Delmarvelous

Now that school is back in session, I realize that it is time for me to get back to blogging, lest I forget everything we did this summer. (Of course it is possible I am blogging because I putting off some folding clothes or changing a diaper, but let's all just pretend that I don't have anything better to do at the moment.) Who knows how many unfinished blog posts will get published, but I definitely wanted to write about our vacation this year.

One of Will's favorite pastimes is daydreaming about what fabulous city/beach/destination we will travel to next. He and I are always talking about it. This year he and I decided it would be fun to go somewhere we had never gone before, so we started talking about driving up the east coast. He wanted to go to Rhode Island and NYC. I was thinking Boston or Maine.

Before I got too deep into my planning, I realized that it is a long stinkin' way to drive to all of those places in a Sienna with three energetic children. So I started throwing around alternatives... Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina (where we have been, but love), Washington, DC. I did a little research and discovered that the funny little peninsula that sticks out over there is called Delmarva. (Get it? Delaware, Maryland, Virginia - DelMarVa? See, you learn something new everyday.) Better yet, none of us had been there.

First stop on our awesome Delmarvian tour (yes, I know I need to stop making up words) was Cape Charles, VA, on the southern tip. The hotel where we stayed had a small, private beach (it wasn't as fancy as it sounds) and a pool, which were the necessities.

Later that afternoon (Monday) we drove up to the public beach in Cape Charles. It is all on the Chesapeake side, so the water was very calm, which Kate loved.

On Tuesday we drove up Delmarva to Assateague Island. It is a national/state park with no development, other than educational buildings and some trails. It is on the Atlantic side, so there were lots of big waves, which the boys loved.

Assateague is also home to wild ponies. We were on the Virginia part of the island, where the ponies are owned by the Chincoteague Island Fire Dept. (Think Misty of Chincoteague.)

We stayed overnight on Chincoteague Island, where we had Build Your Own Cookie sundaes and played mini-golf...two more necessities. Ben especially loved Chincoteague/Assateague and still asks me when we can go back there.

On Wednesday we drove north to Ocean City, MD, where we had lunch and quickly decided it was waaaay to crowded for our taste (we couldn't find anywhere to park if we wanted to), and so we headed into Delaware to visit their state park beaches. Delaware isn't that big of a place, and there are 3 or 4 state parks along the coast. Unfortunately, none of them were allowing swimming because there was a heavy fog, and the lifeguards couldn't see. We finally ended up at a public beach in Lewes, located on the Delaware Bay. Again, smooth waters=happy Kate. The boys opted for sand castles, but at this point in the vacation, I was apparently taking a vacation from my camera.

That night we were able to meet up with some long-lost cousins of Tim's for dinner. They live in Delmarva, and have two kids, including a four-year old daughter. Who cracked. us. up. This is what her mother calls her crazy eyes.

This concludes the Delmarvelous portion of our vacation. Please stay tuned for Part 2: DC (I can't think of any clever ways to change DC, so we will leave it at that).

Back to School

Already?

Yes, already. Yesterday was the boys' first day back to school.

(Photo from the Official First Day of School Breakfast with Dad at Chick-fil-A)

Ben is officially a third grader. When I asked for a first day of school report, he said it was "boring," but later when he said the supper blessing, he thanked God for giving him a good teacher, Mrs. B. Apparently all is not lost.

Will is a first grader this year, which means that for the first time, he has school all. day. long. Yesterday, he was in full-on I'm-too-tired-to-function meltdown mode from 4pm until bedtime. Uggh. We may have to reinstitute afternoon naps if we don't make the adjustment soon. On the other hand, he has a teacher, Mrs. H, that we know and love. I think she is the perfect fit for my littlest man.

Kate doesn't start school for three more weeks, so she is staying home with me and the littles that I babysit. When I asked her how her day was, she said it was the "Worst. Day. Evah." According to her, "The boys get to do everything fun!" But when they are here, she changes her tune, teasing them, "I don't have to go to school," (said in a mocking, sing-song voice).

I on the other hand, can't decide if I am happy about school or not. On the one hand, I reached my summer allotment of patience about two weeks ago. On the other, I get to help two boys' who are easily distracted finish their lengthy homework each day, not to mention the getting up early that goes along with it. Hmmm.

Loose Teeth

Attention: If loose teeth or accidents involving them gross you out, stop reading now!

Will has had about three loose teeth for months now. He has wiggled and wiggled, but they have only seemed to get tighter and tighter. In fact, the permanent tooth came in right behind one of the lower ones. I definitely see orthodontia in our future.

Anyway, he had a dentist appointment coming up, and he decided he would rather get me to pull his baby tooth than let the dentist do it. I know I am weird, but I love pulling teeth, so happily, I got to pull Will's first tooth:)

And now for some back story: If you've ever met Will, you have probably asked him about his funky tooth.
(Wasn't he a cute three year old?) One New Year's Eve when he was three, his brother was chasing him around the house, and Will fell and hit his mouth on a Santa Claus decoration. (Don't judge me because I still had Christmas decorations out on NYE! Or because I was upstairs asleep when it happened!) At first we thought that his top right tooth had fallen out entirely, but then, it started coming back down! We ended up in the emergency room all night (fun times) trying to figure out what to do. After some x-rays, in which the x-ray technician convinced Will that the x-ray machine would turn him into a Transformer, we found out that we didn't need to do anything. Eventually his tooth came about half way down on its own, and its little neighbor, what he calls his "lucky tooth," died and turned brown.

So fast forward back to mid-June 2011: Later that week, Will got to go to a bounce house at the VBS celebration. His funky tooth got hooked on the mesh walls, and it got yanked pretty hard. Mama decided it was time to lose tooth number two. After it was all over, Will said, "Finally!" I said, "Finally, what?" He said, "Finally people will stop asking me about my tooth!"

And I think he is a pretty cute six year old too:)

Spring Soccer

Yes, spring soccer ended ages ago, but I am slow on the photo uploading, so there ya go.

Let's start with Ben. His season actually started when it was about 50 degrees out and raining. I didn't take a lot of pics. Toward the end of the season, as the weather warmed and the rain stopped, I took my hands out of my rain coat pockets. I actually got out the camera and caught this one. I like it because, despite this kid's size, immediately after I hit the button, Ben stole the ball. Yes:)


However, he got tired of being the smallest kid out there. Tired of the weather. Tired of the practices. And kind of tired of soccer in general. He says there will be no more soccer in his future, but he may change his mind this fall. We shall see.

Will and Kate played soccer too. There was usually a game between their games, and we often spent about 3 hours at the field on Saturday mornings.

Will is really intense about his soccer.

After two years of waiting, Kate finally got to play. She had a ball. She also liked posing for pictures.

And in between the games, Ben and I did a lot of this:

We had a great soccer season. All three kids played hard and learned a lot. Well done, guys!

School's Out, School's Out

Yes, I know I should have posted this like three weeks ago or something, but for some reason, I can't get any writing done with 3+ kids in the house. Of course, it could've had something to do with some new books I was reading (ok, obsessed with). And the one week that the kids were at the grandparents' and I could write? My computer crashed. So, yeah, my writing took a back seat. It happens.

But back to my topic: School's Out!

I know I am supposed to say, "I can't believe another school year has come and gone," but that would be a lie. Because I think this was the longest school year ever. Between my babysitting schedule, the homework assignments that never seemed to change, and a desire for warm weather in all of our hearts, we would have to say that summer was way over-due.


It would, however, be true to say that I can't believe how much my children have grown and learned this year.

Kate NaNa has now decided she is Kate. Not Kathryn. Not Katie. Not NaNa. Not any combination of the above. Just Kate. I am sure it is a phase, but if I use anything else she asks, "Why are you calling me that?"

Her end of the year program was a on a day that I was working, so Tim, Will, and I took Mr. O, Mr. A, and Miss O (ages 1,2,&3) to hear Kate sing. You can tell by the photo how thrilled she was to stand up in front of a crowd of strangers and sing about jungle animals.

"You want me to do motions? You have got to be kidding me."

Her certificate stated that she wants to be a firefighter when she grows up. I assumed that she picked that career because it was the first one she thought of, but I could be wrong. In the past few weeks she has told me no less than a dozen times how she and her friend, Vanessa, are both going to be firefighters and live at the fire house. I suppose we shall see.

Her teacher and SLP both raved about how far she has come in terms of her ability to communicate with adults and peers. Plus, on her report card she scored "Mastery" in every single preschool skill. She asked if that meant she could go ahead and go to kindergarten next year since she already knows everything. It's a wonder she Will don't share genetic code.

Speaking of Will, he wrapped up his kindergarten year, receiving the "Loving to Write" award. He is reading easy reader books, and carries around a stack of Wimpy Kid books everywhere he goes, just like his brother.

He is still a huge help to me with the small children. When they are sad, he cheers them up. When they are thirsty, he finds their sippy cup. They adore him.

Ben didn't have an end-of-year program, so I don't have any photos, but he is still reading and writing and drawing comics like crazy. He got the "Whoppers Award" for his class. That means he loves to make up and tell stories. And no, in this case that is not a euphemism for big fat lies. He still wants to be an author when he grows up. He will be a third grader in the fall, and is obsessed with Transformers and Star Wars, as he should be.

And now is the part where I am supposed to talk about how we have two whole months to relax and do nothing, except for the fact that we are down to about six weeks of vacation. But I plan on squeezing in as much relaxing and doing nothing as is humanly possible. Wish me luck.

The Garden

It won't be long now:)

I Do Know Everything

I could've sworn I told this story before, but I can't seem to find it. Regardless, it always makes me laugh, and it speaks volumes about my son's personality.

I was terrible at potty training my boys. I thought I was a good mother until I attempted to teach my them to use the toilet, but that's when I discovered the truth. My children had only been allowing me to think I was in charge. In reality, they and their bodily functions were in control.

As with anything Will does, potty training involved lots of discussion (aka, arguments). One day we were standing next to the toilet having one such discussion. He was telling me I was wrong in my description of some finer point of his bathroom use. At some point I threw up my hands in exasperation and said, "Fine! You're right. You know everything, don't you?"

He got this really thoughtful expression on his face as though a brand new thought had just occurred to him. "Huh. I do know everything!"