A Little More Cuckoo

Nana Sharon and Pappy Dave returned from their trip to Germany on Sunday night.  We had dinner at their house on Monday night and got to see their pictures.  We also got some surprises.  

 The kids all went cuckoo over their new cuckoo clocks and yodeling bears.  We hear yodeling for most of the drive home (until they fell asleep).

 We're glad they had a great trip!  Everyone's just a little more cuckoo!

Sunny Boat Afternoon

Carpool Buddies

I have loved carpooling Ryan's preschool friends to school on Friday mornings.  They have the best conversations, make the best piggie oinking noises and tell the best stories.  We've enjoyed many laughs on our way to preschool.

Cooling Off with the Sprinkler

 We had a 90 degree day on Thursday.  I wanted to cut the grass early, before it got too hot.  I told Ryan I would turn the sprinkler on as soon as half the yard was cut.  He waited patiently and enjoyed a popsicle while I mowed.  It was so hot, even at 9 a.m.!  We had the sprinkler on by 10 and Ryan and Twix LOVED it!  They played while I finished the backyard and the front yard.

 They were both exhausted and soaked by the time we were done with the yard.

Memorial Day & Devon

We had a fun Memorial Day weekend with Grammy Jill.  The boys especially enjoyed a soak in her hot tub.  The water was the perfect temperature.  They splashed around and played games.

We had some fooling around at the horse show in the stables.  The boys tried to lock Paul in a stable after I asked them to get inside for a picture.  They had other ideas.

We love all the food at the Devon Horse Show.  This year the boys really enjoyed the italian ice.  Ryan loved the root beer flavor and David loved cherry.  They're tongues matched the ice.

Happy in our seats to watch the jumping.  David was focused on the scoring this year and worked hard to figure out who would win.

On Monday we got to see cousins Heather and Amanda and Uncle Peter and Aunt Gloria for a picnic.

Ryan was very excited to be given a hiking/walking stick from Grammy Jill.  The stick was made by Poppy Dave.  Ryan kept his eye on the container of sticks in the foyer of the house all weekend.  By Monday he had enough courage to ask Grammy Jill if he could have one.  He was so happy!  He took it with him to school on Wednesday morning to show his classmates and told them Poppy Dave made it.  He was very proud.  He's been using it lots in the woods behind our house.  

Black and Whites

 I love how the boys photos turned out this spring.  We love Heidi Lynne's black and white portraits.   She always captures great smiles and expressions.

Sunday Means Soccer

Spring soccer has started for us.  We have two soccer games on Sundays - David at 1 and then Ryan at 2:30 and we have practices on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  The boys both LOVE it.   David missed his first practice because of thunderstorms, so Sunday was his introduction to his team.  He's excited to play with a friend from his class.

David is showing his passion for the game again this spring.  He was all over the ball and lost it a bit when he thought the other team scored on him.  He recovered when we told him he actually did block the kick.

Ryan has really surprised us with his excitement.  He came out on Sunday ready to play!  He was yelling for his team mates "Let's Go!!!"  We had to hold him on the sidelines when he was supposed to be taking a break.  He kept trying to run back onto the field.

There were some tears when the other team scored.  That's just part of soccer for the under 5 group.  Ryan recovered pretty quickly.

Singing on Stage

Ryan has been attending a Singing On Stage class on Saturday afternoons since January.  He's in a group called Beginning Broadway.  The class is made up of 4-5 year olds and they have Leaders that are 10-11 year olds to help them.  Ryan has loved learning the music - Tomorrow, Do Re Me, Aristocats, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan.  He has been performing for us a lot at home!

Is Kindergarten Ready?

 Here he comes!  Ryan registered for Kindergarten this afternoon.  We met some of his friends for lunch and then headed to the mall to register for Kindergarten.  Ryan insisted that we bring his new stuffed animal, Biscuit, with us.  He even strapped Biscuit into his seat so he would be safe.

Is Kindergarten ready for these kids?!!!

Soccer Season Begins

 Ryan's first night of U5 soccer started on Tuesday.  He was READY!!!!  Ryan is excited to have Paul as his coach.

 It was a perfect night to start - lots of sunshine and warm.  The kids do skill practice on Tuesday night and then a game on Sunday.  This is a shot of the kids trying to keep the balls, "cookies", away from the "Cookie Monsters".  If you look closely, you'll see Paul in the blue shirt laying in the center of the field.  The kids took over!  Ryan had a great time, but he's very excited for his first game on Sunday.

 David and I watched for a bit and then rode our bikes up to the playground at David's school.  David wanted to show me his fun new playground activity - jumping like a maniac off the swing.

Ryan is On TWO Wheels

 Ryan decided he wanted his training wheels off this morning.  We worked on gliding down the driveway for about 20 minutes in the morning and then had to head out for speech.  He insisted that we go right back out when we got home, but then got frustrated.  When David got home and told Ryan that David mastered riding his bike as soon as he learned how to glide Ryan was inspired again.  20 minutes later he was doing it!

 He was beaming with pride!  He could have stayed on that bike all night.  He loved being able to ride around the circle with David.  He was so excited to show Paul when he got home from work.  It was an awesome surprise for Daddy.

Spring Bike Ride

It was finally warm enough on Sunday night to go for a family bike ride.  We rode up to David's elementary school to let the boys play at the playground.  

David was excited to show us all the tricks he can do on the equipment.  Below is the "jail" they end up in if they get captured playing tag.  David was showing us how he escapes.  He was excited to show us the new parts of the playground he's allowed to play in as a 1st grader and the parts he'll be allowed to play in next year as a 2nd grader.  Ryan was excited to play and find out where the Kindergarteners are allowed to play.

It started raining on the way home, so our bike ride ended with a double rainbow!  Perfect end to a spring bike ride.