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We are doing a co-op this year for Emma's preschool – 3 darling little girls.  I got to start out teaching, and it was so, so fun.  She was so excited – one old friend, one new friend, a pretty backpack, school supplies (especially glue!!!) – it was a perfect way to start preschool.  Oh yes – and no shoes – since we were staying at home, she didn't want to put them on, even for the picture.  Happy Preschool, Emma!  

You jump on the blue part and it shoots plastic rockets up into the air.  WAY up into the air.  Seriously – as fun for adults as for kids.  Emma saw one at Zach's friend's house and has been saving her money for one for months.  Totally worth it!   Download MOV01443.MPG

Ready or not… Zach is a kindergartner!  The ready is for him, the not is for me.  He has been so excited!  We got to go for an hour together on Wed. to tour his school and see how a day goes, get his locker, etc.  He loved it and couldn't wait to go back by himself on Thursday!  He rides the bus… and was thrilled about that, too (me, even more not ready).   You can tell from the picture he wasn't a bit nervous!  Thanks to the neighbor lady out watching us and waiting to say hello, I stopped the tears before they started.  And after the bus drove away and we chatted for a while it wasn't as bad as I thought!  Emma and Carter and I went and got a blastpad (see future post) and had a great afternoon.  

Here it is – actual video footage of a micro-soccer game.  It is this fabulous 3 on 3 league they do for 5 and 6 year olds here… they sub every 3 minutes, they don't keep score (although Zach always did), and they get to touch the ball so much – it is so fun.  Zach loved it – especially goalie.  He did not like the after-game treats (possibly the only kid in the history of the world who turns down popsicles 4 weeks in a row) and made sure we took non-refreshing oreos when it was our turn for the snack.  Sure, the video is a little long… but really, there is nothing like little kids soccer for entertainment – kids falling down, picking their noses, losing a shoe and then playing that way until the half ends… enjoy.  Oh, and don't call their team pink.  It's fuschia.  (I think every mom of the 3 boys on the team had to convince their son that they weren't the pink team to get them to put on their jersey!)  Download MOV01407.MPG

Another day, another Target story… this time I wasn't the last shopper in the store (barely).   I was, however, the shopper who (15 minutes before closing) broke a huge bottle of applesauce on aisle 2.  Without ANY children in tow who I could blame for it.  Floor, flip flops, feet and legs covered in applesauce… at least it made for stories to tell for the college kids looking for canned chicken, the lady who came running (and brought me paper towels to clean up my feet), and the eight other Target employees who had to check out the loud crash.  At least I'll be sympathetic when my kids break something at the store!  

We were thrilled to have TV this year to watch the Olympics – we've come a long way from watching events on the lobby TV's at the hospital in Logan.  Anyways, the kids got into it too.  They loved watching the swimming, and we even had to call Zach Michael Phelps for a few days.  Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday were spent on the slip n' slide in olympic swimming events – run and slide, then touch the end, turn around, and crawl/swim back to the top.  And don't forget your goggles!  Thanks to our privacy fence and a really hot day, I did some slipping and sliding myself on Saturday with the kiddos – only to discover that 30 year olds are too old to slip n' slide.  I woke up Sunday feeling like I was 80 – my back hurt, my abs hurt, my arms hurt… but the kids gave me a bronze medal and I wouldn't trade my olympic experience for anything.  

I had several people tell me today that Zach made quite the comment in primary today.  Apparently in sharing time someone asked the kids if they knew anything about their family history.  Zach raised his hand, and they had him come up to the podium.  There, he proceeds to say, "When I was a baby, my mom and dad took me to the Phillies game.  And they SMASHED the Braves!"  And then he just stood up there with the biggest smile on his face, basking in the combination of talking about baseball, a large attentive audience, and being at the podium with a microphone.  I think it made his day.  

I love surprises.  Knowing this, for my birthday this year, Nate tried so hard to surprise me.  He openly worked on a gift for me and secretly got me a snow-cone maker (since sno-shacks are nonexistent in Rochester and I have been dreaming about them and wishing for them ever since our trip to Utah).  Enter Emma – his little shopping helper.  About a week before my birthday we were talking at dinner, and she was telling me what they did that day.  And all of a sudden, in her little monologue:  "…and we went to Target, and bought a snow-cone maker…"  Ah, I was still surprised… and I got to have snow-cones before my birthday!  Can't beat that.    (Can you tell, Emma enjoys a good snow cone just like her mom!)

We had the good fortune of having my parents fly out for a little less than 48 hours last weekend.  It was just a day that my dad could get away from work but it worked out to be over Carter's 4 mo. mark, my birthday, and when Nate was out of town for his brother's wedding in Utah.  They came in at 4 on Saturday and had to leave before noon on Monday, but we loved every minute of it.  They spoiled us, as usual; and we managed to squeeze in a lot of baseball (Zach's request), board games (Emma's request) and just hanging out.  I feel extra bad that they couldn't get a standby flight home and ended up with the 18 hour drive… but we are SO glad they came.  Thanks, guys… it makes family seem a little closer when you pop in for a visit like you live just a few hours away!