Jazz!

We made it to jazz class today. This was a huge accomplishment after having the wrong time last week! Caleb brought a bag with some toys to keep him entertained while Kendall had class.
Kendall had a great time. She loved putting on her new jazz shoes. She tried her best skipping, she doesn't quite get the concept yet!

Kendall discovered that she has leg hair today. She begged Terry and I to shave it off. Hilarious! I think she is a little young to be worrying about such things. So, we told her of course not, and that she is beautiful just the way she is. This caught me totally off guard.
Later we continued to work on our scavenger hunt. We went to a local park where we had to figure out two clues. We borrowed Christopher's glider bike. The kids each took turns riding it. Neither liked it much, they found it 'scary.' I am hoping that this will help teach them the balance they need to ride a two wheeler.

On a happier note, Isaac had his surgery today. It went well. The doctors think they got all of the tumor. I believe that his family will find out tomorrow when he has another MRI. I wish him a speedy recovery, and hope that the pathologist report comes back with good news!

Brrr!! It is Cold Out!

This morning we met my mom and went to Sweedish Days. It is a local festival and just an excuse to go out and visit some shops. The kids enjoyed a booth that had live animals, including a snake they could pet.
While we were walking around we discovered a new shop called The Chocolate Kitchen. So of course, we had to check it out! Kendall ordered a chocolate gelato, Caleb got strawberry sorbet, and my mom and I shared a slice of chocolate cake and a mini key lime pie with oreo crust. Yup, it was as good as it sounds! Quite delicious. Apparently the store opened just three days ago. They still have some glitches to work out, for example I was at first told no when I asked for a glass of water for the kids...I ended up asking a different person and got an empty sample cup that I filled in the bathroom. But, we would go there again in a heartbeat. Yum!

After lunch, Caleb attended another park district nature program learning about bugs and other creepy crawly things. The highlight was finding a dead frog. Fun stuff!
Tonight we had swim lessons. The pool was actually closed today and tonight due to the cold weather, but swim lessons were on. It was only 63 degrees out! Brrr! Kendall didn't realize what was about to happen in this picture.
Here she is after swim lessons. I bet she will not be too enthusiastic next week when it is time to go to lessons again. It felt like a cool fall day today. I am hoping tomorrow will be much warmer! We shouldn't need to go into our house to warm up in June.

On a sad note, please send prayers to my friend's son Isaac. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor last night. He is in good spirits right now, but we know that there will be a long road ahead of him. I hope the doctors come up with a great plan and that his body begins to heal!

Bowling with Rachael

We have been enjoying watermelon each day that Christopher bought Caleb when he was sick to make him feel better. Kendall in particular loves the watermelon and always eats it with a smile on her face!

We had a great morning! The kids had gymnastics first thing. They did a wonderful job! All of the older kids were there because it is summer vacation. It was amazing too see them flip threw the air! Wow! There were some really talented children there! My kids were working on forward and backward rolls.
After gymnastics we went bowling with Rachael. I love our bowling ally. They have balls as light as 4 lbs. So, the kids can actually bowl at the beginning by themselves. When they get tired they can then use these ball rollers. Kendall cheered whenever she got any pins down. She also was jumping up and down for joy because she was the fourth winner. There were of course 4 of us bowling. Rachael did a pretty good job, although she did get a gutter ball with bumpers. So, we all had a good laugh at that one!

After bowling we went out to lunch at Portillos. Yum! Kendall was very tired! So, we dropped Rachael back at home so my kids could take naps. They slept for 2.5 hours before I woke them up. Needless to say, they are wide awake and not ready for bedtime now!

Classes and Weather

We started off our day at ballet lessons for Kendall. She did a pretty good job when I peaked in! This was the first time I have seen her really try and follow the directions. Kendall was also very excited to be chosen as a leader a few times. While she was in class I tried to take Caleb to the park outside. It was pretty busy with the summer camp kids, and he refused to play. I think he was tired, but I honestly have never seen him shy like that. It was very strange!
After ballet, Caleb had his Get Ready for Kindergarten class. I signed him up in hopes that they would work on fine motor skills and to give him an extra opportunity to socialize in a school like setting. Kendall and I went out for an early lunch while we were waiting for him. She thought it was wonderful! We went out to Subway, which was a total treat for us. Caleb is allergic to wheat, so we tend to not go to sandwich shops. Kendall chose a roast beef sandwich with green and banana peppers. Kendall LOVES peppers. When we go grocery shopping, if I allow her to pick one thing, she always chooses a green pepper.
Later we went swimming and then had swim lessons. The kids did a great job in swim lessons! Caleb actually swam a few yards all by himself for the first time! Kendall gave a great appearance of being a little fish, and was chosen to be the example because she was doing such a good job. She refused to float on her tummy or back though. Swim lessons were cut short by 10 minutes due to a thunderstorm.
We ended the night huddled in the basement watching a movie on our laptop due to a tornado warning. The kids handled it very well, and luckily as of yet no tornadoes touched down by us. I hope the storms pass quickly, because it is freezing in the basement!

Story Time

We had another great summer day. It was storming outside this morning, so I figured it would be a good day to get some errands done. Our first stop was Petsmart. Our dog Flash needed some more flea/tick medicine and I wanted to pick up some specialty shampoo because she has been itching herself lately. My kids LOVE to go to the pet store! Who needs a zoo when you have a pet store near you? Okay, maybe it is not quite that exciting, but for them it is a close second. The kids really liked the parakeets this trip. They also had fun watching the fish being fed.
After the pet store we ran to story hour at Barnes and Noble. I love that our local store has a weekly story time. We don't often get to attend because of my work schedule, so it had been a long time. Miss Debbie read 4 stories to the group of kids. I loved how she integrated technology by using the Nook during the first read aloud. I thought that it was very engaging for the kids and a clever way to promote their reader.
After the stories were read the kids were given paper and crayons to draw pictures of what they learned. Caleb drew a picture of a rabbit from one of the books. I always love to see authentic writing opportunities during activities such as this.

After nap time it had stopped raining so we headed to the pool. The sun came out and was shining. We had a wonderful time! I think the earlier storms caused people to find other activities. There were only 10 people in the small pool while we were there. It was great for the kids. They became very brave and were going under water, as well as jumping off of the side. Kendall even went into water that went up to her shoulders. I was very proud of her!

Happy Father's Day!

We spent last night with my parents celebrating Father's Day. So, today we spent some time with Terry's parents. Both of the grandparents go by Grandma and Grandpa. Terry's parents already had 8 grandchildren by the time ours came along, so they were set. My parents had always thought they would be Grandma and Grandpa, so there you go! The kids came up with there own way of differentiating the grandparents. My parents used to have a standard poodle named Fonzie. So, they are Grandma with Fonzie and Grandpa with Fonzie. After he passed away, they became Grandma without Fonzie. Now, Terry's parents have many pets. They have cats, ferrets, rabbits, a dog, and crabs. So, Caleb began referring to them as Grandma and Grandpa with the crabs. Hilarious right?
We normally spend most of our time outside when we visit Terry's parents. The kids wanted a tractor ride with Grandpa. And Wayne came through! The tractor (lawnmower) is pretty old and has seen better days. He had such a hard time getting it started, but he worked on it for a good 10 minutes and the rides began. I was so surprised that he took both kids at the same time AND they behaved while having fun. Awesome!
After playing outside the kids were starving. So, we went to Denny's for lunch. I think they must have been short help in the kitchen. Our waiter was great, but our Denny's lunch trip took 2 hours. We arrived at 12:50 and the food was not brought out until 1:30. We were warned that it would take about fifteen minutes for the food to arrive, but it took closer 30 from the time we ordered. Happily the kids were very well behaved. Kendall was adorable. She kept scooting closer and closer to Grandpa until she was literally on his lap. She thought she was being very sneaky.

After lunch, we dropped Wayne and Dorothy back to their house and headed home. The kids fell asleep in the car and were easily transferred to bed for naps. I woke them up at 5:15 because I had a couple of errands to run. They were not happy waking up. I think they must be growing. Caleb is eating and sleeping like a champ. He is actually now about 2 inches taller than Kendall.