Soccer!

Soccer season is in full swing here in Colorado. It seems like the sport that almost every kid around here plays, and a lot of the kids have been on the same teams for several years. Not wanting to be left out, we jumped right in and signed the kids up! Jack is actually on a brand new team and they didn't have anybody to Coach it, so Brandon and one other Dad stepped up so the boys could play. Brandon has never coached before, but he's doing a really good job so far, and Jack loves having him as his coach.

I love this picture of Jack, you can tell by the look on his face that he is having so much fun!

Go Scorpions!

Taking a water break

Coach Krainik!

Haha - this picture makes me laugh because I love that Jack has his arm out the opposite way ready to congratulate the other team! Cute kid!

Since Keslie is in a higher age group, they have 2 practices a week, a bigger playing field, a Ref, and they use goalies. Jack's age group practices once a week, is on a smaller field, no goalie, and no Ref.

It's really interesting for me to watch Keslie and Jack play because you can really see their little personalities come out. Jack will hustle and run after the ball, but he isn't super aggressive in trying to get the ball. He's ok with letting other people get it to try and score a goal. He's just happy to be out on the field, running around, and playing with his team. I love watching him laugh, and he reminds me a lot of me when I was younger. Keslie on the other hand, is super aggressive in trying to get the ball and playing defense. She is learning that you can't push the other girls out of the way to try and get the ball! She is really fast though, and made the one and only goal for her team on Saturday. She has a lot of fun, and I love the fact that she gets in there and works hard. She definitely has a competitive streak in her!

See that look on her face - she's after one thing!

She did get a little winded playing on that big field, but after a quick break, she was ready to go again

Goal! I loved how excited and proud she was when she scored her first goal

Go Strikers!

Soccer is keeping us pretty busy, but the kids are loving it, and so I love it.

Entitlement Trap

This book comes out on Sept. 6th, and I am really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy. Richard and Linda Eyre are my very favorite writers when it comes to Parenting books, (I'm reading one of their books right now!) and I feel like this book is much needed in our family right now.

Don't get me wrong, I think my kids are well behaved (most of the time), polite, and kind - but I think they expect things too much. Every time we go to the store, or anywhere actually, someone is always asking for a treat. Whenever I ask Keslie to do something for me, she asks me if I will pay her to do it (seriously child??!). I am not blaming them though because I think they have been spoiled when it comes to certain things, and now they expect those things all the time. Keslie also really likes to have her own money so she can buy things, but I don't give her enough opportunities to earn money.

I have really slacked in the chore department with my kids, and that is something I really want them to learn/do. I want my kids to learn how to work hard and learn how great it feels to earn money, and be able to buy things on their own. One of my biggest fears is that I will send my kids out into the real world someday, spoiled and totally unprepared on how to work hard and take care of themselves. I want them to be independent and self sufficient, but to also be proud of those good qualities. I think learning to work hard will also be so helpful to them when it comes to school, sports, music, art, or whatever their interests are. Hard work also applies to daily life and the struggles that can come from it.

I started baby-sitting at the age of 11, had my first "real" job at the age of 15, worked all through High School, and sometimes even had 2 jobs at a time once I graduated. I also worked up until 1 week before having Keslie. I paid for my own clothes during high school, and earned all of my own spending money. I bought my first car at 18, and also moved into my first apartment. I moved to California with a friend where I really learned to be independent and self reliant. My Parents are both such hard workers and I think it was instilled in me from such a young age. Even though I had to work hard, and sometimes wished I just had a Trust Fund to live off of, I am proud of the things I've been able to do, and I wouldn't trade any of the experiences I've had. I'm grateful for the example my parents set for me, and I just want to do the same for my kids!

First Day of School 2011-2012

Summer is over and it's time for school to start again. My kids had exactly 2 months of Summer vacation, and it went by a little too fast. We did swim a lot and we also made it to Utah twice, but I still feel like we didn't do as much as I would have liked. Oh well, we still had fun, and I did get a nice little tan!

The kids were excited to start the new school year, and Jack was really excited that he now gets to stay all day, eat lunch at school, and go to Specials (PE, Art, Music).

 

Keslie is our big 2nd Grader (when did that happen?), and she was most excited about playing on the playground again and meeting new friends. She wasn't excited about doing "hard work" as she put it. Her teacher is really nice, and we've heard she's a little strict, but that is exactly what Kes needs!

2nd Grade (Not the Peace sign!)

 

Showing off her backpack....

I let the kids pick out their own backpacks this year, and although they aren't ones that I would have chosen, they loved them and I kept my mouth shut. They are only young once and I know they will grow out of this stuff soon enough anyway right?!! 

(Don't you love the accessories that Keslie has already added?!)

Jack-Man the 1st Grader!!  He has the same teacher (they have the same teacher for kindergarten and 1st), and he has almost all of the same kids in his class too. I really liked his teacher last year, so I was happy to have her again. She is super organized and really works hard at what she does. She is also a lot of fun, and Jack loves her!

 1st Grade!

Jack was most excited about eating lunch at school, going to PE, and playing with his old friends. He was not too excited though about Music or Art (not really sure why?).

We love school!!!

Emma has been enjoying her one-on-one time with Mommy, but she looooves when the kids come home. She will follow Jack around the rest of the day saying "Come on Jack, let's play!" I am enjoying running errands with only 1 child, and being able to get some things done that were put on hold during the summer.

It's also nice to be back into a regular routine, now I just need to work on getting to bed earlier since I have to get up earlier!

What do you do?

What do you do when you are all ready to go swimming, but then it starts to rain?

 

You play several intense rounds of Candyland....

 

You watch Star Wars.....

You take a nap while still wearing your "swimsoup" and new swim shoes, in hopes that you will get to go swimming after your nap....

 And you wish that rain away so that the Sun comes out long enough for 3 certain kids to go outside and get their wiggles out!

Homework

Every night when we sit down to do homework with Kes and Jack, Emma has to do her "homework" too. I usually try to get her involved in some toys before helping the older two, but it never lasts long because she has to do everything the big kids do. Some nights it can be really frustrating trying to help Kes and Jack, because she gets upset when she doesn't have our full attention. Tonight though I gave her her own worksheet and a pencil and she was being really cute and making us laugh. She would "write" a few words while saying "I" "K" "9" "2", then she would turn to me and say "I spell it right Mom?" "What's next?" She had heard the other 2 say the same thing so many times she just figured that's what you say while doing your homework. She's such a funny little thing, and we love her!

**Please ignore the mess on the floor and counter, it wasn't "clean up" time yet!**

Spring Break '11

Our Spring Break this year was very low key. The kids had 2 weeks off (waaay too long in my opinion), and I had originally planned to go to Utah, but because of the cost and the kids activities, it just didn't happen. So we stayed here and tried to make the most of it. The kids went swimming at the rec center and got to play with cousins which is always a big hit with them. I had planned lots of outdoor time with trips to the park, bike rides, and picnics, but the weather didn't really cooperate, so that didn't happen either. I ended up with a really bad cold during their first week off, and it really took it's toll on me. I am still getting over it and I'm afraid I wasn't much in the way for entertainment for the kids. We did make it to the library a few times for books and movies, and I also manged to take them to the Children's Museum one day because I was feeling guilty that they really hadn't gotten to do much. They had a lot of fun, and I'm glad we got to go.

The first thing you see when you walk into the museum is a big fire truck that the kids can play in and on. They also had fireman jackets and hats for the kids to wear. Jack loooves to dress up, so he thought it was great. We had to remind them that there were other things to do in the museum, or else I think they would have stayed there and played the whole time!

Emma was a little hesitant at first, just kind of slowly checking everything out, but she warmed up fast when she saw how much fun everyone else was having.

The next exhibit was a grocery store. The kids had fun walking around with their baskest and "shopping". They even had a conveyer belt and a cash register where you could "check out".

Keslie loved the dance and dress up area. They had a wall length mirror, dress up clothes, tap shoes, and music for the kids to dance to.

My least favorite area was the art room only because it was so messy, but thankfully the kids painted their pictures quickly because they were ready to move on to the next activity!

We spent quite a bit of time in the next room. It was a big play sructure that looked like a forest with a big hill to climb on and tunnels to crawl through. They also had animal costumes to dress up in, which you know who was happy to dress up like a squirrel!

Keslie as a bunny

and little Emmie M was happy to play with the stuffed animals. When we first got to the museum, I was freaked out by the costumes and did not want them to wear them, but I decided to let it go and just let them have fun. We used lots of hand sanitzer and took really long baths when we got home though!

I really liked the bubble room, and we all had fun making huge bubbles.

The floor was a little slippery, but we didn't have any casulties!

Train room!

Emma's favorite part was the area just for little kids. Everything was miniature and she had so much fun running back and forth to the different areas.

"I'm a giant Mom!"

Jack laughed and said "It's so tiny!" when he saw these samll bunkbeds.

 

When we were leaving I wanted a picture of all 3 kids together, so I made everyone pose on this statue of a cow. Emma didn't want to be up there and Keslie was mad that I made Emma sit there when she didn't want to, so that's why I got those faces from them. Jack is just so mellow, he's just always happy to be along for the ride!

The kids are now back in school and we are back to our everyday schedule (halelujah!). I started a round of antibiotics a few days ago, and I'm finally starting to feel better. I don't get sick that often, and I hope it doesn't happen again for a very long time cause this one really kicked my booty! I really missed my Mom while I was sick and was wishing she was around to take care of me, cause she was so great at that when I was younger. Now I'm the Mom and I do the taking care of!

My sister in-law Brit is coming out to visit in a few weeks, and we are all really excited. We've got some fun things planned, so I hope it will all make up for the lack of activities during spring break! There's always next year too right?!

Random Walks.....

As I mentioned in my last post, my kids love being outside. Well after being cooped up on Saturday, hearing too many fights, and after I got tired of listening to too much TV, I decided we needed to head outside for some fresh air. All I have to do is say "Let's go outside for a walk", and all 3 kids jump up, and run to the door. We bundled up and grabbed our little Red Wagon, and headed out.

There are so many rabbits in my in-laws neighborhood, and Keslie is always the first one to spot them. She even tried to set up a trap over the summer so she could catch one. Thankfully she didn't catch any, but if I know my girl, she'll be right back out there this summer, doing the same thing!

Jack was so happy to be outside, and he ran almost the whole time.

              My spunky, but sweet girls.

  Keslie wanted to take a picture of Jack and I - she did a great job!

Of course Emma had to have a turn pulling the wagon. She might look small, but she is strong. I kept trying to take the handle back from her because Keslie was complaining of how slow she was going, but Emma just kept saying "No, I do it!" She did pull it pretty far, and then she got to the speed bump. She tried several times to get the wagon over it, then she threw down the handle, said "I can't do it", and then she ran off. Jack, Kes, and I laughed pretty hard. She is always doing and saying things to make everyone laugh!

          
See those eyes? - pure attitude....

but she is such a sweet girl at the same time.

Keslie climbed up on a rock towards the end of our walk, threw her hand up, and shouted "I'm the king of the world!" Where do they get this stuff?

It was a little cold, so our walk was short, but it was exactly what we needed on a Saturday afternoon.