To end May

 We finally made it to town to pick up Harper's new glasses.  She is so excited about them, and so am I, I had grown tired of not being able to see her eyes through the scratches!  She wanted green, but that color was not available, so she got sky blue instead.  She was tickled with herself!  For the record, I do not profess to know how you get dirty going from the van into the eye doctor's office.

 Last summer, my friend told me about this awesome program called Kids Bowl Free.  You sign up and then  they give you coupons to use for 2 free games of bowling every weekday all summer long.  We signed up but never made the time to try it out.  I have to admit that I was skeptical that there would be some hidden charges, but aside from shoe rental, the bowling was free, and I think the kids had a good time. 

 We will definitely be doing this again.  It is a perfect rainy day thing to do, or if it gets way too hot and the pool loses some of its excitement.  It was a fun way to spend an afternoon.

I will say that our children may have a little bit of a competitive nature to them.  Preston was not happy that Cameron was helping Saige and therefore, a baby was beating him!  :)

My swim team

 As soon as Memorial Day Mass was over, all I heard was "is the pool going to open?"  "is it time yet?"  "can we go check to see if they are open?"  "when can we leave"  considering that I woke up to dark skies and a lot of morning rain, I have to admit I was more than happy to see the sun poking out by late morning.  I couldn't imagine the disappointment we would have had if they didn't get to swim.

 And by swim, I mean get in, wet your body, and then lay on the warm cement with your towel tightly wrapped around you because your body is shivering uncontrollably.

 And perhaps get in up to your toes and then get right back out again because it is way more fun to pick up sticks and leaves off the side of the pool!

 Two of these kids were nutty enough to actually get in the pool and stay in (one who is 6 even stayed longer than the rest of us because her friend's mother is nicer than I am).

 Saige got a new swimsuit.  She loved to drink her bottle and stick her finger in her belly button.  Now that she is mostly weaned, we notice that she still likes the belly button!  She walked all the way to the pool like this, stood on the very edge like this and then walked all the way home - all with her finger in her belly button!  I am thinking maybe a one piece suite is a good idea?

And for any person who questions why it is that I love summer.....here ya go.  I love kids dropping into deep sleep from hours spent in the sunshine.  I am not sure why she was sleeping with Mallory's shoe though?

3 day weekends are the best!

 Baby Ryan's brothers got to go to a Royals game.  It seemed like a good idea for him to stay here with us....

 next time, I bet he opts for going to the game!  :)

 We may have set a record on how much a baby's head can be kissed in one night.  

 Our landlord tried to hook up the new air conditioner, but somehow did not get it done.  We have been spending a lot of time outside.  The kids have been getting a kick out of eating out on the deck....but someone forgot to tell Colin he outgrew the little picnic table a while ago!

 We have been spending some late nights at the ballpark.  Harper fell asleep watching a video at the computer!  

 I had the best little assembly line tonight as we made foil pouch dinners!

Tomorrow, we are going to attend the cemetery mass, and then it is officially summer with the opening of the city pool.  Quincy and Harper have had their suits laid out for days now!   They cannot wait.  As for me, I agreed to take them over and watch, but I will not be going near that water for another couple of weeks!  

More First Games

 Colin and Quincy both had their first games this week too.  Colin decided last minute that he was going to play on a Babe Ruth League team again this year with a bunch of his friends.  I am still not sure how he plans to squeeze this in to his schedule, but so far, he thinks he has it under control.  He also started his job at a ranch outside of town this week.  He has been mowing, weed whacking, and chainsawing bushes.  He comes home filthy but happy because he thinks he is going to be raking in the big bucks!

 Quincy was so excited about her first game.  She wanted to get dressed as soon as I came in from work....which was a good 6 hours before we needed to leave!  I had to distract her by planting a garden.  That didn't take long enough!

 I told Jim it might be easier if we just add the extra R.  I am not sure he agreed with me, but sometimes it feels like a losing battle!

 Quincy played really, really well.  She is a very aggressive little thing!  Her team is made up of a lot of a lot of girls younger than she is, and some of them are not very attentive.  Quincy has decided she will be their mentor!

Preston's first game

 We kicked off the summer ball season with Preston having his first game.  He played against Carbondale, in a really good game.  

 When you put a hat on the kid, he looks identical to his father!

 Preston had a few great at bats, and really smacked the ball around!

 I think his coach is still trying to figure out positions, and Preston played at pitcher, shortstop, catcher and left field tonight.  He did a great job all over the place!

His team did not win tonight, but the kids from Carbondale go to school with Preston, and he was happy to see them and play with them.  It was a good night.

Life is just better in the summer!

 Summer is good for slam dunk contests with a nerf ball and goal.  Perhaps we should stop the kids watching  Tosh.o?

 They were jumping over Saige in her little coupe car, I made them stop.  Then they were trying to make Preston stand perfectly still and were getting mad at him for "flinching" so I made them stop.  Then it was lawnmowers, then my flower pots, and finally ....bicycles.

 I watched for a while and then told them when you break your legs, call Jim at city hall!

 I let the little guys do something a little less dangerous.  They tried out bubble snakes.  We are going to have to work on our bubble recipe though, as our snakes did not get very long.  The kids had a really good time trying it though!

 I should clarify.....they almost all had a good time.  Harper learned that dish soap does not taste good and that sucking on your bubble snake maker is not a good idea!

As I was sitting outside watching the kids and soaking up some sun today, I remembered all the reasons I love summer.  Life is good when the sun shines on your face.

Its a wrap!

The 2012-2013 school year is officially over. I am proud of my kids.  They all did very well this year, learned a lot, grew up a lot, and got great grades!

 This morning, Cam announced that he and his friends were dressing up for the last day of school.  I had visions of his friends saying  that they were all dressing up, except for "forgetting" and then just one kid shows up wearing a shirt and tie.  Cam wouldn't be as socially devastated by that as other kids I know!

 Mallory and Madison make a big deal out of not dressing alike.  I used to love to dress them alike when they were little....but since they turned about 5 they have been kind of against the idea.  Madison waited until Mallory was dressed this morning, and then put on a matching shirt so that they "could spend the last day as twins."  Mallory was not amused, but was too lazy to change her clothes!

 Even Colin willingly paused and let me take his photo.  This is a rare opportunity that I grabbed - last day puts him in a really good mood!  :)

 Quincy was absolutely squirmy because she was so excited about summer break.  Daddy told her he would buy her a pool pass.  She cannot wait to get herself into that pool.  I didn't have the heart to tell her the pool doesn't open for another week!  She does a good job at school, and gets a lot of compliments on her behavior there, but I can tell that the minute she gets home it is like she puts on her true crazy personality.....its like she lets out her breath after holding it all day.  I am very proud of her for becoming an excellent reader this year.  She has come so far in one school year!

 Preston was true to his sensitive nature this morning, and might have been the only one who said he thought the last day is kind of sad.  He also came a long way this year, and we are impressed with his progress.  He is really excited about going to a new school next year....as the 3rd and 4th graders go to Scranton.

 We hope that the days of walking will not be too many after school starts next year.  We hope we are close to living in the country by then.

 In the meantime, the sun is shining, and we are done with having a strict schedule.  I am excited.....

 and so are Saige and Harper.....who love having the kids all home!

Its gonna be a great summer!!