Summer Vacation Week Three

 More tennis

 Lemonade

 Time with friends

Gymnastics

Reagan had a week of gymnastics camp.  She went every day from 9-4 (except Wednesday when I picked her up early to go swim at the DoRegos' house), and two of the days she had to be back at the gym from 5-6:30 for Rookie Team practice.  Yet she was always disappointed when it was time to go.  I guess she likes it, just a little!!!  It felt like it was 400 degrees in the gym, so she must really like it to want to be there all day.  It has been in the high 90s all week and the gym does not have AC; one day, the gymnasts all had Ziploc bags full of ice tucked into the back of their leotards!!!

Reagan has always been very determined to succeed; it is a great quality and I am so proud of how hard she works to accomplish her goals.  All week long she talked about how she was trying and trying to do a pullover on the bars, but just couldn't get it.  Today, when I went in to pick her up from camp, the owner of the gym came over and told me Reagan did it twice.

She also commented on Reagan's determination and hard work.  She was very proud of Reagan, and this made me happy to have Reagan at this gym!  Reagan was proud too!  All of her hard work paid off!

Reagan also got the award for hardest worker at camp this week.

Now we are gearing up for our trip to visit Auntie Karen and Uncle Mark!  I better pack!

Random Pictures from the Last Two Weeks

Collin made this pyramid box by following directions from the book Math Art Projects and Activities.

Tennis lessons started last week.  Collin and Reagan will be playing tennis through the town recreation department two days a week, and they will have a thirty minute private lesson one day a week.

One of the things Collin's teacher recommended working on over the summer in preparation for fourth grade, is states and capitals.  We have had the Sequence States and Capitals game for a while, but we played it for the first time last week.

I get so upset when cool sounding projects flop, and this was a MAJOR flop.  I saw the idea for Crystal Paint in The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions.  Supposedly, mixing 1/8 cup of liquid starch with 1/8 cup of water and a few drops of food coloring will make a paint that crystallizes as it dries.  There was ZERO crystallization.  I even tried adding a little extra starch to the mixture, but it didn't work.  The only thing I can think of is that my starch is probably two or three years old; I have no idea if this matters, but if it does they should add that detail to the directions.

Kate has been painting with washable nontoxic paints lately.  She makes a mess, but she has fun and it keeps her busy for a little while.

This is Reagan's television set.  So far, she has presented the news and a few short programs.

Kate wants to be a television celebrity too.

Just Life Around Here

 Reagan and Katelyn have been playing together more than ever lately.  Kate seems to enjoy following Reagan around and participating in whatever her big sister is doing.

 Here Reagan is teaching Kate a few dance moves and Kate follows them exactly from the hands behind the back to the crouch down on the floor.  Too cute.

 Katelyn and Logan saw each other for the first time since Christmas (I forgot to post this before; this was during the time that Collin and Reagan were in Florida).  They are three days apart, Logan being older.  They were very cute together.

 We have had a few days of nice weather.  When we do have them, we try to get outside.  We are supposed to have a nice week!!!

 Last week, Reagan helped with every step of dinner making.  She did a great job.  I LOVED that she tore all of the parsley leaves for me - not one of my favorite tasks.

Orange Leaf frozen yogurt is all the rage around here right now.  The girls and I went for the first time last weekend.  

 Collin decided to play baseball this year.  I was surprised seeing as when he played tee ball, he wrote, "I hate baseball" in window crayon on the sliding glass door and swore he would never play the sport again.  He had a change of heart, and last Sunday was opening day.  While it looked sunny, we were all pretty cold!  If you look closely (clicking on the picture enlarges it), you may notice that Collin has a fat upper lip.  He took a ball to the mouth playing catch with Tom on Saturday.  It is all healed now.

 Tyler's braces came off on Monday.  He was very happy to say goodbye to them!

Kate loves to read.  She sits on the floor and goes on and on; it's adorable.  I love that she is reading to Kelly in this picture.

Collin and Reagan drew tigers (their school mascot) for a contest.  One tiger drawing from each grade will be selected, and there will be one overall school winner.

I made these cookies and they were gone in two days.  No one missed the artificial colors from M&M candies.

Another tennis article.  The last week or so has been filled with very strong opponents and a few losses.

Reagan at her swimming lesson today.  Sunday at 3:45 has not been the best time for us; we have missed quite a few lessons, but she swam well today and had fun.

 She is just the sweetest little girl ever.  Right now, she is obsessed with "flowers" and insists on collecting them on our walks.

Collin doesn't like his freckles, but I love them.  He is such a handsome boy.  You can see that his lip is much better now, just a little dry skin.

How is it the end of April already?

A Week Around Here

This post is all over the place, but that is what our weeks are like most of the time!

Puzzles don't seem to get as much play as they used to around here, but recently we worked on some geography puzzles.

It was nice to have some good weather this week (but it's COLD today)!!!  It's amazing how much happier, brighter, and friendlier everything seems when the sun is shining and we aren't all bundled up.

The kids have been playing outside.

We are back to our routine of walking to school.

After a rainy evening, we found lots of worms on the way to school one day this week.  Collin was happy to pick them up, and Reagan also held them but would squeal and jump around when they moved in her hand!

Collin has been learning about the branches of government.  Reagan's class is learning about the solar system, and they had a field trip to the high school planetarium earlier this week.  Tyler started driving school this month - YIKES; I attended the mandatory parent program last night and I was surprised by how much has changed when it comes to the rules of the road!

Activities are keeping us busy!  Tyler made the varsity tennis team for the high school.  Collin is playing Farm League baseball; his team is the Braves.  Reagan will dance (ballet, tap, jazz, and Irish Step) in her fourth recital in June.  We also have piano, swimming lessons, driving school, and gymnastics.

This article was in the Spectator on Wednesday; Tyler's coach had some nice things to say about him:

Collin and Reagan are on their way to the airport with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Susan.  They are going to Fort Myers for a few days.  I'm sure they will have a great time; I look forward to hearing all about it!

Kate has been a fan of the song Baby by Justin Bieber for a while.  That's what happens when you have a big sister that is a Bieber fan!  Here is Kate doing her rendition of the song; it's very short and it will make you laugh:

The Last Week of March

 So sweet.  I love moments like this.  Kate is such a sweet girl, always ready with a kiss and a hug.

Kate pushes her baby in the stroller all around the house, barreling through anyone and anything that gets in her way.

 Reagan is always listening to music and dancing; it's just what she does!

New sneakers.

Pretty girl.

Colored by Kate.  She is always coloring lately.  I have never seen a one year old color as often or for as long as she does every day.

I love this picture of Kate; it reminds me of ET.  The trundle under Reagan's bed was out, and Kate climbed up onto the bed and got right in the middle of the stuffed animals.  Every time she sees that hat, she puts it on, and it just made the picture.

 Kate and Collin used contact paper and tissue paper to make Easter egg decorations today.

 Kate's egg.

Collin's egg.
Reagan went to work with Dad this morning, so she didn't make a tissue paper suncatcher egg, but it sounds like she had a lot of fun at the office!

In the evening, Collin and Reagan worked on decorating some real eggs.  They used three different techniques:

crayon on hot eggs (this is my favorite; I love the way the crayon melts and looks so bright),

food dye in the egg twirling machine,

and painting with food dye and cotton swabs.