Wordless Wednesday

 

A Chapter Ends

It's been a busy couple of weeks, culminating in the Last Day of School.  I say it every year, but it's hard to believe this school year is over.  Emma insisted on posing with Sara for her Last Day of Kindergarten photo.

 Sara had a great day, complete with pizza, snow cones, and water play.  She was thrilled to come home with the "Best Runner" award for PE as well as a Perfect Attendance medal.  We're so proud of how much Sara has grown this year.  She was exhausted last night, so we waited until today to celebrate a successful year with a hamburger and ice cream lunch.

 I found this paper in Sara's backpack as I was cleaning it out.  The picture is of Sara and her teacher crying.  I know Sara is ready for a break from school, but I think it's a good sign that she's sad for the year to be over.  I'm so thankful for her teacher, Mrs. Blanks, who truly provided Sara with a strong foundation and an excitement for learning this year.  I couldn't have picked a better kindergarten teacher.  Sara had a great year, made gains in math and reading, and came a long way with her speech goals. 

 Sara and her friend, Summer, made this project for Mrs. Blanks.  All credit for making this come to fruition goes to Summer's mom ... I just said "yes" when she asked if Sara could participate.  I think it turned out so cute.  And I'm glad that Summer's mom is way more creative than I am, because my version would not have looked like this.

In addition to the school year coming to a close, Sara has recently started softball and soccer.  She's loving both and learning a lot.  

 Last weekend after her softball game, we went to the park with friends.  Thanks to all of our rain, the girls located a mud puddle and spent the majority of their time splashing around in it.  When the mud got low, Sara donated the contents of her water bottle to refill the puddle. 

 The girls were proud of their dirty, stinky feet.

We haven't seen rain in a week; the sun has been shining and the temps are rising.  It's still a little cooler than it is most years at this time, but plenty warm to enjoy the pool, which we did for much of this afternoon.  We plan to repeat tomorrow.  We're also still making progress on our bathroom remodel.  The tile around the shower is complete, and last night I started painting the walls.  The plumber comes back this week to adhere the bath and shower fixtures, and then just the counter top will remain.  I also have to shop for pink towels, which was my compromise with the girls when I said we wouldn't be painting the walls pink.

Steve and I are gearing up for our trip to Estes Park.  We booked this trip with another couple so long ago that it felt like it'd never get here. But it's here!  We leave on Friday and I can't wait.  I have to figure out what to pack, and the thought of only packing for myself is heavenly.  I know we'll miss the girls, but we are so looking forward to a few days away.

Hooray for summer!

Memory Lane

My parents drove to town for the long weekend and the girls were beyond thrilled.  They surprised Sara by picking her up in the walkers' line on Thursday afternoon, and then on Friday they took Emma to eat lunch with Sara at school.  Despite the rainy weather that kept us mostly indoors, we had a great time.  And I had one helluva walk down Memory Lane.

Because they drove, my parents took advantage of the opportunity to bring down some things they've come across as they've worked on organizing their town home and the lake house.  We have all sorts of new treasures in our house now including MN Twins baseball earrings, a large Santa Mickey, a variety of photographs, and all of the following ...

My first pair of Dr Martens, purchased during 8th grade at the original Dr Marten store in London.  These shoes were well loved during my high school years  as you can see the fray on the toes.  Now I'm desperate for an invite to a costume party that would warrant wearing them again ... because guess what?!  They still fit!

 The legit RR Crossing signs that I ... ahem ... procured with my friend, Toni, during high school.  They were garage decorations at the lake house for many years, and now I'll proudly display them here.

 The gumball machine I made in Mr. Husby's shop class at CMS in 8th grade.  The girls were thrilled that this contraption came stuffed with jelly beans from G & G.  It actually works!

 A tub of tapes, trophies, pictures, and other paraphernalia from my skating days.  Let me tell you what: that is a tub filled to the brim with memories and emotions.

 My wedding dress!  Nearly 12 years later it still fits perfectly!  It was so fun to put it on, and even more fun to feel the zipper go up without excess tugging.  Sara enjoyed holding the train for me.  And he'd never admit it, but I'm pretty sure even Steve got a little choked up. 

 A drum from one of Grandpa's first sets.  It was never mine, obviously, but always around our house nonetheless.  And now it's in my house for my kids to enjoy ... and for all of us to enjoy ... and for the neighbors and anyone walking by to enjoy ... good times! 

Don't think they left empty handed: we sent them home with our crib/toddler bed.  Emma moved into a regular twin bed, and we closed a chapter.  Most importantly, my mom and I got away on Saturday for a nice long walk/pit stop at a nearby establishment.  It was much needed quality time together.  What a weekend; what a trip! 

Road Trip

We had a whirlwind road trip to Kansas last weekend.  We woke up early Saturday morning, loaded up, and hit the road headed north to celebrate our niece Lauren's high school graduation. Even though we had to make our first potty stop about 45 minutes into the trip, the girls did a great job and the whining was minimal.  They watched movies on the iPad, colored, looked for cows, and played Road Trip Bingo.  I found these boards for a buck each at Target!

 Surprisingly, not much sleeping took place.  Emma can fall asleep between our house and the grocery store, but was wide awake through the entire state of Oklahoma.  How can that be?  The girls had a great time with their cousins.  Lots of playing, chasing, laughing, silly faces, and a long awaited sleep over!  We're hoping they can make a trip down this summer for more cousin fun.

 Emma latched onto Lauren pretty quickly; I like this pic of the oldest and youngest cousins. We are so proud of Lauren.  She ended high school having had a strong academic and athletic career.  She earned many scholarships and will be pursuing Physical Therapy in college.  She is a hard worker and a beautiful young lady!  I didn't manage to get pictures of Ashlee, Timmy, and Natalee, but they were there, too!

We headed back to Texas on Sunday morning, and by the time we rolled into the driveway, we were all crabby.  Still, we had a great time and it was worth the long drive to spend some quality time with family we don't see very often.  While we were in Kansas, I picked up this sign that my SIL's friend made for me.  Don't you love it?!?  It's not hung yet, but I know where it's going once Steve finds the studs!

 Now we're back in the throes of a busy week ... and more rain.  Sara's field day is on Thursday and my parents are driving down for the long weekend, so I'm hoping for the storms to stop.  We're also back to our home improvement projects ... making slow and steady progress!

Five on Friday

1. The sweater that my Grandma Lou made, which I wore ... and then Sara wore ... now fits Emma!  It's in perfect shape and I just love it.

 

(Here's Sara in it when she was two, originally posted in Spring 2011.) 

2. This milestone happened today: 10,000 miles on my car.

3. The bathroom project is coming along.  Actually, there's a lot more tile there now than there is in the picture.  The new shower head and faucet are being installed next Thursday, and after that's done, Steve will be able to finish the tile.  In the meantime, he's repainted all the trim.  My to-do list in there includes painting the cabinets.

4. The rain here has been crazy.  It started in early April and hasn't quit.  We've had a dry day here and there, but they haven't lasted for long.  We've missed the sun, but our new sod is happy.  The other day it stopped raining long enough for us to go to the park so the girls could climb the giant pile of new wood chips before someone from the city comes and spreads them. Don't you agree that this kind of thing just defines "simple pleasures"?

5. I rarely get a picture of me with my girls, so I had Steve take this one on Mother's Day.  It's cute of them, anyway.  I'm a lucky mom.  Sara had a good week, complete with an ice cream party with her teacher (won at the silent auction a couple months ago).  I bought her first grade supply packet today ... can you believe that?!  Emma, unfortunately, had a rough week at school.  I came home this evening equipped with a few new strategies to try with her, so we'll see how it goes.  Thank goodness I'm surrounded by so many experts working in a school!  I love these two so much ... the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Luckily, they seem to reciprocate.

it's the weekend!

It's been one of those crazy weeks when I'm not really sure what happened or what was accomplished, but it's left us with a nearly empty fridge and pantry and in a state of total exhaustion.  I'm thankful we survived to see the weekend!

One interesting thing that happened this week was that Steve decided to start dismantling the girls' bathroom.  We've talked a lot about how we need to update it, and apparently on Wednesday night he'd had enough of it, because around 8:00 he took a crowbar to the tub surround.  We don't have a plan for the bathroom, but now the tub and shower are completely unusable, so we're committed to getting it in tip-top shape.  We'll be heading to Floor & Decor tomorrow to look for tiles (heard they have the best deals...?).

In addition to updating the tub surround, the bathroom needs new sinks and counter tops.  We won't miss the 90's marble blue with, as my friend Brooke calls them, "Barbie pool" sinks.  (Can't you just see a Barbie lounging on those little benches so perfectly molded into the shell?)

I'm thinking of painting the cabinets white to give the whole bathroom a fresh, clean look.  At this point, anything will be better than this:

Don't you worry, I'll be sure to post "after" pics of our project.  Don't wait on pins and needles, though; it will likely be one piece at a time.

Tonight Emma melted down for about thirty minutes.  It started when Sara offered to get Emma's jammies for her before heading to the bath.  Then it turned into being upset about the speed at which the water was coming out of the faucet (I think it was too loud), and then because Sara had finished her bath, and then because I was going to put Emma's dirty clothes in the wash ... and then seemingly for no reason at all.  I just let her get it out of her system (which is much easier than in the mornings when we're trying to get somewhere), and eventually she just needed a hug and was ready to move on with her evening. I'm still trying so hard to figure out this little girl.  While we were eating dinner tonight, I took a bite and she looked at me and said, "I'm so proud of you, Mommy."  It was sweet and cute and hilarious.  She's so Jekyll and Hyde. 

Meanwhile, Sara decided to make and post a list of her enemies.  I have no idea where this came from.  At one point she asked me to how to spell the name of another kindergartner, so I asked why she was putting this girl on her enemy list.  Sara's response was, "Ugh ... because she follows me around and bothers me and tries to show me things I've seen a thousand times."  We had a little conversation about the definition of enemy and also (again) about being kind and friendly and including people.  So what did your six-year-old do tonight? 

Steve is at a going away party for a coworker, but don't you worry: I've been filling him in on all the fun he's missed via text.  If only someone had told me that 30-something parenthood life would be so exciting ...

Happy weekend, all!

Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone!  We briefly thought about going out for Mexican, but the girls weren't really into it and the weather is a little stormy so we're having a Tuesday night at home instead (with Corona).  Sometimes any excuse to celebrate is worth it.

I can hardly believe it's already May.  One thing I've noticed about Texas is over the years is that May Day is a completely foreign concept.  Nobody who I've met who grew up here ever left May baskets on porches.  I guess it has Scandinavian roots, which explains why it's more of a northern tradition, and I enjoyed seeing FB photos last Friday of people delivering their goodies.

Steve was in KCMO for a long weekend to celebrate the NFL draft with some buddies, so the girls and I had the weekend to ourselves.  On Friday evening, a friend from Sara's class, Summer, came over to play for the first time.  They mostly played school (which was my fave growing up) and they even let Emma play with them.  She did whatever they told her to do; she was just happy to be included.  Saturday afternoon, that same friend had a soccer game so we walked to the park to watch it.  Sara ended up going home with Summer afterwards to play, and not long after I got a text from Summer's mom saying the girls wanted to have a sleepover.  I was hesitant because Sara had never had a sleepover, but since they live just around the corner and the girls were playing so well together, I agreed.  Emma and I walked some overnight stuff to Sara, and while Emma was sad to leave Sara behind, Sara was not the least bit upset about us going on our way.  Summer's parents took them out to pizza, to the movies, and then for ice cream.  Sara made it through the night and the girls had a great time ... pretty good first sleep over, I'd say!

It's Teacher Appreciation Week.  I hope you are doing something nice for your kids' teachers ... they deserve it.  Small gestures of thanks go a long way for the amazing people who dedicate their lives to helping children achieve.  George Lucas said, "Education is the single most important job in the human race."  I couldn't agree more.

We've decided that we need to move bedtimes up - which is so hard with the later sunset - but it's necessary and makes our mornings better.  So with that said, time to sign off for now!