School's Out!

The last couple weeks of school were jam packed with activities.  Jake had Muffins for Moms and Field Day, which I got to go and help in his class.  Super fun!  Julianna had her end of the year Beach party and I was a party mom.  I was in charge of face painting...yikes!  But now we own a fun set of face paints and I have painted the girls faces at least 4 times so far.  Julianna asks every day.  I guess it will pass the time in the summer.  But it was a fun final week of school for everyone.

Jake finished up Kindergarten.  He is very excited to move on to first grade.  This means he gets to play on the BIG playground, so it's a big step up.  He had a fantastic year.  His reading skills are phenominal, it's truly amazing how much he reads.  We are so proud of him.  He finished up his baseball season.  Got a few guys out his last game.  Now he wants to play football in the fall...AHH!  Look how much he has grown up since the first day of school!

Julianna finished up her Chimp year of preschool  Next year she will be a Panda and go to school Monday-Friday.  She is very excited!  Every morning she would wake up and ask if it was Monday, Wednesday, Friday and of course she would cry if it wasn't.  She loved school...so much that she had perfect attendance this year!  I put her in swimming lessons a couple months ago.  She is a fish, and a mermaid (as she says).  She moved up a class each session.  Now, she would be in the same class as Jake, but luckily they move up to a different level when they are 6.  Phew, crisis averted.  Super competitive Jake would not have been happy about that!

Last but not least is Grace.  She is done with PMO and off to "real" preschool next year.  She will go to a new school close to our house (meaning 1.5 miles from our house!).  I am definitely looking forward to her being just a 5 minute drive!  She loved going to school.  After dropping off Julianna she would say over and over "my turn, my turn Mama, my turn."  Her teachers adored her and always told me how they wished they had a room full of Grace's.  I think she might have them fooled.  Grace can find trouble pretty easily!  But she is full of love and energy.  And look how she has grown over the year.  Time just flies!

It's going to be a fun summer!  We have lots of camps coming up and a trip to Grandma and Poppy's house.  We will definitely be spending lots of time in the pool!  It's a short summer so we have lots of fun to pack in!

Julianna's Ballet Recital

For the past 5 months Julianna has been taking another session of ballet.  She has definitely enjoyed this round better.  I think she has finally caught on and likes what is happening.  However after one class a couple months ago she came out crying.  She didn't want to be a bumblebee, she wanted to be a ladybug.  I didn't blame her I would totally rather be a ladybug too!  But I told her that I remember when Aunt Lyndsay was taking her first ballet class and she had to be a skunk.  She didn't like that either but outfit turned out to be super cute.  After that she was fine with a bumblebee...I think the idea of being a skunk was worse!

I will say when we got the costumes and everyone was trying them on, turned out the bumblebee was WAY cuter than the ladybug.  She never said a word, she loved her costume from the moment she saw it.

 The recital went well.  A few of the girls got off a little but she kept going.  It is so cute to watch little girls do ballet.  Nana and Papa Chuck came and brought flowers.  She was so excited.  I put them in a vase in her room. right next to her bed.  She was very proud of her flowers and was so happy they could come see her!

 

Grace's 1st Hair Cut

Before we left for Disney World I knew it was time for Grace to get her first hair cut.  She was really excited.  We went to a new place and of course the line was forever long.  But they had a great playroom and the kids were happy.  When they finally called Grace's name she popped right up in the yellow car she had all picked out.

The lady put the cape on her and started spraying her hair.  She just sat there and smiled.  What a change from the other two getting hair cuts!  Jake cried for years I think!  But she enjoyed every moment.

And the end product was a success!  It's been a couple weeks and I can see a difference.  She is losing the curls and its getting thicker.  But I can still get it up in cute pigtails!

Disney World Day 5

Last day at the parks.  We started the day off with breakfast at Chef Mickey.  It's one of our favorite meals.  The food is really good and lots of characters come around to see the kids.  Grace is not a big fan of Goofy.  Who knows why but Minnie...she LOVES Minnie Mouse!

After breakfast we headed to the monorail to go to Magic Kingdom.  The kids love to ride it...and it didn't break down this time!  Once again we rode lots of rides in the morning.  Why people sleep in at Disney World I have no idea!  The lines are awful in the afternoon!  Jake and I rode Space Mountain.  Ugh.  I love roller coasters but I was so nervous Jake was going to fly out I didn't enjoy it at all!  He can just ride with Brian from now on!  But I am glad he loves roller coasters too!  We must have rode the Barnstormer 4-5 times.

Julianna felt left out that she couldn't ride Space Mountain too.  So while Jake and I were gone she talked Brian into this...

Now Grace was still not her sweet self but she sure did light up when she rode rides...especially the carousel.

Just before we left the park for nap/swimming time we rode Splash Mountain.  Brian and Jake rode the first day and assured us we wouldn't get wet.  Wrong!  We were pretty wet.  Julianna leaned over and whispered "Mommy, my butt is wet!"  Her face paint started running down her face.  Oh well!

After naps (and Grace falling face first onto the concrete) we went back to eat dinner at the Beast's castle.  It was sooo fun.  The restaurant is really pretty and the Beast came out.  The food was excellent.  We will definitely go back if we can!

After a couple more rides Grandma took Grace to bed and we stayed to see the fireworks.  It was a wonderful trip and we had so much fun...in spite of all the disasters.  Thanks to Grandma for coming and helping with Grace.  It was so great to have you there!  The kids had a magical time!  So magical, in fact, we will be back in September!

Disney World Day 4

Day 4 we headed to Epcot.  Grandma had to stay behind with a sore throat (thanks to Julianna).  Brian and I braved three kids and off we went to Epcot.  Everyone was getting tired but we were all looking forward to the rides at Epcot.

So we get there and my plan is to drop the kids and Brian off at Test Track and go get in line to see Else and Anna.  If you don't know who Elsa and Anna are...you obviously don't or know anyone under the age of 10!  They are the sisters from Frozen which is our current favorite movie of all time.  I gotta say it is totally cute.  However.  When I got to Norway where the sisters were seeing guests the wait was 4 (YES FOUR) hours long.  The park had been open for 5 minutes!  Needless to say there is pretty much nothing I am willing to wait in line for 4 hours (with Grace) to see.  Maybe next time girls.

So instead of seeing the Frozen girls we settled for Mickey, Goofy and Minnie.  Grace was a little scared of Goofy but the other two got lots of smiles and hugs.  We spent the rest of the morning riding rides and eating.  Then Grace, Julianna and I headed back for naps.  I got this great picture on the way out.  I love when they smile!

When we got back to the room, Grandma was feeling a little better.  Julianna decided Grandma could not go one more day without seeing Frozen.  So the girls snuggled down and watched the movie.  Meanwhile, Jake and Brian were all over Epcot.  Riding rides and doing secret missions in each country.  Epcot really is a fun place and Jake had a great time hunting clues.

We met for dinner and rode a few rides and called it a night.  We had an early breakfast with Mickey in the morning!