School's Out!

Today was officially the last day of school for Luke and his friends. Which means he is officially a 1st grader-wooooo hooooooo! We celebrated at Cold Stone with our neighbors and then back to the hood for some water balloon fights. A very fun way to end the day!

Gotta love the first pic....all the kids running off the bus just ready to start summer!

Lemonade on the patio...

Finally today at about 4pm we hit a nice 75 degrees. The backyard gets some afternoon sun, and there is nothing like the feel of the late afternoon heat to warm your bones. When the boys were done playing in the cul-de-sac with their friends they came in and said..."Can we have lemonade out back?" "Sure." I reply. As we are all sitting in our chairs under the umbrella Owen is enjoying his first popsicle, every last lick of it, and its a mess...all over his hands and arms, but he is in heaven. Luke takes off his shirt to soak up some rays and AJ follows his lead and then puts on his Lighting McQueen sunglasses. "Mom," AJ says "This is the best lemonade ever....ahhhh....it is so delicious....this is just like being in Hawaii." I laugh and smile and just throw my head back to rest and think yes, this is just like being in Hawaii-a moment of paradise with my boys where nobody is fighting, kicking, tackling or screaming...each and everyone of them just enjoying the moment and taking pleasure in this 10 minutes of peace. We are missing some palm trees, sand and the ocean, but if AJ thinks this is what Hawaii is like so be it...I love how their little minds work. This Hawaii was perfect, until the neighbor fired up his lawn mower, and all the lemonade was gone and the boys started to squirm and the fighting began about who would finish Owen's popsicle that was falling all over the ground. Back to reality...I told you only 10 minutes of peace!

Little O...

Well I couldn't post something about Luke and AJ and leave little O out! At 19 months, Owen is crazy as ever. He is into everything...and I mean everything. Climbs on the kitchen table, eats gum out of the trash, stalks the pantry any chance a big brother has left it open, gets into the bread drawer and walks around with a loaf of bread or a sack of mini bagels, obsessed with the toilet and anyone who is on it, ready to go at a moments notice and will even go and get his shoes when he notices everyone is getting ready to leave, bites, hits, screams when he does not get his way. At the same time he loves his family, his dogs, and his bed. Everything normal for his age....and for that we are truly grateful!

Kindergarten Graduation

Today, Luke graduated from kindergarten. I thought I would be teary eyed, like the first day of school when his little body marched onto that giant school bus with such excitement, but I was not...just happy. We are so proud of this little man...who by the way chose to wear this shirt and tie...he's all about the dress up! He is so ready for first grade...more recess, hot lunches, and good friends. I heard him chatting with his buddies saying things like "right on dude" and "yeah man...so cool"...it is hard to believe that he will be 7 this fall.

Boring Pre-School comes to an end...

Ok, so for those of you that know AJ well, you are aware he had some "issues" this year at pre-school. Not so much acting out at school, but just decided that school was "boring" and did not want to go...part of the year was a struggle...as I would drop him off, Ms. Julie (his teacher) would have to pry him out of the car kicking and screaming and I would just wave and drive away thinking...good luck! He was always fine once I left and as these last days came to an end he did great. We ended the school year at Marshall Park. The highlight had to have been the fresh cedar chips that got delivered while everyone was playing!

How SWEET it is...

This past Friday we attended a dinner and auction supporting the Washington State University student-athlete scholarship fund. We had the privilege of hearing the latest updates from Coaches Tony Bennett, who led the Cougars to a historic Sweet 16 finish and from Paul Wulff, the new football coach. It was a fun night that included both silent and live auctions as well as dinner, and of course some COUGAR cocktails-because it would not be a Coug function without them!

Good for the Soul

Ahhh...there is nothing like some time away with your girlfriends! The last weekend of May, five of us friends got together for our annual Girl's Weekend. This particular circle of friends goes back as far as first grade, but gradually adding others in high school and college. We left our husbands and kids behind and ventured over to Chelan, Wa. Of course one of my favorite vacation spots since I was a kid, it holds a special place in my heart. But what a fun town as an adult, especially for a bunch of moms to let loose! We'd like to think we were rock stars...especially when some local guy told us we were all 8's...you know liked ranked us on a scale of 1-10 and said we were all hot and that he gave us all 8's-we'll take it-ha!

But, it wasn't just about the winery tours and local bar hopping, and of course the great food (all very fun!), but sharing in our journey of juggling motherhood, and jobs, hopes and dreams. It was about relishing in the past and planning our future. It was a small moment in time where we did anything we wanted at whatever time we chose, we worried about nothing, laughed until we cried, talked until the sun came up........I will not forget the way I felt that weekend...blessed, loved, and happy to be a part of this extraordinary group of friends! Thank you Kraemer, Koppang, Nic and Sara!