Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Chesapeake Invitational

I was up bright and early Saturday morning because Landon had to be at his school and on the bus for cross country at 6:50 am. I dropped him off and then went back home to get everyone else moving for Harper's 9:15 am soccer game. Landon's run was set for 9:45 so while Tony and the two little kids went to soccer, I headed out to Chesapeake High School to watch Landon run. 


After they took off I found a spot along the sidewalk to catch a glimpse of him on his way back.


As of today we haven't gotten his official time but it's somewhere around 22:48 which is a new personal record for him! He was awesome and all this hard work is certainly paying off!



A Brief(ish) Review of Last Week

Every day I have the intention to write and every day I come to the conclusion that I'm just too exhausted to do it. The only reason I haven't quit entirely is because I know I'll regret it in the end. I'll regret not being able to go back to revisit all these fun family memories...so, I'll just blog when it isn't too much. I'll blog when I'm in the mood. It might not be often, but the old blog will be here when I'm ready.

Since I'm here, I'll share some recent highlights beginning with Saturday the 17th...


An afternoon at Mema's house:




We went to Zoe's place so Tony could help her hand the swing Meme made her:


I've decided to volunteer a little of my time to Harper's class on Monday's while Dakota is at preschool. I sort all the kids' work from the previous week into folders then help however I can with the math assignment. If there is enough time I get to help the kids choose prizes that they get to buy with their "mustang money". The kids earn the money for good behavior throughout the week and they can choose to spend their money on prizes like reading a book to the kindergarten class or 15 extra minutes of computer time. 



I met a friend at Hobby Lobby to gather the supplies I'd need to make a "fall" tree. It was a fun project and I love how it turned out! Any reason to have little twinkling lights in the house...




Harper had picture day and he was as cute as a button!


Landon purchased a ticket for HOMECOMING! Hello?! How is he even old enough!?










Sunday, September 18, 2016

Game Two, Minions

Saturday morning Harper had his second soccer game. His game started at 10:15 but the game ahead of us was behind so we started about 15 minutes late.

The first game we went to I was totally unprepared. I didn't have anything for Dakota to do, so this time I made sure to bring her lots of activities. She loved having this big blanket to lay on! I asked her if she was tired and she said no, she just liked to be on a blanket outside. :) She only stayed like that for a few seconds before dragging all her toys out to play with.


The first quarter of the game Harper was on defense. He didn't do a whole lot of defending, but he might have tried to touch the ball once or twice.




He spent the second quarter guarding the goal...



I have no idea what position he was playing for the last two quarters but he looked like he was having a lot of fun with his teammates! Not doing what he was supposed to be doing, but having a good time nonetheless!



Arundel Invitational

Landon had a cross country meet Friday after school. It was at a nearby school (Arundel High) and his run began at 6 pm, so we were all able to make it this time. We got to the field around 5:30 and the parking lots were full! We did get a spot though and we made it to the field in time to see them warm up before they began.


It's hard to see, but in the distance you can see the teams all lined up and waiting to go. 





Once they'd all passed us we ran to the chain link fence across the field to get a peek as they ran by. I tried to get a good picture but the darn fence was in the way!


After this part we just hung out for 20 minutes until kids started to reemerge from the path. 

Here he comes, he's the third white shirt, in the center.



And there he goes. Dakota and Harper got to play their games for a little bit while we waited. Dakota made sure to yell "Go, Landon!" when she saw him. She kept asking me why I was yelling "Go, Old Mill!" every time someone ran by in white!


After he ran by us I went over to the finish line to wait for him. I was waiting to see him and then all of a sudden, there he was, gaining momentum and doing his best to pass as many people as he could at the end. 



He finished right around the 23:50 mark which is almost 5 minutes faster than his last run of 28:09:70. (I should get his official time tomorrow when he gets home from practice.) 


I'm so proud of him! I thought he did an amazing job! I'm even prouder that once he got back and caught his breath he ran back up the hill to cheer on his teammates! He's a winner all around in my books! 










Monday, September 12, 2016

Donut Date

Dakota and I met our friends for a donut date this morning. There is nothing better than a Krispy Kreme donut fresh off the belt. Nothing.



Here's our buddy Wyatt. Isn't he cute with his little sly smile!


There were some balloons tied to some of the chairs and they went to investigate. Dakota tugged on one of them and it came free and she had a bit of a panic about whether or not she could keep it. I assured her it would be okay, but she insisted that I ask. We asked and were told that she and Wyatt could take as many as they wanted. They ended up leaving with three each. :)


We found out that it doesn't take long to eat donuts and we were done by 10 am. (We got there at 9:30!) Since we had lots of time to kill before school, we went to a playground that was nearby.





We played there for about an hour and then we had to run home to get her backpack and lunch before heading to school. It was a great morning! 

After I dropped her off at school I went home and had lunch then went to Harper's school to help in his classroom. It was fun to be there and I liked being able to see what his day looked like. He was so happy that I was there that he could hardly concentrate on his math! I plan to volunteer every Monday while Dakota is at preschool and I'll probably start volunteering at her school every once in awhile too. I love being a part of their school life! (Landon said I wasn't allowed to volunteer at his school, but he sure loved it when he was in elementary school!)




Sunday, September 11, 2016

Fall Leaf Activities and Working on Numbers

I forgot to post some activities Dakota and I did last week. 


The two kids noticed that some of the leaves were starting to fall off the trees in our neighborhood so I thought it'd be a good time to talk with her about autumn and leaves. I found a couple cute activities on Pinterest and we were set.

First, we made hand print leaves. I painted her hands with some fall colors and then she made an imprint on some white card stock. Once it was dry, I drew in the veins and we talked about the parts of the leaf and labeled them. It was her idea to draw the sun, and I think it was a sweet addition. :)


Another project we did was a fall luminary. She and I chose some fall colored tissue paper, cut/tore it into small bits and then used modge podge to glue it to a glass jar. Once it was fully covered, we put a little tea light candle inside and it is now sitting in her bedroom as a night light. (Not that she uses it because she insists on sleeping with her lamp on, but whatever.)




We also did a few number activities this week. The first was a cutting/gluing worksheet. She had to cut out the numbers and fill in the blanks. She was able to do this completely on her own. She did all her own cutting, gluing and knew which number went where. It might have been just a touch too easy but she loves to cut and glue so she didn't mind. 




The other number activity we did was rolling a die and then using a dot painter to mark the number she rolled on her paper. So, she'd roll a one, for instance, and then mark the number 1's on her paper. We have six different dot paint colors so it worked out perfectly. She loved it!












Harper's First Soccer Game

Harper had his very first soccer game yesterday morning and man was it a hot day for it! My morning started super early because I had to get up at 6 am so that I could be ready to get Landon to practice by 7 am. It took several times, but I did eventually get him to get his butt out of bed and we made it there just in time. He wasn't too happy when I dropped him off, but as usual, he was fine when I picked him up at 8:30. We zipped home and got the car packed for Harper's 10:15 game. 

Last Tuesday we had back to school night for both little kids (at two different schools at the same time, of course) so Harper didn't make practice and then Thursday the school he practices at had back to school night so our practice was cancelled that night as well. So, after having only 2 practices in his life, he had a game. I was prepared for the worst which would have been his refusal to play and a meltdown. 

I was pleasantly surprised at his amazing attitude about the whole thing though and I had no need to worry after all because he had a great time! 


It was horribly hot out and even sitting in the shade we were all sweating so you can only imagine how hot those little kids were playing out there. Nonetheless, they kept playing, even my Harps. They play four 12 minute quarters and after the first quarter the coach put Harper in as goalie. I was a bit surprised but off he ran to the goal. Of course I grabbed my phone and ran down to get some video! Sorry for my loudness on the video...I was a little excited. :)


I'd say this first soccer experience has really been a good one so far. I asked him how he felt about his first game and he said "well, I didn't love it, but I did like it"! That's really all I can ask for, so I'm happy!

 




April Fools Pranks

The two little kids made me laugh yesterday morning.  I was upstairs getting things ready for school when I heard them talking about how ...