Are You Kidding Me?

I had to ask this question when I received information on the graduation ceremony of my preschooler. Who knew they had preschool graduations? The title also perfectly describes my thoughts on the fact that my son will be entering kindergarten in the Fall...time flies. So, even though I thought it was a tad crazy for my 5 year old to graduate from something, I invited my parents and settled in for a morning of cute songs, adorable paper graduation caps, and a little boy who was so excited to be the center of attention for once.

I mean, look at this face!He kept telling all of us afterward, "I was looking at you! I saw you looking at me!" It's kind of hard getting any attention when you have 2 sisters who rather like attention themselves. My little guy didn't quite know what to do with himself except smile for pictures (and wear a button-up shirt). The button-up is something he hates to wear so that was a miracle in itself. He even liked wearing it so much that, when we came home, he didn't change into a t-shirt. I tell ya, that preschool graduation really made him mature beyond his years!

My parents came for the festivities which made Tyler so proud. They even took us to lunch afterward which capped off the special morning perfectly!And a special visit by cousin Cheryl just made the day complete!
That night, Uncle Dannie joined us for dinner (sorry, Uncle Dannie, I didn't get a picture of you!) and then cousin Cheryl had to fly home.

Group picture!
Oh, and when cousin Cheryl comes into town, you know you're gonna have some fun. Pretty much a big kid herself (she's so amazing with kids), my kids were soon trying on her clothes for some modeling shots.

This shot that Cheryl took is amazing in several ways...1) Tyler is wearing a hat and 2) he's actually posing with it on to have his picture taken.

So grown up...

Soccer

Yes! You read the title right. My daughter actually wants to play a sport! Soccer! I cannot tell you how many years I was asking and asking, "do you want to play basketball? do you want to play soccer? do you want to do gymnastics?" and then I would even throw in, "do you want to do cheerleading?" All of these questions were met with a tip of the head, eyes rolled up to mine and the response of, "no, mom. I don't want to play sports. I want to do art."

Now, that answer is the best one for a daughter whose mom was an art major in college but it certainly doesn't lend itself to teamwork and agility. So, this past Spring when I again asked Mikayla if she wanted to play soccer and she said, "yes," I was astounded! This change of heart came about due to the fact that her recess activity had switched from hanging on the monkey bars with her girl friends to playing soccer with the boys (and girls). I'm not even going to go there...So, I signed her up. This past Saturday was the "tryouts" which really means,"we want to see how good (or bad) you are before we put you on a team." I've got to be honest, I was kind of nervous for her. I didn't know if she'd be any good. I definitely didn't want her pride to be shattered on the practice day, of all days. We still had the whole season to play! I shouldn't have worried. She ROCKED it! She ran after that ball with the determination of an Olympic athlete and blocked every ball that came her way as a goalie. Mommy was so proud! Tyler is going to play too so this coming fall will be full of games and soccer practice. Luckily, it's only once a week so I can still have a life.

Family Time

First of all, don't mind the psycho eyes of child in front. I guess it was dark? He wasn't ready? Or he was just really happy I was taking a picture. Anyway, my brother and sister-in-law watched our kids the other day. This doesn't happen often with the family. In fact, I've felt extremely guilty about it in the past. We just haven't passed kids around for play dates. I guess it's nothing to be guilty about but it was nice to have some babysitting the other night when we went out to dinner with some friends.

The spectacular part about this photograph is that Lynnea is laying, yes, laying on her Uncle Doug. This was the same child that was crying as we were leaving and had to be consoled by her Auntie Lisa. The same child who, quickly after this photograph, refused to leave with her parents because she wanted to stay with Uncle Doug. I don't know what kind of sugar he gave her but she definitely wasn't acting like herself. If only this same phenomena would happen at church. I'd be a happy momma.

Memorial Day

I know, you're thinking, "wasn't that weeks ago?" Yes, it was. And I'm just now posting. It takes some time to sit down at the computer, load pictures, and then come up with something to say. So I'm saying it 2 weeks later. No whining.

Memorial Day was awesome. Palm Springs was beautiful. Of course, we didn't see a lot of Palm Springs but we did see a lot of the pool. Some new friends of ours invited us out to their family condo to celebrate the weekend; to get away from it all. Once I knew there was a pool, I knew where we would be....the whole...weekend...long. Yes, that's right, my kiddos were tadpoles and only got out of the pool to eat, sleep and begrudgingly go with us on one trip into "town." We had so much fun and can't thank the Blair's enough for their generosity and hospitality. Oh, and my kids got 3 shades darker. I didn't. Ok, maybe 1 shade. Oh, and we won't even go into the "I played tennis" conversation. Yes, I picked up a racket. Yes, I swung at a few balls. No, I didn't do well. I didn't even look good doing it. The pictures are deleted, the pride is deflated...I've got to get back out on a court and practice swinging the right way. Losing a few pounds wouldn't be bad either. Ugh.