Tyler's First Preschool Experience

Here is Tyler getting ready for his first preschool experience this week and he did a great job. Ty is going to Clay Church 2 times a week in the morning for 4 hours. I was so nervous about his first day. Knowing his personality I knew he would be really nervous in a new place without mom or dad or his sisters. Ty will stay just about anywhere as long as Allison and Rachel are with him, so I figured he would have a hard time without them.

We got to his room and he was fine until I told him that Allison and Rachel were leaving with me, then he clung to me like crazy. I told the teacher it was time and she took him and out we walked. They said minutes after we left he was fine. He has his best little buddy in his class with him, so I also knew that once Carter arrived he would be fine. He gets to eat lunch there and do all sorts of other fun stuff.

He is also going to be going to the preschool at Mary Frank starting in a couple of weeks. He will attend there 2 mornings a week also. This year will be all sorts of fun for Ty and a huge learning experience for him.

Our Summer

This has been a crazy, very short summer for us. I cannot believe it is coming to an end this week. We have done alot of really fun things and since I have not blogged all summer I thought I would give you a recap now.

Allison got out of school June 8. We had about a week off with not a whole lot to do and then our first session of swimming lessons started and lasted 2 weeks. That same week the girls did Poms camp at Penn every afternoon. They had a great time doing both. I have to say that I am a huge believer in swim lessons. Yes, they cost some money and yes they take up a bunch of your time, but both of my girls have learned to swim because of them. Allison is at that stage of swimming where you can pretty much leave her on her own and not have to worry too much. Rachel has made huge progress this summer and is quickly heading in the same direction as her sister.

At the end of June, Daryl and I got the chance to get away for about 5 days just the 2 of us. Daryl was going to a conference in Washington DC and since I had never been there we thought it would be fun to make a mini vacation out of it. We had a great time hanging out with the team that went from Granger and we had a great time just being together without kids. This was the longest we had been away together since our honeymoon. Sad I know, but it is the truth. It was a really good thing for us and if you are married with kids, you need to make it a priority to get away with your spouse for days at a time. I am a firm believer that it makes you better parents when you have that time to reconnect.

We came back just in time for 4th of July and spent some time at the lake. My grandma came in town unexpectedly, which was great. We had some time to hang with her and just chill at the lake. She left and it was 2 more weeks of swimming lessons along with Vacation Bible School. We absolutely love VBS at Grace. The kids love it and they do it with excellence. I will send my kids there as long as they continue to do it. We had another week or so off with nothing to do and then the trip that the kids have been talking about since last year arrived.... the Dells!

We took a road trip with the Callenders, Ruths and Verduins to Wisconsin Dells. We had a great time. This is the second trip there with this group. There is nothing better then hanging with your best friends for 4 straight days, and yes we are still friends :) The kids had a great time and didn't want to come home.

We also spent many days at the lake going on boat rides, swimming, and hanging out with PaPa and Uncle Ryan. I love summer because I love being at the lake. The kids also spent many days with their best friends swimming in our little 3 foot pool. It was a busy summer, but it was also a GOOD summer.

All of this bring us to today, with school starting this week. Tyler is actually starting at one of the 2 preschools he will be attending this year (more on that later) tomorrow. Allison starts 1st grade and Rachel starts Kindergarten on Wednesday. I cannot believe our summer is over. Back to 8:00 am bedtimes and alarms going off at 6:15 or before, I am so not ready for this.....

Good Fun Was Had By All...

Of course I have to brag about my kids. They are the cutest things since their mother, and they are fun to watch at waterparks. You bond, you laugh and you learn a lot about each one as they either choose not to do something or boldly throw themselves into it without thought to bodily harm.

We had a great time as a family and being with our group of friends. The adults had time to bond and the kids had time to do just about everything possible at a waterpark. I think this is going to be a fun annual trip.

Ally poses for the camera in one of the side pools. She wouldn't go down the slide for me so I couldn't get an action shot of that...	Rachel hits the water at the bottom of a short straight slide - typically going under water and swimming to the side without coming up for air...
Tyler went from fear of being sprinkled to going down large slides that dumped into three or four feet of water...of course we were there to catch him on those.	The girls relax in the wave pool and try to keep from being run into by the "crazy people" in the deep end.
The kids make their own pizzas at UNO's Pizzaria. They did a great job even though there was barely enough cheese. Come on Wisconsin!

Happy 54th Birthday Mom

It has been 3 years since my mom passed away, but if she were still alive, today would have been her 54th Birthday! Though today is a hard day, it is also day where I find myself thinking about all the good times we shared and had together. She was an amazing mom, a loving nana and my best friend. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about her and wish she was still here not only for me but for my kids as well.

Happy Birthday Mom, I love you!

"Little Boatin" on the 4th

The kids think they own the "Little Boat" now that they have lost their fear and actually enjoy the rides. Here is a list of my three kids and the speed quotients involved:

• Tyler: Let's go slow so I can see what is coming...
• Allison: Let's go fast enough for my hair to be blown in my face but not to where I start to lose control...
• Rachel: Who built this thing? Can't it go any faster? I want to get drenched and feel like I'm going to fall off and die!

We had a fun 4th even though the weather didn't want to cooperate most of the day. We had good food, fun with family/friends and enough water time to make it worth it. Fireworks were late as usual but were better than previous years.

It just keeps getting better as the kids get older. They are more independent, more adventurous and fun to photograph.

Happy 4th of July all!

Summer is Here

Well school is out and summer has arrived. The older I get and my kids get the more I love summer. I love the fact that they are home more and I get to spend more time with them. I love the fact that we can go on walks, go to the park, play in the yard and not have the sun go down till after 9:00 p.m. One of my favorite things about summer is spending time at the lake. There is just something I love about being on water and at this point the kids seem to feel the same way. They love being there and spend every minute in the water or on boat rides. So in honor of summer I thought I would post some pictures of what we have been doing so far.

Rachel celebrated her 5th Birthday at the lake with all of our friends and family. She spent the entire birthday party in her bathing suit, which is right up her alley.

The girls tubed for the first time this summer last weekend and had a great time at least for the first 5 minutes. Rachel wanted to go faster and Allison wanted to go slower. By the time it was all over Allison was in tears because we were going too fast and Rachel was asking why we couldn't go faster.

Swimming lessons started this week. They are doing 2 weeks now and 2 weeks in mid July. It is a huge commitment but a necessity. Allison is in the same group as her best friends this year. We will see how much swimming they get done!

Rachel is in a different group than her sister for swimming lessons. She is having fun and doing a great job! Tyler on the other hand gets and watch and sweat at the same time (it is about 90 degrees with 100% humidity in the viewing area). He was not too happy that he did not get to participate.

Allison and Rachel did Poms Camp this week at Penn. They seemed to both have a good time. This was Rachel's first real experience with a "camp" like this and Allison made sure that I had plans to send her again next year.

So far we are having a great summer. Next week Daryl and I are going on a little trip to Washington DC without kids (I cannot wait). We will be spending more time at the lake and then going to the Dells with our best friends in early August. Have I told you how much I love summer?

Happy 5th Birthday Rachel

My Fun Loving Rachel-

I cannot believe you are already 5. I was just telling your daddy last night that I remember your birth like it was yesterday. I remember going to the hospital and I remember holding you in my arms for the first time. I cannot begin to tell you the joy you have brought to our lives in the last 5 years. I truly cannot imagine my life without your smile and your attitude.

When I think about all the things you have accomplished this year I am absolutely amazed, you have matured so much in the last year. You just recently completed your second year of preschool. You attended pre-k at Clay United Methodist. When you started there I did not think you would be ready for Kindergarten the next fall, but boy did you surprise me. You started the year out sucking your fingers and using a blanket, you are now a little girl who has no blanket and no longer sucks her fingers. You just decided one day that you were done sucking your fingers and that was the end of it. You learned how to swim and ice skate this year, you can recognize and write all your numbers (0-20) and letters, you learned how to write your first and last name, you learned your address, phone number and learned how to spell some basic words. Your best friends at school were Kailey and Rachel K. Your teachers were Mrs. Riboni and Mrs. Kral. You loved going to school and you are now SO excited to go to Kindergarten in the fall.

You have tried many new things this year, you took dance lessons, ice skating lessons, gymnastics and also did Awana for the second year. One of my favorite memories with you this year, is when we went to Indianapolis during Spring Break to the indoor water park. You had such a good time with our family and the Callenders. On our last day there you decided that you wanted to try one of the big water slides, so you and I headed up there. I had prepped you on our way up that you had to do it by yourself and that you could not use a tube. You were a little hesitant part of the way up, but you did not want to give up. So down the slide I went and then waited for you at the bottom. I really was not sure that you would do it, but before I knew it there you were coming out of the slide with a big smile on your face. You then proceeded to do it 2 more times after that. You were the only little one in our family who was brave enough to try that big slide.

Rach, you are such a fun loving little girl. The expressions on your face are priceless, no one will ever have to guess how you are feeling. When you are happy your entire face lights up and others around you can't help but smile. When you are upset with someone, you make it very clear just by your facial expressions. You come up with and say the funniest things and you always have attitude behind it all. You love to be around other people and other people love to be around you. So many people say that you look and act just like your nana as a little girl. There are times that I look into your eyes and I see her. I only wish she could have been here to see you grow into the little girl that you are. If I had to describe you in one word it would be "passion". You are full of passion when you are happy and excited and full of passion when you are upset or mad. One of the things that I love about you among many is that you can get really upset with someone one moment and as soon as that has been worked out in your eyes all in the world is back to normal.

Don't ever forget Rachel Lauren how much your family loves you. You and Allison are becoming great friends. You love to play barbies, sing, dance and watch Hanna Montana together. I cannot wait to see how your relationship blossoms next year when you are both in school together. I truly hope someday that you and Allison are best friends. Tyler has become your little buddy this year. The two of you have spent every afternoon together and I am not sure what he will do without you next year. He loves to ride bikes with you and jump on you when you least expect it. He is the first one by your side when you are hurt and always adds a hug and kiss to the mix. Your dad and I love you more words than say. You still love to sit with us and cuddle and I am going to take every minute of that that I can get.

My prayer for you little girl is that you continue to live your life with passion. I pray that you follow after God with passion. I pray that you love your family and friends with passion. I know that God will place a passion in your life and I hope that you run after it without abandon. Know that your dad and I will always be here to support you and to love you with all that we have.

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

I love you,

Mom

She Did It

She did it, she did it, yeah, yeah, she did it. Today Allison learned how to ride her 2 wheel bike. We took her training wheels off last week and on Saturday we worked on riding. It did not go so well on Saturday, though of course it was about 90 degrees and after about 5 minutes we were all crabby. She was really scared and just did not want to do it, she was afraid she was going to fall. So we talked about how it is okay to fall and tonight I just told her we are going to do this. So outside she went and it took her about 2 times up and down the street and then she finally got it. I was running beside her and started to let go and she said to me "you aren't holding on" and I reminded her that meant she was doing it on her own. From that point forward she was off on her own.

She was so proud of herself and one of the first things she asked to do was to call Becky. Can you tell Beck is a second mom to her.

Way to go Allison....we are so proud of you, your accomplishments this year have blown us away!

What a Woman Wants to Hear

"I could promise to hold you and to cherish you. I could promise to be there in sickness and in health. I could say till death do us part, but I won't. These vows are for optimistic couples, ones full of hope and I do not stand here on my wedding day optimistic or full of hope. I am not optimistic, I am not hopeful, I am sure. I am steady. I know I am a hard man, taken apart and put back together. So this I am sure. You are my partner, my lover, my very best friend. My heart beats for you and on this day of our wedding I promise you this. I promise you to lay my heart in the palm of your hand. I promise you me."

This whole thing was taken from last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy. I just have to say I love this show. I just started watching this season and there have been many moments, where I have thought, "yes that is it" and this was one of those moments. What woman would not want to hear those vows on her wedding day or for that at any moment during her marriage. All I know is that Daryl is my partner, my lover and my best friend and I have given him my heart and all of me for the rest of my life.

I love you and miss you babe! Daryl is in Texas right now and though I know he will be home soon, there is a part of me missing.

Wicked Chic's

A few weekends ago, Becky, Jami, Debbie and I headed to Chicago for a girls weekend. It was technically my Birthday celebration even though it was a few months late. We all wanted to see "Wicked" so we just decided to make a weekend of it. We headed to Schaumburg on Saturday, did some shopping at Woodfield, of course hit Ikea and then ate dinner at PF Chang's. It was my first time at Chang's and it was amazing.

Sunday we slept in, did some more shopping and then headed to downtown Chicago to see "Wicked". The show was so good! This was the first real show like this I had been to and I loved it. After that we did some more shopping downtown and then had dinner at Cheesecake Factory, which was a perfect end to the perfect weekend.

I absolutely love the times I get to hang with the girls, I love the conversations we have and I just love being with them. Becky, Jami and Debbie, I love you guys and cannot imagine doing life without you. Thanks for a great Birthday Celebration!