Slick

It seems like the 4th of July was yesterday, but it's already a week later. The past week just flew by. Noah had a weeklong class at the Children's Museum called Raptor Rangers where they learned about dinosaurs and got to go on a dinosaur bone dig. He LOVED it! I figure it was good practice for his future as a paleontologist. I did tell him to make sure and not be too bossy or too much of a "know it all" and let the teachers teach the class, which I felt a little bad about, but I do think that's something he has to learn before he goes to Kindergarten. After the second day he told me that his teacher mispronounced 'parasauralophus', but that he "didn't even correct her".

The only thing I didn't like about the class was that it got over at 12:00 and if Ella and I didn't stay there it was really hard to find a parking spot when we came back to pick up Noah. On Thursday Ella got to have a day with her Grandpa Donnie and they went to the zoo. I went by myself to get Noah and didn't even attempt to park in the lot, instead I parked illegally on the street at a meter (illegally b/c I didn't pay the meter). I ran in and got Noah and made him run back out. We made it without getting a ticket, and getting out was so much easier than it had been trying to fight all the traffic in the parking lot. Apparently I said that parking there was pretty slick (I don't think I've ever used that word in that context bef0re) because now Noah keeps walking around saying things are "slick" too.

Today Seth and I took the kids to Fontenelle Forest. We hiked on the trails and the kids played in a little area they have with kids' activities. It was really fun, and Noah was really into the hike. Seth had made a scavenger hunt of things for him to look for along the way, and he found almost everything on the list. I ended up carrying Ella about 3/4 of the way, which was difficult, but I considered it my workout for the day.

After naps we went to a park where Seth and Ella played on the playground and Noah and I practiced his tennis. Out of about 30 balls, he hit 3 over the net, but he was thrilled with his progress. It was a very fun day and we are all going to sleep well tonight.

Summer is 1/2 over!!

I vaguely remember, about 6 weeks ago or so, wondering how in the heck I was going to get through the summer with two crabby, sick kids, and was feeling bad because I was longing to go back to work and the summer had just begun.

Now that the 4th of July is over, summer is 1/2 gone, and work starts in 6 more weeks or so. Now we are in a good routine, the kids are healthy and fun, and I am wondering how in the heck I'm ever going to go back to work.

Anyone who knows me knows that I HATE change. I do not handle it well. We are about to go through some major changes soon with Noah starting Kindergarten and us maybe having to find a new daycare. I'm already a nervous wreck about how I'm going to be able to handle these changes, but, like anything, we will get through it and it will all be fine. It makes it easier that Noah is so stinking excited to start Kindergarten, so I can't help but be excited for him.

We had a fun 4th of July, it was nice that Seth got a long vacation week-end. On Thursday evening we went to his parents and ate dinner and the kids got to swim in a little pool. On Friday, Seth and I took the kids to the Children's Museum, then, after naps, Ella played at Grandma Mary and Grandpa Tim's while Noah, Seth, and I went with Seth's parents to see Ice Age 3, and then we got Ella and went to eat at La Mesa and I had a huge strawberry margarita. Yummmmmm... On Saturday we went to my Aunt Kay and Uncle Larry's house on a lake. It was too cold and rainy for the kids to swim, but they had fun playing in the sand and watching the fireworks. And on Sunday we had a couple of neighbors over for steaks and the kids played in the sprinkler.

This week Noah started his week-long camp at the Children's Museum. It is called Raptor Rangers and they learn about dinosaurs. Parents don't stay with the kids- I wish I could be a fly on the wall and make sure that Noah's not trying to teach the class himself.

Minnesota Trip

We just got back from a week-long vacation to Minnesota with my family. We stayed in a "cabin" on a lake, but it was really a very nice house with cabin-like decor. Most importantly, it had A/C!!! And a laundry room which I really appreciated, and plenty of room for everyone. My parents, my two brothers, and my brother's girlfriend Lacey went up on Friday and went to my cousin's wedding on Saturday and Seth and I and the kids drove up on Saturday and got there in at about 5:00. The house we stayed in was part of Riverside Resorts, and the owners also own the Riverside Inn in town, which has an indoor pool/ sauna/ hot tub, so we were able to go there and swim with the kids if we didn't want to swim in the lake.

Jeff and Lacey went home on Wednesday, Ryan and Seth left on Thursday, and the kids and I and my parents left Saturday morning. While we were there we were able to see many of my aunts and uncles and my Grandma came out to see us most of the days we were there. The kids had fun swimming in the lake. Noah was able to do a little fishing with his daddy and uncles. The highlight of the week was roasting hot dogs and marshmallows on the fire for s'mores. Noah thinks we need a fire pit in our backyard.

On Tuesday, Seth and I took the kids to a place called A-Maze-N Farm, which had a petting farm with cats, dogs, and rabbits to hold, goats, llamas, camels, ostriches, bulls, etc. The kids loved it! There was a giant maze to go through, but the kids were getting tired and hot by that point, so we made it about 1/2 way, and then had to take the emergency exit. It was a really fun day and Noah still keeps talking about the animals he got to hold.

All in all, it was a super fun trip. I'm so glad we were all able to go together and spend as much time as we did. I think it is a trip that Noah will always remember. Hopefully we can do it again soon.

Home Sweet Home

We just got back from a wonderful vacation in Minnesota where we stayed in a cabin on a lake for a week with my family. I will have to write more about it when I get the pictures uploaded, but tonight I am too exhausted from the 7 hour trip home.

Noah has decided that he wants to keep a blog like Mommy, so we started one for him tonight. He named it and picked out the layout and the picture and everything on it. He even added a poll about dinosaurs. He would love it if people voted on his poll. The address is: www.thelifeofnoah5.blogspot.com

Wii Fit- It's all fun and games......

Until someone takes a nose dive into the play grocery store. Poor Noah can find injury within 2 seconds of any given activity. Luckily, he recovered quickly and managed to have a fun race with mommy. (I totally won, though).

Much to Daddy's chagrin....

Noah loves dressing up in Ella's new dress up clothes as much as Ella does.

Happy Birthday Ella!

Ella got to celebrate her birthday twice- once on her actual birthday when we went to Applebee's with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Tim and then had a TCBY ice cream cake, and another on Sunday with all of our family and an Elmo cake.

She loved all of her presents and was really into her cake this year and blowing out the candles. Happy Birthday Ella!!!