The First First Day

We did it!  Holden is an official part of the public school system. 

Some of us had more reservations than others about this whole school nonsense (hint: it was me) and I literally have to talk myself down from driving by the school at recess just to get a peek at what he's doing.

  

But Holden hasn't shown one bit of hesitation and talks more about going mini golfing after school the first day than he does about school.

Harper was the only crier at first day drop off and as terrified as I am to have Holden out in the world without me, it is a big, exhausting job keeping that little brain occupied all day every day and I am ready for some help with it all.  

Plus, Harper has promised to stay two forever, so I'm set.  

A Midsummer's Night Blog

Summer is flying by, you guys.  And while we are literally running ourselves ragged trying to have the most fun possible (nothing like having a list to hold you accountable to having fun), I know I won't regret it come January.  

I won't regret going out as a family

to feed the ducks--

                 

or go to a baseball game--

And I also won't regret the times we stayed closer to home
having Lego building competitions--

or (semi-successfully) making taffy--

or getting our care package ready to send--

or even our half hearted attempt at a "science project."--

You know I never regret anything involving food
like our breakfast picnic--

or grilling pizza--

or various frozen treats--

 

(and yes, in case you were wondering, we are the mean parents that strongly encourage our kids to get the light colored snow cone flavors).

And I obviously never regret living in the water

at Lagoon-a-Beach--

 

or the Daybreak Pool--

No regrets on the 4th of July either

at the parade--

the candy aftermath--

barbeques galore--

and Holden's favorite, fireworks--

I do regret this lackluster attempt at a blog post, and I'm sure you are regretting reading it. What can I say, the siren song of Instagram makes blogging seem like a whole lot of effort all the sudden.  But rest assured, our Manning mini epic summer of awesome is coming along nicely, and mayyyybe the next update will be slightly more clever.

No promises.

In Summer

Summer is here and we are pumped!  Year round school looms in the not so distant future, so this is the closest thing we might get to a full blown summer and you better believe we are taking advantage.

We made it official by attending our very first graduation.  Some might say preschool graduation is overkill. Maybe it is.  But it exists for suckers like me and I will buy into it every time.

With pesky school out of the way we are ready to get down to the business of summer fun, and we take our fun very seriously.  Also, I love lists.

We are already making a pretty good dent in our list, too.  You missed out on some seriously amazing homemade snickerdoodle ice cream, if I do say so myself, and I hope to be up to my ears in zucchini in a month or so.  Also, who could forget our much anticipated "roadie" to Las Vegas.

We started off strong.  The kids were troopers in the car and we made an overnight pit stop in St. George. We were first timers, so we weren't quite sure where to start, but figured a visit to the temple and a splash pad couldn't be wrong.

Holden immediately bogarted the stairs in both locations, apparently. 

His adorable grin was gone the next day, however, when a stomach virus attacked him at both Target and the longest possible stretch of desert road before you hit civilization again.  Both ideal places to throw up.   Except for that they are not, in case you didn't catch the sarcasm. Luckily our Las Vegas hotel was pretty swank, because we holed up there the majority of our first day so Holden could recuperate and Harper could take a million baths in the tub and binge watch Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.  

We were able to happen upon an old friend who was also visiting Vegas.  We live two towns apart and never manage to get together, so this was a fun treat!  Guess we just like to do things the hard way.  

Holden felt better the next morning, so we figured the best thing to do would be to hit up the breakfast buffet, obv.  Luckily it didn't backfire.  Holden's stomach was fine and Reo and I got to relive the magic doughnuts we've been dreaming about since our last trip to Vegas.

We hit up the pool early and praised the 105 degree weather.

Harper got a good nap in at the Pinball Hall of Fame.

Other people were more excited.  Reo was stoked they had the pinball machine of his youth.  And Holden lives for arcades, so you can imagine his excitement level.

Despite losing a day, we were able to hit up a few of the highlights of The Strip.  And let's be honest, a few of the highlights is usually more than enough to tide you over.
We saw the fountain show...

And tasted some interesting Coke creations...

And then we blinked and it was time to go back home.  Ready to cross more things off our summer fun list. 

But really, having fun in the summer has never been our problem.  Winter is when I am a mean, unfun mom. Our real goal for summer is having slightly less fun, and spend slightly more time working on streamlining our morning routine from a leisurely 2 hours or so (complaining about doing your 4 chores is time consuming, Holden can tell you all about it)  to something slightly more manageable.  Or else morning kindergarten could be a struggle.  Which is ironic since my kids wake up before the sun every morning.  

Spring Things

Oh, Spring.  That magical season where you never know if you are going to wake up to shorts or snow.   At our house, we are so looking forward to our upcoming super awesome epic mini summer of fun (named by Holden), that it is easy for Spring to get overlooked.  Here are some Spring things we've managed to accomplish. 

St Patrick's Day--

Pictured- A selection of artwork from the day and Reo pleased as punch that thanks to his sister tracking down the long lost recipe, we were able to recreate the "green stuff" from his childhood.

Not pictured- Crazy tricks the leprechaun played on us throughout the day.  I'm quite sure the leprechaun had to get pretty creative to stay one step ahead of Holden.  

Enjoying warmer days at the park with my very oldest friends--

Pictured-Even though it feels like yesterday we were all hanging around the neighborhood, somehow we've managed to have a whole bunch of kids

Not pictured- One kid in school, one kid who couldn't be coaxed off the playground for a boring picture, and one not quite born yet (none of them mine, don't get any ideas).  Also the adults.

Trying to enjoy not as warm of days wishing warm weather into fruition by painting summer landscapes--
Pictured-Holden getting his painting skills on
Not pictured-Harper painting with water....Because she's two and I'm prone to anxiety attacks around messes.

Taking Lagoon by storm on opening day to finally utilize the season pass Holden has been waiting months to use--

Pictured-Some of the family favorites

Not pictured-Me coming thisclose to throwing up.  Multiple times.  Carny rides are no longer my jam. 

Getting a little Spring cleaning/organizing fever--

Pictured- A couple of completed projects for Harper's room to help me realize that no, I do not in fact hate my house and everything in it, I was just sick of looking at the same walls during snow day after snow day and needed a change.

Not pictured- The majority of my house that still looks the exact same.  I'm a slow decorator.  

Our first experience with baseball--

Pictured-Holden ready to go

Not Pictured-Holden's first hit, where he proceeded to run with his bat in front of him like a cane to first base.  Since he is 50 percent mine, this is actually pretty impressive.  Sports aren't so much my jam either, apparently.

In a perfect blog world, Easter and the events leading up to it would be it's own post.  But since my blog is in survival mode, getting lumped in with everything else it is!

Pictured--Against my better judgement, embracing all the crazy Easter-time activities.  Sugar cookies, egg dying, super overcrowded community egg hunts...we did it all

Not pictured--Me actually really loving all of that stuff.

The night before the main event, Holden left this note on the front door for our Easter Bunny.  

In case you don't read Holden, here's what it says..

Find eggs in living room.  Thanks! Happy Easter!  And P.S. I want to wake up to find my basket full of Peeps or you could do whatever you want your choice  Love: Holden

Pictured-The Easter Bunny delivering

Pictured- The kids ready to hunt for eggs.  Holden is holding a map he made to remind him where to look. Yes, we do currently go through a lot of paper at our house, if that's what you were wondering.

Pictured-The Loot....And what happens to Holden's leg when we do not provide him with enough paper.

Pictured-All dressed up and ready to celebrate the real meaning of Easter at church.  And not yet so hopped up on sugar that they can't hold still.  So, success!

And finally, it's not a holiday without a little family time--
Pictured-These two cousins having the best time together
Not pictured-Everyone else

Happy Spring!