Trike-A-Thon

This morning, Nicholas had his 2nd annual Trike-A-Thon at the school. The students rode around a track at the "Big School" to raise money for the pre-school. As of this morning at 9:00 the kids had raised $880.00. It was a blast! I took Sean & Graham down to cheer on Nicholas in the Trike-A-Thon and Emma in the Jog-A-Thon. I'm not sure how many laps Nicholas did in his 20 minutes of riding however, I'm sure that it was well over 20. The kids all did great despite VERY cold temperatures and a beautiful sunshine. They were treated to cookies and punch after they finished riding and all wore big red smiles with a little brown chocolate on the corners of their mouths. It was fun to see all of the supporters who came out to watch the kids...including Kindergarten, first, third and fourth grades. There was lots of cheering, smiles, and laughter as the kids rode around the track. Nobody really diggered it and that always makes more fun. I also have to point out that Sean & Graham did AWESOME during the event. Despite being cold, on an area with a playground, and lots of people...the two did a great job of cheering on the kids and sticking close to me with great listening. It was a super fun morning, however I'm sure that there are some tired kids this afternoon...I know my house is all resting right now! :-)

Teddy Bear Tea

Whelp, it's official...Nicholas is heading off to Kindergarten in the fall. How can that be? Yesterday he had his first official Kindergarten activity...The Teddy Bear Tea. What is this you ask? Well, at St. Stans, they invite all of those children entering into Kindergarten to bring their favorite stuffed animal and their parents for cookies and punch at the school. The principle introduces herself and provides the mission statement of the school & then the Kindergarten teacher introduces herself and provides a brief outline of the subjects that are taught in her Kindergarten class. Then the 6th grade students provide a tour of the school and we are given the opportunity to observe some of the classes. We are taken down to the Kindergarten classroom, where the kids were able to watch the students working on their math stations. The gym was decorated so cute with balloons & teddy bears and the kids all looked so small sitting at the tables. There were little teddy bears for them to color on the tables. At the completion of the tea, all of the students from K-6 came down and sang a beautiful blessing over the soon to be Kindergarten students. It was so special, I actually had tears in my eyes. All of the students surronded the tables and held their hands towards the kids and sang the blessing, it was really beautiful & touching. Nicholas & I had a lot of fun and it was our special date. Sean got to go play with his "girlfriend" Ashley and her daughter Amiya for a couple of hours.

Sean's Birthday

So, I'm a little late posting this but, time flies when your flying! :-) Our Seaner's turned 3 on the 9th. I'm a little sad and we are still finding it weird to have a 3 year old in the house. I know, I know, it hasn't been that long ago that Nicholas was 3...it's just that Sean shouldn't be 3 yet. We had a great time celebrating his birthday this year. We opted out of doing a family party for him since the family is so spread out and everybody is crazy busy right now with remodeling projects (including us). So, Ray & I took the boys to see Space Chimps on the Saturday before his birthday. Then Aunt Tracie & Uncle Jeff came by with a Race Care Helmet that was really cool (and noisy...just wait you two paybacks suck...I think there is a drum set in your future). Papa Ray, Grandma Judy, Aunt Senna & Uncle Chris came down later that afternoon with a "new" bike for him. It was a hit, it didn't take him long to figure it out and he was off. Then on his birthday (a Monday) he got to go see Baby Soda on the "TV". He thought it was pretty cool that Soda waved to him and said "Happy Birthday Big Brother" (that's what we told him Soda was saying, it's amazing the things they believe at that age!). He got to choose a Kid Cusine dinner at Winco for his and Nicholas's dinner that night & a birthday cake. We came home from Moscow, made his cake and the boys played. That night, Grandma Sally came by with a card and a contribution to his college fund, and gave him Uncle Donalds (aka McDonalds) gift cards. When Ray got home he got to open his present from us; a Webkinz ducky which has been named Daphne. We also got him swimming lessons (which just ended last night THANK GOODNESS!). I would say he had a pretty good birthday which lasted over several days. Then on the 16th he got to have a few of his friends over for a make your own ice cream party. The kids ran wild and had a blast. Here's a few pics of Sean with his birthday presents!

Ultrasound

Well, we had our 20 week ultrasound this morning. So far, everything looks good...all 10 fingers & toes, good heartbeat (156), bladder and kidneys! I'll know more about the results after my appointment on Thursday and the radiologist reviews. The boys went and thought it was really cool...for about the first 20 minutes. Then they were done. Nicholas thought he should have a turn, laid down on the table, pulled up his shirt, and asked the ultrasound tech to look at his toast. (He had toast for breakfast). Anyway, here's a few pics!

Broken Window

Well, we've had our first broken window. Who would have thought that an almost 3 year old and a foam bat could break a window...I never would have yet, it can happen! Sunday afternoon (during the Super Bowl) we sent the boys out to play. Well, I went into our bathroom and opened the window to check on them, at that point they were breaking out the ice from the empty sandbox with their shoes. A few minutes later I hear a thumping against the house. I opened the window once again only to find Nicholas against the back fence & Sean standing below me with the foam baseball bat. As soon as Nicholas spotted me, he points at Sean and yells "Look what Seanie did!" I look down at Sean, he looks up at me with a very guilty face and the foam baseball bat. I run downstairs to the "bathroom" and find a very not so good scene. Through our frosted window, I can see daylight. Yep, there's a whole in the frosted pane placed there by our one and only Seanie and a foam baseball bat. Lucky for us, it was only the outer pane so we don't have to replace the whole window until we are further along with the bathroom. The boys are sent to their room so we could get the truth out of Sean. Nicholas (bless his heart) comes out and tells Ray that he broke the window. Ray informs him that he appreciates his telling him yet, we know that Sean did it. Thus, lots of tears from Sean as he's left in his bedroom to ponder telling us the truth. Through all of this, Ray & Eric have braved the elements to break out the rest of the glass from the window. Ray is the only injury with a cut finger. Not bad enough for the E.R. however, bad enough for a very manly Princess Fiona band aid. As he's doctoring his injury (with his handsome band aid), Sean enters the bathroom and tells Ray (through lots of sobbing, tears, sniffles and trying to talk through all of this) that he's "Sorry, Daddy". Ray informed him that these things happen and he just needs to tell the truth. Needless to say, Ray is very optimistic that this will not be the last broken window at our home.