and were doing really well learning the alphabet and writing this year.
It was nice to hear that she thought that they were more than ready for kindergarten. We also discussed whether or not they should be put in the same kindergarten class next year. She agreed with us that she thought it was a good idea. She has been putting them at different tables all year in preschool but she said Caleb likes to look for Bryce when he gets nervous. We all agreed that since it was a different school and different environment next year, they would both benefit from being in the same class.
After conferences we headed home to pick up the boys and take them to kindergarten registration. It just happened that conferences and registration were on the same day, but I will admit hearing all the good things about them made me feel a little better about kindergarten registration.
We got all the paperwork filled out in duplicate and then we got to take a tour of the school. It was fun to see the kindergarten rooms, which are huge and look so fun! We also saw the gym, library, computer lab and outdoor classroom area. Bryce and Caleb were really well behaved during the tour and they seemed really excited about going to school there next year.
I am so happy with our decision to wait and send them when they were a little older. Plus I got to keep them little one more year. I am sure that they will enjoy school next year it is just hard to imagine having them gone all day every day. My boys are getting so BIG!

Circus Circus

Yesterday, I took the kids to the circus. I haven't been to a circus since I was probably 12 so I didn't really know what to expect. It was at Pershing so parking was ridiculous and by the time we got parked and walked there I was ready to go back home but in we went. We got roped into buying a program so the boys had the clowns sign it. I was a little surprised by this because all of my kids say that they are scared of clowns. We headed into the auditorium and got arm loads of goodies and went to find our seats. We found Tasha and her kiddos and luckily it wasn't very full so we got to sit by them. The kids really enjoyed watching the clowns and the animal acts but got a little restless during acrobatics. Bryce's favorite act was the dancing elephant and the clowns that acted like cops. Abby's favorite part was the dancing elephant and the bears that rode bikes. Caleb's favorite was the motorcycle on the tight rope and the dancing elephant. So, as you can see the dancing elephant was the biggest hit! It was pretty crazy at times, like when 2 adults had to herd 6 little kids through the crowds in the bathroom but all in all it was fun and the kids loved it. Thanks Tasha for convincing me to go.



Getting their program signed.

Circus time!

The boys are so funny when they get together. Bryce and Caleb fought over who got to sit by Ezra.

The Famous Dancing Elephant!

All the girls.

Boys Team - Girls Team

Ready to start

Concentrating on painting

Look at my masterpiece
(I wish I had pictures of the boys day but Robb didn't take a camera. Next time.)
It seems like as the kids get older we end up splitting into Boys team and Girls team more often. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, but how things have been going in our house.
On Friday, Robb took the boys to the range and met up with Grandpa and Andy there. Abby and I on the other hand ran errands and went shopping.
On Saturday, the guys (Robb, Bob and Andy) and the boys (Bryce and Caleb) had big plans for the day. They had declared it golfing weekend so they were planning to golf most of the morning and afternoon and then they were going to watch the State Basketball game later that afternoon. I didn't really have too many plans except for the endless errands that I run, but I started to feel guilty that Abby just got drug along all the time. So, Abby and I decided to plan something fun of our own. We went to the Haymarket and got coffee and apple juice and then headed over to Paint Yourself Silly. Together we picked out a jewelry box to paint. She was so excited to pick her own colors and picked 6 different shades of pink and purple. We picked a paint apron to wear (pink of course) and got started. She did such a good job. She was careful about getting paint only on her box and we made sure that we painted each part the 3 times like the lady at the counter said to. She was a bit confused about having to leave it there but she finally decided that it would be okay. After a fun morning of painting we headed out to the mall to get a little shopping done. She didn't last too long before she was demanding to be carried but all in all it went alright. We hit up her very favorite restaurant (McDonald's) for lunch and I even splurged and got the toy meal. I had a fun morning and I think she did too. I need to be more careful about planning fun things for us to do and not just use my time with one child as a time to get my stuff done.
The boys team went golfing at Wilderness Ridge. Caleb had always like golf but lately has declared it to be his sport. He is obsessed with golfing and going to the range. Any day that the weather is nice he is begging to call dad to see if he will come home early to go to the range. It really is cute but I can see that they are going to team up on me sooner than I expected! Bryce also enjoys golfing but hasn't declared it as the only sport he loves just yet.
From talking to Robb, Bob and Andy it sounded like golfing was a bit LONG. They all said the boys were good but it was a mix of taking little kids and bad golfing for all of them. Oh well, I think it went alright still.
Later, that afternoon the Boys team and Girls team went to cheer on the Eagles in the State Basketball game. I have never taken the kids to a basketball game (Robb has many times)but I was surprised at how much they enjoyed it and seemed to understand it. I on the other hand had a mini panic attack about how I will be a mom to teenagers! I don't enjoy sports nor do I understand sports so... I guess I have a lot to learn before my kids play. I will go to their games and I'm sure I will enjoy watching them play, but I probably won't ever be the mom yelling in the stands or arguing with the ref (I wouldn't know what/when to yell) and from all my people watching at games, those moms' make me laugh.