Here’s Owen’s second summer slide challenge—200 Pages in 100 Days! (Really, 196 pages because that makes a perfect 14×14 square.) 🙂 He can do pages from his Kindergarten books, his 1st grade prep books, word searches, etc. He was excited about it so he jumped right in and already did eight pages this morning!
The school wants to prevent “summer slide” with the kids (what happens when young minds sit idle for three months) so I decided to create a reading challenge for Owen. If he reads 100 books in 100 days (we’re starting before school ends to get a nice 100 days) he’ll get a reward. He suggested 150 books but we’ll start with 100 and maybe give him a bonus if he reads more!
I’m also considering a 1st Grade Prep Challenge which would include workbook pages from his old kindergarten books and his new first grade prep books.
Of course he still has a long way to go, but I’m impressed with how far he’s come already!
We sold our brown leather hideaway couch because we don’t really need the extra bed anymore, we wanted to ditch the weight before our next move, it was starting to get a little worn, and we wanted to get some money out of it before it died.
We still had our old L-shaped couch in the basement, so for the time being, we’re just using part of it. The kids LOVED it.
Achievement awards and game balls being handed out after the game.
Now we start the countdown until fall t-ball! Owen can’t wait!!
The Workhouse Arts Center (just up the road from us) was having their first ever carnival! We’ve been wanting to take the kids to one to see if they like the rides, so figured the timing and location was perfect (we went as soon as they opened for the weekend)! Of course, the tickets are outrageous ($1 each or 48 for $40) and each ride takes 3-5 tickets (!) but since this was their first time, we went in for the whole hog.
We started Katie on this basic car carousel. She seemed to think it was fun but was glad to get off.
Then we walked around to see what else there was, and ended up at the actual carousel. Katie wanted NOTHING to do with getting on a horse and Owen was over the weight limit to ride a horse, so they both sat on the bench. Six dollars for them to ride around in a circle. NOT EVEN ON A HORSE! They didn’t LOVE it but they didn’t HATE it.
All they wanted to do was play the stupid games…which of course take CASH and not the tickets we’d already bought. GRRRR. So we made them try the mini roller coaster. Owen seemed to like it, but Katie DID NOT. She wanted to get off within the first three seconds…but she wasn’t screaming so we just let her ride it out. (Tom was going to ride it with them, but his legs wouldn’t fit!)
So then we said they could go to the games and that was all they needed to hear.
Katie wanted a duck. So $3 later she picked a super cheap plastic sword (you’ll see pics later).
Owen did a shooting game that was over so fast I didn’t even get a chance to record it or even take a picture! (It was a shoot until you knock a cup down game, so I thought it would take a bit longer than six seconds. It didn’t.) Owen didn’t get the choice of toy, but was happy with what he got.
Katie didn’t want to ride ANY more rides so it was all Owen. He didn’t want the ferris wheel (which I had no problem with since I don’t like them) or any of the bigger kid/adult rides. Part of me is glad we don’t have an adrenaline junkie, but I LOVED all those rides so I kind of wanted him to like them…but he IS only six. 🙂
Owen wanted to go in the Monkey House (basically a small mirrored maze, some fun mirrors, and a curly slide) and got a little turned around so Tom went in with him. Cost? $10. TEN DOLLARS. Breathe. Breathe. 🙂
Katie’s sword!
We convinced Owen to try the swing. He seemed to enjoy it at the start, but as it went faster and higher we saw him tilting his head to the side and Tom and I both thought he looked like he was going to puke. He never did, and it turned out it was just from centrifugal force. (We did ask him if he had felt sick at all on the ride—if his belly hurt or if his head felt woozy—and he said no. Phew.)
Of course there’s no refund on tickets and both were pretty much done so we wasted another $8 in tickets on a three-minute train ride. Sigh.
And to spend the remaining $10, Owen went down this slide twice. He did love it, though. 🙂
In the end, their favorite thing? The games. Owen wanted to go back, but we were busy the whole weekend. We will probably skip carnivals until they’re a bit older and may like some of the rides more.
So I took my nice camera to be sure to get the best photos and video possible…and I pretty much failed at both. You really need the telephoto lens and it’s really too dark to get anything really good.
And then I completely botched the video by not noticing that it was blurry. GRRR. At least you get to hear it.
Katie in her new dress.
Katie off playing with her friend (it’s grainy/blurry because she was so far away). 🙂
Owen’s class is presenting a poem at the Friday Morning Program this week, so he gave us a preview.
One of Owen’s friends from t-ball (the coach’s son—the family that we’ve grown to know) broke his arm last weekend. So Owen came home from school today with this picture he drew for him. 🙂
Today we went to a friend’s BBQ (t-ball/40th birthday party)—they have a super awesome house with a great deck and huge back yard. So I spent the afternoon listening to dance 80s music with a cool breeze blowing while I sat in the shade. The kids all played happily. I drank some wine and ate some good food (the grilling meat smelled divine). I got to visit with friends…and relax. In short, I was in heaven. The kids had a ball, too, playing with all the other kids, running around the yard, playing on the playset, playing air hockey in the basement, and snacking on chips and cake! 🙂
I have to say, overall, I’m impressed. I did help a bit with when to use lower case vs capitals and I helped sounding out words, but he did all the spelling. (Translation follows.)
They’re at the park playing baseball. Duck hits the ball up the tree. It’s stuck in the tree. They worked together to get the ball down.
When it came back from the teacher, it said “Super handwriting!” 🙂
Playing guns by himself while being first in line to get on the bus!
We were reading a new book. (Well, Owen was reading it to me and it’s interactive.) The last page says “Back to the beginning. This way…”
Me: Do you want to read it again? Just flip it back like this.
Owen: I know how a book works!
Owen: Mom, I’m tired. I didn’t get enough sleep last night.
Me: Okay, then you can go to bed earlier tonight.
Owen: What? Why?
Me: Because you can either sleep in later or go to bed earlier. And since you don’t sleep in, you can go to bed earlier.
Owen: Mom, I made a mistake. I’m not tired.
Owen: {something something}
Me: What’s hic?
Owen: Lemonade.
Me: What is hic lemonade?
Owen: Hic. Lemonade.
Me, {lightbulb}: That’s Hi-C.
Katie: Daddy. I had so much fun with my girls yesterday!
Tom moved the recliner into the living room.
Katie, upon seeing it: Just for me????
I wanted him to practice floating before his lesson…but it took some bravery to actually get in. He loves the water (and he could touch the bottom) so I have no idea why he was so nervous.
So the lesson started and I was poolside, half watching him and half talking to another mom. It looked like he was doing all the same things he’d done at his last lesson, so I wasn’t watching THAT closely. Then all of a sudden he’s in front of me with the instructor and he’s holding a red ribbon and a red swim cap and she’s telling me that he passed into the next level! (To do this, he had to successfully jump into the pool, flip himself over, and float for 15 seconds…three times.)
Then as a new Turtle, he started to learn actual swim strokes! He was actually in class with his friend Gavin!
Katie off playing with another friend!
This is the newest game they play. They have SO much fun…
Tom had class tonight so it was just me and the kids.
He was thisclose. 🙂
Katie made another new friend. 🙂
Taking her lunchbox to pretend school…
And the best thing? TRADING CARDS! (We won’t be doing them every year, but for his first year? You bet! We got to fill in the position so we asked what he wanted and he picked catcher!)
Since it was a 6p practice, Tom took Owen and I stayed home with Katie. I think it was actually the first practice they’ve had since before the season started (they had others scheduled but they were rained out). Owen was excited because they got to practice hitting the ball from pitches instead of off the tee!
>>> April pictures are online at Shutterfly!
Both kids were SO excited to get out on their new bikes and Katie was SO excited about her helmet…
But first we have to walk up the huge hill. Ugh. Owen barely made it up as he couldn’t keep it going straight.
I’m not sure what this face was about.
She, of course, couldn’t do it by herself and I don’t have the patience, so Tom did most of it. I know there’s a learning curve, but I’m seriously ready to just get rid of all bikes for about five years. Both want to be able to ride but neither wants to actually work to do it OR pay attention when we tell them how to do something.
Owen eventually started to get the hang of it (again), but not before falling off a few times—he refuses to steer so he ran into the curb and tipped over into the grass…and he seems to think the training wheels will keep him from falling over so he’ll lean too far and tip.
We only lasted about 10 minutes, maybe 15. We would have tried longer but one of Owen’s friends saw us out the window and waved and yelled hi…so both kids completely lost any concentration.
Waiting for daddy and Owen to come down the hill.
Interestingly, when trying to pedal, Owen can only seem to slam his feet backward to brake. But! When going downhill and he needs to brake? He can only seem to pedal. :/
Anyone want to teach our kids to ride bikes?!
Holy cow. I’m still gobsmacked.
So, Owen gets terribly freaked out being on his back trying to float. We’ve been trying for two years to get him to do it and he hasn’t. So my thought was that if the entire 16 lessons were spent getting him to float on his back I would be perfectly happy with that.
And he did it in the first 30-minute lesson!! (Well, technically within the first 15 minutes… But by the end of the 30-minute lesson he had earned his yellow ribbon!)
At 14 minutes into the lesson. FOURTEEN.
12:19
And his swim cap which denotes his group (he’s a Minnow). When he advances to the next level (after he can swim the length of the pool by himself by doggy-paddling and flipping over to rest/float/breathe) he’ll be a Turtle 1 and get a new color.
Daddy was keeping Katie busy so they were walking around the complex. They stopped to wave down at us!
He had a great time and loved every minute! We are SO proud of him!
The only bad part was that Katie really wanted to go in the pool. But, we learned that she can go in the other end of the pool for free swim at the same time! So we’ll try that the next time.
Since I’m the one behind the camera 99% of the time, I had Tom take a picture of us today!
Our first trip to the farmers market this year!
One of Owen’s teammates (surprisingly, there’s not too much of this with his team):
Katie’s same friend was there with her purse—and an Elsa/Anna doll—again today which kitty quickly co-opted as her own. The mom had no problem with it because she was just happy her daughter was sharing. 🙂
Katie off playing with her:
Our little catcher!
Owen’s two at-bats:
