7th Birthday Fun

Big man had a great day for his 7th birthday.  We packed it full with 2 soccer games, opening presents, hitting King's Dominion and having his first friend over for a sleepover.  Let's just say everyone was asleep by the time the sleepover actually started.

We began the morning with Erin's soccer game and followed it up with heading back home to open family presents.  Jeff was excited to get a new Harry Potter Lego set as well as some new Star Wars toys and an Angry Birds t-shirt.

Afterwards we headed back to the soccer fields for Jeff's game.  He played hard and had a great time.  He invited a good friend to meet up with us at the end of the game to head out to King's Dominion.  The general plan was to get there later in the afternoon, but hang out until closing at 9ish.

Of course when we arrived there was a huge downpour sitting over the park.  We waited out for an hour or so with Jeff feeling pretty upset.  His buddy and Erin enjoyed running around in the rain and getting soaking wet.  We finally braved the drops and hit up one of the nearby shows.  By the time it was over the rain had mostly stopped and some of the rides had opened.  As the evening moved on, more rides opened.  Best thing about the rain was that the lines in the park were virtually nonexistent.  We hung out until well after dark and really had a blast.

By the time we were half way home, everyone was sound asleep in the back of the van.  We plopped everyone into beds and the sleepover was well on its way.  The boys woke up the next morning and played around the house for the next few hours.

So my big boy had a fantastic birthday weekend!

7 Amazing Years

Dear Jeffrey,

7 years old.  That's right.  So hard to believe, although you're almost as tall as mommy.  I still see you as my baby.  You will always be my baby.  And it melts my heart every time you let me be your mommy.  When you let me hold and snuggle you.

The day you were born I held you close and snuggled you.  You've been my snuggler ever since.  Sometimes you'll ask to "watch Food Network" and I know it's not really about Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives or Chopped, but about snuggling in the big bed.  You're too big a boy to ask for snuggle time specifically, but have found other ways to get those snuggles.  And I'm so happy for it.  I pray that you keep asking for those snuggles and that I don't get too busy to make time for them.

I can tell you're also enjoying being a big boy.  You love playing outside and getting dirty.  You love reading (although you also love when sister reads to you).  This year daddy read you the Hobbit, the first sign of being a big boy. You are brave enough to ride a loopy roller coaster or a two-wheeler.  You are developing you're own voice and opinions.  Even though we don't always want to hear them (yes, brushing your teeth is required).    You saved up your own money to buy that DSi you've been waiting a year for.

We had some very special moments this year.  Our trip to Disney World was just amazing and so special being just the 4 of us.  You've started reading to me before I read to you.  You spent time with so much of your extended family (cousins, aunts, great-grandparents, grandparents).  And you know that they all love you so much.

I hope you remember that always.  When Mr. Silly gets out of the box and mommy and daddy get frustrated.  When mistakes are made.  When you belch at the table (and are so proud of it).  I hope you remember that we love you so much.  You are our special little boy.  My little baby.  And I love every inch of you.

He's officially a Cub

My Scouts

Almost 7 years ago (6 years 11 months today) Tom received the gift he'd always wanted. An eventual Boy Scout.  That's right, Tom, certified Eagle Scout has been waiting for Jeff to be old enough to join Cub Scouts.  This was the year.  In our area Cub Scouts start at 1st grade.  Jeff attended a few meetings last fall and has really gotten involved since Christmas.  He really loves scouting.  So much that Tom's been roped into being Den Leader for the den.

Tom and Jeff have done several activities together for scouting.  They do a lot at the house for "electives".  Research maps.  Cook dinner together.  Plan fire drills. Read together.  They have attended several "Go See Its" including visiting the library and fire station, attending a high school basketball game, hiking around the lake and even visiting a local radio station.

This Spring they built their first Pinewood Derby Car.  Jeff planned the whole design and helped with the painting and even some of the sawing and sanding.  He really enjoyed working hands on with daddy.  Last week Jeff had his first Blue and Gold dinner.  It was the first scouting experience I'd attended, and I could really see how much fun Jeff has been having with it.  Last month Jeff and his den mate both earned their Tiger badges and will start working on his Wolf badge in the fall.  It's exciting to see him really enjoying something special with his daddy.

Showing off his new Tiger Badge!

Having fun at the Blue and Gold Dinner

Just a quick post

I've got lots to Blog about.  Spring is here and the kids have been playing outside more than they ever have.  Jeffrey just had his first Blue and Gold Cub Scout dinner.  He has completed his requirements and is now a full tiger!

But what I don't have is the time.  So I'm going to tease you with this.  My new favorite picture that just captures the essence of our little guy.

To Oz!!!

Erin with her Director!

We had a big weekend here at Wallace South.  Miss Erin had her stage debut as Dorothy in Wizard of Oz in her school play.  She's been working on this since last October and last night was her chance to shine, and shine she did.

The show was a huge undertaking for a group of 8-10 year olds.  They all worked hard and it came off wonderfully and so much fun.  Erin had more lines to memorize than either mommy or daddy have ever had in their lifetime.  And she knew them.  Only as they got towards the end of the show and parts that they didn't get to really rehearse did she falter with her lines.  But her hard work paid off.  She was simply amazing.  And she did it all with a smile.

She had much of her family come to see her perform (we missed you Aunt Robyn, Uncle Jeff, Rylie and Avery and Uncle Jonathan).  I'm pretty certain I was more nervous than she was.  Once she stepped out onto the stage she simply owned it.  And let me tell you, her Over The Rainbow brought the house down.

I will have more (and better) pictures to share in a week or so.  But here is a taste of our amazing evening.

Back stage with some best friends

This is her tell when she's trying to remember her line.  She looks straight up :)

We're off to see the Wizard

Sitting captive in the Witch's castle

The Balloon home!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

It's Daddy's Birthday!  Time to celebrate!

The kids have been very excited about Daddy's birthday for a few weeks.  There's something on Jeff's calendar that reads "Dad Biday" (or something like that).  I took them shopping at Target on Thursday to pick out their gifts.  As usual Jeff headed straight for something he wanted, Erin went to the food.  Jeff ended up choosing a DVD of Hugo (which we haven't seen, but have heard good things about) and Erin chose a Zen snack mix.

Today started rainy and yucky.  Tom made pancakes as is his usual Saturday morning tradition.  Then we hung out around the house and did some puzzles, played games etc...  About lunchtime, the clouds broke and the sun came out.  We bribed the kids to clean their play area by telling them we'd take them biking.  So 2 hours later we finally got out the door with the bikes.

Erin is working on mastering starting on her own with Buttercup.  She's making lots of progress with it.  She's also working on turning around without stopping.  Our biking excursion ended when she tried to make a turn too slowly and lost her balance resulting in scraping her chest on the handlebars.

Jeff holds on to his training wheels with abandon.  He's not ready to let them go. Or is he?  Today Tom just took them off and worked with Jeff for about 45 minutes on learning to ride a 2 wheeler.  He's still got a long way to go, but I think that the training wheels are going to stay off.  Yay buddy!!!  He does have steering issues though and enjoys riding into the middle of neighbor's lawns.  Ooops.

Don't Let Go Dad!

All On My Own

Then for dinner, Tom chose an ale house over in Harrisonburg, so we headed over the mountain.  Food was great, beer was fantastic!  Erin didn't want anything from the kids menu, she was all ready to order an apple and bleu cheese salad when she saw mussels on the adult menu.  The server looked at us a little funny when she ordered them, but that's what she wanted.  30 minutes later she's polished off nearly a pound of mussels (with a tiny bit of help from Jeff and dad).

Notice Tom's Necklace.  Tom and both kids have matching necklaces.  Someone got left out :(

mmmmmm - mussels

After dinner we wandered around the town a bit as we we would have after a meal in Italy.  We showed the kids where a few local geocaches were (Tom and I took a day in H'burg this summer to do some caching).  There's a really cool one in a park nearby the restaurant where you need to pour water into a rain gauge to make the cache float.  Probably one of the coolest caches we've come across.

the moon shining through the trees

Retrieving the cache

  So I'd say all in all daddy had a pretty good birthday.  Happy Birthday Daddy, We Love You!

Oh no! Not . . .

Here are my Facebook status for the last 3 days . . .

• This is just the cherry on top of my week. Guess what I'm doing today? Treating Head Lice!!!! I just want to curl up in a ball and disappear.
• Let's add a tornado watch to my day. The only bright moment had been sitting outside on the deck with a nit comb. Not now :(
• I'm still finding live lice on Erin's head :( Do I do another treatment? She can't sleep in a plastic bubble tonight. I've just cleaned her room (of course I've probably got them all over me too...) Sigh I'm stuck in a never ending cycle.
• Break a Leg to all our BB Workshop friends! We are so sad not to be there tonight. We just did our own little "Flee" here at the house for you all!!!!
• My back is killing me!! Erin's neck is killing her!! These bugs may be the death of us :(
• That's right . . . I just soaked my daughter's head in olive oil. Yesterday she got soaked in vinegar. I am determined to WIN!!! (to which I got the comment -- just don't shake her up like a salad!!)

And one from earlier in the week . . .


There are too many balls in the air today. Something's going to drop.


That's right.  It dropped all right.  We've got lice.  Both kids were sent home from school with lice on Friday -- Erin's case has clearly been there for a long time and I simply didn't notice.  She's been washing her own hair, wearing headbands, brushing herself in the morning . . .  I just didn't notice.  


So I've spent the weekend bent over her head picking out bugs and nits.  I've tried just about every recipe in the book since the chemical treatment they suggested we buy didn't do a darned thing.  Her head has been doused in vinegar.  Her head has been soaked in olive oil and wrapped in saran wrap -- twice!  


I've also managed to fit in the requisite vacuuming, bagging, laundry.  Ugh.  Her room is clean, but if I let her back in it and she still has a bug.  Ugh again.  


We've made a ton of progress.  I've gotten all of the visible nits out of her hair.  Any bugs I am finding are teeny tiny.  We'll keep repeating every day.  I've gotten the process down from about 1 hour 45 minutes to about 45 minutes.  Her hair isn't that long to start with, I'm just trying to be extra extra careful.  


We did have to miss a performance of Pippi Longstocking -- the workshop the kids have been preparing for.  It's the first time we've had to miss a show we were scheduled to perform in since we started with Black Box almost 10 years ago!  Luckily we're off today for then 2nd performance.  Erin is clean enough to get going and Jeff has been in the clear since Friday afternoon since he had no nits.  


Only other benefit of all this?  I guess the house is quite a bit cleaner.  And there's this.

Snow! Finally Some Winter Weather

 

 Well, yesterday it was 55 degrees.  A few weeks ago I walked the kids home from the bus wearing a t-shirt.  We've mostly abandoned the winter jackets.  And today we got 3" of snow!  I'm really ready for spring, but Erin and Jeff were ready for at least one snow this season.

Daddy and Jeff had their first Pinewood Derby this afternoon (more on that in another post).  Luckily the snow held off long enough for them to complete their event.  As they were driving into the driveway Erin and I were bundling up for a winter walk -- probably the only one of the season.  We invited daddy and Jeffrey, but Jeff hates being cold and pretty quickly turned us down.

Erin and I bounded outside and walked a quick loop around the neighborhood.  Erin started up a game of "Would you rather" and we played the whole time.  I learned she'd rather meet Adam Lambert than Miley Cyrus, that she prefers playing in the snow to swimming in the ocean (she's afraid of sharks), and that she would choose to play volleyball over soccer.

When we left on our walk there was a very light dusting on the grass and almost nothing on the roads.  By the time we completed our circuit there was enough snow on the grass to suggest she could get out her sled.  The snow continued to fall and she continued to play, dodging trees and rocks, ducking under pricker bushes (our hill is more of an obstacle course).  Eventually we convinced brother to join her.

Jeff is really not a big fan of the snow.  He enjoys sledding, but hates being cold or wet and despises being cold AND wet.  There were a few moments of distress over the fact that his gloves and jacket sleeves didn't meet.  Once we got the gloves issue worked out, he continued to slide along with his sister until it got too dark to navigate the obstacles or avoid sliding into the street.

My 10 Favorite pictures of the year.

Why?  Because I want to share.  Some of them are photos that I love because they are cool photos.  Others because they captured the moment just right.  Anyway, here are my 10 favorite pictures from last year.

Just look at those peaceful faces.  Even though Jeff's not looking at me you can tell he's thinking about something.  And I LOVE daffodils.

If you didn't know, this child LOVES watermelon.  With a passion.  I think this just captures his passion perfectly, with fireworks on his cheek no less!

If there's one thing she can give me, it's beautiful doe eyes.  Even when snuggling her "baby" brother.

The instant of several sparklers lighting at the same time.  Toss in a few glow necklaces and you've got a pretty cool shot.

I played with this one with an app on my phone.  Really I just love the peaceful nature of it.  You'd never know he's a rambunctious 6 year old.

She simply glowed on stage, and even when putting her Wicked costume on at home.  Eyes just sparkling.

There's my girl spending a quiet moment admiring Monticello.  Can a history buff ask for anything more?

Cinderella's castle lit up at night is simply pure magic.

Directing daddy around Epcot while reading the map.  And just look at that blue sky!

Possibly the best nature shot I've ever taken.  Absolutely breathtaking butterfly in the butterfly garden.

Goodbye 2011

A few thoughts about this past year.  It seems it certainly has flown by.  We've been very busy.  I guess that is what comes with having 6 and 8 year olds who are developing their own lives.  There's been soccer and plays, play dates and camps, doctor's appointments, family trips etc...

Erin has matured tremendously this year, although she's always been rather mature.  She had such a difficult time deciding what she wanted for Christmas and had a mixed list of clothes, books, movies and even an iPod touch (which will have to wait) with some Pet Shops just for fun.  She is now at the Elementary school with the bigger kids.  In February she got her first pair of glasses to be used for reading and any time she's at school.  Talk about looking grown up.  She is delving into longer chapter books such as the Harry Potter series on her own as well.

This summer she competed in the C'ville Jr. Idol competition.  She sang 2 songs and made us all so proud.  In school this fall she landed the lead in the school's production of Wizard of Oz. Yep, in March she's going to be Dorothy.

We also spent quite a bit of time at King's Dominion.  Erin discovered that all those rides she's always thought looked so cool, are cool.  She loves to hang upside down, shoot through loops.  She's still too short for most big girl thrill coasters, but might be able to ride them by the end of next summer.

Jeffrey has grown immensely as well, but mostly in height.  I'm afraid that he's going to be taller than I am before he's 8.  He's already up to my shoulder.  He wears a size 2 shoe!! He's lost 5 teeth!!  Certainly not my baby boy any more.  He's obsessed with anything Lego, especially Star Wars Legos.  We transformed his room from a baby fish theme to a more big boy Star Wars room.  The best part was that he helped paint the room.

The big event of the summer was little more than a trip to the ground, followed by a trip to the Dr.  Poor Jeff broke his wrist right before the end of school.  He didn't let it get him down and after the first few days in the cast really was back to normal boy.  Still, 2011 provided us with our first broken bone.

He doesn't share his sister's love of thrill rides.  He'd rather stay at the bottom and watch.  That is until we went to Disney in November.  I expect he'll be hopping onto the rides along side his sister next summer.  He is still a "fish" in the water though. Can't keep him out of it.  Loves to swim.  Last spring he finished his lessons by swimming 100 meters in 3 different strokes.

He is also becoming more comfortable on stage.  This December he was a card in Alice in Wonderland and had his first assigned lines in a play (ones that were not group lines).  He loves being silly on stage just like his daddy.

Of course we'll always remember the big events of the year.  The plays, the trip to Disney, our summer at King's Dominion.  But the little things will be the ones I hold dear.  The look on Erin's face when she first put on her glasses.  Watching Jeffrey rake leaves with Grandpa Donuts.  Those are the memories to treasure.