Kinder Kid!!

Miles has graduated from preschool. Next year he’s on to bigger and better things as he enters elementary school. Luke and I are having a hard time coming to grips with this.

His preschool teacher, Mrs. Gale, had a ceremony to congratulate all the work these little ones have accomplished.

The kids walked in while Pomp and Circumstance played. I gave a little “awwwwwe” but wasn’t crying at this point.

Singing Counting by 10s.

Our family completely entertained by the singing.

Special recognition to the 5 year olds moving on to kindergarten.

This song was so cool. All the kids were given a bell and were taught to play their note when Mrs. Gale pointed to their part, I Came to Alabama with a Banjo on My Knee. I was blown away. They did a fantastic job.

Miles reciting his rhyme of choice, Little Boy Blue (I’ve got it on video also).

Miles earned the super student award for always do his best work.

And… this is when I started crying…

Miles insisted on sitting on my lap while we watched a slideshow documenting his year in preschool.

Love you Munch! We’re so excited for you to start kindergarten!!

Sharing

I’m pretty certain every kid loves the water. All mine do. Usually there’s plenty of water to go around. Unfortunately we only have one hose.

Lars doesn’t know a thing about sharing yet. And usually it’s Masie or Lyla that has to pay for his innocence.

This is Lyla very politely trying to take her turn with the hose.

This is Lars’s “you better not!” face. Or “if you do, you’ll be sorry!”

He thinks he has won.

I told Lyla it was ok to take it from him. And she had it for a second.

But then Lars claimed it again.

So Lyla tries again.

But Lars has super strength.

And wins another round.

Lyla is so sweet she decides it’s not worth making the baby cry and is simply happy to wet her fingers.

Even tough Masie isn’t sure how to handle this fight.

I tell her it’s ok. It’s her turn. Please take it.

She can’t even do it. I have to reach in and help her. So now I’m the bad guy. Look at this poor face.

AW! Lars’s new nickname is Bucking Bronco or Buck or Bronco for short. He bucks and kicks and flips and flares when he wants something. Don’t worry, we gave him another turn.

By the way, if you have fruit trees, you might want to put a net over them.  We learned the hard way. Birds got to ALL our nectarines.

When the boys are away,

The girls will play!

Luke and Miles left us girls (and Lars) for the father and son’s campout last weekend. Us girls decided it would be fun to have a girls’ breakfast with a yummy oatmeal buffet and donuts. Yum-num!

Parade

Taking our family on a bike ride is like our own mini parade.

If you were wondering, Luke rides the bike that pulls the burley because he’s strong like that. I get the bike with Masie on the back. She likes to pat my bottom as I’m pedaling her around.

Sea World

This is the last of my CA posts.

We were all very excited to see the whales. Masie insisted she didn’t want to see any sharks because they might “bite my head off.”

This may seem like a little rinky-dink ride, but it was a huge step for Miles. He has never wanted to go on any rides and would have a panic attack just thinking about stepping onto one. Elmo’s Flying Fish helped bust him out of his shell. He loved it and went back several times. I think we may be ready to try Disneyland.

Come on Mom, let me go with them!

Lars loves helping to push the stroller.

Not impressed with the dolphins.

Masie is fearless most of the time. She loved touching all the different textures.

We persuaded Miles to give the starfish a tiny poke.

How sweet are these kids? Lyla really wanted her “blankie” around naptime, so we bought her a towel to snuggle. Masie helped comfort her by holding her hand. Can you see Lars’s arm in the sleeve of his jacket wanting in on the hand holding action?

Saying hi to Nemo and Dori.

I honestly was enjoying myself. We arrived really early for the Shamu show and had been sitting here for too long.

Poor Munch sunburned his nose. I told him it would be ok to tell his friends a shark tried to bite his nose off.

We didn’t want to risk losing Lars’s beloved shovel, so I didn’t bring it. He settled for chewing on the sunscreen for most of the day. Don’t even try to take it away from him!

Oh Lyla, please just look at me with your eyes open. No luck this time. She pretends to be camera shy.

The kids are still doing the Shamu wave around the house. Bum-bum, Shamu! Shamu!