dahlia kitty

this was a big day for us. dahlia had her end of the year dance recital. she did a tap routine to the song stray cat strut. her costume is crazy cute. she looked like a little cat. she was just beautiful.

she was worried about being backstage without me so i signed up to be a backstage mom. it was kind of stressful for me. there were fourteen little girls to look after and i had to make sure that their costume stayed nice and help them to use the bathroom. of course every little girl had to go to the bathroom at least once. i was lucky though. there were three other backstage moms for our group. our group was a combination of two classes so it was a large one.

dahlia did great. she was not nervous at all. she did look off to the side to watch her teacher do the routine but she did it right along. i was so proud. i can't wait to get the dvd and see it from the audience perspective. miles came with mason and connor and watched from the audience. they gave her flowers when she was done. dahlia was sad that her other relatives couldn't make it. next year they will come for sure.

whew! i am so happy we are done. all the end of the year performances are exhausting.

basketball hoop

we got a new toy today. we got a basketball hoop. miles and i are going to sign mason up for basketball next year instead of soccer and miles wanted him to practice over the summer. mason didn't end up liking soccer very much. bummer.

miles loves basketball and plays every week with his friends so it will be nice for him to be able to practice also. miles brought it home and spent the afternoon building it. it is huge. i didn't realize how big it was going to be. we still haven't found the perfect place to put it. right now it is at the top of the driveway where i usually park my car during the day.

the kids were having fun playing in the box it came in while miles was putting it together. what is it about kids and a large box?

they were so excited when it was done and they could play. we don't have a kid size basketball yet so they were using our soccer ball. lets hope they don't get bored with it too soon.

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.

more gardens

we went back to the huntington gardens today. it was their free day of course. mason was in school last time so it was nice for him to get to go with us today. we didn't have much time to spend there. dahlia had a dress rehearsal for her dance class at three so we only had about three hours to walk around.

we spent most of the time at the children's garden again. our favorite place. jen, ray, bodhi, and kira met us there. we then walked over to the japanese gardens to see the teahouse and the moon bridge. it is really beautiful.

before it was time to go the kids wanted to run around the funny swirled x in the grass near the lily pond and then go see the koi fish. we were so lucky to get to see seven baby ducks with their mom swimming in the pond. what a nice ending to our visit.

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.

time for cherries

we went cherry picking today. yay. i am so happy we got to go. we usually wait until the end of june so it was nice to go early. the only drag was that they didn't have any rainier cherries that were ripe yet. bummer. i think we brought home brooks and bing cherries. they are delicious though.

mason, dahlia, and connor were so excited when they heard we were picking cherries. mason said it is more fun than playing on the ipad. they did almost all the picking and we went home with over seven pounds of cherries. mason didn't want to stop. he was loving it. miles and ray came with us this year. it was nice to have the men along to help keep track of all the kids. it is easy to get lost in the orchard.

it is a long drive out there and it was crazy hot. at one point i was thinking that going to whole foods would be so much easier. of course it is totally worth it and has now become a summer tradition for us.