First Day of School 2013

5TH GRADE.
Loves: math, backyard baseball, reading, sleepovers, Minecraft, his friends, sushi.
Plays: soccer, baseball.
Dislikes: being away from his friends for more than 24 hours, when electronics are taken away.

1ST GRADE.
Loves: soccer, singing, dancing, "Good Luck Charlie", Taylor Swift, Junie B. Jones, her little brother.
Plays: soccer, gymnastics, softball.
Dislikes: dogs, cats (still).

PRESCHOOL.
Loves: soccer, his best friend Kate, swimming, snacks, cheese, his CD player, "The Secret World of Arietty", being allowed to open his window in the car.
Plays: soccer, gymnastics.
Dislikes: bedtime and naps.

Healthy Snacks

The big kids have to take a healthy snack to school each day. So last weekend, they mixed up a batch of Life cereal + Cheerios + Craisens + chocolate chips. The baggies of this "healthy snacks" flew out of the pantry!

Old hat

Our penchant for road trips is getting to be too much. In 2010, when I was on maternity leave with the Truck, we drove to California saying it was the last time we'd ever have time to do it. Well, pish posh, because 2013 came around and we did it again. We took 2 days to get there, 3 days to get home, and in between packed in as much fun-in-the-sun, family-and-friends time as we could. We were with my parents in Temecula, my sister in San Clemente and friends in Chula Vista (and a lot of places in between). It was an amazing trip but we were all so happy to be home at the end.

One of the best things learned: how to shoot water from Grandpa's Jacuzzi via a pool noodle

She could not be more of a beach girl

Baseball, baseball, everywhere baseball

March Like a Champion

A couple weeks ago, our family did the March of Dimes' March for Babies in Kansas City. We were supporting some close friends whose baby was born 2 years ago at 24 weeks. Today, he is a happy, healthy, troublemaking two-year-old. We had a great day with all the festivities!

We did it again

2000 miles in the minivan!
From this:

to this:

Ahhhh. The drive honestly feels like nothing. Not while you're doing it, I guess, but in retrospect. We do it over 2 days. Day 1, we left at 2 PM and drove to Memphis. We got there around 11 PM. The next day, we left around 8 AM and arrived at the beach around 5 PM. With the early daylight savings, we even got to put on swimsuits and walk on the beach that very night which made it all worthwhile. We spent lots of time playing in the sand, the surf, the pool, the hot tub; we took naps a'plenty; we ate seafood almost every meal; we ate ice cream even more; and we had a blast. Wish spring break could last all year!

Happy happy happy

Oh, to be almost three, and THIS happy.

Child labor made this happen

In my never-ending quest to be the world's best snow shoveler, I made a discovery this winter. They have a display at the grocery store the day before there's snow in the forecast. Every time. The display must be on wheels. Anyway, it's some sort of magic chemical that you sprinkle on your driveway when you shovel. Well, I happened to go to the store CHILD-FREE the day before our last storm, and so I took advantage of the blissful quiet unrushed time to actually read the label. It suggested sprinkling it on the driveway either pre-snow or with a light dusting. I threw caution (and my $3.95) to the wind and bought a bottle.

Holy moly, it worked! I'm a convert. I shoveled in my usual shoddy way and when I came out an hour later, the driveway was totally melted. Yay for chemicals and technology.