Having a Field Day

A few weeks ago, Brooklyn's school held their annual field day. They competed against two other schools. Let's just say running is not Brooklyn's forte. As I helped run the boys' long jump I watched my dear daughter in action. She was entered into the broad jump, the 400, and the 50 yd dash. The start sounded and the group of girls took off to run the 400. My daughter is the SLOWEST runner ever! She jogged the first 200 and finally caught up with a girl that was walking. Instead of passing her, she slowed up(if that's possible) put her arm around the girl, and encouraged her to keep going. She then moved to the outermost lane to encourage another girl. She zig-zagged her way around the track encouraging each walker until the final turn. As all the kids cheered(they were instructed to cheer for everyone) she turned toward the "fans" and waved the entire rest of the race. Yeesh.

Note: two weeks later she came home from school announcing that she'd run TWO miles that day. Her gym teacher informed her no other first grader has ever attempted such a feat, but she and three of her classmates completed the task. Obviously, endurance is not the issue with this girl. Why is she so dang slow?

The 50 yard dash was more of the same. Most of the girls in her group had finished the race, had a snack, and were boarding the bus by the time she finished the race.

I finished the day with the parents' relay(which was fun!) and an almost blistering sunburn(not so fun.) Note to self: When sunscreening three children, sunscreen yourself too!




I don't know what's up with the microscopic pictures. Sorry about that!

Anyone?

Missing: One Nikon D60 battery charger.
My battery lost its charge and I have no way of recharging until the charger is found. Translation: no more photographs until the battery is recharged. I feel like a piece of me is missing without my camera in hand. Has anyone seen my 1 1/2"x2" dark gray wonderbox? Anyone?

Not Me!

Inspired by My Charming Kids blog, I decided to write my own "Not Me!" entry.

I so did not come home from an errand to find my toddler fast asleep in his carseat. I would never open his side of the van and just leave him there, in the driveway, alone. I didn't go in the house, put away the groceries, return a phone call, clean up the breakfast dishes, check my email, facebook, blogs, etc. I most definitely didn't put my four year old in charge of making sure he was safe while I completed numerous tasks inside the house. I didn't return to find the preschooler had unbuckled the toddler's seat belt, "just in case he woke up," because that is definitely keeping him safe. Because it is neglectful and unsafe, I will never do this again. Not me!

What a Wild Weekend!

After being completely and totally exhausted from the competition, I crashed on the couch before 9:00pm on Saturday. I had yet to plan for the events to come on Sunday. Why do I do this to myself?
I got up around 7:00, much to the disappointment of my children(they wanted to bring me breakfast in bed) and got to work. Andy and I managed to get the children and ourselves ready, plan a meal, go shopping, clean up the house, actually enjoy breakfast together, and get to church by 10:20 all with little or no stress. Amazing!

We had Isaac dedicated at church this morning, only seven short months after the first attempt. We were scheduled to dedicate him in October, only to have him get the pukes. When we tried to reschedule, we were told the next one landed on Mothers' Day. Yikes!
This morning went off without a hitch. Isaac slept through everything! We promised to raise Isaac in the church and teach him the Gospel in hopes that one day he will accept this as truth for himself. The pastor prayed Psalm 25: 4-5 over him.

"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long."

After church, my parents, Andy's parents, and Andy's brother headed to our house for lunch and plenty of photo ops. Although a bit chilly, it was a gorgeous day!

Enough, already!

I'm sure all my loyal followers are bored to tears with Brooklyn's dance adventures, but I will never tire of watching her on stage. I'm sorry to say that we still have a recital and a competition in Myrtle Beach ahead of us!

A couple of weeks ago her dance studio held their annual picture week. Finally, I have photos that don't include the giant fuchsia water lilly(although, I absolutely love it!) on her head. Her musical theater class is dancing to "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie. It's the cutest thing ever! Her competition group is doing a tap dance in the recital to Sweetie Pie Kids(I'd never heard of it either, but I adore the costume!)






Lastly, Brooklyn's team had their final local dance competition on Saturday. We had to be up before 5:00am to be fully dressed and at the Columbus Convention Center by 6:15am. They were on stage by 7:30. Ugh! Her team received a High Gold ranking, a special judges award for "cute concept" and one of four costume awards for the day. Brooklyn was devastated that they didn't place in the top five. She was sure that it was all her fault and she needed to practice more. I tried to explain that this was a much tougher competition with many, many more dance teams, but she is a perfectionist in the making. What am I going to do with that girl?

Go Twins!

Xavier's first t-ball game was Saturday. The game has two innings in which both teams bat through their lineup. They get three coach pitches. If they don't connect with the ball they get three swings off the tee. Xavier's team took the field first. He was positioned just in front of the outfield behind the shortstop. Nothing came his way and the top of the inning was over. He was near the bottom of the order but it was worth the wait! He connected on the first pitch and headed for first base. Safe! He was so happy to cross home plate. Back onto the field. The coach rearranged the players but Xavier ended up in the same position. I turned to Andy and asked, "Is he really that bad?" Unfortunately Andy confirmed that he can't catch and gets nervous when he throws. I see some time in the backyard in our future! He was able to field and throw one ball without any major embarrassment during the rest of the game. He had to hit off the tee at his next at-bat. But, he still made it on base! Considering this is very new to him, he didn't do too badly!