swimming lessons

we started swimming lessons last friday but we were running late and i didn't get a picture of the kids together before class. mason and dahlia are in the same class. they are taking school age level 3. connor is in preschool level 3. the lessons are at the rose bowl aquatic center. i really like it there. this will be our fifth year of lessons for mason and dahlia. connor started last year. mason and dahlia can swim pretty well but i would like them to learn the correct way to do their strokes. i really wish we had a pool at home so we could all practice.

when our lessons were over we drove over to my sister's house in santa monica. the kids wanted to hang out with their cousins. we walked to menchies and got frozen yogurt. we stayed for dinner and jen and rays friend scarlett joined us. she is really fun. i had a great time talking to her. i think i am starting to relax and realize that summer is here.

mason rides a bike

today miles started to teach mason how to ride a bike. he is much more cautious than dahlia. definitely not a dare devil. he did ok, but our driveway is a very hard place for someone to learn how to ride a bike. he was very afraid when miles would let go of him. he would do so much better on a long flat straight sidewalk. i think we will have to take the bikes somewhere that is easier to ride. it will be fun when all the kids can ride and we can go on a family bike ride.

adventure time party

i took mason to his friend's birthday party today. they did an adventure time theme. it was really fun. they started the party with a scavenger hunt that took the kids around the house to find little hidden treasures.

after the scavenger hunt a science guy came and showed off some experiments for them . the kids all loved the science guy. he was pretty funny. the dry ice at the end was a big hit. after his show he spun cotton candy for everyone. what a treat.

archer's mom made the funniest birthday cake. the inside was all layered with different colors and sizes of cake that were all pasted together with frosting. his dad came out dressed as the ice king and brought a pinata. everyone got to take a swing at it. it was a very fun party even for the adults. i love backyard parties. the vibe is always so relaxed.

mason is eight

mason turned eight today. wow. time is just flying by. it kind of makes me sad. he is so grown up now. eight seems very grown up to me. at least he is my oldest child and not my youngest. i still get to play with connor. mason is very sweet though and still likes to snuggle with me. thank goodness for that.

we started our day with lounging in the big bed and then miles and i surprised mason with his birthday present. a giant castle lego set. he was very excited but not at all surprised because dahlia spilled the beans about his gift two weeks ago. it did not take away from his excitement though. he got to work right away building it. miles helped and they had the whole castle done by lunch time.

miles' mom came to visit for the weekend to celebrate his birthday with us. we had a yummy salmon dinner and then mason blew out eight candles on a pumpkin pie. his favorite. i bought the movie "the croods" and the kids got to stay up late watching it. happy birthday mason. i love you very much.

school starts

mason and dahlia started school yesterday. dahlia was so cute and put on her easter dress for the occasion. she was very excited and looked adorable. she has the same teacher that mason had when he was in kindergarten. i am so happy to have her again. she is really an amazing teacher. dahlia loved her first day and today as well.

mason hates new things and had a complete meltdown while we were walking to school. he did cheer up a bit to find that two of his favorite friends are in the same class with him. it is nice that they will all be together. he would not let me take a photo of him yesterday so his picture is from today. he was much better this morning and we managed to get him off to school without any tears.

the two separate pick up times is really awful so i am completely exhausted by time we get home. this will only get worse i fear in the next few weeks when connor starts school. we also will be starting our after school activites. ugh. i am tired just thinking about it.

swimming lessons

the kids are back in swimming lessons again. dahlia is in preschool 4 and mason is in school age 2. they are both doing great. i really like their teachers this year. they are super nice. the kids both love to swim and are pretty confident in the water.

i thought i would sign connor up for lessons this year but he doesn't seem ready. i don't think he would be comfortable in the water without me. when i asked him if he would like to take swimming lessons he said "not in THAT pool, i'll drown." so funny. next year he will take lessons for sure.

swimming lessons

the first official day of summer. we started the day off right with swimming lessons. yay! i made the kids pose for a photo before they got into the pool. this was their second lesson but miles took them last week so i didn't get a picture.

their teachers seem nice. i am so happy to see mason and dahlia learning to swim. now i just need to get connor in a class.

show week

what a crazy busy week this is for us. yesterday and today we had show week for mason and dahlia at the little gym. show week is where the kids perform all the skills they have learned throughout the year during gym class. the parents get to come inside the gym and watch.

dahlia had her performance yesterday and she did great. she was the best one in her class. they move from each section of the gym and show the vault, floor exercise, balance beam, and the uneven bars. dahlia is really into it. she practices her cartwheels and hand stands everyday at home.

for mason's class it is a lot like the men's gymnastics they have the vault, parallel bars, and the horizontal high bar. they also did a floor exercise. they don't do the pommel horse or still rings yet. i have seen them practice on the still rings but they didn't show it today.

at the end of the performance the kids get called up on the mat and get a metal. dahlia and mason were so excited to get another metal to match the one they got last year.

it is a really basic gymnastic class. they just focus on having fun. i would love to move dahlia to a different gym that is a bit more serious about teaching gymnastics but she loves it here so i guess we will stay for at least another year. mason doesn't seem to be that interested but he told me he wants to take the class again and i think it is good for building your muscles so i signed him up. now i just have to find a time slot that works for connor.

last day of school

mason had his last day of school today. it was a short day so i picked him up at 12:30. while he was in class dahlia, miles, connor, and i painted a big sign that said welcome summer. this has become our little tradition to start our summer. of course this year dahlia doesn't get out of school until june 12 so we don't really start summer until then.

the kids were so excited to run through and rip the sign. we actually had to tape it back together and let connor run through again because he said he didn't get to rip it.

today was also the last day of soccer and the last dance class. it was a day of finishing things up. the last day of school is always a little sad for me. i actually ended up really liking mason's teacher and will be sad to have a new one next year.

party in the park

mason's teacher had their end of the school year party in the park today. they actually spent the whole day in the park. it was so fun.

i volunteered to help with the party so i went to the park after i dropped mason off and helped another mom set up. we set the tables with checked table cloths and the goody bags i made for them. they had pancakes and strawberries with orange juice for breakfast. so cute to have breakfast in the park.

after their breakfast we went on a nature walk and then they received a memory book made by their room mom to sign for each other. it was such a nice thing for her to do. they really had fun trading books and signing them. they all had lunch and then it was time to go to the playground.

when they were done at the playground they all got to have ice cream sundaes while listening to their teacher read the end of charlotte's web. it was such a beautiful day. i am so sad to have the school year end. i feel like i just got to feel comfortable with everyone and now it is going to all change.

open house

today was open house at mason's school. i can't believe how fast this year has gone by. there is only two weeks and three days left of school. i am so not ready for summer. i haven't even made my summer bucket list.

visiting the class was lots of fun. i loved looking at all of mason's work. he was excited to show everything to us. connor was being crazy so we didn't stay long. mason did get to see his friend archer and say hi so that was nice. we didn't run into any of his other friends though.

i wish we would have done something fun afterwards like go to dinner or out for frozen yogurt but we just went home. we still had some homework to finish and it is always tough to get the kids to bed on time.

mason sings

mason's first grade class all sung today at the school assembly. i didn't get to go because it was at the same time that dahlia starts school. miles went and took video and pictures for me though. it was so cute. they sang this land is your land, america the beautiful, and it's a small world. they even sang a verse of it's a small world in japanese. mason sang the songs for me when i picked him up from school because i had missed the performance. he did not sing the japanese verse for me though. he said it was too hard.

the mermaid and the clone trooper

i got mason and dahlia's costumes for halloween. dahlia wanted to be princess ariel which of course is perfect for her. mason wanted to be a clone trooper from star wars. i bought their costumes this year and didn't force them to have a matching theme like i usually do. i figured they should be what they want to be. they were so excited when we got home they quickly dressed up and played outside. it was so funny to see mason as a clone trooper. with that mask you can't even tell it is him. he looks kind of scary.

connor doesn't want to dress up. i am going to buy him some spiderman pajamas that i am thinking i can get him to wear. he said he wanted to be spiderman in the store but then he would not let me try the costume on him. he just started screaming. i didn't want to spend money on an expensive costume if he wouldn't wear it. i figure with the pajamas we can use them later on. if he won't wear the spiderman pajamas then my back up plan is to put him in his skeleton pajamas. he loves those.

birthday boy

granny came to visit to celebrate mason's birthday. she was going to come on his birthday but dahlia had strep throat so we postponed the visit for a few days. it was a very sweet visit. miles took a couple of days off from work and we were all together. miles and his mom even went to soccer practice. mason was super excited to have them there.

at night we made tacos for dinner and then all sang happy birthday. mason wanted to have a pumpkin pie instead of a cake. the three kids decorated the pie with small pieces of chocolate that looked a bit like tombstones sticking out of the pie. it was funny and delicious.

we had such a fun tuesday. the kids were all sad to have to go to bed.

mason is seven

mason turned seven today. seven! what? how is that possible? we had a great day. dahlia is still sick though so she stayed home from school with me. we all went together to pick mason up from school. we surprised him with his favorite croissants from portos. he loves their croissants. they are really good.

it was nice that it was friday so mason didn't have to do any homework. that would be a drag on his birthday. we carved our pumpkin while we waited for miles to get home from work. the kids couldn't wait for halloween to carve it so i decided it would be a fun thing to do. miles was nice and came home early so we could all have dinner together. we made tacos and then all sang happy birthday. i got some little desserts from portos including a chololate cupcake for mason.

we gave him a star wars lego x-wing that he could not wait to start building. he is still really into legos. we ended the evening with our family movie night watching star wars. it was super fun. happy birthday mason. i love you one hundred.

soccer

mason started soccer today. he has been wanting to play soccer for a while now so i was excited to sign him up. of course now my week is crazy busy driving around from two schools, soccer for mason, ballet for dahlia, and gym class for both. i don't mind though because he loves his soccer class. two of his friends from school are taking the class with him and it makes it extra fun.

i signed him up for "kidz love soccer." it is an organization that focuses on teaching the kids how to play soccer in a non-competitive environment. he is not really on a team that will compete against other teams. the teams change every week. i thought it would be a great place for him to learn without being stressed out to win. the focus is to have fun.

dahlia and connor came with us of course and had fun riding their scooters along the sidewalk while we were there. it was great to keep them occupied. the class is only 45 minutes long so the time went quickly.

mason was so excited to play. it was great watching him. he was running all around and laughing. when we got home he did his homework right away. i couldn't believe it. i usually have to coerce him into doing homework. i think this sport will be great for us. yay for soccer.

first grade

mason started first grade yesterday. this picture is actually from today because he was screaming and crying before school yesterday. miles had to carry him to the car. he was scared to go. he kept saying "i don't want to go, i don't want to go." miles stayed with him the first ten minutes of class before he was calm enough to join the others.

i was really worried about him all day but the first thing he said to me when i picked him up was "mommmy, i really like it." thank goodness. his teacher was laughing because it was such a change from the how the day started.

this morning there was no screaming or crying. he went straight into his class. when i picked him up he told me he likes first grade more than kindergarten. yay. i am so relieved. lets hope we have a great year.

orange county fair

i took mason and dahlia to the orange county fair today. poor connor stayed home with daddy. he is really too little to ride most of the rides there and i knew it would be difficult to bring him. still i felt super guilty when he kept saying over and over that he wanted to go with me. he got to spend the day with his daddy so that is not so bad.

i met christina, zena, susan, doug, jen, and bodhi there. it turned out good that connor stayed home because the kids were really into riding the rides this time. they went on the bumper cars, mazes, tiny roller coasters, and a little train. they also had fun making leather bracelets with their name on it that they got to stamp with a design and pick colors for it to be dyed. they loved it. i remember making one just like it in girl scouts when i was little.

we also looked at all the animals and got plenty of sweets including cotton candy and an icee. it was very hot and i was happy when it was time to go. we didn't stay too late. i left there around 3:30. we had a long drive home and granny was coming to visit for the night so we wanted to spend time with her.

swimming lessons

we started swimming lessons last week. we are taking them at the same place. the rose bowl aquatic center in pasadena. this year mason and dahlia are in separate classes. dahlia is in the preschool class and mason is in the school age class. i was worried they would be sad but they didn't mind at all. i think it is actually good for them. maybe they will focus more and not be distracted by each other.

they loved the classes. they got right in the water without any complaining. mason's class seemed to move a little quicker than dahlia's even though they are the same level. maybe they just take it slower with the younger kids. they both are doing really well. they are so confident now that they want to swim without any floaties at all when we are in our friends pool. it is great. now i need to get connor in a class. maybe i will sign him up for a saturday class. he is still too young for the classes without a parent in the pool so it would have to be a weekend class. it will be so nice to have them all swimming.

hello summer

today was the last day of school. it was actually kind of sad. when i picked up mason after school a bunch of the kids were crying. they all love their teacher. they were all so sad to leave her. mason's teacher said that mason was tearing up too. he seemed pretty down. she has been his teacher for two years now and he is really attached. i don't remember the kids being so emotional last year. it was really sweet though. they are all such nice kids. i am sad to have the year end. i have been kind of depressed about it all week.

when we went home we surprised mason with a big sign that said hello summer. dahlia and i painted it this morning. the kids got to run through it and tear it. i spoiled them and had little presents for them. we had fun the rest of the day. i took them to gym class and then jen, bodhi, and kira came over for dinner. i am sure when we don't have to wake up mason early tomorrow he will be happy it is summer.