Wednesday Night - Baseball, Pizza, and Gelato

After numerous rained out baseball games, the White Sox had a game in the grassy mud on Wednesday evening.  They had a great game, and we love how they are really improving at hitting and fielding.  This season has been so disjointed with so many rained out games and practices (just like the spring soccer season), but they are trying their best.  Go White Sox!

We went to Spin for pizza and gelato after the game.  Lincoln and Beau can each eat an entire kids pepperoni pizza in minutes, and they can't wait for their little cup of chocolate gelato.  Beau was a happy smiler! 

Lincoln might have been under the air conditioning vent and got a little too cool, but he was happy to eat his gelato too.  Well, he brought it over to Mommy's warmer side of the table pretty quickly, but he loved it!  We love Spin! 

Busy weeknights of sports and dinner and homework and reading and baths . . . bedtime comes soon!  At least everyone had fun and was well-fed!

Kickball: Students vs Teachers

Back in April on a stormy Friday night (well, stormy nights happened a lot in April and May), Mommy and Daddy attended the Bowie PTA Dinner and Auction.  One of the things we bid on and won was a kickball game of students versus K/1/2 teachers.  The kickball game happened on Tuesday after school, and everyone had so much fun!  The kids were so excited, and the teachers were so sweet and encouraging.  Lincoln was up first, and Mrs. Bailey was happy to be the catcher behind him. 

Our student group had 4 Kindergartners and 3 2nd graders (and one older brother who was our official score keeper).  The Kinders didn't have a lot (or any!) experience with kickball, but the Moms did our best to explain it.  Imagine how confused a kid would be with this explanation:  so it's like  baseball, but with no bat or gloves, when the big ball is rolled to you, kick it and run to first base, and try to beat the teacher who is trying to get you out with the ball.  Luckily, they did great and had fun! 

The kids took turns "pitching", and they loved it.  It was also fun to be "on base" or in "the outfield" because they could try to get the teachers out.   

The game lasted for an hour, and then we high-fived and good-gamed.  They loved playing against the teachers! 

Group pic!  Lincoln, Griffin, Crawford, and Canon made up the Kinder group.  Lincoln plays soccer with these boys and loved being with them for kickball.  Such sweet guys!  One of the 2nd graders, Austin, lives just a few houses down, and he really likes Lincoln.  It was nice that he took time to help the younger ones during the game. 

We didn't tell the kids about the surprise after the kickball game, and they loved that Monster Yogurt showed up with a treat and their mascot!  Group pick with the Monster!   

Vanilla and chocolate fro yo with M&Ms and gummy worm toppings . . . best ending ever!  Lincoln and Canon settled down quickly, and there was enough for the siblings.  Beau and Case were super happy to join in for a treat!  These guys are such a fun group, and they are so alike.  Lincoln and Canon are super sweet, fairly docile, and definitely the nicest boys around.  Beau and Case are typical little brothers - super animated, way less docile, and definitely the spunkiest and still nicest boys around.  Mrs. Bailey has her hands full in 2016 if all goes as planned; she'll have Beau and Case for a wild Kindergarten year!  

We are so thankful that these sweet teachers donated their time, and we were happy to bid on this experience.  The kids loved being around the teachers in a fun and out of classroom event.  There can't be another school or group of kids that are more perfect for our family.  Love these good times!!!

Memorial Day Weekend un

We spent Friday night at the club, but it was muddy and yucky.  The kids had fun and the parents cleaned everyone up later, but wasn't the best!  Baseball was rained out for Saturday, but we had plans to have a party at the Moody's house with the Katsoulis family too.  The food was delicious, and the kiddos played so well.  A thumb war broke out, and it was too fun!

After Sunday School, we changed our routine up a bit and went to Cindi's for brunch.  It's been a while, but it was super yummy.  And really bright, so squinty eyes . . .

Beau gave Daddy a great treat on Sunday afternoon when he slept on him for an hour.  It's almost unheard of for the kids to be still enough to fall asleep, but Daddy liked it a lot! 

We had plans to potluck it at the Gadoci's house on Sunday evening.  The kids were super entertained with water balloons.  Beau was ducking to avoid the hit! 

Mr. Brandon was wielding the hose, and the kid were loving to run by to tempt him spraying them.  So much fun! 

The last potluck was the crawfish boil, so Mr. Josh smoked a brishet to bring over.  It was super delicious.  Daddy made his baked potato casserole, and we brought over Cane's chicken strips and fruit for the kiddos.

Happy kids!!!!

We watched the sun go down and headed out on the golf course to catch some fire flies.  It got dark quickly, and the mosquitos came out hard!  Mommy brought glow necklaces and glow American flags.  It made it super easy to identify kids running wild on the gold course if they had on a glow item! 

Just because Beau looked so unhappy in the previous picture, he was totally having fun trying to catch fire flies . . . and he got 13 mosquito bites!  Not so fun! 

We are making the most of this rainy and stormy Memorial Day weekend, but we are longing for lazy days at the pool.   Bring in it on Summer!

Buddy Fun Day 2015

Buddy Fun Day arrived on a rainy Friday, but we were ready to have fun indoors!  Our group was Lincoln, Will, Miley, and Nariah, and they loved the activities. 

Our first stop was the Marble Dip Challenge, and the kids had to race each other picking up colored marbles with their toes and releasing them in the bucket.  Super intense!!!

Lincoln worked it out with a hula hoop!  The kids did their best to last the longest in the hula hoop challenge in the cafeteria.  It's a little hard to have great hip action in Kindergarten, but they did great.

We hit up the putting station, the long jump station, and the bowling station before we waited in the LONGEST line to climb the rock wall.  It was worth the wait! 

We shot some hoops, played Velcro toss, tried a little bad mitten, and then we made our next stop the Popsicle stand.  Favorite for sure!!  After the Kindergarten classes went through the Buddy Fun Day activities, we headed back to the classrooms to play games.  Ms. Bailey asked the kids to bring their favorite game to share with their friends.  (After some major drama the evening before, Lincoln wasn't able to bring his first choice game:  Minion Operation.  He was asked to check the game to see that all of the pieces were in the box.  Beau stole 4 pieces and hid them, and we couldn't ever find them!!!!)  Lincoln brought Gooey Louie, which is the funnies and grossest game ever.  The kids had so much fun pulling boogers from Louie's nose, and they exploded with laughter when they pulled the booger that made his brain explode!  On this turn, Kyle, Graham, and Peyton were happy to play. 

Our first Buddy Fun Day was a great success, even with the rain and mud keeping us inside.

Breaks in the Rain

It's like a broken record around here: rain, rain, and more rain!  We caught a break on Monday night and had a scooter/bike ride around the neighborhood. 

One of the last lunches with Lincoln of this Kindergarten year.  He's the sweetest lunch date! 

Tuesday afternoon was a make-up baseball game at Spring Creek.  It had majorly rained earlier in the day, so the game was moved to the grass because the dirt base path was complete mud.  The grass field wasn't much better, but the White Sox had a great game.  Good hitting, good fielding, and good running = good win!  The little brother/sisters had fun slashing in the puddles! 

After dinner on Wednesday, we had a quick chance to go outside again between the rain.  Beau went with Daddy to the club and the golf store, and Mommy went for a run with super fast biker Lincoln.   

On Thursday morning, Lincoln was honored at the Kindergarten Awards Assembly.  He received the Citizenship Award from Ms. Bailey and Principal Low, and he was so proud!!!  He wore his medal all day and found a special place for it in his room.   

Buddy Fun Day is on Friday, after being postponed from last Friday due to rain.  The organizers gave up and moved it to the gym/cafeteria/halls, so it will be wild.  Pics to come!  This Memorial Day weekend will not be like last year . . . lounging at the pool in the warm sun.  More torrential rain is coming each day, and the club pool renovation has been delayed because of the constant rain.  We have lots of plans to entertain ourselves with friends and potlucks each day. 

Weekend Fun

Happy Friday!  While Lincoln was in Kindergarten, Daddy joined Mommy and Beau on a stroller run.  It was a fun time!  We are giving the stroller to friends with younger kiddos because Beau's feet were literally hanging over the end and almost scraping then wheel!  It was fun for Dad to join us on a run!

Beau and Lincoln were super serious about reading Scooby Doo comics in the library on Friday afternoon.  Lincoln has met his AR points goal for the year (20 points), so the boys just got to read and have fun in the library. 

Hair appointments with Mr. Danny after school . . . they were on their best behavior!  The got awesome hair cuts and suckers, too!  Thumbs up! 

We headed to the club on Friday evening to join Daddy after his golf wound down.  The boys had tons of fun running around with friends!!  The struck a silly pose for Mommy! 

Before they were released to go run and play again, they switched poses.  Too cute! 

Our last Ninja's soccer game on the spring season finally arrived, and the boys were having fun.  Soccer should have ended in early April, but all of the rain outs extended our schedule way into May.  Lincoln is mostly a defense guy, and he loves to be goalie or be in the back field to run fast to kick the ball away from the opposing team.  On this last game, he announced in the car that he would definitely score a goal.  He did a great job with his normal soccer skills and saved a goal or two!  With 20 seconds to go in the 4th, he scored a monster goal!  Everyone cheered as the ref blew his whistle to end the game (season).  This fall/spring soccer team has been so fun.  Thanks so much to our coaches for leading this wild bunch!  We had Popsicles and Gatorade's from the Katsoulis' family and posed with Coach Simon with trophies! 

Saturday afternoon was spent at the club.  Daddy played golf, and the boys joined Mommy in a 90 minute tennis session with the ball machine.  They needed a little snack and rest after that.  Lincoln is totally making a heart with his hands, so sweet! 

We ran into Pop Pop changing to the back 9, and he said Nana was hanging outside at their house.  The boys enjoyed a golf cart ride to visit Nana in the backyard.  Bonus:  We ran into Daddy playing with Mr. Josh and tagged along for a hole.  Happy guys!

The summer is almost here, but we have a few more thing to tie up first.  More fun to come!

School Fun and a Little Break in the Rain

The last month of Kindergarten is going quickly.  Mom volunteered to help Mrs. Bailey on Tuesday but didn't give Lincoln any advance notice.  He was surprised to get a tap on the shoulder in the cafeteria, and he got to have lunch with Mom!  Such a sweet face!

The sweet face quickly turned to the cutest squinched up silly face . . . as usual!  He knows how to work the camera!  He ate his turkey, cheese, popcorn, and strawberries happily, and then we went to check out his picture being moved to the 20 point AR level.  He is so proud, as are we all.

We had a brief reprieve from the rain on Tuesday afternoon and evening, so we made sure to got for a neighborhood bike ride after our grilled chicken dinner.  They were happy to get back to monitoring the streets for friends, pets, and other common sights. 

Mom surprised Lincoln at school again on Wednesday by being Library helper (with Canon's mom).  The kids had fun learning from Ms. Harker then checking out new books for the week.   

On Thursday after school, the Ninjas had a make up soccer game.  We are still making up games from the massive rain cancellations, and it was still super muddy for this one.  Some of the boys attempted to avoid the mud-filled low spots, but some couldn't help but take full advantage of splashing and sliding in the mud.  The boys posed for a crazy picture after the game.  (Their uniforms look way whiter in the picture than they really were.) 

The weekend plan is filled with outdoor activities and more rain.  Can we fit in golf, soccer, baseball, and tennis between the storms and mud?  Some yes, some no!  Pictures to follow!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day . . . rainy edition!  This rain is not letting up, and it's been weeks!  Every weekend is tons of rain, and the next weekend has the same forecast.  We had Sunday School then met up with Nana and Pops for brunch at the club on Mother's Day morning.  It was super delicious, and everyone had fun.  We posed for a damp picture on the putting green, and these silly guys make for the best Mother's Day ever!

Mommy's Sunday evening tennis group had plans to play on Mother's Day, but Christy invited us (and our families) to their house for a crawfish boil.  So nice . . . and so not the normal!!!  The parents had fun visiting, and the kids had fun (Lincoln and Beau had met Riley and Addy on Wednesday evening and reconnected, the boys already knew to play with Shane, and KK and Frog were super fun older kiddos) and played so well together.  They had 30 lbs of crawfish, and it took four batches to boil it all.  Most of the participants were eager to dig in, but three of us weren't so confident.  My excuse is that part of 8th grade Biology with Mrs. Tosh was to dissect a crawfish, and it wasn't pretty.  Those things live in the mud, and it gets in every external/internal crevice!  Not that I would haven eaten a crawfish before 8th grade, but I certainly hadn't eaten once since!  (Side note:  I don't go to many crawfish boils, so the temptation isn't there.)  Blake and Christy also enjoyed the process and company, but were a little sheepish like me.  Brooklyn took over the seasoning and tried to make us comfortable with the crawfish.  We eventually figured out that if our husbands picked out the good meat, we were ok with eating it.  Brandon did a great job of boiling our crawfish feast, and it was kind of fun to get out of the comfort zone!  Thanks to Kev for taking care of me!  There were a few shenanigans before the crawfish were all cooked.  Beau was checking out the live crawfish in the giant bucket from a safe distance when Mr. Josh pinched him from behind, and Beau was shocked out of his shoes!  He gave Mr. Josh a silly/angry growl!  Dwight wore a pair of gloves to transfer the live crawfish to the boiling water, and he managed to have a few out of control crawlers!  Brandon even put a live crawfish on the table of boiled ones to scare Brooklyn!  It was wild!

Mr. Brandon grilled the kiddos hot dogs, and Mommy brought fruit and cheese to round out their meal.  They ate well and were pretty happy to not be involved in the mess on the big table!

Since the never-ending rain still wouldn't let up, we watched a storm roll in and dissipate before dumping on us.  We just got a nice little shower while we ate.  The kids loved jumping on the trampoline. 

When the kids took a break inside, a band formed quickly!  An accordion and keyboard were also brought in by Addy and KK.  Such a fun group! 

We had so much fun, but eventually it was time to end the evening.  Lincoln and Daddy had to make a stop before Mother's Day was over.  (Lincoln had seen a Kroger commercial while out visiting with Mom instead of sleeping earlier in the week.  He ran to get a piece of paper and crayon to write down Kroger-Roses-$9.)  He was so proud to present Mommy with roses for Mother's Day.   

It was a fun day for sure.  Lincoln and Beau have brought me so much joy as a mom, and it's nice that we took a day to tell them to honor their mom.  We talked to Minnie, and if it wasn't mentioned, it should have been . . . she's been an amazing mom to me.  Our daily phone calls are a very special part of my day.  We just spent brunch with Nana, but it also should be said how special of a mom she is to us too . . .  we specialize in texts instead of phone calls.  Thanks to all of the women who mother our family, and I'll try to keep up the example you set to mother with love first and foremost.  Again, to Lincoln and Beau, it is an absolute honor to be your mom!  But keep buying flowers and cards and giving extra hugs and kisses because those are priceless!

Fun Friday and Saturday!

Friday was a busy day!  Beau went with Daddy to help set a Scottish Festival, then we all met up at Bowie when school was out.  Ms. Harker, the Librarian, told Lincoln last week that the end of AR quizzes is coming up soon.  He has been super determined to read more books each evening so he's ready for more quizzes.  It has taken a long time to get from the 10 point club to the 20 point club when Kindergarten books only earn 0.5 each time.  On Friday afternoon, he made it to 20!!!!!  (He gets a free ice cream pass in the cafeteria next week, and that is a totally exiting reward!)  

We woke up to thunder and rain on Saturday morning, and we were moving pretty slow and assuming the Ninja's soccer game would be cancelled.  Apparently the Y is tired of cancelling games, so we all trampled in the mud while the boys play a hard and fast game.  Lincoln scored a monster goal and hustled hard.  The boys have really rallied after so many weeks of rain outs.   

Daddy left the soccer game to check on a couple of festivals in Arlington and Fort Worth.  Luckily, the rain took a break for the afternoon, and they were successful.  Lincoln chose The Burger House for lunch, and Ms. Kate said the Katsoulis family would join us there.  Fun lunch with (baseball coach) Corey, Kate, Nick, Ellie and Baby Tyler.  The kids had fun spending eating lunch and spending tons of dollars and quarters on the video games and silly toy machines.  Beau had to pose with his 50 cent gray mustache!!!  We had a great time . . . and we were all still muddy from soccer! 

After getting cleaned up and having a fun afternoon of Legos and a Target trip, we met up with the Moody's and Katsouslis' families for a fun dinner at Manny's.  They put our wild group in the party room, and we tried to keep it in check.  The parents loved visiting, and the kids loved hanging together.  There might have been a chip fight (that was put to a stop), there might have been a sugar canister giant swallow (that was put to a stop), there might have been a bunch of ice cubes thrown (that was put to a stop), there might have been a bunch of fruit/quesadillas/fajitas/chips eaten, and there might have been a Scooby Doo DVD available to distract little boys from all of the bad behavior that can happen at a semi-supervised table just 2 feet from their parents!!  Mommy took the kids outside at the end to run a bit on the patio!  Fun group! 

Coach Corey and Coach Andy (and he brought William) came over for a coaches meeting later in the night, and the kids managed to have a popcorn fight in the playroom.  Yikes!  But such a fun Friday and Saturday!