Is this summertime?

So.... Thursday was the last day of school for both the bigger kids.

I find myself longing to sleep in past... oh I don't know, something insane like 7 am.  Only I married a morning person and our first born takes after him so that boy of mine has been getting up with the sun.

I also have the image of what summer is supposed to look like.  Honestly, it looks a lot like those commercials for Country Time brand Lemonade and involves swimming in lakes and jumping off docks and swinging in tire swings and strolling through fields of tall, blowing, whispy grass.  Maybe riding bikes with friends and having squirt gun fights, or just laying in the grass of the yard and watching the clouds float by, picking out which ones are shaped like anything interesting.

Actually, I don't know that my childhood summer times looked like most of that at all.  Maybe when I was really little and we used to visit my cousins up in the really rural, small towny parts of Ohio.  I certainly swam in a lot of lakes, but don't think I've ever jumped off a dock.  And the grass around me was usually in the lawn variety and was rarely unmown and whispy at all.  Maybe those commercials brain washed me into wanting something I never had.  Or I don't know, maybe I did have it once, because I feel like I do have some very ancient blurry memories of things like that when I was very little.  In any case, kudos to the advertising execs who came up with those commercials because they kind of make me want to move back to the midwest, and buy a big house out in the middle of nowhere just so I can give my children those types of experiences.

Sort of.

I said SORT OF.

Southern California, and the dead-lack-of-grass charm of my back yard has a lot to offer as well.  Like the beach.  And the basic lack of winter.

ANYWAY....

So I don't why I'm waxing all poetic about that lazy sort of summer.  It's only been a couple of days and I am already becoming so so aware once again of the number one reason WHY we put Peter in 5-day a week prekindergarten this year.  That boy, without structure in his life, is a train wreck.  Yikes.

On Friday, our first day of summer I found myself loading up my little band of pirates to head off the the end of summer "beach" party as AJ's school.  She's moving over to Peter's school next year so I wanted to give her the one last chance to say goodbye to her little friends.  I also wanted to thank the director again for making a huge exception and allowing AJ to move up into the 3-year old class despite the long battle we waged with her in regards to the potty.

SO the kids made hand print fishy paintings and planted pumpkin seeds, ate cookies that they were supposed to ice themselves (they both just ate the icing first and the cookie second) and then they made little water bottle oceans as their final craft.  Peter, ever the child not to be satisfied, kept insisting they should have fish to put in the things.  No matter how much everyone assured him no fish would live in the bottles along with the rocks and dye and oily water, he kept asking.

Right around the time we were leaving, he changed his tactics.  He asked me totally sweetly if we could go to the "Fish Pound" and find a poor, lonely, homeless fish that nobody loves and bring it home.

My heart kind of melted and the next thing I knew we were on our way to Petco.

Let me skip over the lengthy details about how long it took to get any customer service, and the temper tantrum AJ threw over wanting a hamster instead of a fish and just go right to the part where we left with a small, 2 1/2 gallon dividable tank and 2 bettas.

Peter's is red and after some debate, he named it "Firespeed Finn."  AJ's is blue and together we decided to name it Blueberry.  I tried to get Peter to agree to calling his Strawberry, because that would have been awesome, but he never listens to me about anything.

The fish eventually were moved into their new home without too much of a fuss.  The trouble was, the divider in the little tank doesn't sit 100% flush to the edges and the angry fish are actually motivated enough to kill their tank mates that they have managed several times to squeeze themselves through to the other side to fight with one another.  We troubled ourselves about separating them ourselves the first few times but the 2 were locked on to one another so tightly with their little teeth, we didn't have much luck so we just left them be.

Matt and I prepared the children as best we could in case we found one or the other had lost the battle, but at least so far, they are still co-existing.  I think they get to one another and battle periodically until one of the other is exhausted and then they retreat back to their corners.  In any case, Peter has taken to planning on their deaths and asks me about 40 times a day what type of fish we can get to replace them.

For the time being, it seems this isn't likely to actually happen and I'm quite frustrated with Peter's ungratefulness about his new pet and also his nonchalance about death.  Funny quote actually, earlier he was going on about it again, and I told him to stop, that he was making me feel sad for our fish and it was making my stomach hurt.

AJ, ever the helpful little sister, then chimed in, that it was making her elbow hurt.

Alrighty then.

This from the same girl who yesterday I caught picking her nose and eating her boogers AGAIN.  (I know gross right?)   I swear the idea never would have occurred to her, but then she saw Frozen.  So anyway, I told her to stop doing that as it's gross and she shot right back to me with "But boogers taste good Mommy!!"

Ew.

In other news, this morning I took Lucy in to the doctor for her 9 month check up.  Actually, I took all the kids, because what else was I going to do with the other 2.  As Peter starting telling all our business to some random people in the waiting room and A.J. freaked out over the wrong color of the chair she was sitting in, I found myself wishing strongly for school the be starting up again already.

The doctor, who really I am in love with, bribed them both to behave with the promise of visiting the treasure box.  This is of course, because I have decided that at nearly 5 and 3 1/2 I shouldn't have to pack a suitcase of crap to entertain them with any time they go anywhere.  I brought no snacks, I left the iPad at home,  I deleted all the apps off my phone.  I gave them each a book to look at instead and they both looked at me like I was insane.

So the doctor was still pleased with how Lucy is doing.  Despite battling off lots of snot and some inflamed ears that are either in the beginning or the tail end of infections (we left with an optional-fill scrip for her ears if she doesn't seem to improve in another day or two) she said she Lucy looked well.  I tend to wish she was vocalizing more, but was reminded my other 2 were early talkers and that there is so much going on our house most of the time, maybe she's just busier listening than feeling like she needs to make too much noise herself.  She still has dry skin, although not nearly as badly as before.

Lucy weighed in 18 lbs 3 ounces, which has her still cruising right along with the 50th percentile line at about 46.4.  Her head measured 44.3 cm which is 58.4 percentile.  And she is 74 cms tall (or long.)  That is just under 30 inches and is in the 90th percentile.  The nurse seemed concerned that her height had kind of dropped off it's previous growth arc, but the doc said she is probably just evening out after being extra long since birth and since there is still growth, it is all good.

She wasn't due for an shots today, but they did draw a little bit of blood to check her iron and for lead.  I am always worried about iron since I can tend to get anemic, and AJ has always tested on the lower end of normal for her iron levels.  Lucy was fine today though.  We checked for lead just to kind of be safe as well, since we live in a little bit of an older home, we have loads of exposed dirt for a back yard and of course, Matt works in an old factory/warehouse type building were he might be exposed to God only knows what.

In any case, everything came back okay.

Our week (and the summer) continues to be crazy as AJ has dance tomorrow and then pictures this weekend and then somebody is retiring and Matt is in the ceremony and then the following week will be Bible School, followed by AJ's recital and then it will be Peter's birthday and just... my goodness.

There's just no end in sight.

Somebody find me a nice grassy hill to lay in and stare at the clouds please.

And actually, while I'm at it, can I order a few clouds too?  All these big gorgeous blue skies are just... too perfect.

Hhaha.

Before I know it really will be August won't it.

Peter's Preschool Field Trip to Old Poway Park

Even though the graduation ceremony was held on Monday, the regular school year still had almost 2 weeks to go.  I'm not sure why they had it so early, but in our busy Pre-K through 8th grade school, I'm sure scheduling of the space, with all other end of the year activities going on, had something to do with it.  And also, it seems to me that it is nice to get the big ceremony out of the way and let them just relax for the last several days of school.  

So, on Wednesday, they took a little field trip to one of local parks.  There is a little historical (1900s-ish) area there to explore and also a train to ride.  We, as a family, had been to the park a few times before, but had ever rode the train or really gone in any of the buildings.  They ended up needing more parents to drive so I found friends to watch A.J. and Lucy and spent the day chaperoning with Peter.

Of course, for whatever reason, no sooner had we arrived then things got all dramatic.  The children were all gathered and playing around a little fountain having a high time when Peter ran his hand across a wooden lamp post and got a splinter.

Goodness.  He was wailing and carrying on.  Rightfully so, of course, as he had a decent sized sliver of wood stuck in his palm, but the end was well exposed and if he would just hold still before he drove it in deeper, I was sure I'd be able to pull it out no problem.  He disagreed with me firmly (and loudly) on this plan.  I struggled to wrestle him still in my arms, and finally one of the teachers helped to hold him still while I grasped his little hand and pulled the thing out.

He kept carrying on some more until a band aid could be located... because as every four year old will tell you, those cure everything mostly.  He proceeded to pout and whimper for awhile anyway.

One of the older boys came and told him to cheer up and it would be okay soon.  That was adorable.

Then his girlfriend came along and she was able to cheer him up where I could not.

THAT figures.

He's not even five yet and the girls already have more influence on him than I do.

Before I knew it, they were playing happily as if nothing had ever happened.

Soon it was time to gather up and hear from the park ranger about what we would be doing.

They divided up the lot of us into 2 large groups and they sent each of us in different directions to head first.  I took the 5 children in my group and instructed them to find buddies who they'd stay with all day.  Of course, since we were an odd number, that meant we'd have to have a trio.

Don't worry that wasn't going to be a problem for Peter.

SERIOUSLY.

Our group headed over towards the train track to the old-timey house we would be touring.

The kiddos were super excited when the train (which was really more of a little trolley car) passed us on the way there.

So.... the house. It's called the Nelson House.  The family originally came to the area and homesteaded in 1883.  Of course, THIS particular house, isn't the original, it's a later Nelson family home from early in the 20th century, that was relocated to the park area when it was developed around the 1990s.

The children all gathered on the porch to listen to the tour guide.  Look at Peter there in the middle eagerly raising his hand to answer questions.

The kids went inside and gathered in the kitchen area.  The lady talked about the old fashioned stove and other kitchen appliances from the time and how they would have worked.

Peter again with his hand up

Listening intently.

The lady held up this device and asked the kids to figure out what it was for.  After some hints, Peter figured out it was for making toast.

Many of the other children looked as if they'd never even HEARD of toast.

Hahah.  I happen to LIKE toast, so of course my kid knew what it was.

For real.  Just look at him.  :)

The house... as I said, dates back to the beginning of the 1900s.  And all I could think was that it might honestly be the bottom floor of my husband's Grandparents house back in Ohio.

The resemblance was striking.  Similar sized rooms.  Similar layout of the kitchen.  The window placement. The fireplace.  His grandparents house (the house where both my mother in law and all her sibling grew up in and my husband's Grandpa grew up in himself,) must be from the same time.  Weird that this one is considered "historical" one, and the one in Ohio still has gatherings of our family every Christmas Eve.

Feeling obnoxious a bit, I noted in my head that historical houses back in the midwest date back to the late 1700s or early to mid 1800s.  The Coffman house, in my hometown dates to the 1860s.  Nothing in California except for the missions, maybe, is nearly as old as anything we have back East.  Silly, young, California.   Haha.

The tour guide led the children into the dining room area.  She talked about the windows and how some of them had old fashioned glass still in them and asked whether the children could see the difference.

I looked around me some more and continued to note how similar this house was to "Grandma's" back home.  Then I looked close at some of the furniture in the place.

Goodness me.  My mother in law happens to collect quite a bit of antique type furniture.  And every where I looked in this place were items much like the ones they have at their place.

WHY was I on a tour of this house when I could just take my kids to see their grandparents and get practically the exact same experience?  

They have something almost just like this.

And they definitely have an old sewing machine like this.

And the fabric is different, but they also have an old chair like this!

There were more.  Every where I looked was the furniture from my kid's Gramma's house.  But the tour was moving on so I had to stop taking pictures of my mother-in-laws furniture and move on.

There had been a whole discussion in the bedroom about the chamber pots.  Peter had guessed it was for baking and had been QUITE amused to be informed of the true purpose.

There was a display of old-fashioned toys in the front rooms.  These might have been the other bedrooms I suppose.  It didn't matter, because what was more note-worthy than ANYTHING historical about the place was Peter and his little girl fiend again.

Heaven help me.  It's so sweet. 

We finished with our tour of the little house and stepped back outside.  The windmill looked cool so I took it's picture.

Our group headed over to the little museum area.

Inside there was little one room school room set up. Our kids took their seats as if they were the students in that classroom.

The "paper" handwriting sample running around the top of the room was driving me crazy.  The lady talked to kids about what school would have been like back then... packing their lunches in a bucket, writing on slates instead of paper, and yet there all around the room was this paper alphabet that looked nice but really did not belong.

Oh well, I'm sure I'm the only one who noticed.

Peter kept it up with the hand raising and the question answering.
Except back in a classroom type setting a few more of the kids sprang to life and volunteered as well.

They all said the pledge.  

On the board there was a list of classroom chores.  I liked that part.
No cleaning person to come pick up the mess later kids!

Outside the door, one of the teachers noticed this sign of some 1872 rules for teachers.  I'm sure it had been recreated from a list somebody found somewhere, but we all got a kick out of these anyway.

Outside the school room there was a little museum with exhibits from around the area.  

I enjoyed an old map of our town.  It looked so ancient, but then when we noticed it was dated only back to 1963, we all laughed to remember just how newly developed this whole area actually is.

(My house would have been built less than 10 years after that photo.)

Anyway, soon enough it was time to go ride the train.

The kids all sat patiently and waited to board.

I was super surprised and excited that Peter saved a seat for me next to him.  

Looking out the window.

Handsome devil.

The view of the park from the train.

It's a fairly small loop of train track, but we made 3 trips around.

Also, a couple of years ago, we went to a birthday party in that park under that big tree.  They've added more picnic tables and barbeques and things since then.  It's weird how different it looks.

Speaking of different... did you just click over on that link?  HOW DIFFERENT my kids look!  A.J. of course was so much smaller, practically still a baby with hardly any hair yet, and Peter still had hints of baby fat in his cheeks back then.

Wow.

This old train is parked there.  

Super randomly, as soon as they got off the train, a bunch of them broke out into a spontaneous game of Ring Around the Rosie.

I love it.

That was really it for the trip.  We all ate a nice picnic lunch and then we reloaded the cars and headed back to school.  

Peter's Preschool Graduation

This past Monday was a very big day.

Peter, and the rest of his friends, officially graduated from Preschool.

It was quite the little ceremony.  Matt took the day off work.  

After 2 long years, our time with our first born in preschool, was coming to an end.

There really aren't enough tissues for this kind of thing ever!

So, first thing in the morning, we dropped Peter on one side of his school campus to get ready in his classroom.  We (the families) then proceeded to the Holy Family Center, clear on the opposite side of campus, to find our seats and wait for the fun to begin.

In the mean time, traffic had been strangely a MESS that morning.  Our school sits on a kind of major roadway that runs parallel to the one of the major north-south freeways.  Normally, traffic on the road is light as it is mainly school traffic mixed with everybody else on their way to the highway.  That morning though, it was packed.  As we arrived, one of the teacher's told us there had been an 18-wheeler truck turned over on the freeway, and it was basically shut down just a mile or 2 south of us.  All the extra cars on the road outside were those trying to avoid the freeway and get around the traffic jam.

Just as we were settling down into our seats my friend who lives well north of there called me.  She was stuck in the traffic and it basically wasn't moving.  Ugh.

Over the next hour or so, as the ceremony's start time got closer and closer, various parents with their kids kept shuffling in late, looking stressed out and frazzled from the whole mess.

In the end, EVERY ONE made it in time, but just barely.

It's always something isn't it?

Hahah.

Anyway, Matt largely entertained the girls while I milled about being my normal social self, catching up with the other moms and dads and trying to help where ever possible.  

Everyone was so surprised to see Lucy standing already.  
Do they forget that it's already been 9 long months since the first day of school
when she was born?

Time sure does fly doesn't it?

My friend arrived just as the teachers came in, ahead of the kids.  She told me as she'd come in what she'd seen.  The kids had gotten "dressed" in their caps and gowns and then walked through campus.  All the older students from grades K-8 had come out to cheer for them.

How sweet is that?

I wished I had some pictures of that.

Lucky for me, they put one up on the school website.  Peter isn't in it, but you get the general idea.  :)

How sweet is that?

Back in the auditorium, the big, room dividing partitions were up an the parents were all seated and waiting in the front.  The kids waited, gathered in the back of the room out of our sight while the teachers, school principal and even the Monsignor came in to get things started.

Welcoming remarks from the Principal.  

Soon enough, the preschool director (Peter's teacher from last year) took over.  They got right to it, introducing our little graduates one by one as they all walked in and took their seats.

Oh my goodness!  I can't even stand how cute he looked.  

The teachers had requested that we put our boys in collared shirts, but preferred no suits or ties so that nobody go hot.  Peter wore a tie and vest anyway, and my GOSH did he ever look dapper.  I didn't even think about the top of the tie showing under the little gown, but it did, and I love the little extra touch it added.

Even better, was the smile on his face when he found me in the audience.  

He was somewhere in the first 10 kids or so to come out, from a total of 45 kids graduating.  This meant he had to sit quietly and patiently ON STAGE in his seat and stay out of trouble while all the students after him were announced.

He did this awesomely.

I can't believe how much he's grown up actually.  Definitely turning into a big boy, ready for kindergarten.

They'd been instructed to walk out with their hands folden in a praying position,
and to then leave them folded nicely on their laps.  All the kids did this so well.  

Of course, eventually, he just HAD to mess with his little tassel.

Did I mention the little tassels?  The had little 2014's hanging on them and everything and each child got to keep theirs.  I'm torn between my overwhelming desire to frame it along with his little diploma or the urge to get him a Power Wheels that he can hang it from on the rear view mirror.  Because seriously?!?!  HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE?

Don't worry.  I'll PROBABLY just be totally reasonable and it will go just go in the scrap book for this year.

Anyway, eventually, the whole lot of them was out there.

Peter is 9th from the right.

After a prayer, everyone stood up to say the Pledge of Allegiance.

Then the children sang "Grand Old Flag."  It's funny because after 2 years of singing that song, whenever Peter see's the stars and stripes some place, he doesn't say, "Oh look, there's the American Flag."  Nope. Instead he says "Hey, it's the Grand Old Flag."  :)

After that, everyone sat down again.  It was time for the presentation of their little "diplomas."  Each child would be called up individually again.

Waiting for his turn.  They went in the reverse order of how they'd come in.

Goodness.  Just look at how happy and proud of himself he is!

As if that wasn't enough, after he sat back down he looked out to me in the audience and flashed me a thumbs up.  

Once everyone had their paper, all the kids stood up to sing 3 little songs.

Grinning at me between songs

The last song was a preschool-graduation-ized version of  the popular song, "Dynamite."  

After they sang, all the kids were asked to come down from the stage and have a seat facing the screen to watch the end of the year photo video.  Peter was so sweet, he came running to me for a quick hug and a kiss first.

So everybody watched the videos and got weepy again.  The kids all sang along to the songs from Frozen on the soundtrack and happily yelled out the names of all their friends as their pictures came up on the screen.

And then, as if that hadn't been cute enough, when the video was over, and the audio-visual guy in the back of the room hit the button to bring the screen back up all the kids randomly stood up and waved goodbye to it.

"Gooodbyeeee!!!!"

It was so random and absolutely adorable.  I love that they still have so much innocence.

The kids all gathered back on the stage for the closing remarks and a final prayer.  Most of them were practically vibrating from having behaved themselves for so long.  About half of them had knocked their hats of and were beginning to fiddle with them.  Peter, however, held out.

Finally, the teachers released them down from the stage to us so we could all pull them aside to our separate corners for pictures.  

And a cheesy as it really is at this early stage of his life, I got the shot.  I feel like we've been working for 2 full years to get to this moment.  (Because actually, we have.)

Some think doing a full cap and gown graduation is kind of silly after preschool.  Perhaps those are people who didn't spend multiple years in preschool getting their kids "ready" for kindergarten.  I don't know.  What I DO know is how handsome my son looked, and how proud.  

The cap and the gown really is adorable.

And sure, this might not mean nearly as much as the "real" photos like this we will take in another 13 years when he finishes high school, BUT.... this "silly" little ceremony still means quite a lot to us right now.

There were certainly quite a few times (last year) that I wasn't so sure he'd ever make it to this point.

There were a lot of times I wondered if he'd even be ready for kindergarten by now at all.  But he IS.

He'll be 5 years old at the end of this month.  He spent last 2 years at this preschool, and that works out to be 40% of his life so far.  As he moves up into the grade school, this really is quite a big deal in the grand scheme of his life up until this point.  

I'm so proud of him.

Also, I know I'm not supposed to say stuff like this, 'cause I'm his mom and obviously my opinion is very biased and it makes me sound smug and annoying and more obnoxious than ever, but isn't he just the most handsome little fellow you've EVER seen?!?!?

I know, right?

:)

Anyway, his friend wanted to get a picture with him.  How sweet right?

These two.  I'll tell you.  Heaven help the world if they end up together some day.  On Wednesday I went with them on a little field trip and between the 2 of them, they answered 90% of the questions.  Seriously.  The tour guides would ask a question and nearly all the other kids would sit there shyly or just looking back with big, wide eyed blanked stares, while these 2 shot their arms up into the air.  

Left to their own devices, this girl and my boy could conquer the entire universe.

Haha.

Heaven help their parents.

Speaking of Peter's parents....

I also wanted a picture of just him and me. 

He didn't cooperate at first while A.J. photo-bombed us making her best, innocent and helpless princess type pose.  

Matt supposed that maybe she was jealous over all the fuss being made over her brother, and suggested I get  a photo with just her as well.

She kept right at it with the princess thing.  I have no idea why.
Maybe she saw all the graduates keeping there hands folded.
Or maybe she was just being weird and difficult because it amuses her.

Finally, I got my one with Peter.

I don't normally think he looks very much like me, but these are definitely the same smile right?

Here's one of the whole family.  :)

With the pictures mostly taken care of, it was time to find Peter's teachers for a quick "thank you" and more photos.

His Teacher's Assistant

And his amazing teacher this year.

We handed back in his cap and gown after that.

I was sad to see it go as it really was so stinking adorable.

But we moved on to give Peter his little graduation gift.

(It was funny actually because that morning he saw the present and it never occurred to him that it might be for him.  He asked whose birthday it was and eventually decided it must be a retirement present for our Monsignor. When we gave it to him he was VERY surprised!)

I didn't think it was necessary to over do it and make too much of an extra fuss, but I did find a couple cute books to give him that I thought were nice.

"If I could keep you little" and "Yay, You! Moving Up and Moving On."

If you're wondering, I am incapable of reading either of these to him without my voice catching in my throat and lot and lots of dramatic pauses to get control of my emotions.

I feel like he was JUST born.  Honestly.

So that was really it.  We all went home and changed to go to the park for the celebration picnic afterward.
I didn't really mean to take photos and commemorate that at all, but then Matt had Lucy on the swings and I realized it was the first time for that.

She is such a youngest child.  No matter what, I swear she always manages to look smaller and more helpless than she really is.  

Look at those little feet of hers.  I love all of her!

Of course, for extra fun, a minute later when Peter's "friend" (girlfriend?) came along and they got on the swings together I snapped one of them too.  

Peter will tell you that someday he is going to marry her.  She loves him too, but is more elusive with her proclamations of lifelong plans.  I *tried* to tell them to get swinging and if they could sync up for 10 swings that then they'd be married.

At least that's the game we used to play when I was a kid.

I assure you, the pair of them looked at me with equal parts of "What on Earth are you talking about lady?" disdain and "Please leave alone you weird grown up person." embarrassment.

Oh my goodness.

Kids today.

I tell you.