1st First Grade Project

The first graders have been studying animals this month, so their teachers decided to send home a project focusing on animals: create a hat that resembles your favorite animal. I am quite pleased with how it turned out! I had the idea to use a brown baseball hat, felt, and a glue gun, but the rest was up to Jackson. He decided what parts to add, he cut out all of the parts himself, and he stuck all of them on himself (after I had applied the glue, of course!). Most importantly, it looks like a first grader made it, not his mom, and I am so proud of him... it is perfect!

T-Rex Soccer

Harris and his T-Rex soccer friends

This kid has a smile on his face the entire time he is on the field!!

Adventure

We have recently started "Family Adventure Day" on Saturdays. Jason and I take turns deciding where we will go and what we will do in an attempt to avoid days spent inside and being lazy or wasting time with the "Whadya wanna do today?" game. Our rules are that it has to be away from home, it should be something active and preferably outside, and it needs to be within two hours driving time. Our options include boat rides, beaches, interpretive centers, bike rides, hikes, festivals, etc. Anything that gets us away from home and from doing the same old things.
Our first one took us bicycle riding at Edisto Island State Park. It was a great ride through the maritime forest. We decided, though, that we need to get Harris riding without training wheels before we go back, as training wheels and dirt paths are difficult. The pictures above were taken next to Native American oyster mounds that were thousands of years old.
Another of our adventure days took us to Palmetto Islands Country Park to ride... another awesome place to explore. There were tons of trails, boardwalks, a great playground, and an amazing observation tower. Along with an incredible view, the tower was a huge structure with slides, ladders, and lots of nooks to explore. We ate a picnic lunch at the very top and enjoyed the beautiful marsh all around us.

These days have really been some of my favorite days. Unfortunately with the start of soccer games and college football, our days have been limited. Hopefully we will be back to our adventures again soon...

Late Summer Fun

Life

Phew! Things have been crazy in our household, life is speeding by at lightening speed, and I have failed at being a consistent blogger. I am, however, going to try to give you a little glimpse of what we have been up to:

* We have been in full swing at school. Jackson is loving first grade, has made some new friends, and loves all things First Grade: spanish, library, computers, science, math, reading, and PE uniforms. Some of the interesting things we have learned from first grade? Sketchers are cool, being King of the Day is oneof the best things in the world, homework every day can be tough, and the definintion of 'wedgie'.

* Harris is doing great at school as well. He is quite excitable and sometimes has to take a breather to calm down, but what is important is that he is excited about everything. What an awesome attitude to have!! He is also taking spanish, karate, science, and art at school... he loves being so big.

* Both boys are playing soccer and loving it (Mom's not so sure...). Right now, we have practice two days a week and at least one game a week. Jackson has been playing for two years now, but it is all new for Harris... he is in love with soccer. He asks me daily if it is a soccer day. He runs and runs on the field, but sometimes it is the opposite way of the ball. We have decided that we should call him "Wide Turns", as he runs in a large arc to change directions rather than just turning around.

* I am struggling to keep up with everything. I feel like there are so many pieces to the puzzle that is my life right now, and I can't seem to get them to all fit together... I am just not able to see the big picture. The daily schedule is never the same, meetings and appointments interrupt the day, karate and cub scouts are thrown in on random days just to confuse me, work has me turned upside down, I need to find time to get to the gym, the house is a disaster, and some days I am lucky to find my way home after it all. The days are a blur, and I am wondering what I am doing. I know we are overscheduled, and I am trying to reduce some of it, but that is hard. I'd really like to put on the breaks for a bit.

*Breathe* Phew. Kids. At the end of the day I know why I am doing all of this... for them. And, until I am committed to the looney bin, I will continue on, trying my hardest to get the puzzle put together.

First Grade, Here We Come!!

For Me

I did something I thought I would never do... I joined a gym. I have always been very anti-gym, as I love running outside and believed that running was all I needed to stay in shape. I had no interest in running on a treadmill in a room with 20 other treadmills and 20 other sweaty bodies surrounding me. The idea of someone watching me kills me, and I am gym-illiterate... I have no idea how to really work a treadmill, how to deal with the locker room, or how to fit into a class. The gym just didn't fit my "style".

It seems, though, as my kids got older and I started working, my time to run got less and less, until I was really only finding it once or twice a week... not enough. I tried running first thing in the morning, but I am not a good sleeper. Early-morning running was exhausting me and making me grumpy (the opposite of what it should do). Something that I loved became something that I dreaded. I tried running in the evenings, but I really appreciate my family time once Jason gets home. The jogging stroller was sold when they got too heavy for me to push any long distances while running. I felt stuck.

So, I joined a gym with childcare. Do I love it? I can't say yes yet. But, I am able to run in a cold dark room that has a movie with subtitles... I can run, listen to my iPod, and watch a movie all at the same time without worrying about someone watching me. The boys LOVE the childcare center and ask to go to "their gym". And, I am feeling better about being able to exercise daily again.

I'm still not sure about the classes. I went to one today, and I felt so dumb. I had no idea what I was doing, what I needed to get started, or which way to move. It was a sculpting/toning class, so there were a ton of materials needed... weights (both heavy and light), an exercise ball, a step, a mat, extra step supports... geez, I felt clueless. Most of the people in the class were PYT's and looked like models from Self Magazine... then there was me: uncoordinated, ungraceful, clueless, and sweating like only ABA can sweat. I survived and feel like I got a good workout, but I'm not sure my ego can take another one!

I guess time will tell if I overcome my gym fear, but today I am encouraged. It feels good to focus on a little bit of time for me again and to have taken a step for me. While I will still jump at a chance to pound the pavement, the gym will work for the other days that the pavement doesn't.

Ohio Trip 2009

The boys and I made our third annual trip to Ohio two weeks ago. Each year it seems our time up there gets longer and longer, and this year was the same... Papa put up with us for 10 days! They were a packed three days, full of adventure, exploring and fun!

One of our must-see's each year is the Toledo Zoo. It is definitely the best zoo I have ever been to, and I think we could make our zoo trip a two-day affair... we spent a full day there, and we had to leave lots to be seen at next year's trip. If you look here, the same picture above was taken two years ago... it is incredible how much has changed!

Papa with his boys... we got to steal Dean for the day to come with us. Jackson and Harris LOVE their time with Dean, so it was a special treat to have him with us.

We had the best time trying on different faces as this fun display at the new children's interactive zone!

Check out this link for this same above picture from 2 years ago...

If there is a costume around, leave it to Harris to sniff it out. This beehive exhibit was at the new children's section, and Harris found his nook, literally. The boy didn't want to leave. There was a section of a real beehive on display here, too, so we could see and listen to all of the bees.

We were lucky to get to see Dean play two baseball games while we were there... what a great little catcher! We also got to make our trip to Cedar Point. Cedar Point is on Lake Erie, only about a 2 1/2 hour boat ride from Papa's house, so we have been making the trip by boat, staying in the marina right outside of the park, and enjoying things at a slower pace. We were able to do two days in the park this year, which made the whole trip even better.

Thunder Canyon, above, was one of Dean's favorites... Jackson, not so much. Right after this picture was taken of the three of us, we got soaked... absolutely soaked.

Harris loved all things bumper... the bumper boats and the bumper cars.

Jackson's favorite was the Junior Gemini. I can't tell you how many times he rode it, and the time above was his favorite... he rode it all by himself!

Uncle Mike and Aunt Nicole joined us for the trip, and I am so glad that they did. It was a great chance for them to get to know Jackson and Harris, as living so far away, they rarely get the chance to spend time with them.

Each night we ended with a family spin on a carousel (there are 3 at Cedar Point!): Harris, Dean, Jackson, Papa, Uncle Mike, Aunt Nicole, and me. That was followed by a game or two and a sweet treat for the walk back to the boat.

It was an amazing trip (we so missed Jason who had to work!), and I am so thankful for the time I had with family.

Harris fell asleep not 10 minutes after we pulled out of the marina, and I think this picture represents how all of us felt! Two long days of riding, walking, and entertaining three little boys wore us all out. This post does nothing to convey all that we did or the fun that we had or how tired we were at the end of the day!

Thank you, Dad, for such an amazing 10 days. Your hospitality was so appreciated, and the time with you was precious to both me and the boys. I look forward to this trip each year, and I look forward to many more summer adventures with you. Love you.