Gator Buddies

Riggs and Klein ride the Gator every single day, unless it's raining. Riggs hops on, Klein yells, "Coming", he jumps on and they're off. I'm not always outside when they ride but I can look out the window and see them talking. I often wonder what they are trying to say to each other. Riggs is very patient (for a 4 year old) with Klein. When it's time to come in, Riggs backs his Gator in the garage (yes, backs it in, not sure why), they walk up the steps, sit down together, Riggs takes off his shoes and helps Klein if he needs it then they both walk in together. This routine never fails. Whatever Riggs does, Klein more often than not follows right behind, and for the most part, this works nicely. For the most part.
In the pics, Riggs is a pro at taking extra recycling down to the box if needed. Not sure why he did not pull up all the way to the box like he usually does but as you can tell, he made Klein do the dirty work.
They are great partners in crime. I'm excited to see their friendship grow.

Winding Down

Riggs is now done with 3 year old preschool and Emery only has a few days left. Riggs had an ice cream party today to top off a fun year. Emery's school had their "Closing Picnic" and family dance last night. We enjoyed the good food and fun company. Emery also had her "Author's Reading" this morning. She read a book she wrote titled, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Mother's Day". It was entertaining. She looks very prim and proper sitting on the stool. She was loving every minute of it. :) She enjoyed Splash Day at school this afternoon and with only a few days left, seems to be on Cloud 9. Not sure if that's a good thing but I too remember enjoying the last days of school before summer. So exciting! I love seeing our little ones progress, I try hard every day to enjoy this time (for as ALL say, it passes quickly), but if I think too hard, I get a little teary-eyed (surprise,surprise). Every now and again, I want to freeze time....every now and again.

Emery's teacher sent this in her last email, thought I would share:

While sitting in a waiting room recently, I became immersed in an abbreviated article written by Dr. Harley Rotbart (and cited from his text, No Regrets Parenting: Turning Long Days and Short Years into Cherished Moments with Your Kids.) Now, I don’t know Dr. Rotbart and I am unfamiliar with his book; however, I was struck by some of his words:

The other biological clock – There are only 940 Saturdays between a child’s birth and her leaving for college. Though that may sound like a lot, how many have you already used up? If your child is five years old, 260 Saturdays are gone. How are you spending the time you have with them? Are they watching TV while you’re doing the laundry or preparing dinner? Are they playing video games while you’re catching up on e-mail? Readjust your inner clock: stop stressing over “minutes spent” with your kids and start accumulating “moments shared.” Use this mental trick to help.  Picture them grown. Formerly tousled bedrooms are neat, clean, and empty. The backseat of the car vacuumed, without crumbs or Cheerios. Playroom shelves neatly stacked with dusty toys. Then wind the imaginary clock back from the future to now, and see these minutes of mayhem for what they are, finite and fleeting moments.

End of Soccer

Emery's last soccer game was a week ago. After the game, her coach hosted a party for the team with lots of good food for the families. The kids all received a trophy and her coach also had t-shirts made for them. We're hoping Em will be on his team next year. She'll have to move up to the 9 yr olds but we're thinking she can handle it. She was the youngest on the team and named "Most Aggressive". Atta girl! ;)

Tooth

Emery has wiggled and wiggled and wiggled her front tooth for a couple of months now. She spent all weekend with her finger in her mouth trying to get this tooth out. Once again, teeth are not my thing. Especially ones that are loose, have roots attached and show blood. The weird thing about this tooth was when she finally did pull it Sunday night around 10pm (while lying in her bed, STILL awake) the root stayed attached to her gums. I wish I would've taken a picture because I have never seen anything like it. It was as if the tooth was gone and a small, soft pink tooth had replaced it. Weird. We told her it would come out when she was eating lunch at school and sure enough, she said she ate it with her lunch. lol. Gross and funny. Let the overgrown, crooked teeth stage begin. Woohoo.

Mother's Day

My cards for Mother's day:
(FYI - I corrected the spelling, everything else is exactly as written. My explanation/response is in parenthesis.)

TOP 10 REASONS I LOVE MOM

From Riggs:
1. I love you when you snuggle with me.
2. I love you when you bought me trains for my 3 year old birthday.
3. I love you when you laugh when I toot on you. (I don't really laugh.)
4. I love you when you say I do not have to wear underwear.(This is ONLY at night time to bed, not during the day. I'm not that slack.)
5. Daddy got lucky to marry you.
6. I love how you know what toys I love.
7. I'm happy when you do not get upset when I pee in my bed.
8. I love when you give me hugs and kisses.
9. I love when you change the gator battery.
10. I love when you spend time with me.

From Emery:
1. You take care of me. You are like an octopus! (When they ask me to do ten things at once, I sternly say, "I am not an octopus!")
2. You share thoughts of love with your family. (Okay, she's reaching here.)
3. You are strong. Keep exercising. p.s. Run baby.
4. Thank you for helping me get dressed every morning. (I don't help her get dressed, I just have her clothes laid out in our bathroom.)
5. You are an expert helping me with expert projects. (Her school projects are called "Expert Projects".)
6. I love when you make my bed so I can sleep tight at night. (I do not make her bed for her. I help her tuck in the sheets so they stay put.)
7. Thank you for taking me shopping for my birthday.
8. I love when you get my clothes ready in the morning.
9. You are cute.
10. BEST MOM EVER! (She capitalized the words.)

From Rob:
1. You keep us on schedule. You are so organized.
2. Did somebody say "list"? (I live by a list. Every. single. day.)
3. Did I hear a "clean"? Woot Woot! (I may or may not be a neat freak.)
4. Run baby run.
5. Where did that piece of paper go? (lol. I have a tendency to throw things away when they are in my way or clutterish. Yes, "clutterish" is a word. I thank my mom for that trait.)
6. Frosty. Blizzard. Blast. (All types of my favorite ice cream.)
7. "When is our next vacation?" (lol.)
8. Emery!! Riggs!! Klein!!
9. Dessert? Where? Who needs a meal!! (Very true. Why waste calories on a meal when you can save them all for dessert?!)
10. LUCKY!! That's what I feel to have you as a mother to our kids.

I LOVED THESE CARDS!!! They made my day. I am blessed to be a mother. I am blessed to have an amazing mother. I am blessed to have a great mother-in-law who raised a wonderful man. I am grateful to my loving Father in heaven who has given me the opportunity to be a mother, the greatest job in the world. ;)
Happy Mother's Day!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for....

ICE CREAM!!!!
(Riggs would've been in these pics had he not already stripped down and headed for the shower. He is his mama's boy.)

Summer Fun Preview

I know it's not officially summer yet (especially since the kiddos are still in school) but with the warm/hot weather we are experiencing, we consider it summer so bring out the treats, bug spray and our favorite friends! Saturday night was a lot of fun - we ate a lot, played a lot, watched for the "super moon" and enjoyed popcorn and a movie on the lawn (thanks to Mark and his projector). We are officially excited for the summer and all the fun nights to come!