Laissez les bons temps rouler!!!!

Here's my take on summer break.  Rather than worry about running errands with two kids in 90-degree heat all summer (although the thought has obviously crossed my mind), I'm excited about all the potential this summer has, right close to home.  But first, I went out Thursday night with some of the preschool mommies, as well as my "new" friends, Karen and Debbie (you may recognize them).  What a blast! 

So what do I have in mind for the summer?  Keeping them busy busy busy!  How?  YMCA (so I can work out), pool (it opened this weekend, that deserves its own post), board games, art projects, outside time, etc etc etc.  How did we spend the first day of summer?  YMCA, grocery store, Shrek, drawing big pictures across the kitchen floor,

...and of course, water games in the driveway.

Amelia is almost potty-trained (thank you Silly Bandz!), June is jam-packed with things to do, life is good!

Beach Party!

Wednesday, I was in charge of Seth's class beach party.  Liz came over to watch Amelia, and I spent the morning playing with my boy. 

We had a sprinkler, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, a small pool,

a cool water balloon hot potato game,

and beach balls!  (Which accidently went above the air conditioner once, and then it became this big game to see how high they would blow in the air.)

We then had vanilla ice cream cones AND freeze pops:

Thirteen happy kids after a morning outside!

two special ladies

I thought I liked our preschool last year.  This year I know I LOVE it.  I had heard good things about both sets of 4s teachers, but I knew the first day I met these ladies that Seth was in the right place.  These ladies made learning fun, and learn he did.  He loves these ladies, and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual.  They made us a wonderful scrapbook (as in fancy scrapbooking) of pictures from throughout the year.  These ladies are amazing, and Amelia can't wait to be in their class in a couple of years!

the graduate

We gave June's "party week" (aka Nathan's birthday, Seth's birthday, and Father's Day) a run for its money this week.  Tuesday was Seth's class picnic.  We started out at the playground, where Seth (and a few other kids) conquered the monkey bars for the first time:

We then had a picnic at the shelter (my camera did not like the overcast day...all my pictures are horrible.):

Then this guy showed up...

...to watch Seth graduate from preschool.

Each student got a diploma, and we were told what they majored and minored in this year.  Seth majored in "structure" and minored in "manners".  Here is a picture of the entire class:

This class will be split up in the fall, between at least four different elementary schools and some staying at the preschool for readiness.  It's been a great year...I couldn't have asked for a better one!

Single ladies

(This is our 600th post, so I thought I'd be a little silly)

Beyonce style....

Chipmunk style...

The kids were playing on the deck in Kings Mountain.  From the den we heard:

We rented the Squeakquel a couple weeks ago, but this is the first time I've heard them singing the song!

Over the Mountain

Saturday Nathan participated in his first international distance triathlon, which is about twice the distance of a sprint triathlon.  It was held in Kings Mountain, which was convenient, because Nathan knew the area and was able to ride the course two weeks ago.  And very nice for me, because Scott and Sarah helped me entertain the kids all morning.  The swim was 1500m across Moss Lake.  I dropped Nathan off at the other side and watched with Melissa from a picnic table.  Nathan never saw us.  He finished first in his age group by over a minute!

Our college friend, Brandon, arrived right after Nathan got out of the water.  We started chatting (he did a half-ironman three weeks ago, crazy!) and I completely forgot to get pictures of the start of the bike.  When Greg (Melissa's husband), finished the swim, I headed back to the house.  I got caught up in cyclist traffic, but I had a lot of time.  Scott found us a great parking space downtown, and I'm fairly certain we saw the very first cyclist head in.  Here Nathan is making his way through downtown:

After the bike he had to run a 10k.  They had to make two loops on the course, here he is halfway done:

He finished 12 minutes better than he wanted to, and was only 3.5 minutes shy of qualifying for the regional race...way to go, Nathan!

Here are the boys after they finished:

We hung out in the park for over an hour after the race.  Nathan had a great time catching up with old friends, and we let the kids run around in the fountain with their clothes on, they had a blast! 

my new hobby

In addition to all the running, I have picked up a new hobby this spring...semi-extreme couponing.  I've always loved a good deal; this takes it to the next level.  One week our grocery store had triple coupons...I spent $22 and saved $81.  For $26 total, I bought Toy Story 1 & 2 Blu-Ray/DVD combo packs and received two free tickets to see Toy Story 3 when it comes out this summer.  There is a website I follow that lists all these deals.  Yesterday I went to Rite Aid.  Everything in the pictures is regular sized...anyone want to guess how much I spent (and don't ask Elise, because she already knows...she's my partner-in-crime in my couponing endeavors)?

All the couponing drives Nathan crazy, but I figure if nothing else, it's helping to cover all our race fees!

spring showers

We've had a mild, but fairly dry, spring. The last three nights, we've had thunderstorms. (Our kids are sleeping through them, hurray!) It's been raining off and on all day. Amelia was singing in the car. There isn't as much gusto to this as when she was singing spontaneously:

Seth's first haircut

Okay, not really his first haircut.  Just the first one we've ever paid for.  Friday night he told us he wanted to go somewhere for a haircut.  Fine by me!  I'm tired of fighting with him during the haircuts!  I had a coupon for a free haircut at SportClips.  He squirmed in the chair a little bit, but the lady that cut his hair did a great job distracting him.  (She got a really good tip since I didn't pay for the haircut.)

I didn't get a lot of pictures because Amelia was with us, but here is the finished product:

Hall of Fame

Earlier in the year, Nathan got a phone call saying the men's swim team was being inducted into the Kings Mountain High School Hall of Fame.  The 93/94 teams were the only ones in school history (in any sport) to win back-to-back state championships.  Nathan's mom worked hard to locate all the boys, and almost all of them were able to make it back for the induction.  Nathan's mom introduced the team at the ceremony.  She was an assistant coach throughout her kids' years on the team.  Here she is with the 1994 and the 1993 coaches (yes, they had a new coach the second year...and he was a "Yankee" that didn't know a whole lot about swimming!):

The group after the ceremony:

(The first two pictures were taken by the photographer from the Kings Mountain Herald.  The next one I stole from another blog.  Thanks, Amanda!)

Sage, Allen, Greg, Nathan, and Will

Nathan is still a fast swimmer , but he was REALLY FAST in high school.  Want to see him in his glory days? 

WAIT FOR IT...................

Yeah, I laughed a little bit, too.  This is the 1993 championship relay team...Nathan was all of 14 years old. 

While we were in town, Nathan swam with some of the current high schoolers.  And Sunday he rode the 45km course that is part of his triathlon next weekend.  It was a busy weekend!

other Kings Mountain pictures

Yes, the blog is out of order now.  Yes, it's driving me crazy.  Hopefully I'll forget about it.  :)

Here are pictures from our weekend in Kings Mountain.  Amelia rocking sitting with baby Brian...matching turtles, too cute!:

Saturday morning, Nathan's dad decided to plant some flowers.  Here's a (practically) verbatim conversation:

Seth:  "Where are you going, Granddad?"

G:  "I'm going crazy, want to come?"

S:  "I'll get my shoes!"

A:  "Me too!  Me too!"

So the kids went outside to plant flowers with Granddad.  He suggested color patterns and didn't mind when Amelia stepped on some of the new plants.  Seth has been a good helper in our yard this year.  Amelia is good at swinging while the boys are doing yardwork.

Prior to Saturday night's festivities, there was a get-together at the church for all the boys and their families.  Our kids were starving after their "yardwork", scarfed down their lunches, and busted out onto the playground.  The kids had a grand time while the daddies caught up on old times.  Little Will was hammin' it up for me...

Elise suggested that me and Amelia take a picture together...

Nathan and two of his high school buddies, Sage and Allen...

Mother's Day 2010

Sunday morning we had a nice brunch in Kings Mountain.  Well, all of us except for Nathan.  He was off biking 45 km.  We headed home right before lunch, and the kids graced me with three hour naps.  I wasn't sleepy, so I read my book and reorganized the kitchen cabinets without help.  It was heavenly! 

Nathan suggested getting rosebushes for Mother's Day.  I think they look great!

For as long as he can remember, Seth has bought me flowers for special occassions.  But when you don't get out until almost suppertime on the holiday, the cut flower selection is pretty skimpy.  I got a potted flower instead.  I hope I can keep it alive, because it really is pretty!

Seth's class made us cookbooks of their favorite recipes their moms make.  It was hilarious.  This is Seth's page:

strawberries

The last two times I picked up race packets, I had seen a banner with a strawberry on it with the website http://www.goodnessgrowshere.org/.  The Childrens Home has their first ever u-pick strawberry patch, and it just opened Wednesday.  Yesterday afternoon, we went with Austin, Sydney, and Melissa to pick a bucket of berries.  It was so much fun, I can't believe I've never taken Seth before!  Here is Seth's first berry:

Amelia did better than I expected, I just had to closely supervise what she picked...her version of red wasn't exactly the same as mine!

Our group (minus me and Sydney):

Four hot kids and the fruits of their labors:

"Take my picture like this, Mom":

Our berries are delicious, and disappearing quickly!

May Day!

I welcomed in May by running in the Komen Race for the Cure.  I rode over with a neighbor, and Nathan came to pick me up after the race.  The first mile of the 5k was uphill, so I wasn't expecting to get a good time, but I finished averaging sub-9 minute miles, yea!  This race was unlike any other I've done locally.  Over 12,000 total participants (about 10% of that were runners).  Post-race, there was a lot to do.  The kids stalked celebrities.  You know, Scooby Doo,

Snow White,

and Tiana (Princess and the Frog).

Later that morning, the elementary school was hosting a community day.  More fun stuff for the kids, and I learned that Seth seems to be a natural at tennis.  While we there, we saw Belle (Beauty and the Beast),

And Bolt (our local mascot).

I've had a heck of a time getting these pictures blog-ready.  I took them on my cell phone.  I had to buy a microchip to transfer them, make a trip to the mall to order them, another trip to the mall to pick them up, and the first time I tried to do this post, the scanner didn't work, so I had to reboot everything.  In other camera news, the pink camera is on its way back to the repair center, complete with warranty information and a nasty-gram from moi.  I'm crossing my fingers that my old digital camera holds up for at least this weekend.

grab your popcorn

Seth learned this song last week at school. It's his new favorite. Amelia sings it, too. So I'm sharing, so it can get stuck in everyone else's head.  I'd hate for you to miss out.

Dog of a certain age...

We adopted Colette in June of 2000.  We think she was taken from her mommy too soon, so we've always called May 1st her birthday.  Saturday we celebrated Colette's 10th (or 70th!) birthday.  We gave her a six pack...of colorful tennis balls.  The kids were more than happy to help her break in her toys.  To paraphrase Toby Keith:  she "ain't as good as she once was, but she's as good once (or a dozen times!) as she ever was":