Courage

Hum.

This is the waterfall to our pool.  All the kids jump off of it.  E does not.  E does want to.  Craig offered up a surf board if E would jump off the waterfall on Saturday.  20 minutes that boy was up there.  Contemplating everything that goes with that jump.  He obviously psyched himself out after 20 minutes of thought.  Sweet guy.  Our neighbors probably wonder what is up with us.  We were cheering him on- waiting- telling him he could do it..... The second picture is him telling himself that he can do this.  He is awesome.  He is NOT one of those kids that will do anything because everyone else is doing it.  (at least not now....hopefully never).  He does everything in his own due time and no amount of pressure- or the allure of a new surf board are going to make him do it.  Not until he is good and ready and then when he is- he won't look back.  Once he jumps off that sucker- he will always be jumping off.  Reminds me of my little (huge) 19 month old that wasn't walking yet- and then one day just decided to do it (on his own) and he never looked back and he rarely fell.  
He knew he was ready and he was.  

I really do love this about E.

End of School Open House

School is coming to an end.  Finally.  Not that I want time to go by fast- I just want to have my summer with my little boy.  I really do not like school.  Aside from him learning what he needs to learn.  I feel like it is too long to be away from home and the good/best influences.  Certain things he has "learned" this year by way of other children I hope are quickly forgotten this summer.  E has NEVER been a fan of us leaving in the morning at drop off.  He has cried and been sad and it has been heartbreaking really.  Many a morning I've thought that it would be best to just go home, snuggle up and read and do our own learning.  However, as the year has progressed he has been more excited about getting to school.  So, to many this little note was weird, but to us it meant he was okay with us leaving.  How do I really feel about that?  Selfishly- I'm sure you know how I feel- I'd much rather he just want to go home and play.  Bring on SUMMER!!!

 We have been blessed with a really great teacher.  I'm grateful daily- E REALLY likes her.  This morning he told me he had a funny belly and I asked him if he was nervous about something.  He said he was nervous for school to be over because Mrs. O wouldn't be his teacher anymore.  What parent doesn't want to hear that?  She has sent home a lot of homework- and at first it really bugged me- then I realized why.  She does so, so much "hands-on" learning in the classroom.  They are always learning about something visually and hands on.  She doesn't just have them sit and do pages of work- that's why they come home for homework.  I'd much rather it be like this.  E has learned more this year than any other year combined.  His reading is amazing.  He can read just about anything- especially the scriptures (to me, the most important thing to be able to actually read).  Mrs. O is even trying to get them to think beyond school into college.  Funny, funny lady.  We will all really miss her.  

If E could only have a teacher like her every year- he would soar. 

They did a whole monster theme for open house.  

What boy doesn't love that idea?

 Goodbye 1st grade.

Butterflies and Poop

 

 Every Wednesday is our special afternoon with our cousin.  We love him.  The last few weeks (since school is almost over) we have decided to spend our Wednesday afternoons at the nature center and hang with the butterflies in their little butterfly exhibit.  I LOVE butterflies and so do the boys.  They have gone to extreme measures to catch the monarchs and get up close to see them drink the nectar from the flowers.  It's been pretty impressive.  They pick a flower and hold it close to the butterfly and then they wait for it to go onto their flower.  I've been impressed with their patience and enthusiasm with these little creatures. 

Poop.  Like I don't hear that word enough lately.  It's like instant comedy anytime the word is said around my child.  How befitting it was when we were at the nature center and they were doing a little class on what animals eat and what their poop looks like.  Halleluiah!  The boys got to determine which poop went where.  Good times with poop.

Roller-blades

My nephew Nate had a pair of roller-blades at dinner the other night.  E was so excited to try them on and give them a test run.  Although COMPLETELY wobbly he decided he was in love.

He rarely asks for things- especially things to work on physically- so we went with it and got him a pair.  He has improved remarkably since first putting them on.  He's pretty timid when it comes to trying new things physically.  He gets extremely frustrated because he isn't a pro the minute he tries whatever it is.  

I am really proud of him. 

Triathlon

 Practice before- I love the sheer joy in my little man's face!  Even though we got kicked out of the pool and he sat freezing in his towel- waiting to be able to get back in.  

Good afternoon with some of our favorite little people.

The kids did a little triathlon locally last weekend.  They are such cute little champs!  I was so proud of each one of them and their different areas of strength.  I love that each child gets a medal at the end.  They are so proud of themselves and their accomplishment.  It is fun to watch some of them have determination and be really competitive, while others are so kind to be waiting for a friend to continue on, others who just want to complete it while others cheer them on- no rush, just complete it.  Fun to watch and fun to see my little man cross the finish line.

Eclipse

Living close to the beach and the bay allows for many overcast and cloudy days.  While many of your eclipses were free from clouds- ours turned out like this.

Baseball, check!

I love that E has a desire to try many things.  Especially sports.  He wants to try everything sport related.  Baseball has finished and I'm a wee bit stoked.  Hasn't been our favorite.  He has been a champ about the commitment he made to the sport- going to practices and games without annoyance (well, much).  All in all, it's been a good season.  I'm looking forward to what's next.  We've already signed up for soccer again, at his request.  I know there are more things in the future- football, basketball, some more tennis, swimming, etc. etc.  Love this kid, who loves life.

Spring Break

Spring Break found us at The Great Park.  (such a dumb name for a park!- of all the names out there???)  It was a windy day so we couldn't ride the balloon but we were able to ride the carousel and explore a bit.  

E and L started a little golf class together.  They have been such buddies lately, I'm loving every second of the two of them together.  Most of the time I am in the house with one of the doors open while they are playing together outside- keeping my distance so they can just be- but enjoying their chatter and creativity together.  I am so grateful E has cousins around to be as close as they can be to brothers and sisters.

And lastly, what can I say?  We had a little church auction and it had a western theme so we dressed up.  E borrowed a few items from some of our friends and he wore them ALL weekend.  Silly guy.  I don't think I would have pegged him as a cowboy boot/cowboy hat lover- but he is.  Here's to Idaho.

Epic Duel

Mom, now that's an epic duel right there! 

Me: what do you mean (I'm driving can't see what he is talking about)?  

There are two birds having an epic duel right up there in the sky. A crow and some small bird.   


Epic

Questions and Answers on GLUTEN(Part 2)

Questions and Answers on GLUTEN(Part 2)



A little more info.....

Questions and Answers on GLUTEN (Part 1)

Questions and Answers on GLUTEN (Part 1)


Many ask questions why E and I are gluten free eaters, this is great information.

Aquarium- Backstage Pass

Spring Break 2012- started off with a fun trip to the Aquarium.  One of the partners with Craig's firm's fiancee works at the aquarium.  She had told us to give her a call sometime and she would give us a backstage tour.  WOW!  It was so fun.  It truly made us all appreciate how much work goes into something like an aquarium.  A  TON OF WORK!  Seriously!  for one little display that you might see- behind the scenes there is a whole room that might be devoted to that one display.  It's crazy.  I will forever remember what I saw behind the walls and how much goes into making it an experience for us to enjoy.  Crazy.

We first got to go see the sharks at feeding time.  The pool right where the boys are standing was literally only 2 feet off the ground and the sharks were RIGHT there.  It was AWESOME!  

We were able to go feed some of the fish in their largest tank.  The boys loved it.  They got to see the scuba divers getting ready to go in also- they thought that was pretty cool.  I enjoyed seeing the sea turtle come up the surface to see what was going on.

The kids got to stick their fingers in and have these little guys clean them off. I was impressed that each one of them 

wanted to do it and enjoyed it.

It was a wonderful day with many of our favorite people- minus a few of our other favorite people.  Especially Miss K.  The kids loved it.  The best part I couldn't get a decent picture of- we got to go into the room that has the octopus tank and Cassie (our guide) opened it up and the octopus came out and said hello.  It was so cool to see something so amazing and feel it's little suckers and let the kids touch it- they LOVED it.  As soon as Craig made the connection that the suckers were just like a sticky Nerf dart the kids had no problem touching them- funny it took such a simple comparison.  Apparently she likes to try to get out of that tank.  They put up a plastic mesh that her tentacles won't attach to so that she won't.  It was amazing.  Grateful for a good start to spring break!

Faces of Baseball

I'm loving these photos.  They crack me up.  E makes some of the best faces when he is concentrating or doing different things.  So far- baseball and soccer faces are topping my favorites.  Baseball has been fun, I haven't gotten the best gauge from him about how much he likes it yet.  He is sometimes excited, sometimes not excited at all.  Time will tell.

Easter 2012

 Easter- One of those holidays that should be WAY more than it is made out to be by the world.  I do LOVE a good egg hunt and dying eggs- I just wish it were more.  I intend to make it more in years to come- a promise I'm making with myself.  Love the kids faces while running to find candy and eggs.  These two pictures are from our church Easter party.  E chose a nice bunny tattoo that was finished off with his name written all the way up his arm.  Pretty snazzy.

 A fun Easter hunt at Grandma's house.  The kids had a blast dying eggs and hunting for bags and treasures of candy.

The only good photo I have of E on Easter Sunday morning.  He was patient and got ready for church before he could find what the Easter Bunny had left for him.  Next year, Bunny comes Saturday (thank you for the idea- you know who you are!  :-) ) and therefore leaves Sunday (particularly the morning) to be left for the sacred remembrance of why we really celebrate Easter.  

The greatest gift ever given to us.