SW3

Swimming Week 3: Was over before we knew it. The kids have VBS this week, so we opted to only bring them down for the Tuesday classes. This was a HUGE deal. You see... today at VBS they were panning... or looking... or something for GOLD!! And my kids really like GOLD! Real gold, fools gold, Olympic gold. They are ALL about GOLD! So needless to say there was quite a bit of grumbling about going to swimming lessons when Jesus School was going on. Luckily my oldest has a heart of GOLD. He piped up late last night that they will have just as much fun at swimming lessons. Now, if I could only get him to swim like an Olympian so he can win some GOLD.

Parker did well today. Still hates going under... poor kid. The instructor always takes him under. I can tell when it's about to happen because he starts shaking his head violently and I can see the words 'NO NO!' forming on his perfect little lips. Then before you know it... they are under water and back up again. He did okay. Doesn't cry and doesn't flail to much when they breech the surface. He went under THREE times today. On the last dunk he was under for quite a while. You know. Three seconds instead of two. I guess he was retrieving the green squid.

No bribes today. But... we did reward him (and Mason) with a trip to the Yogurt Barn.

One more week. We'll go three times next week. I'm going to have to look for lessons during the school year. This kid needs to know how to swim!!

Treasures

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matt.6:21

Loving my treasures... and their special friendship.

SW2

Swimming Week Two:
As you can see... he's hating it. Cries every time I tell him we have to go. Clings to me and sobs on the steps leading down to the water. It's a mess.... he's a mess. It's horrible.  Fine. I'm lying to you. He loves it. screams and giggles when I tell him he gets to go back. He's just giddy. Today he basically had a private lesson. Thirty minutes of one on one time with an instructor. Our hair never made it officially underwater. But many of our face parts did. That's a start.

I've decided to bribe him. I bought him new goggles and told him that they were special goggles that talked. I held them to my ear and pretended that they were talking to me. Then I told him they would talk to him if he went under the water. He didn't buy it. Today I told him I have a special prize for him if he goes under water. He wanted to know what it was. I told him it was a surprise. But! It was something he had been wanting recently. His eyes lit up and he said... "an iPod?"   **sigh** Nope. Just a sticky hand. Oh well... we'll see tomorrow if the bribe works.  Probably won't. I mean... if a cute female swim instructor can't get him underwater... what makes me think a green, slimy, sticky hand will?

TEXAS

This summer James took the boys on a quick trip "back home". While home they went to an aquarium, to see Madagascar 3, out to countless restaurants, to see The Rangers play, down to San Antonio, and to a mini Legoland. They hung out with their cousin Satoru A LOT! And was able to see other family as well. However.... The BIG event... The one thing that I hear about over and over and over again....was the WATER PARK. They went to a Six Flags water park and had the time of their life! Sssssshhhhh.... Please don't tell the munchkins that we live in Southern California and that there are three huge water parks within 50 miles of where we live..... Not that I don't want to take them, I just don't want to be asked every three minutes! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Emery for the wonderful hospitality and fond memories! The boys were in heaven!

Tis the time of year....

For swimming lessons! Signed the boys up down in Ramona. There really wasn't much to chose from, so I didn't really know what to expect. The cost was astronomical compared to what we have paid for in the past. Plus... it's Ramona. It's at this little tiny pool behind the high school. Parker can't even touch.

Luckily the ratio is really really good. I wasn't so worried about Mason's level. I think they are 3-4 swimmers per instructor. He after all knows how to swim... just needs a refresher. Plus, I knew he would enjoy it. It was Park that I was worried about. He hasn't fully embraced the water. The ratio for his level is 2 swimmers per instructor. Just perfect. Today I was pleasantly surprised with how well he did. Hopped right in. Didn't cry when the instructor took him under water. Blew some great LOUD bubbles. Kicked and kicked and kicked. He even is considering going back tomorrow.

Sleep-overs and Campfires....

When Mason turned EIGHT he requested to have a sleep over. **sigh** So, I cautiously invited over two of his best buds for the night. (In hind sight... I may have included just one more....  evens are always easier than odds. Just saying.) We did the "camp" thing. We built a fire. Roasted dogs. (FYI: Brauts do not "cook up" /"roast" well over a campfire. Thankfully we had wieners for the wee lads.) Burnt some mellows. AVOIDED THE CAMERA AT ALL COSTS. Opened up presents. Watched movies. Ate popcorn. Slept in our very own pop-up A-frame tents. Wait. No. There was no sleeping going on. As a matter of fact... I had to sit on the couch in complete darkness... hushing their each and every sound... hoping that by 3:00 am they would finally be asleep. Oh well. They had fun. More importantly... Mason had fun. Lucky me... birthdays only come around once a year!

Almost Eight

(I wrote to Mason back in February.... Just posting it on this site.)

Dear Mase....


 (I could never forget you.)
You are currently seven years 10 months and 23 days old. Which is frightfully close to EIGHT. **deep breath** I probably shouldn’t have taken the time to count. Just in that short amount of time you probably grew another two inches.... I still can’t believe that the size 12 pants I purchased the other day... FIT YOU!! Oh my goodness.

I love you.

A lot.

Not just because the other day you let out a delighted ‘YES!’ in the back seat, as we were driving home, when Adele came on the radio. I think it’s more the fact you told me you loved me more than Adonna (aka: Adele) last night when we were ‘nuggling before you drifted off to sleep.

You do a lot of things that I think are hysterical... and I can only imagine where you picked them up. Like when Parker is whining (which he’s the master of) that he NEEDS to play Wii..... instead of just getting mad at him and saying ‘no’... you like to yell “You don’t NEED.... you WANT!” You also like  to tell him “no Wii for you” when you are trying to manipulate him into doing something  you want him to do. I don’t think this is very funny. But you are the master at manipulation. I’m hoping it’s a quality of being the first born.

School has been exciting... we are still homeschooling you, which I absolutely LOVE. There are a ton of critics out there. Lots of people that don’t understand why. Lots of people that think that homeschooling is “socially devastating” to children. Lots of people that don’t understand that the face of homeschooling has drastically changed over the last 5-10 years. It is amusing as to how many of these critics don’t have children of their own. Who haven’t experienced what it is like to love someone unconditionally and endlessly and to want only what is best for that person. They apparently haven’t looked at the California School system.  Because if they had... they clearly wouldn’t think that budget cuts, teacher lay-offs, and over crowded classrooms would be better than the personalized learning that you receive one on one, everyday at home.

Uh. Sorry.

Let me get off my soapbox and go back to my original thought. But first let me give you some context to the story I’m about to share with you. When you were 5 years old we started kindergarten. Once a week we would drive you down to Marysville and you would take enrichment classes. The first month was hard. Not because you didn’t want to be there... because you did. Emily was there. And other kids. And let’s face it ... you LOVE people. But, at one recess your feeling got hurt, you hid under the bench. You had recess aids worried. Then you hid under your desk in the classroom. Next you decided you wouldn’t listen to all the other teachers, secretaries, aids.... etc. Needless to say... by the second week (and you only went once a week) I was called into the PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE to talk about your behavior. In your defense it came as a complete shock to the man that you were only in KINDERGARTEN. But never the less... I was mortified.

Now, lets flash back to the present. You still take enrichment classes once a week. AND... the other day we had our monthly meeting with your teacher. Do you know what she told me? She told me you were a pleasure to have at school. At that you were focused and really seemed to be enjoying it!! What a difference two and half years makes? Huh? You actually amaze me a lot of the time with school. Your reading is coming along... slowly but surely. You are mastering your sight words much quicker than I thought you would... but maybe that has to do with the oodles of candy and treats you earn for learning them. You love all things science. Last month we learned about solids, liquids, and gases... we made raisins dance, melted chocolate and remolded it into mustaches, we made bubble bombs and paper. It was a great month. I love to see the look of excitement on  your face when you discover something new.

You still hang out with Emily. Although you don’t go to the same resource center as Emily. They recently purchased little quads and you enjoy going on them. You actually want one. Not sure how I’m going to pull that one off? Because really... it’s not on my list of things to purchase and I’m fairly certain you don’t have enough money saved up. Not that you aren’t good at saving your money... because you are. You actually saved up $114 that we applied towards an iPod Touch. You love it.... Parker loves it, so much so that he “can’t like” the LeapPad that we paid way too much for at Christmas. Oh boys.

Speaking of boys. You are now into building ramps for your bike. Ramps that you jump off. I know that this is only the beginning. I’m just thankful for a job that provides me with great medical coverage... because you never know when I might need it.

I love you Mason. More than plain tart frozen yogurt, more than a fizzy Coke, more than getting to watch The Bachelor in complete silence. I love you. A lot. So thankful that God chose me to be your mama.

60 MONTHS

Dear Parker,

You recently turned 5 years old... and before life gets too far ahead of us, I wanted to take a few minutes and remember every last bit of you being you.... at this glorious, wonderful, age/stage of your life. Right now you teeter between being my baby and being that big kid who is walking out the door to go to kindergarten. So for grins and giggles... let me tell you a little about Parker.

1. You like your back scratched. You actually demand it to be scratched. It doesn't matter if we are half asleep, ill, or busy... you still yell "scratch my back!!".  For the record... you'll take dad/mimi, but if I'm near... you way prefer that I scratch your back. Evidently I scratch it juuuust right.

2. You take every opportunity to crawl up into our lap. You are still our little 'nuggle bug... and I LOVE it. There are often nights that you won't fall asleep until someone is cuddled right up next to you. Okay, usually that someone is me, maybe you know my soft spot. But you will only be this age once... so I'm soaking it all up while I can and taking all the cuddles I can get!

3. You are a thrill seeker. Unlike your older sibling... you are not afraid of heights. You love roller coasters. You love slides at water parks (even though you haven't concurred your fear of swimming). You love the ramps at the skate park. You love being on your bike or your scooter... which reminds me... we need to buy you a bigger bike.

4. You love sports. You loved playing soccer. You loved playing t-ball. You are much more into it than another member of the household that will remain nameless.

5. You call Mason 'brother'. I don't know why this melts my heart. It just does. It shouldn't. You are only calling him what he is. Your brother. But it's different. It's not like you are referencing him... "this is my brother"... but instead of using 'Mason' you use 'brother'. "Brother come play with me". It's normal. I've heard other children do it. I just never did it. And I don't intermix your names with the name 'brother'... so to hear you do it... so naturally and effortlessly... melts my heart. I continue to pray for your friendship. I so desire for the two of you to be the best of friends. He adores you. Now if I could just get you to quit saying "I can't like Mason".

6. Another thing that melts my heart. You still reach for my hand. We could be walking through Legoland and you could care less about running wild and seeing everything... instead you reach up and grab my hand. I love it. I will hold your hand until the end of time.

7. You still sleep with LaLa (your lovey/blankie)... but now you also demand to have Izzy (or is it Easy?) and Bullet (or is it Allen?). Sometimes you want Whiskers and Cat-tee. But they are second fiddle to the dogs. 

8. This last one... I appreciate the most. Maybe, just maybe... it's because I don't have a daughter. But, you LOVE new clothes and new shoes. One of the most horrible things in the world... would be for me to bring home a new outfit/shoes for Mason and not have anything for you. Then, once I'm home with such articles... you must put them on. Right then. Right there. You are my child that wants to go clothes shopping. Okay. Okay. "Wants" is a strong word. You don't mind going with me and might slightly enjoying picking items out for yourself. Gosh. I love you.

So. That pretty much is you in a nutshell. All glorious 60 months of you. I adore you. Every last freckle... and am so lucky to be your mama. Happy 60th!

Love you doodle bug! - Mama

Little Man Mustache Party

In June PJ turned the big 5. (That's a hole hand of fingers!!!!) He wanted a soldier/Mario/Lego/Starwars/Beyblades party... I convinced him otherwise. Instead we had a Little Man Mustache Party. Ties were required. Mustaches occasionally. We ate a mustache cake and played Pin-the-Stache-on-Parker. We fired up the barbeque and let the kids run wild. We ate, sang, and celebrated little boy being a not so little boy with some of our closest and most dear friends. It's hard, and painful, to believe that the Parkster is actually FIVE YEARS OLD, but we are coping. He, on the other hand, is loving it.