Junior Helper

Kristin has a new program for summer at daycare. Once a week she gets to be a Junior Helper, which means she gets to go to one of the other classes (all younger) to help the teacher(s) in that class for a half an hour. Kristin and her friend Emilie both choose their brothers' class. Kristin was still in Kellen's room when I got there. Kristin was so excited to tell me what she was doing. Maybe it will be good for her to learn how to interact with her brother in a different way instead of fighting. ;)

Kellen wanted to "outside water hose" tonight. We did venture outside and got the hose out. Unfortunately for me and the house this meant taking a shower. Kellen decided to turn the sprayer to center, which shoots across the yard. Needless to say, I got a cold surprise and the house also got a bath. Kristin and Kellen also ran through the sprinkler some. Kellen is getting more and more brave when it comes to the sprinkler... he is working his way in from the perimeter.

Kellen wore his new Thomas the Tank Engine shirt to daycare today. He also got to put on a temporary tatoo that he got yesterday. I think it was Harold the Helicoptor. Apparently, Kellen had to show off Harold to all of the teachers at daycare.

We took our walk to the school this evening. Kristin rode her new bike that she got this last spring. She still has the training wheels, but she has adjusted to the bigger bike very well. Who knows, maybe we'll experiment without the training wheels again later this summer.

We found a baseball on our walk tonight and Kellen enjoyed throwing it ahead on the path and then running to chase it. We liked it because it kept him moving!

Kristin's theme this week at daycare is 'In the Field'. They played baseball and learned Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Thomas the Tank Engine

Rise and shine! We got up and moving this morning and piled in the car for a trip to Hood River, Oregon to see Thomas the Tank Engine. Kellen was so excited when we told him we were going to see Thomas. The kids did pretty good during the car ride considering it takes 1 1/2 hours to get there. Kellen had a blast and was bouncing up and down in excitement. We got to ride the train lead by Thomas and got to do some activities. Then we headed for lunch and found a little deli to eat at. After that we called up Aaron's hockey friend Allan who lives in Hood River now and stopped by their house quick to say hi. They just had their 3rd child on Friday and were home already.

Tonight was pretty mellow after the trip out of town. We grilled dinner and played in the yard. Aaron is out playing a hockey game... 1st game of the new season. The kids went down for bed pretty easy tonight and fell asleep quick. We tired them out... and Kellen only napped for 30 minutes in the car on the way home from seeing Thomas. I think he was just too excited still.

Fun in the Sprinkler

Kristin went to a birthday party today at Pump It Up for her friends Kylie and Dylan. Sounds like she had a really fun time. She came home with a new orang jump rope and a scrape on her elbow. She and Kellen had fun pretending that the handles of the jump rope we're spray nozzles on a hose.

We decided to go to Red Robin for dinner. Kristin must have worked up an appetite at the party because she ate a full restuarant serving of speghetti, as well as 4 slices of cantalope.

After we got home from dinner we got the water table out and hooked up the sprinkler in the back yard. Kristin jumped right into the middle of the spray, but Kellen wasn't quite as sure. He was willing to go through if someone carried him, and then later if someone held his hand. I imagine he'll be standing right next to the sprinkler by the time summer is over.

Hooray for Friday!

Kristin had her last day of Iron Chef week at camp. They had a field trip to New Seasons Market (a natural product grocery store). They got a tour, which they got to see the bakery and the machine that slices bread, go into the walk-in freezer, etc. They also got to taste ice cream, orange juice, cheese (made from sheep milk) - Kristin really liked this, and fruit. They also came home with goodie bags. Kristin says she really likes New Seasons. I would say they did a good marketing job on the kids! Kristin also brought home the cookbook her camp class came up with this week. They all had to pick one of their favorite foods and bring in a recipe. Kristin picked tomato soup. I had to call mom on that one for the recipe... the way we make tomato soup is from a can and I thought that would not make too great of a recipe. :)

Kellen had a good day. He was playing with Play-Doh when I picked him up today, so he was having fun. Kellen got to go on Tumble Bus today, which is always a hit. It is fun to watch Kellen enjoy it like Kristin did. Kellen made a caterpillar with pom-pom balls today and glued them on a leaf. It was drying so we couldn't bring it home yet.

We made it out to water tonight. Kellen wanted the big play shovel out and played with that for awhile. Kristin wanted to play with it too... only because Kellen had it first... she is into this idea that everything needs to be fair between the two of them. Oye! The kids also picked up some cherries. Kristin evidently found one that had lots of ants.... yuck.

Check Up

Kellen had his post-op follow-up appointment today and the Dr said everything looks great. Kellen and I hung out in the morning before I took him to the doctor. He had me reading his collection of Thomas the Train books - over and over. He sure likes that train. After that, he got out the Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? book. He likes to turn the pages and identify the animals in the pictures. His favorite seems to be the elephant. After the appointment we stopped for a bagel before I dropped him off at daycare. He kept repeating 'bagel, bagel, bagel!' on our walk from the Dr's office back to the truck. He also knows that the doctor has stickers to hand out, because he was asking for one before he even saw the doctor.

The kids did some drawing after dinner and then we walked up to the park. More baseball games going on tonight. Kellen enjoyed throwing a ball along the sidewalk on the way home, though he was making Danelle a little bit nervous since she was walking in front of us with Kristin. Can't say I blame her, he doesn't throw it very far yet, but he does manage to put some mustard on it.

Kristin continues to read books to me at bedtime this summer. She's been gravitating toward a Blues Clues book and a Clifford book lately.

Farmer's Market

Kristin had her field trip to the Beaverton Farmer's Market this afternoon for her Iron Chef camp week. Kristin ended up with a chocolate chip cookie, a balloon hat, and even some ice cream. She still managed to eat a good dinner though. :) It sounds like the group had a lot of fun. Some of the kids' balloons popped, but they all seemed okay. The Wednesday market is smaller than the Saturday market, but evidently it was pretty busy and there was even music.

Kellen continued his week learning about bugs. Today they talked about caterpillars and how they change into butterflies. Tonight we watered and got out the water table. The kids had fun with that, but I think Kellen was having more fun spraying Aaron's truck with the hose. Tomorrow morning Kellen goes in for his 2 week check up on his new set of ear tubes. Hopefully all is well, which it seems to be.

Pizza Night

I picked up the kids from daycare today, and stopped in Kellen's room first. We said goodbye to his teacher and his little friends and then made our way to Kristin's classroom. Kristin's class was having a story time and she didn't see Kellen and I come into her room. So Kellen and I listened to the end of the story with the rest of Kristin's class. It was a Curious George story about George delivering some pizzas. After the story, Kristin was surprised to see us. And she was even more surprised (and happy) when I told her that I had picked up a pizza for dinner. She and her friends thought that was a pretty neat coincidence.

After pizza and the 'Kellen eats Otter Pops' experience, which involves a lot of wiping up the floor on our hand and knees, we went for a walk to the playground. We didn't take the wagon or Kellen's lawn mower for him to push, which may have been a first for us. We did take Kristin's bat and ball with us. It was busy tonight, all three of the baseball fields had activity on them, and the play equipment was full of kids. Glad to see that both of the kids do pretty well in that environment. Kristin made a couple friends and Kellen concentrated on the swings and the slide.

More pictures from Sunday.

Snake Kellen

Kellen surprised me tonight after bath and got down on the floor and started to pretend to be a snake. Very fun to watch. He hisses like a snake but looks more like a puppy chasing his tail. It is fun to watch him learn how to play pretend. Kellen is talking more and more and likes to recap things we have just done, like tonight as we were getting ready for bath he went through what we did outside tonight. You learn quickly what is important to him. ;)

Kristin had a good day and was happy to see her friend Emilie back at daycare. She also has a new friend Olivia... but not the Olivia from Kindergarten she will tell you. Kristin made another Father's Day gift for Aaron today... a fan out of paper that has a picture on it and says Happy Father's Day. He really liked his new gift.

Happy Father's Day!

We celebrated a very nice father's day today. I got some cool new Pittsburgh Penguins gear and a Phillies championship pennant as well as some very nice cards.

We went to a new park today and had lunch there. I think it's called Jenkins Park or something like that. Kristin and Danelle had been there before for one of Kristin's field trips, but it was a first for Kellen and I. We had a very nice time there. Kellen wanted to do everything that his big sister was doing, including some challenging climbs on the play structure. He surprised us by how much he could do by himself. After lunch and some play time, it was home for Kellen's nap. Kristin and I played catch for a bit in the back yard. She also practiced swinging a nerf-like bat. She was able to make contact a ffew times.

Later in the afternoon, I had a playoff hockey game. Danelle took the kids to watch. I looked like the kids had a good time, though my team didnt win. So no more hockey until next season, which starts next weekend. I'll have to rest up during the off season.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads reading the blog!

Zoo

This morning we got ready and went to the zoo. The rain was taken out of the forecast so we thought we would go for it. We did stay dry at the zoo... not so much later in the day. If you ask Kellen what he saw at the zoo the first thing he says is train. He loves trains! He also really liked seeing the elephants. We sat in the plaza and watched the bird show too. That is always fun to see eagles and other birds up close.

This afternoon we took a family trip to Home Depot to take a look at exciting water heaters! Kristin was amazed that we left the store without buying anything... this was not a normal trip to Home Depot. :) Then we headed out for dinner to a place called Rib City. Good BBQ and I really like the ribs. They also have a kids play area. We like family friendly restaurants.

Father's Day Celebration

Today I got to have a rootbeer float with Kristin and Kellen at daycare. They also made me craft ties as gift. The one from Kristin is made from construction paper. It says Happy Father's Day on the outside and folds out like a greeting card. On the inside it says 'I love the penguins. Love Kristin' Very cute. Kellen had a little more help from his teachers on the one he made me. It's made from posterboard paper and has a picture of him smiling on the playground.

I even got an early Father's Day gift from Danelle - cinnimon rolls. Quite the start to the weekend.

It's been raining all evening so we weren't able to get the kids outside. The played with the train set and the doodle sketches (or whatever they're called). Kellen also got out a little photo album to look at with Danelle. It has mostly pictures of him and Kristin in it.

Part of Kellen's bedtime routine is to give me a hug right before he goes to bed. Since he never wants to go to bed, he's usually not to thrilled about giving me a hug since he knows what's coming next. So usually he resists for a bit and then just gives me a real short hug. But tonight I got a real long hug. I thought he was being really nice until I realized he had a good view of the bird feeder through the window and he was watching a few birds. :) I'll have to rememer that.

Evening in the Backyard

Tonight after dinner we headed out to the backyard. We got out the new water table and the kids played with that. Aaron got out the hose for the kids to use to fill the table. They both did get a turn, but you can see that Kellen had an opinion about something. I can hear "no Kristin."

After some playing Kristin decided it was time for a break to pick and eat some peas. Kellen followed. They both enjoyed their snack and then went back to playing with the water. Both of their chairs they are sitting in ended up wet by Kristin and Kellen's doing. They had a lot of fun and Kellen was not so excited to head in for bath.

Frisbee

Kristin had fun bumper bowling today on her feild trip for daycare. She was really impressed that a girl on her team got two spares. Kellen has been talking up a storm this week and stringing more and more words together. He seems to sense when we are about ready to go outside, because he'll run back and forth between Danelle and I saying, "Daddy outside water! Daddy outside water! ... (run run run) Mommy outside water!, Mommy outside water!"

Tonight we mixed it up a bit. Kristin and I went up to the park to play catch with a frisbee and play on the playground equipment while Kellen stayed home and helped Danelle do the the watering. Kristin gets a little better at the frisbee each time we practice. Tonight she was able to catch it a few times instead of flinching and closing her eyes. After we got back from the park, there was still a few minutes left before bath time to help Kellen collect cherries from the front yard.

Water!

We have a new toy... a water play station/table. Thank you Oma and Poppa! We got it out of the box tonight and Aaron and Kristin got it put together. Kellen helped me water while they did this. Then we filled the water table up and the kids played with it for a few minutes before bath time. This will be a great thing to play with on those hot days. :)

We also went on a walk tonight up to the school. It looks like they will be starting construction on the school we visit, so we will see if the playground stays open.

Kristin is enjoying her first week of summer camp. Tomorrow she gets to go on the first camp field trip. They are going bowling. She has gone once before and is pretty excited to go again.

Peas in a Pod

Kellen likes the blue Otter Pops. After dinner Danelle will ask him what color he wants and he'll say 'ummmmmmmm BLUE!' Kristin will mix it up with the flavor that she chooses, but Kellen has been sticking with the blue.

We spent some time in the yard tonight. Kellen keeps eyeing the sprinkler but he hasn't mustered the courage to run through it quite yet. He has figured out how to pull peas right off the vine. Tonight he didn't even bother trying to open the pods, he just stuck the pod in his mouth and started chewing. Kristin likes the fresh peas too, but she'll crack open the pods and pick tem out. After the kids had their fill of peas they headed to the front yard with buckets to 'pick' cherries. They don't so much pick the cherries from the tree as they pick them up off the ground. If there aren't very many on the ground then they try to get me or Danelle to pick a few off the trees for their buckets.

Donut

This morning after church we headed downstairs for donuts and coffee. This was a first for the whole family (Aaron and Kristin had gone once before). Kristin behaved in church today, which allowed for the family to go for donuts... previous agreement. Kellen really seemed to enjoy his glazed donut. We also got to check out the church school playground.

After lunch Kristin did some quiet activities in the kitchen. She spent most of the time coloring the picture she got at Dairy Queen yesterday. She also colored in a coloring book and worked in workbook. This allowed me to work on some long over-due thank yous and getting 2 year old pictures out. Aaron edged and mowed this afternoon and is hoping not to have to mow on Father's Day. We will see if the grass and weather cooperate for that.

Tonight we headed out for a walk up to the school playground. Kellen mainly wanted to swing. He got to swing and watch a dog and a family playing catch with a football. Kristin of course went straight for the monkey bars. She has gotten really fast at them. Kellen wanted to water tonight and was pretty upset that this was not the plan.

Here is Kellen playing with the pegs last week. He was actually building with them instead of dumping them all over the floor... at least for a little bit. He then destroyed what you see in the picture and left a mess all over the floor.

The Day After

Another busy Saturday for us. Danelle took the kids to farmers' market this morning, as well as to the library and a bookstore. Saturdays are my days to sleep in (Danelle gets Sundays), and I had a really late hockey game last night, so I was just rolling out of bed when they were headed out the door. At the bookstore Danelle picked up a math-oriented workbook for Kristin to work on over the summer. After lunch, Kellen went down for a nap and Danelle took Kristin to open swim at the community pool. Sounds like they had a really fun time. Kristin practiced dunking her head under the water and got to go down the water slide a few times.

We grilled hamburgers on the bbq for dinner. Danelle tried a new hamburger mix that turned out really well. After dinner, Kristin and I went to Dairy Queen. It was Kristin's reward for good behavior for the week. We got to use a coupon for a free treat that she brought home with her on her last day of kindergarten. Kristin thought it was pretty neat that we didn't have to pay any money for it. After DQ, Kristin and I headed back home and played with Danelle and Kellen in the yard until bathtime.

Danelle mentioned it last night, but we were happy to watch the Pittsburgh Penquins lift the Stanley Cup last night. What a treat that was. Kristin really got into the whole playoff concept this year. She was able to keep track of wins and losses during each round (she calls them 'levels') of the playoffs. Kellen got to stay up a few minutes late so we could watch part of the celebration together as a family. He knew it was hockey, but not much beyond that. When it was time for bed, he kept saying 'more hockey, more hockey'.

Last Day of Kindergarten

Time has flown by and Kristin has finished Kindergarten. We are so proud of her!!! They had a low key day at Kindergarten and got to watch Madagascar and eat ice cream cones. What a treat! I picked up Kristin from school and took her to lunch at Red Robin with Parker and Megan. That was a fun time. Kristin wanted to head back to daycare instead of spending the afternoon with me. It was her helper day and she wanted to play with Morgan.

When I picked up the kids tonight Kristin had a headache and was pretty teary-eyed. She ended up taking a nap once we got home and she woke up around 6pm feeling better. Kellen and I spent some time outside keeping busy planting some rhubarb and flowers, watering, picking up cherries, picking peas, etc. Busy, busy. Aaron watched the final hockey game of the season while Kristin was napping. We all ended up watching the 3rd period. Way to go Penguins!!! A great end to the season with a Stanley Cup in hand.

Last Day of Kindergarten!

Tomorrow (Friday) is Kristin's last day of kindergarten. I remember when she was a tiny little baby and kindergarten seemed so far away. Seems like that was only yesterday. She is pretty excited. Danelle is going to take her out to lunch after class as a specil treat. She was talking about it already during bathtime tonight, and her eyes were beeming.


This week at daycare, Kristin's class is doing a Hawaiian theme. She mada a big surf board out of construction paper - it's already being displayed on her bedroom wall. Today she brought in a little grass skirt to share. Or at least we thought it was for sharing time. She ended up putting it on over her shorts and even wore it to kindergarten! She was still wearing it when I picked her up from daycare.

Kellen had an awesome day. He didn't show any side effects at all from yesterday's surgery. Back to his normal self. He enjoyed eating peas from the garden this evening that Danelle and Kristin picked for him.

The picture is Kristin showing off the covered wagon she made at daycare about a month ago.

Ear Tubes Round 2

Kellen is our little champ. He did great today at the hospital getting his second set of ear tubes. The doctor took a look at his adenoids, but decided they were small so no need to remove them. We are glad for this as Kellen can be back to normal activity tomorrow. :) Kellen was not so happy about the IV in his hand when he woke up (not to mention the yucky feeling from the anesthesia). They placed an IV just in case they had to take out his adenoids. After he had some water and some time passed the nurse came in to take out his IV. This made him much happier and we got him dressed and some applesauce to eat. We were home before 11am. We are very blessed that all went smoothly this morning. Kellen ended up taking a 3 1/2 hour nap... mom and dad both took naps too!

Aaron, Kellen and I all went to pick Kristin up at daycare. She was happy to see Kellen. Kristin was outside playing with her soccer ball (she took this as her sharing today). She was running everywhere kicking the ball. I would say she has really taken to soccer. We will have to do some practicing in the backyard this summer. We surprised Kristin by going out to dinner tonight.

Two more days of Kindergarten to go. Wow!

Otter Pops

Kellen had his first Otter Pop the other day. It was a big hit. I think the coldness took him by surprise, but after that it was all smiles.

This evening the kids had cheese and popcorn for a snack. We were trying to fill Kellen's belly since he isn't supposed to eat tomorrow morning before his surgery. We heard from the doctor that he will be the first patient, so at least he won't go hungry for long.

Danelle took the kids outside to water the garden and set up the sprinkler for the grass in the backyard. Kristin helped pick some peas and also watered the peas. I stayed inside (was preoccupied with a hockey game - Go Pens!).

Kristin has been doing very well reading me a book every night. Her read at home program through kindergarten is over for the year, so she is no longer bringing home a new book every day. But we'll try to get to the library lots this summer so she has plenty to read.

Catch Up and Count Down

Sunday was a pretty normal low key day. We went to church in the morning. Aaron and Kristin ran some errands at nap time. After nap Aaron mowed the lawn and Kellen watched. Later after dinner we made it outside for a walk and play time up at the school grounds.

The kids both had good days today. Kristin is in her last days of school countdown... four more days to go. She was very excited to wear her soccer jersey to school today. The 1st - 5th graders have what is called Camp Learned-a-Lot the last 2 weeks of school. The kindergarteners do their own thing, but we saw that the older classes had Monday scheduled for wear sports clothing. So, Kristin thought it would be fun to wear her soccer jersey.

The weather has warmed back up to the nice 70s and no rain!!! Just some clouds, but I think it is great.

Kindergarten Soccer Players Travel in Herds

I took 133 pictures today during Kristin's last soccer game for this season. It seems like every time she kicked the ball there was about 4 other kids between her and the camera. Nonetheless, a good time was had by all and there are a few keepers among the photos.

First up, I probably should have gotten her hair in a pony tail before the game. I'm not sure how she could see anything. That's her wearing number 5 in the first picture.

She also carries a trait of many great athletes: the tongue haning out. After the game, everybody on the team got a ribbon with a medal. It even has their names on it. Kristin is very, very proud of this medal. She wore it most of the day.

After Kellen's naptime, Danelle took him and Kristin with to get Kellen's haircut. I had a hockey game, so I didn't go with. My hockey game went well, but the one on TV didn't. I got home and Kristin informed me that the Penguins were losing 5-0.

Almost forgot. We ventured out to the Beaverton Farmer's Market this morning. We had a pretty good time. There was a band playing tropical music with congos and big wood xylopones that was fun to watch and listen to. We also stopped at my favorite stand - the one that sells big cookies. We got some peas, and the kids each had a balloon animal made for them. Kristing chose a butterfly and Kellen got a puppy.

Field Day

Kristin had her first Field Day at school today. The weather cooperated for the most part. It was cloudy and a little chilly, but the kids were running around and were fine with it. They all enjoyed eatting Otter Pops too! Field Day includes lots of games (i.e., sack races, tug of war, etc. and other things like blowing bubbles. Kristin had a blast. I was there volunteering and was helping with the snacks. I snuck away for a few photos.

Kellen had a good day. He started going on Tumble Bus last month and is loving that. He sleeps really good on Friday's! We all went on a walk tonight and got a few sprinkles on us. There was a baseball game going on at the school field. Other than that the playground was empty.

Kristin has her last soccer game of this season tomorrow.

Thunder and Lightning

We don't get many thunderstorms here in Oregon. At least not in the Willamette Valley. We did tonight though. It blew in around 5pm and boomed and crackled for a bit. Another storm is supposed to blow in later this evening.

Danelle had the kids by herself for most of the evening. I had a public meeting for one of my projects at work. I actually got home a little early since we closed the meeting early on account of the storm. Sounds like the kids were fine with it all, ecept that Kellen still wanted to go outside and water the flowers and garden. I got home just in time for the bath and bedtime routine, and to see the end of the hockey game. So I was pretty thankful for the storm. I like to hear the thunder, and I got to be home earlier than I thought I would be AND got to see the end of the hockey game.

Since the kids were wound up from not getting to go outside, Danelle got them to calm down by popping some popcorn. Both of the kids really enjoy that treat. Kellen was being silly about it. I asked him if he ate popcorn and he said 'no' and shook his head and smiled and giggled. Kind of like when I ask him if he has a poopy diaper.

Picking up Cherries

The kids both had good days today. Kristin got to learn how to make a lanyard at daycare. She is using 2 orange and 2 green strings. She is having fun working on it and is doing a great job. Kellen is learning about bees this week. He saw a big bumble bee outside tonight while we were watering and pointed it out to me. He also now knows how to make buzzing sounds for the bee.

Tonight Kellen and I watered. Aaron joined us outside for awhile. Kristin wanted to watch a little TV and work on her lanyard. Kellen got me wet with the hose... Aaron found that pretty funny. After watering I kept Kellen busy picking up fallen cherries in the front yard. He also enjoyed watching our neighbor mow.

Oh Kellen

Kellen loves mowers and edgers. He can even tell them apart based on sound alone. When he hears one when he is inside, he'll identify the sound and then head toward the nearest window, repeating 'mowing, mowing' or 'edging, edging'.

Danelle took the kid on a quick errand after dinner. I actually got to watch a few minutes of the hockey game in peace. Thanks, D!

Not a lot else to report for the day. Kellen played with his train set and Kristin leafed through a new set of Scooby Doo books that she got from the last book order of the school year. Kellen has added an 'Oh, David' book to his bedtime routine, as well as a couple of Barney board books. We prefer the 'Oh, David' book , but Kellen seems to like them all equally. One of the Barney books is an ABC book with the alphabet at the end. Kellen can point to the alphabet and say 'BCs'.

More pictures from soccer and the monkey bars.

Monkey Bars Bite (Sometimes)

Well, Kristin ended up with a pretty good blister on her hand today. Likely from the hot monkey bars yesterday. She is a champ about it though. She will just have to find something else to do at recess for a few day for her hand to heal.

It clouded up here today. Looks like it should be raining, but no rain yet. It still managed to get in the 80s today.

Kellen woke up really cranky this morning. I was happy to hear he had a good day at daycare today. After dinner we headed outside for watering and playing with the bubble mowers. Kellen found some cherries (unripe) in the grass tonight and found that fascinating. So, we picked up a couple dozen of those and put them in the yard debris container.

Here is a picture of Aaron with his birthday cake. :)