Just plain ole fun

We've been having a great few days. The end of the school year, which is also the end of baseball season, tends to be a bit hectic. The past few weeks have been like that, but I think we've now made it over the hump and are gently heading downward. Hooray! Iain's crazy report/project/speech was due yesterday. Thank goodness! It seemed to take on a life of it's own! It was on a local city and I have to say we learned lots of tidbits we didn't know. It just seemed to linger over our heads for the past month. (Hear my big sigh of relief)

Like I said, baseball is also coming to a close. Sean has 2 more games and Iain has one. Iain's team is taking first place so they will be going on to the Tournament of Champions (TOC) in a few weeks. The boys have been working very hard to make it and now to hopefully make it all the way through. It's a single elimination tournament which makes it a bit harder but we're all very excited non the less.

Swimming is still in full force. Our big aquatic news is that Sara can now swim the length of the pool unassisted! I almost fell over watching her! She does three 'big arms' then rolls herself over to her back, floats to catch her breath, then rolls back for three more arm strokes. Repeat. She can do this by the entire length of the pool without being touched at all! I think she shocked herself the first time she did it. I will of course bring the video camera to her next lesson is hopes of catching it for everyone!

Someone gave us an old flower girl dress to play with! Guess who wants to wear it ALL THE TIME!

15 more days of school! This year has gone incredibly fast. The other day Sean said "In 2 weeks I'll be a first grader". To which Iain T. replied "No, more like a retired kindergartner!" :-)

Did I mention that I worked at McDonalds recently? The boys school had a fundraiser and of course I was all over it. We staffed 5 positions for 3 hours and 20% of all proceeds during that time went go to the school. Easy enough! I went in saying, "as long as I don't end up at fries I'll be fine". Guess what I got? SHOCKER! :-) I have to say it was fun! After I got it down, it was almost relaxing. The repetition had a very calming effect on me. Another funny fact, I took great pride in my fries. Each time someone came to grab a bag of them, I felt so proud "Yay, they took some fries". Maybe I need to get out more huh? :-)

Posing with another school volunteer! The hats say "McTeacher Night"

More Sean news, he lost another tooth. The top front ones have been loose for a few months and we knew one of them would be coming out pretty quick. He woke up one morning and it looked like this. Obviously time to come out!

The threesome working together to get the tooth out. I love this picture!

Out!

Of course Iain's turning 9 in 3 days is also fun stuff. He had a party last weekend which I'll post about another time!

Day at Disney

This past Tuesday we surprised the kids with a day at Disneyland. Sara has never been and when we live 20 minutes away, that seems like a crime! (Considering the cost, maybe not though!!) All three of them were beyond thrilled! After starting out with a few of the tamer rides, we split up for a bit so the boys could try some scarier ones! Sara was quite content to stay on Dumbo and the Teacups. We ended up on Dumbo twice and the Teacups three times! She may not like the dark rides but the girl loves to spin! The faster we spun, the harder she laughed! We did take her on Pirates of the Caribbean (alright, maybe one dark ride). The entire time she was holding my hand saying "Let's get out of here!" It was kinda cute. She is very vocal about the fact she did NOT like that ride! :-)

Iain T. tested out his brave side and attempted Space Mountain for the first time. He was a crack up! He had a samurai death grip on my hand the entire time! Afterwards, he declared his love of the ride and how he wanted to go back on! Sean was also a bit more daring than usual. He tried Indiana Jones and loved it!

Sara's first Disney ride, Dumbo

Autopia

Iain, Sara and I were in the car in front. I was just holding the camera back and shooting.

New Alien friend from Buzz Lightyear

Teacup Ride #2

Pinocchio Ride

Who needs rides? We can just watch ladybugs crawl on our hands!

Last ride of the day. Alice in Wonderland!

We had a great time! Ended up spending 10 hours at the park! Not so surprisingly though, there was still much more to do. We do hope to get annual passes again one day soon. Until then, we'll enjoy the memories we made this week!

Little Mermaid

Let the fun begin! Today was Sara's first day of swimming lessons. She was so excited to be starting and to have the same teacher as last year. This is her third year, so she is starting off doing really well. She loves the water, we just want to make sure she is water safe. By the looks of today, she should be by the end of this summer. (Not that we leave her in the pool alone or anything...)

Posing before we left. Does she look excited or what? By the way, she accessorized herself.

Interestingly enough (alright not really so shocking) Sara had an opinion about what she was to do. When it was time to get the toys off the bottom of the pool, Sara said "I think I'll just get them with my feet". Would be easier but, ummm nope! Silly girl! Another time when she was asked to swim to the steps she replied, "not yet, let's wait a minute"! Luckily, wonderful Miss Alisa was ready for our little Fireball! There were no tears this year, a little hesitation, but she did do everything that was asked. It was nice to see smiles!

Getting the toys off the bottom

Belting out her ABC's while back floating!

Concentrating on her "scooties" around the pool.

Look of accomplishment after she swam to the steps.

She LOVED this part!

Running back to me when she was finished! Love the happy face!

Castles, pigs and pictures

Today has been a nice day. The kids played well, the weather was nice. Not too much going on. This morning Sean and Sara were busy building a fort in the living room. They were so excited about it! As they finished, Sara announced the bunny was King of the Castle. Sean was okay with that so, King Bunny it was!

King Bunny

On another note, this darn Piggie Disease is getting a bit too close for comfort. There is a school less than a 1/2 mile from our house closed today for a "confirmed case". It's a K-8, so it reaches lots of kids. Of course kids in our tract go there, as do kids on the boy's baseball teams. I for one, am not one to jump on a hysteria bandwagon. As far as I can see, a flu is a flu is a flu! If we were to get it, I'm confident our bodies would be able to fight it. But being honest, I do think about it a bit more when it comes to Sara. She has an amazing immune system, only been on antibiotics once, but at a whopping 30lbs, I do want to steer clear. The real question is, should I stop taking her to the gym for awhile? Hmmm....

Sara's new favorite outfit...she's starting to want to dress herself. I like to pick out her clothes and dress her all cutesy. I realize I need to let her choose if that's what she wants to do but it's hard to let go (I know, I know, it's only the beginning!!)! Luckily she is fairly good at matching so far!

Who knew?

...that Fire Bellied Toads eat live crickets.

...that the live crickets need holes poked in their bag so they can breathe.

...that the crickets can escape out of what we thought were little tiny holes.

...that the crickets match the kitchen counter perfectly.

...that you can't see them unless they jump up (and scare you).

Who knew??