soccer.

Carter started his 4th season of soccer a few weeks ago and is playing again with 2 of his best friends for the 3rd season. He has a new coach this year who is wonderful and is really improving his skills.

Lucy started her 2nd season of soccer and is still on a team with one of her best friends. They are so cute together and she has gotten so confident while playing. 

 Simon is starting his first year of soccer season by participating as head cheerleader. He also enjoys pulling/eating grass and rolling soccer balls around on the ground.

 We now spend 2 nights a week plus games on Saturdays at the soccer fields. It can be a little hectic those evenings but we are making it work and the kids have so much fun playing. Carter's team is the purple dinosaurs (with green jerseys!) and Lucy's is the Light Blue team (the kids couldn't agree on a team name so they kept it simple...ha!). Lucy isn't afraid to just go after the ball and even scored her first goal at last weeks game!

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Spring part 2

We've had a busy but fun spring which included....a date night! Dates are few and far between with 3 small kids so we appreciate any time we can get away for a few hours to spend just the two of us. Matt got some great tickets to the Paul McCartney concert a few weeks ago. It was the first time I had left Simon in the evening at 10 months old so I was a little worried how he'd fall asleep but he did pretty good. And we had a delicious dinner before heading to the concert (which was amazing!)

 We also bought the kids a new play structure for our backyard and it has been a huge hit! With so many warm, sunny days it's pretty typical for the kids to run outside after school and spend hours playing, swinging and sliding. Money well spent.

 Carter lost his first tooth! It has been loose for several months but one morning he came down and it was barely hanging on. After a little convincing to let me just pull it I grabbed and twisted and out it came! For the record, the tooth fairy is extra generous for the first tooth and left Carter $3!

 Every couple of months Matt and I make an effort to take each child out for a date day, just the two of us for some special one-on-one time. This particular day Carter and I went out to lunch and a movie.  Lucy had her special date the next day with Matt for donuts and swimming. The kids get so excited for these days and plan ahead for what they 'd like to do next time. I love that we can get quality time in together without distractions from other house stuff too.

 When Carter is at school Lucy and I love to bake together! Let's be honest, it's not hard to convince me to bake anything, especially chocolate chip cookies! And she is the perfect assistant...always ready to lick the beaters and scrape out the bowl with her finger.
Carter finally had his turn for Star of the Week last week at school. He got to make a poster about himself and present it to his class. I was volunteering the particular day he presented which was so fun to watch him be proud of his poster and his favorite things.

 The other day is was super hot so on a whim I decided to head to the beach after lunch. We packed up the car, lots of snacks, swim suits and sunscreen and drove about 15 minutes to Mukilteo Lighthouse Park. The kids quickly made friends with some other kids, played in the water, threw rocks and played on the playground. Simon took a long nap and I soaked in the Vitamin D.

 Mother's Day was spent going to church, family time at the park and a yummy steak salad dinner. Matt had lots of grand plans that kept going wrong so we ended up treating the kids to a scoop of ice cream and calling it good. And really, the best part about Mother's Day isn't fancy flowers or dessert, it's about spending time with this great family of mine (oh yes, and the gift of getting my car detailed was pretty amazing too!)

 And, as the year slowly winds down at school (seriously, how is this year almost over?!? I'm not ready to have a 1st grader!) Carter is ending some of his extracurricular activities. One of his favorite programs all year has been his RAZ reading group. He chose every morning to go to school early so he could participate and I am so proud of him. He is now such a confident reader, advanced almost 7 reading levels and made some new friends too. To celebrate the final day his RAZ teacher hosted a breakfast party and special raffle prizes. It was so fun to see him get excited for the party although he's super bummed it's over for the year. Not to worry, we already have plans to continue it at home during the summer and then start again next year!

 It was also the last day of Lucy's swim lessons. Every Friday since September our routine has been to drop Carter off at school and then head to the pool. As much as Carter has excelled in reading, Lucy has improved in swimming! She can now independently kick off the wall and swim about 20 feet on her own with her face in the water. She has mastered back and front floats, backstroke and loves to practice her bobs in the water. So proud of her!

And not to be left out....Simon turned 11 months old! On his final day of 10 months he took his first steps. He's repeated it a few times but it still pretty wobbly on those legs. Simon loves to talk (favorites are hi daddy, mama and all done), wave hello, smile, scream, climb stairs and open drawers. He is such a sweet baby who I just adore.

 

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spring part 1

Our computer has been having some major issues with storing and saving pictures so it took a while for me to get around to blogging. But, here I am with lots of fun pictures from our life this spring!

It has been such beautiful weather the past 2 months, probably the best spring I can ever remember. On non-rainy days I love to walk to school with the kids. I try to make a simple breakfast so its easier to get out the door. We love the fresh air, the simple conversation and exploring nature as we walk down the street.

Just down the street from our house is a great park with a huge field that the kids love to play at. Right past the park is a creek. It's amazing that all this beauty is literally steps outside our front door. Love where we live.

 Carter is always so sweet when we get to school. He makes sure to say goodbye, give hugs and kisses to each of us and then wave and blow even more kisses as he walks away. Please stay sweet forever little boy!!

 On our way home we usually stop at the park to play for a while before going back home. Lucy loves this time of day because there are a lot of dog walkers out and she gets to pet every.single.dog.

 To keep the park theme going, we stopped at another favorite park the other day for some more play time. I'm always amazed at how strong Carter is, especially his upper body. He loves to climb up poles and ropes, swing across monkey bars and rings and never seems to be out of breath!
Simon loves to observe and just hang out for the adventure.

 And we can now eat more meals outside, which means less mess to clean up at the end of the night.

 Simon is exploring, opening every drawer and loves to pull out everything he finds to throw on the floor. It's a fun game for him and a constant pick up game for me.

 Another afternoon of snacks and playtime outside.

 Sleepy boy in the high chair and happy boy in the stroller! He is such a good baby and just goes along for the ride. I'm amazed at how patient he is with his schedule when we are going from one activity to the next. Clearly, he's able to nap in many places whenever he needs to.

 Another fun morning to walk/bike to school!

 And, a very messy Simon after dinner one night!

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spring break road trip!

We hadn't planned to go anywhere for spring break but when our childcare provider mentioned she'd be out of town we thought instead of making alternate arrangements we would just take the day off too and go on a mini-vacay! We chose Portland as our destination - someplace new for the kids, not too long of a drive, lots to see and do and perfect for 3 days away.

So, we hit the road and off we went! The kids always do a great job in the car. I brought along a few new surprises (books, new pens/coloring books and figurines) to keep them entertained and Simon took a nice, long nap.

We arrived at our hotel and the suite was enormous! Definitely the way to go when traveling with kids. A big room with 2 queen beds, big bathroom, full kitchen and spacious living room. Perfect for exploring, playing, coloring and snacking.

 We wasted no time and headed down to the pool. It doesn't really matter to the kids what type of hotel we stay at, as long as there is a pool!

  l love that Simon gets all the hand-me-downs from the big kids. I'm not sure where Carter's old swim towel is so we brought Lucy's instead. I think he looks great in purple!

 Then it was nap time before heading out to dinner. Of all the amazing restaurants in Portland we ended up at the Spaghetti Factory. Definitely not Matt and I's first choice when we could be much more adventurous but the kids absolutely love it so we thought we'd keep it easy and go someplace familiar.

 The next morning we woke up, had a delicious (free) breakfast at the hotel and then headed to OMSI - the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. This place was huge! With our membership at the Pacific Science Center we were able to get in free which saved us a ton of money too. There were so many exhibits for the kids to play at, read about, touch and run through. We could have stayed several more hours and will definitely go back next time we are in town.

 There was an exhibit about water conservation so it was showing different ways we can reduce water use around the world, or make it easier for other countries to get clean water. Lucy just hopped right up as we read the signs. Ha!

 The space room was great and the kids loved pretending to be astronauts!

 My little crew. Such a fun getaway and a great way to spend family time together.

 One of the last rooms we visited was the birth room. Clearly my absolute favorite part of the museum and one I could have stayed all day in. It was funny to see many of the same posters and signs in the exhibit that I use every day in teaching and that are displayed in my office. The kids were excited too, except Lucy...who had just been kicked in the face by Simon's foot. Oops.

 After OMSI it was time for a snack so we headed to VooDoo Donuts for a special treat. The kids were in awe of how many fun donuts there were to choose from. We decided to grab a few to share and head back to the hotel. Tired kids + crowded donut shop + lots of sugar =  recipe for disaster. A quiet private room to eat sounded much better!

Our final morning we walked through downtown to visit Powell's Bookstore. We usually go to the bookstore in town at least once a week. The kids love reading and we wanted them to enjoy a giant bookstore with thousands of books. We spent almost 2 hours searching and reading before they each chose a book to take home.We packed up our things and got on the road. It was such a fun little getaway and the perfect way to end spring break!

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