Summer's Officially Over

I can't believe that I haven't posted all summer long. Summer seemed to fly by. It started with a wonderful trip (just for me, my mom and grandma) to OR and finished with what Hannah called her "beach party". We managed to squeeze in a couple of weekend trips along the way - Alex and Jeff went camping with Papa and I took the kids to my parents' house for fishing and boating fun. School starts tomorrow and so the craziness really begins. Alex has soccer practice on Wed, coach-pitch baseball practice on Fridays with both games on Saturdays while Hannah has dance class on Thursdays. I'm very excited about what this fall has in store for us.

Here are a bunch of "Beach Party" photos. Just to quickly recap: the week started out with hurricane size waves so not much swimming in the ocean the first couple of days but pretty cool to watch; Hannah turned 4 and got the much requested roller skates; Hannah spend lots of time digging in the sand under the umbrella while Alex and Jeff boogie boarded; when Alex wasn't in the water at the beach he was in the water at our pool (I think he's now part fish); Hannah finally put floaties on and will go in the water beyond her knees; we drove the car on the beach north or Corolla and were lucky enough to see a family of horses wading in the surf; we climbed the Currituck lighthouse; and survived the 5 1/2 hr drive there and back. It was a successful beach week besides the fact that I was fighting a cold and pink eye and the beds were pretty junky. I'm not sure what we'll do for our family vacation next summer but a beach trip is high on the list.

Preparing for Summer

These past few weeks have been so busy with final school and sports activities. Hannah successfully completed her first year of preschool at Knollwood. Alex's soccer season has come to a close, he completed a set of swim lessons and kindergarten is now behind him. Now we can think about what summer will bring. Alex and Hannah start "summer camp" next week - Alex will be taking weekly field trips and pool trips while Hannah will take dance lessons and watch live shows for kids like Reptiles Alive and Magic/Music shows. We will probably enroll Alex in another set of swim lessons but he'll take a break from sports teams until the Fall when he'll participate in his 4th soccer season and coach-pitch baseball.

Now that the end of the school-year craziness is over I can start thinking about my Oregon trip next week. I'm really excited about spending a week with my grandma and mom. We will spend some time in Portland, drive down the Oregon Coast, and we can't pass up a few winery tours (and tastes) and possibly a brewery or two.

Mostly, I looking forward to leisurely weekend mornings where all we have planned is a trip to the pool. We also have our first family beach vacation in the Outer Banks this year but that's not until the end of August so I have several weeks to plan for that. Hannah keeps calling the OBX trip her "beach party" since we will celebrate her 4th birthday while on vacation. Here's to a relaxing and peaceful summer!

Last Day of School!

Today is Alex's last day of Kindergarten. He went to school with mixed feelings this morning - he is ready for summer fun but he will miss seeing his teachers and friends on a regular basis. Alex had wonderful teachers that helped make the transition into elementary school very easy. Alex had a very successful year socially and academically. He received a couple of "Character Bears" and lots of Happy Grams and is on his way to reading independently. I can't believe that 9 months ago I waved to the yellow bus carrying my little boy who couldn't read and only write his name and today I will wait for the bus to bring home my little boy who is now a couple inches taller, can read and write full sentences, and solve basic math problems. As we bid kindergarten farewell we are also welcoming a summer full of fun and enjoyment.

Celebrate Fairfax 2009

We went to the Fairfax Fair a couple of weeks ago and had a great day. What could be better than rides, ponies, a petting zoo, kettle corn, and winning 4 goldfish? Alex was tall enough to go on some of the cool rides this year like the bumper cars with daddy. Hannah and I on the other hand only went on Dumbo - we both were feeling woozy after the ride so we were satisfied with watching Alex ride. Alex was insistent on winning a goldfish. So, Jeff bought the biggest basket of balls and let Alex have a go at the game. Alex wasn't very successful but Hannah came along and tossed a ball in the bowl on her first try. Thanks to Hannah we walked away with 4 goldfish. Unfortunately, none of the fish last longer than a week. Regardless of the fish loss, we had a fun time.

Flag Day

All of the Kindergarten classes at Alex's school presented "Flag Day" to their parents and family members last Friday morning. It was very cute and especially moving to see and hear 6 year-olds sing patriotic songs. Alex volunteered for a speaking part and did very well as you can see from the video. I attempted to create a short Flag Day video with a few highlights - granted the picture is a bit wobbly from Hannah pulling on my arm and I had a great view of the Principal's head sitting directly in front of me but you get the gist of the show. Although not on the video, the best part was when the kids sang "I'm Proud to Be An American" at the top of their lungs.

Happy Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day - the kids were happy, the weather was sunny, I had beautiful flowers to fill my kitchen, and a yummy brunch to fill my tummy. Also, I was invited to two very special tea parties last week. Hannah's preschool class had a Mother's Day Tea and Alex's class had Muffins for Moms. I appreciate Mother's Day even more now that the kids are a little older and can articulate their love much more clearly (as you can see from the videos). My kids worked very hard on creating cards and gifts that I will treasure forever.

Easter Sunday

The Easter Bunny was very good to Alex and Hannah this year. Unfortunately, Hannah was so tired after the circus that she missed out on coloring eggs. Fortunately, Alex made a couple special eggs just for her. Easter Sunday was quiet but nice. We searched for eggs, went to church, went to the gym, and had a yummy duck dinner.

The Greatest Show on Earth!!

We just got back from the Ringling Brother's Circus and it was phenomenal. The kids loved it, I loved it, and I think Jeff really liked it, too. I haven't been to the circus since I was about 8 years old and it still hasn't lost its magic. We were so lucky to have fabulous seats, second row - middle section. Alex's favorite part was the motorcycles in the spherical cage, Hannah's favorite was the bubble clowns and "My Little Pony" horses, my favorite was the elephants and Jeff's favorite was the acrobats. I was a bit worried about Hannah because she's had a fever for the past couple of days but she did great - just give her a corn dog, a snow cone in an elephant cup, popcorn, a stuffed elephant, mommy's lap, and she was good to go. The circus wiped Alex and Hannah out - they are both taking late day naps. I hope they wake up soon (did I just say that?!) so they can color Easter eggs so that the Big E Bunny can make his yearly visit to our house.

Six!! Already??

Alex has reached a milestone in his very young age. He now has to use two hands to show how old he is. Alex had a fantastic birthday! He had a boy's only Bolt Birthday party at the bowling alley (FYI: MUCH easier than doing it at home like we did last year), he had a special birthday lunch with daddy at Red Robin (can't beat those root beer floats), and best of all he now has two new pets - Lazer 1 and Lazer 2 (dwarf hamsters). Alex also chose a new bigger bicycle and is now asking daddy to take the training wheels off only after 3 weeks of having it. I can't believe that six years have already flown by. Alex has filled these past six years with joy and laughter and I can't imagine life any other way. Happy Birthday, Dude!!

Botanical Gardens

I've been living in the D.C. area for about twenty years and have never gone to the National Botanical Gardens. We decided to take Nanny and the kids there for a new adventure and for the most part it was fun (I'll get to the un-fun part in a moment). The gardens were beautiful - it was wonderful seeing flowers in full bloom and taking a warm walk through the jungle and desert in the middle of winter. The best part was smelling the flower sculptures filled with natural scents such as "Mexican Hot Chocolate" (cinnamon, saffron, and cocoa).

Now for the un-fun part of our adventure. After the visit to the gardens, we decided to go to the American History Museum that recently reopened after a few years of renovation. We needed some nourishment and a potty break. Well, some of us needed a potty break - after lots of unheeded coaxing and bribery, Hannah decided to postpone her break once she realized that the toilets were automatic flushers. I knew this could mean trouble but I can't force her to go so Hannah and I went back to lunch with everyone else. She decided that she needed to sit on my lap (any other mother could sense this was bad news but not me). All of a sudden Hannah looked at me with huge eyes and cried "mommy I just went pee-pee." Of course she didn't need to tell me - she was sitting on my lap, after all and I felt the warm trickle running down my lap and legs. I took the kicking and screaming child back to the restroom and dried out her pants under the automatic hand driers but had no luck with my pants. I tied my coat around my waist like I did when I was in junior high and grinned and bared the adventures with my daughter. Hopefully, one of these days I'll look back at this and laugh. Right now, it's still not too funny.