Fond Farewell To Preschool

Ashton graduated from 4r's preschool this week. We have loved this preschool!

He made many friends.

He presented the letter W that night.

He also helped tell the story of "the Little Red Hen."

Love that chef's hat!

It was fun watching all of the dance numbers. At age four, kids aren't concerned what others think and will dance!

Ashton told us he was scared to say his part. Although nervous, he did a super job!

I love this picture of Ashton checking out his diploma!

Here is one proud mama! I will miss having him home next year as my little buddy!

Garth was sad he couldn't come due to his foot surgery earlier that morning!

Here is a one of Ashton's best friends, Sara.

He adores her!

What a handsome graduate!

Ashton's future looks bright!

Here are his teachers, Mrs. Peacock and Mrs. Winger. They have been the most amazing teachers to FOUR of our kids!

We will miss 4r's preschool so much!

But we are excited for Ashton's next adventure in the fall!

Beachy Keen

We had a very memorable Memorial Day weekend!

I had my reservations about the whole camping for five days idea...

...but it ended up working out just fine.

Minus

*the many ticks

*the thousands of people mashed into one campground

(why anyone want to set up camp five feet from 1400 other campsites to share a bathroom is beyond my understanding)

*the stinky non-dryable towels/swimsuits/clothes

*the nightly pool party with loud DJ/music until 11 pm

*the after pool party parade of pimped up golf carts carrying drunken campers

*the mosquito bites (I thought Alaska was bad...could have been the swampy stagnant stream behind our tent)

* the constant half roasted sticky marshmallows stuck on the bottom of my shoes

*the overdose of poptarts, Chick-fil-A, and smores

*the damp, sandy, dirty, buggy tent (I luckily had my own tent which was off limits to all...and always zipped up!)

*squabbling siblings (but that would have occurred anywhere)

*mattresses that kept deflating over night.

*Kids staying up until midnight each night (you can only imagine what that created)

But besides those little hangups...

IT WAS AWESOME TO CAMP!

We loved no agendas, sitting around the fire, watching the kids play non-stop with their friends, card games late into the night, telling stories, shopping at Walmart with the WHOLE family (don't know the last time that happened), seeing a movie together AND BEACHING EVERYDAY.

The weather was perfect!
Everyone loved the beach...even Ashton!

We built many a sand castle including this one made out of the Porter Family...

And how about these 5 beach babes?!

Daddy and the kids!

Ashton showing his muscles..

Tate loving the sand.

Our stud Ethan!

Calvin the muscle man...

Our cute Sommer...

We rode the waves. Calvin and I took a daily roller blading trip along the boardwalk (dipped in the Marriott pool and snuck Dairy Queen...shhh!), found sea shells, got sunburned (missed a few spots), got tumbled by waves (very upsetting to Ashton), watched a surfing contest, witnessed Garth and the boys being whistled at by the lifeguard to come closer to shore (riptides) where finally the guard had to swim out to get them (Garth didn't think they were pointing to them) and gave them a tongue lashing, spent some great time with super friends, played some serious smash ball, read up on all of the People, US, Star mags...and on and on!

I love these people!

We ended our vacation back at Busch Gardens amusement park where crowds were non-existant. We literally could ride over and over again without the slighest of waits. This positive aspect to our day had one huge negative result: massive nausea! We were all quite sick after little to no breaks between swirling, spinning and dropping...

But man it was fun!

Updates

Here a few updates:

Ethan no longer wants to run. After getting a bit too excited, I signed him up for a race next week. I took him to the track and tried to coax him into running a mere two laps (half a mile). He didn't want anything to do with it! Looks like I will be racing solo.

My dear gall gladder will be taken out on June 4th. How much do you think that bad boy weighs?!

Garth is having a foot surgery next week to remove a Taylors bunion (outside of foot). We are both hoping he recovers quickly or we might be in trouble with my surgery only a week later.

Our washer broke again! No, no, this is a good thing. Remember?! If it breaks down four times in a year, they replace it. I have been trying to make this dream happen since 2002 when we bought the blasted thing. We have had three malfunctions each year since then...

We are camping for four days. I think the longest I have done that (that I can remember) is like never. I will have my own pup tent next to the rest of the family...I don't think I could survive with all the snoring that will most definitely take place. This camping adventure will be at the beach (not on the beach thankfully...tried that in Hawaii and talk about weird bugs and creatures crawling all over you!).

Looks like that is about it for now!

Have a Happy Weekend!

I Heart My New Running Partner

Ethan ran his first race on Saturday! He had been training with the boys from his school for the past few months for a 5k. My hope was to have him finish the race without walking or if at all possible, without complaining!

Both goals accomplished! We started the race with 5700 other parents and kids (mostly girls since it was a "girls on the run" event). He wanted to start out fast but I told him to hold back and within a mile or so we would be passing people left and right. Sure enough, we were! He had a blast weaving left and right to pass many a walker who had started the race way too fast. It gave him confidence to be able to pass others instead of being passed. I had brought along my secret "blast beans" to give him a final push the last mile. Those worked like a charm. He loved when I poured water on his head for a cool off at the water stop (where I didn't let him stop). He only asked to walk once and told him that we don't "walk" in a running race but we can slow WAY down for a bit. He accepted that and no walking was required. There were a few tough hills too. Ethan wasn't bothered at all! I told him he could start sprinting when we saw the finish balloon arch! Upon seeing the finish, he took off and gave it all he had the final few yards!

After the race he replied, "Mom! When can we do that again!!" Music to my ears!

I didn't hesitate and signed us up for another race on May 30th!

I Heart Lacrosse

I have a new love, lacrosse. I never knew much about the sport growing up in Alaska where ice hockey was the popular choice.

Calvin has been asking to play for a few years and finally we were able to let him give it a try. He rocks! He was immediately drafted on a top team starting in a defense position. Half way through the season, he was moved to the middy position (lots of running and checking) where at his first try at it, scored a hat trick!

I love it so much because of the funny lingo they use such as, "You're hot!" When I first heard the coaches and refs yelling that out I thought maybe they were talking to one of us cute mothers on the sidelines. But Garth corrected me (although he does think I am hot), and explained the meaning (after making a second pass, the player can now officially attempt to score). I still think it is pretty funny when I hear it though...those boys are HOT!

It cracks me up to see the boys blasting each other into the ground and slashing each other with their sticks. Not a sport for the wimpy or timid child. Cal loves it! In fact, he has been setting his alarm for 7 am each morning to run in attempt to get faster for his position. I have loved joining him on his runs too.

His little brother Tate has been carrying around his own lacrosse stick and can't wait until he can play next year!

Stones

Have you had a stone? I am not talking Coldstone here...but I wish I were (love Peanut Butter Cup Perfection...PERFECT!).

I am talking about a gallstone. Just found out yesterday that I had 5 of them. Cute little critters! Two aren't so little though...take after their strong father.

I am thrilled about two things:

1. A reason I was in severe pain for 6 days.
2. A better reason/excuse why I couldn't get my body to feel better during the Boston Marathon.

I guess you can't "pass" a gallstone or blast it with sonic waves. The only way to get the problem solved is to remove the gall bladder.

This means I am getting old...here goes organ number two (tonsils removed at age 6). I guess the appendix will be my next "non-essential" organ up for grabs.

I am starting a gallbladder loss support group this summer. We will meet at the greasiest of greasy resturants. Together we will eat and await any abdominal discomfort that might insue during our discussions.

If no pain surfaces, we will continue our meeting at Coldstone....