Dan & Roxi Meet Wild Waves

Today we had a little fun in the sun, or maybe I should say fun with cloudy skies. We had planned today to take Dan & his family to Wild Waves. Little did we know that the planned day wouldn't exactly be the best weather for a water park. Needless to say we stuck to our plan anyway and had some fun. It wasn't raining just a bit chilly at times when the wind would blow. We only spend a few hours first thing in the water section.



After a quick change and some yummy picnic lunch we headed back for round two, the rides. The kids were equally excited for this part and I think we were all glad to be dry and in regular clothes. All the kids did a great job of pairing up for the different rides. I think Andrew and Alex may have become best cousins.





We sure had a great time today. Andrew is already asking to go again and has invited Alex. Still working on the concept of a visit. There is something just so special about the outings you go on with family. We loved every minutes of today and can't wait till our next adventure.

Jump Around

We've got family visiting for the week and it just so happens that yesterday was my nieces birthday. We of course had to celebrate as this was her 5th birthday. A big thank you to Big Papa for renting out a bounce house place for the kids to celebrate in style.

There were several inflatable structures to choose from and the kids played and played and played. I don't think there was any of them without red cheeks by the end. It was also fun to see them play so hard that they had to sometimes rest for a quick minutes before they headed back out. It was rare to see the resting but it happened.

We even had a few adults out on some of the structures. There was a large slide that looked very tempting and had to be tried out. I tried to take some pictures of them coming down but they turned out blurry so you'll just have to imagine it.

After our bounce house fun we continued on with a pinata and cake. Followed by the ending of presents. All in all I think it was a very nice evening. I would have loved to have a 5th birthday in such grand style with cousins that I don't get to see so often.

I think all the kids had a great time. Megan had a few issues with trying to run the show and we're working on that but she was good outside that. She is so excited to have family here she doesn't want to miss a thing.

A big Happy Birthday to Brianne and we're glad we had the chance to help celebrate with you.

End of the Year Field Day

Today was Field Day for my kids. It is their end of the year celebration where they get to spend half their day outside playing various games. I decided to lend a hand this year and volunteer to help. This being my first year I had no idea what to expect.

There were something like 20 different games of fun. Some were volleyball, tug of war, parachute, tire roll, bubble table, fireman uniform relay, dance party, basketball, and much more. I was assigned the "sling shot with bean bag" area. It took 2 holds and a shooter and the goal was to shoot your ball into one of three hula hoops laid out. I had 3 sling shots and once the kids were release I had lines the whole time. For the most part the kids listened and did a good job of sharing but at times I had a bit of chaos. Really the kids just wanted to see who could shoot their ball the farthest. Some kids pulled so hard the holders had such a hard time holding on they would let go. This caused the sling to snap on the other holder or shooter. Despite my yelling request to not shoot so hard and not hit anyone I had a few little welts. Let's just say it was a bit exhausting and I for sure will not be in charge of the sling shot next year.

Megan hung out with me at the sling shot for almost an hour. She enjoyed gathering the balls for me. After a while I told her she could go explore and play elsewhere. She was hesitant to move on but eventually went to play something else.

I saw Andrew in the very beginning at the parachutes right next to me. In the picture above he is in the crowd there but really hard to see. I saw him one other time running to another event. He never made it over to the sling shots with me but I could tell he was having a great time. I heard from one of his teachers that he enjoyed the bubble table a lot.

I stuck around for lunch with Megan and after giving out end of the year gifts to their teachers called it a day. We've had such a great year at Central Ave. My kids love it there and have made great advancements. Andrew will be moving into main stream kinder next year with support center help. They are so impressed with his progress and know he'll do great. Megan is headed to 3rd grade with the same teacher. We've had some retirements so her teacher now is moving up and she has asked some of her students to stay with her. Megan was super excited to know she'll have her again. She has really enjoyed this year. All in all we've had a great year and look forward to the fun next year.

Show Me Your Talent

Megan surprised me by coming home a few weeks ago to inform me that she was going to perform in the talent show at school. I can remember back to the days when I was in my very own elementary school talent shows.I am very proud of her courage to get up in front of her school peers and do a little number.

Megan signed up to perform with a classmate. Her names happens to be Megan as well and they have the same exact birth date so they seem to have a connection. The picked a little dance number, Hannah Montana's "Hoedown Throwdown." There was 24 different acts ranging from magic tricks, break dancing, singing, hip hop, jazz, piano, tap dance, and more. I have to say a very talented group all around. Although not all groups were spectacular I had a smile on my face the whole time for the courage and effort they all put forth.

The Megans have been practicing at recess for a while now and think that they had it down. Megan came home to tell me she needed western gear and was excited to have me come and see her. I was instructed to video her performance so I could show Dad when he gets home.

The Megans did a great job and both were thrilled to have gotten the chance to perform. I was able to chat with them after and give them high fives to two huge grinning faces. I think Meg might have the bug for performing. We'll see next year if she signs up again. I was extremely proud of her and so happy that she had so much fun.

Hands On

This year Megan's 2nd grade field trip was to the Hands On Children's Museum. I was fortunate enough to get to chaperon which made Megan very excited for the whole day.

It was about a 45 minute bus ride to Olympia and all the kids were very good and excited to get there. I had a group of girls that started out as 3 and added 1 more once we got there to total 4 girls. They all did a great job of staying together and listening to each other. I had no fighting or bickering just plain fun times.

The girls explored the whole place in about an hour and then decided on what they really liked the most and played more in that area. For the most part this place was all about imaginative play. It had a pretend market, emergency room, dentist office, water table, sand table, magnetic wheels, a ship, bulldozer, construction, vet office, drama stage, and more. My girls enjoyed the drama stage and dress up the best. I think we spent more than half our time in this area.

We also got to attend a quick little science show. The teacher explained about solids, liquids, and gasses. She had a few experiments and the kids got to test one in pairs. It was all very exciting for all involved.

Although for a parent is was a bit boring. It was mostly about watching kids play and not much hands on for me, the kids had a blast. Megan said she had a lot of fun. She couldn't really say what she loved the most it was all fun for her. It was especially exciting to have her Mom there and she hopes next year I can go on her next field trip.