Mid-May 2016

As you can probably surmise from the title, it has been a quiet few weeks around here. There have been a few stand-out moments. Jack and Anna had the official ceremony for their hundred book club. It was much more challenging this year than last. The hundred books contained specific requirements including 2 fairy tales, 2 books about another country, 5 books about famous people, 10 chapter books, etc. Also, unlike in first grade, the majority of books were nonfiction. This wasn't an issue for Jack, who loves to read about history, but it was a challenge for Anna, who likes to read, but prefers fiction (the kids seem to take after their same-gender parents). They had an awards ceremony and then let the kids have lunch outside with their parents, followed by a dessert buffet. It was a fun afternoon and I was proud of them for completing the challenge.

Anna standing with her much beloved Mrs. Lowe

Jack getting his medal (pictured teacher was a substitute, but his teacher is also wonderful)

Kara completed the first grade hundred book list, but we haven't heard anything about her ceremony yet.

We have made a few more trips to Six Flags. Anna has now braved one of the big coasters. It goes upside down and in corkscrews and is her biggest coaster to date. She loves it!  Kara still avoids any rides with "big hills," which we have assured her doesn't make her any less brave than her siblings. Jack has now ridden every large ride the park has to offer and loves them all--including Batman, which we reluctantly let him ride.  I still think Kings Dominion is a better park, but Six Flags definitely has its own advantages, like the Superman rollercoaster which is my and Thomas' favorite. Regardless, both places are really fun.

You can barely see the barefoot little Anna

In other news, I applied for another job. I am a glutton for punishment I suppose. I still vacillate on whether I want to go back to work, but I think I do.  It would allow Thomas' to retire a couple years earlier and would let us save more money for retirement.  Plus, I really don't know what I will do when Luke goes to school in a few years. Plus, I really don't like to clean and would have no excuse left to avoid it.

And, a couple of random pictures:

Random picture of our "whisper tube." Me and the kids had a lot of fun one night giving each other secret messages.

The only benefit to having to drive to Annapolis to fix a broken iPhone--lunch at PF Changs.

Rebound Week

After our awful week last week, it has been nice to return to normal. In other words, there have been good moments, bad moments, and just plain moments. Here are the highlights.

In bad news: I dropped my new, expensive iPhone. I had taken it out of it's protective case because the case had something blocking the camera. We were at Jack and Kara's baseball game and it just fell out of my pocket, face down on some stone. Screen cracked.

In good news: no tantrums this week! Anna had her second soccer game yesterday. She had fun and her team played well. From there, we went to Six Flags. There was a cheerleading competition, so the park was crowded. We watched a little of it, primarily while Jack and Thomas were off riding the big coasters. We were impressed by the stunts. Cheerleading seems more like gymnastics than cheering. Even though there were more people in the park the ride times were still manageable, particularly in the children's area. I am not sure why Six Flags has such a bad reputation. We have found it to be clean and fun. Of course, we'll see what it is like in the summer.

I thought this was a fun one, we were all on the the same ride, just in two different cars. I took this one looking down at Thomas and Jack. Anna did not like me turning around, she was convinced I was going to cause us to fall.

A rare moment capturing the four of them having fun together!

Jack is doing well at baseball. He has gotten a base hit every time he's been up to bat and does good in the outfield as well.  He says he loves it and wants to be a professional baseball player. Unfortunately, Kara has developed a fear of the ball and doesn't enjoy batting. We aren't sure why, she was never hit with it or anything, but this season may be the end of her baseball career. She is still going strong with her gymnastics/dance class. She can now do cartwheels, splits, bridges, back-bend kickovers, roundoffs, etc. She is currently hoping to learn front and back walkovers. She loves, loves, loves doing floor gymnastics and is constantly doing cartwheels and other moves. Unfortunately, I have no knowledge, so she is limited to what she can learn in her 45-minute weekly class or teach herself in the yard.

Luke get his first big-boy haircut. Jack was ready for his summer buzz cut and Luke was very interested. When Jack was done, Thomas asked if he wanted his hair cut too. Luke responded with his typical "sure"  (sounds like sha). He climbed into the chair and handled it like a pro.

He liked throwing his hair on the ground. I didn't realize he had so much of it.

I never realized how much they look alike until this picture.

Thomas work schedule is still busy, but not nearly as bad. He is still working longer hours, but nothing like the previous weeks. He was even home in time to go to the school's annual sock hop. We go every year and the kids love it. This year, I overheard some older kids talking about being embarrassed by their parents' dancing. It motivated me to get out on the floor with my kids and Thomas, who was already dancing with them.  The kids were completely thrilled. It was a good reminder to enjoy them while they are young. Thomas and I are terribly uncoordinated and truly awful dancers, but the kids were just happy to have us being silly with them.

With some friends in the "photo booth" area.

I got the cap for my root canal. It cost a bit more than I expected, but because the tooth had no root I didn't need to get any shots. Since it was pain-free,  I am calling it a win.

Finally, a few more random shots from this week:

This one is actually from Kara's program last week. Wasn't she a cute monkey?

Jack built this awesome train track for Luke. Far more elaborate than what I usually make him.

There was no school Tuesday so we decided to go berry picking with some neighbors. We got almost 7 pounds and ate them in 2 days (strawberry shortcake, a strawberry balsamic chicken recipe, strawberry covered waffles, and plain strawberries). We need to back for another 7 pounds!