Certificate of Recognition

Parker was recognized at school for his "outstanding accomplishments in making connections and retelling with details." Hmmmmm, okaaaayyyyy.  It's a good thing I'm not a kindergarten teacher.  I think I'd run out of ideas after "outstanding accomplishment in zipping up pants after going potty" and "outstanding accomplishment in not picking nose this week."  But Parker's teacher seems very involved with the children and he was thrilled by the award, so yay Parker!

Uncle Thomas's Graduation

Doctor Thomas graduated from medical school!  Awhile ago I was thinking to myself how smart Thomas is and then a few days later Paul commented on how he has a really big brain and is basically a walking encyclopedia.  Out of the mouth of two witnesses... so it must be true!  We're so proud of him and looking forward to never paying for medical services again.

We made the quick drive to Arizona for the occasion and got to pass through beautiful El Centro and Yuma.  Oh, and Dateland.  Let's not forget Dateland.  Parker and Kate did really well.  They watched movies while Paul and I listened to TED radio.  Actually, we started off listening to a book called "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character", which sounds really interesting and maybe it's better in print, but not a great roadtrip book.

Anyway, the ceremony was great.  Paul got to hood Thomas, which I thought was really special.  Afterward we ate at Kneaders (!!!) and then went for a quick swim.  Thomas and Angela got some special goggles for Parker and Kate.  They both loved them!  We found out later that maybe Kate's were on a little too tight?

Grandma Trudy gave Parker and Kate these awesome activity books for the car ride home.  They were entertained for hours!  

4th of July

We decorated flag shirts to wear for the 4th of July.  Parker was confused because he ALREADY HAS a flag shirt that Grandma Trudy gave him last year, and could he please just wear that one instead?  Well, I forced him to wear the one he made and I think it turned out to be okay in his mind.  We had a barbecue and a water balloon fight and then did sparklers in the backyard.  Paul and Parker went to see the big fireworks down the street at the Olympic Training Center while Kate and I stayed home so she could go to bed.  Also, I think she would have hated the big fireworks- too loud and scary, but I'm hoping she'll be able to go next year.

Preschool Graduation

Parker had his last day of preschool and then a few days later, his preschool graduation.  I remember his first day of preschool... it doesn't seem like it was that long ago.  He loved preschool and I did too.  They did so many fun activities and projects, he made lots of friends and he learned to spell his name.  Success!

School here starts in less than two weeks and I feel this sense of urgency to make our short summer as fun as can be before Parker leaves us for five full days a week.  I think the length of the school day will be a hard adjustment for him, but I'm more concerned about Kate.  They play so well together, I think it will be sad for her to have him away for so much of the day.

After Parker's graduation I told him that we could go get a smoothie because it was his special day (he wanted to take a picture of Kate enjoying her Jamba Juice for posterity.)  A few hours later he told me that he wanted me to go buy him a nerf gun and go to Buffalo Wild Wings (he likes the iPad they give to kids, not the food) for dinner because it was his special day.  Ha!  Nice try, bubs.

Father's Day

I'm afraid this Father's Day was one that made Paul long for the tranquil days of yesteryear when we were child free.  I don't know what their deal was, but Parker and Kate were ON ONE.  Hopefully even through their back to back to back meltdowns, Paul was to enjoy his special presents from the three of us and the delicious food we ate. 

Moments before I took this picture Kate was "tonguing" (licking) the pie and Parker was in tears because he had to go to timeout.  I got him to smile by telling him that I just tooted.  :)

I'm so grateful for Paul.  He definitely pulls his weight with these two and is often the favorite parent.  I like to think of myself as more of the daily grind parent, while Paul is silly and fun and is truly the perfect dad for our little monsters.

Suzie's Farm

A couple weeks ago I signed up through the YMCA to take Parker and Kate to Suzie's farm for a tour.  I wasn't exactly sure what it entailed, and I kind of forgot about it until I saw the reminder on my phone a few days prior.  My dad came into town the day before our scheduled farm tour and it was a really nice outing for the four of us.  In fact, it was incredible.  I was blown away.  The farm is 70 acres and full of all sorts of produce and egg-laying hens as well.  We toured the whole farm and got to pick any produce we wanted.  Each person was given a bag and was told to fill it up!  We got several varieties of lettuce, squash, green beans, carrots, beets, radishes, basil, and flowers.  We ate all the green beans and carrots that night for dinner (plus Kate ate at LEAST six carrots while we were at the farm) and I made zucchini bread the next day before Paul and I left for our Washington vacation and Grandpa Bob watched the kiddos.  I couldn't really see the three of them eating beets and radishes while we were away, so I gave the rest of our goodies to a vegetable loving friend.

After the farm tour, a local chef did a cooking demonstration.  He made grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches on artisan bread and roasted some squash and grape tomatoes, which we then ate for lunch.  For dessert we had melon sorbet.  After lunch all the kids got to plant some seeds in little cups to take home.  Such a fun day!

Open Gym at the YMCA

I love the YMCA. We first became members when we lived in LA and were broke. Their policy is that they don't turn people away and so they only charged us something like $15 a month for a membership. Parker had a hard time with me leaving him in the child watch for the first few months, but there was a woman in there who knew Parker and what would get him to stop crying (being held constantly) and so she would sit down and literally hold him the entire time I was gone. I could go on and on about my love for the YMCA. They are so family oriented. Their gyms and group exercise classes are top notch, but they equally focus on programs for children. Parker has participated in their soccer and tball (free!) programs and has done swim lessons too. When we moved to Orange County from LA, I literally based our apartment search on proximity to a Y.

Every Wednesday and Friday our Y opens up the gymnastics area to young kids and they all run around and play on the equipment and generally act like they've died and gone to heaven.

Lately Parker likes to set up obstacle courses and pretend he's a ninja warrior. Kate likes to spend her time in the ball pit and doing somersaults down the wedges.