Summer's Finally Here!

It looks like the weather is finally cooperate and give us a little sunshine! I'm all for rain, seeing as we live in a desert a little moisture never hurts. But a soul can only live under cloudy skies for so long! The kids keep asking if it's summer yet. Now I can say, "Yes, it's finally here!" But don't worry we haven't let the weather hold us back. Here's a bit of what we've been doing:



I'm not sure who told Big T he could get big, but that's just what he's doing. He just finished his first year of playing soccer and his first year of elementary school. I swear that I'm not old enough to have a child doing these things! After all I still look twelve! He was just starting to get the hang of soccer when it ended. Ok, I confess, he's a bit of a dreamer on the field. It's true what they say about the apple not falling far from the tree (somewhere my mother is giggling to herself). But he REALLY enjoyed kindergarten. His teacher was fantastic and I cannot believe how much he has grown academically.

He still cracks us up, though. The other day he was looking for something in the kitchen. He found it in what he termed the "Crazy Ellen." What he meant to say was "Lazy Susan," but I think I prefer "Crazy Ellen!"

Lil' T is getting big, too! He just celebrated his 4th birthday, but I feel like he's already been 4 for awhile. He was sweet to share his Hot Wheels cake with his cousin, who was born on his 1st birthday. I think she might have preferred a girly cake, but hey, cake is cake! Lil' T is looking forward to preschool this fall. I'll admit that I hold preschool over his head saying things like, "Well, preschool boys can buckle their own seat belts" and "Preschool boys can put on their own shoes." It's probably wrong of me, but it seems to motivate him. His preschool teacher may not know what hit her, but hopefully he'll do ok.

Lil' T has always been an independent spirit. It wasn't long after we moved into our house that he felt perfectly at ease riding his bike around the block alone (unfortunately his parents were not at all comfortable with that considering he was only 2!) So his latest escapade should come as no surprise, right? While we were at Big T's kindergarten graduation, we wanted to get some pictures of the graduate outside the school. While Dad was taking those photos, Lil' T just vanished! One minute he was there and the next just gone! We looked all over for him and even had some help in our search. As I checked the playground, I feared the worst: he'd gone into the parking lot and been hit by a car. Little did I know that the reality was possibly worse. He had actually crossed the parking lot AND the street in front of the school to get to the van because he thought we'd left him. When I shrilly asked him, "You crossed the street?!!" he calmly replied, "I waited for all the cars to go first." Well at least he has some sense. And for the record, I have never left my children anywhere!

Lil' Miss is such a bright spot in our lives. She is constantly learning new things, which is what she is supposed to be doing. However, her new-found knowledge and experience comes with a price: she is becoming quite stubborn! She is opinionated about what she wears and is starting to want to dress herself. She's given up the high chair and is sometimes "too big" to sit in a booster. The funny thing is, she's not big at all. We still can't put her in a forward facing car seat. And I've been joking that hopefully there is not a "You Must Be This Tall" sign to enter nursery because I'm sure she wouldn't qualify.

I was worried that she wouldn't be girly because people told me that she'd probably be a tomboy with two older brothers. I shouldn't have worried because my mom says that our family has a "girly gene" and she definitely got it! Often when we get ready to leave, she can't go until she grabs her purse, even just to go out in the backyard. She's really into shoes right now and I love watching her dress up in my dress shoes. But her two brothers do have an influence on her: she enjoys playing with their vehicles and and eating an occasional shovel-full of dirt! I guess she's well rounded! She sure loves the boys. Her new word for them is "guys" and she just lights up when she sees them!

Well, this post ended up being WAY too long. To sum up, life is good right now. If we can just avoid that darn swine flu, everything will be great!