Ode to the Red, White and Blue 2013

The last few years we have been very fortunate that the fireworks show in our town takes place at the high school, only a few blocks away from our house. We have traditionally hosted a BBQ with friends at the house and been able to watch the fireworks from the comfort of our front driveway. It's been great.

Well this year they are re-doing the football field at the high school so they moved the fireworks to the new sports park in a different part of town. I wasn't sure what we were going to do because I wasn't real enthusiastic about dealing with crowds and traffic to get close but at the same time, we have become quite spoiled in having a pretty good view. Jake's stipulation was that he wanted to be close enough to HEAR the fireworks. It was quite a dilemma.

Then we found out that the local BMX track was still going to do it's regularly scheduled Thursday night racing with a bonus; being only a block away from the new sports park, they were inviting everyone to stay after the races to view the fireworks show from the track. It was a perfect solution.

We still had friends over for swimming and a BBQ, ate a little early and then headed over to the track.

 



Jake placed 2nd even after crashing in the last run. He got right back up and kept going. I love his competitive drive in moments like this (brought the good camera and had a little too much fun with photo editing).








The view (and yes, sound and smell) of the fireworks was perfect!





Afterwards, we headed back to the house for dessert and sprinklers (as I accidentally called the sparklers). Everyone had a nice time.







I have said this in previous 4th of July posts, but this particular holiday is very bittersweet for me. Not only was it my dad's absolute favorite holiday, but it was at a fireworks viewing on the 4th that my parents, brother and I were together for the last time before he passed away. This year marks 15 years since he passed. I can't believe it has been that long.

I know my spiritual beliefs are ambiguous and non-traditional but I feel his presence all around me when I watch the fireworks. I think about how happy and proud he would be as a grandpa and although it does make me sad, it also brings me a sense of peace.

So while I celebrate America's birthday on the 4th, the holiday also means much more to me. It is a celebration of life and family and yet another of many reminders to hold those dear to you close.

It's like a Heatwave

Well here it is July already and I have once again taken an unintentional blogging hiatus. While I don't like getting behind on the blog, which I use as a journal/scrapbook/photo album of our life, it also means we have been busy, having fun and most importantly, that I am doing a good job of living in the moment. Unfortunately, that also means less pictures and detailed stories. It's a balancing act.

But I digress. That whole topic could be a blog post in and of itself.  Instead, I'm just gonna dive right in.......

Although we live in the desert and expect the summer to be H-O-T, we were hit with triple digits a little sooner than usual prompting a week long excessive heat warning. Without the chance to ease into the high temps, the weather sure did seem excessive. However, once we hit the century mark it's all the same to me. Whether it's 101, 105 or or 117, it's too hot to be outside unless there is water involved.

So on the first day of the heatwave, we stayed indoors, opting to go as a family to see Monsters University in an air-conditioned theater followed by a casual dinner out. Super cute movie! Super fun day!

Saturday we headed to Upland to get my hair done and visit the grandparents. I wish I could say it was cooler there but they were experiencing the same heatwave. The upside to being in 100+ weather there instead of at home? Cousins to play with and grass in the backyard for some slip-n-slide fun.



Jadyn with cousin Lilly, both looking super cute as their brothers photo bomb:



And yes, it was still extremely hot outside when the boys dressed up to play military. When Jake gets together with his cousin Aidan, this is mandatory no matter the weather:



Sunday we really needed a day at home to relax and be lazy but we also still needed to beat the heat, so we spent a lot (and I mean A LOT) of time in our pool.




What I love about summer is that you can do SO MUCH! We have been super busy, Work for both Joe and I,  day camps and swim lessons (more on this later), play dates, sleepovers, trips to the water park and river. And yet, we still have time to chill out as a family, take naps (me), read books, play games and watch movies. It's exactly why I LOVE summer.

So bring on the heat. And bring on the platitudes about how time flies when your having fun. We still have plenty of summer left.

Spring Recital 2013

Big sigh of relief. Jadyn made it to recital without getting sick. She just loves, loves, loves to perform. Sometimes it amazes me how her excitement of being on stage outweighs any nerves she may have about it. She just loves it! And this recital was even more special as Jadyn was chosen to lead her cheer squad by yelling ready in between components of their performance. She did awesome!

I am limited on the pictures I got. I usually take stills during costume week and dress rehearsal since flash photography is not allowed the night of recital but I wasn't real happy with the variety of pictures I got. I may have to breakdown and buy the digital download the professional photographer offers so don't be surprised if an additional recital post pops up later down the line.

The squad during costume week:



Jadyn doing her solo X-jump:



Pictures from the night of dress rehearsal:

 



And before and after on recital night:

 





Now that Jadyn has decided not to continue with team sports like soccer and softball, I am hoping to add one more class in the fall. She wants to try gymnastics, which I think would be a good compliment to cheer. She also really enjoyed performing in the spring musical so we'll see what happens. I definitely see more performances in her future.

Summer Bucket List 2013

An annual tradition in the Funny Nose household. The day after school gets out, we all sit down and brainstorm all the fun things we want to squeeze into summer break. Here is this year's list in the order they were written down by the kids....

Knott's Soak City
Beach vacation
River trips
Wristband (spa) pools
Local theater production
Playdates
Summer reading program
Sea World
Bowling
Visit animal shelter
Sunburst Park
Power baseball (minor league game)
Soccer camp (Jake)
Swim lessons
Movies in the park
Concerts in the park
Boogie boarding
Children's Museum
Movie theater - Monster's University, Despicable Me 2, Smurfs 2, Turbo

Starting tomorrow we are squeezing in a week of swim lessons before I go back to work for summer school. I have play dates planned for the kids for all the days I will be working (and am immensely grateful to all my friends who so generously agreed to help out). The kids received season passes to the water park so I know we will be visiting there a lot and we also have a 4 day trip to the beach planned during which time we will be going to Sea World.

I have no doubt we will be able to complete all the items on this summer's bucket list and frankly, I know we are going to have a blast doing it. I love summer!

School's out for Summer (at least for the kids)

For the first time in 4 years, we finished the school year with no promotion or graduation ceremonies in the family. While it made things (only slightly) less hectic, it also made the end of the school year seem kind of anti-climatic.

The last few days were filled with fun extras like field day, which I was able to volunteer for. I worked the mini-golf station until the heat got the best of me and finished off in the shade doing dance parties with the kids. It was a blast!



We made treats and gifts for everyone who has made this school year so special (thanks to Pinterest for all the great ideas).

For their classmates:



For Jadyn's teacher (along with a gift card to her favorite restaurant):



For Jake's teacher (as well as a signed framed picture of her class at the talent show):



And for my students, many of whom will continue in my class next year. I have grown so attached to them and wish I could post pictures and tell stories about how special each and and every one of them are - I don't know how teachers say good-bye year after year:



On the last day of school, we rushed home to get Jadyn ready for dress rehearsal, grabbed dinner afterward and then headed back to the school for a special outdoor movie, a reward both Jake and Jadyn earned for reaching their Accelerated Reading goal. I was especially proud of Jake who spend the whole last week  of the program reading past his bedtime and taking at least one test a day, if not two in order to reach his goal. I was so impressed with his dedication and very proud that he stuck with it. It wasn't easy but he did it!

And the only picture I got from the last day of school was Jadyn and her new BFF Keira (such social butterflies, they were hanging out with graduating 6th graders at the movie):



I was very happy with both kids reports cards and all the progress they made this school year. I can't believe I now have a 2nd and 4th grader. I know I say this every year between their birthdays and the end of the school year, but WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

First trip of the season

With things so busy, it was nice to find a day we could plan our first trip of the season to the river. We headed out early Sunday morning, took two boat loads to our newest favorite spot and chilled for the entire day. It was exactly what we all needed.

Our little slice of heaven. A beach located in an inlet with no current. The kids can play, the dogs can play and the adults can kick back and relax. Perfection!

A first for us, we saw two deer (looked to be a mama with her baby) cross the water and they came pretty close to us. We figure someone must be feeding them that they weren't acting very skittish. Very cool:

 

And hopefully this is only the first of many more trips to come this summer. 

School Notes

As I have mentioned, with the school year winding down (only 6 more days of school, not that I am counting), there has been a ton of end of school year activities over the last few weeks.

Not that this necessarily has to do with the end of the school year but last week I gave Jake permission to bring home a snake that his class had been keeping. The teacher's son had caught it and she brought it in to share. This is the time of year where snakes are out and about. This particular guy (or gal) is a Rosy Boa the class named Rosie. Jake quickly became obsessed and said he wanted to have a pet snake, that is until I explained how we would have to feed him. That seemed to end the discussion but it didn't stop the kids from having a blast with Rosie during his overnight visit with us:

I think I have mentioned that Jake's amazing teacher this year directs both the winter and spring musicals. This year she had her class learn the song "Hair" from the musical "Hair" and perform it in the annual talent show. I was very excited for my normally reserved shy Jake to have a chance to perform and see what he thought. I was even more thrilled to find that he really got into it and enjoyed it. I was super impressed with the performance (she had a little choreography and even some transitions). If I get a good recording of the performance I will post it but for now some pictures will have to suffice:

Finally this week were the 3rd trimester award assemblies. Jadyn earned the Star Reading award for the 3rd trimester in a row and Jake made the Dean's List also for all 3 trimesters. I am so proud of what good students they are. I am very pleased with how hard they both worked and how much they have both learned this year. I can't believe I am about to have a 2nd and 4th grader!

But school isn't out quite yet. We still have field day, the final Friday flag and the 3rd trimester AR program rewards. On top of that Jake has one more baseball game and an end of season party and Jadyn's dance recital is next week (I will promptly be placing her in a bubble so she doesn't get sick again). 

It just never ends and you know what? I love it!

Lucky Number Seven

The last few years Jadyn's birthday seems to land on one of the busiest weeks of spring. School, baseball and dance are all winding down. Registration has began for summer and fall activities. There is just A LOT going on. I really tried to make sure Jadyn felt like even though we were busy, it was still her special day.

Of course, she beat me to the punch the night prior when she made herself a birthday hat announcing "today is my birthday". Here she is sporting it while making cupcakes to share with her cheer class the next day:

And here she is sound asleep, her last night as a 6 year old:

Friday morning, we let Jadyn open her gifts from us including a new Lego Friends set and matching mother/daughter necklaces.



I went into school with the kids to help with the talent show, which Jake performed in with his class (more on this later). Here I am with the birthday girl before leaving for the day:

At school, Jadyn shared treats with her class. At cheer class, Jadyn brought cupcakes to celebrate. After the talent show, the family went out to Sonic for a car picnic (her choice, I am sensing a trend here). Back at home, we played Just Dance at her request. It was a long, fun day of celebrating. 

But the real fun came Saturday evening AFTER I registered the kids for swim and AFTER Jake's baseball game. Jadyn had her two good friends Keira and Kimberly over for a sleepover. The evening included pizza, cupcakes, opening gifts, swimming, showing off gymnastic moves, doing nails, making Shrinky Dink charm bracelets, giggles and a movie before bed.

In the morning there was more swimming and jumping on the trampoline and by the time the girls were either picked up or dropped off, this mama was EXHAUSTED!

Later that day, Jadyn and I relaxed in the pool and as she snuggled on top of me in the raft, I contemplated what a bright, entertaining, creative and kind-hearted girl she has become.




 Happy 7th birthday to my sweet little Jadyn. No amount of words can express my love.