Dynamite!

Ty just came out of his room after he had already been tucked into bed. The kids know we don't like it when they get out of bed.

Which must be why he straight for the VERY descriptive language.

In a very sweet and innocent voice, he said, "Mommy. My tummy is kind of hurting. It feels like there's dynamite right next to it and it's going to explode at any minute."

Tell me how you really feel, Ty.

This kid is so dramatic. I don't know where he gets it from! Sometimes he is so dramatic I just want to light myself on fire!

Yo-da Best

Briggs made this card for me 

Just Because. He said he saw it on Pinterest and thought it was "adorable". 

Love him. 

Daddy! I want a golden ticket now!

What's a sure fire way to annoy your big sister? 

Imitate her using a Veruca Salt voice.

Well played, Briggs. (To his credit, she was kind of throwing a Veruca-esque tantrum.)

Family nature walk

 Consumnes River preserve nature walk with the family.

Ashlynn's 6th Grade Promotion

 The top picture is Ashlynn with one of her besties, Lauren. In the package is a dainty little necklace with the letter A.

 Picking out this promotion dress was Kind Of A Big Deal for her. She thought about it and shopped all year until she found this one on Modbe

 Sir and Lady Macbeth.

After the ceremony Ashlynn and I went out to lunch at BJ's. I didn't want to make too big of a celebration out of it because I wanted to keep the bar low for 8th and high school graduation!

Ashlynn got the presidential award for getting straight A's for the past 3 years and she got to sing with a group as well.

He was hot...

And then there was this picture. 

Sticking-up

Ty asked me this morning, "mom. Were the nurses surprised by my sticking-up eyebrow when I was born?"

As-of Now You Are Under Attack

Brian came home from work and found a note from Ashlynn on the doorstep. The following video is what ensued upon his arrival...


001 from Kate Rober on Vimeo.

Two things

Ty just came into our room with his blanket over his head and his brown eyes peeking out. 

When we asked what was wrong he told us "two things".

I said, "OK. Number one. Go "

"Dracula" was his prompt response. 

"And Number two?" I asked. 

"Phantom of the Opera".

Dang it. There's nothing like being scared of two random things. Like the other day when I was worried about broccoli and speed bumps...

Not really. 

But Ty was really scared. 

Last Day of School 2013

Today is the last day that all three of my chicks are safe and sound at their elementary school together. Next year Ashlynn will be entering the No-Man's-Land that is Middle School.

As you can see from the pictures, it was a little bit of a rough morning. Ash was moody. She was barking at everyone. As we were taking these pictures she said, "I don't feel like smiling." Lovely.

Briggs couldn't find his toothbrush, which is really odd ( I can't comprehend how one loses a toothbrush) and gross at the same time, because this is the conversation that followed.

"Did you or anyone take it out of the bathroom?"
"No".
 "Did you have it yesterday?"
"No" ...
"You haven't brushed your teeth in a long time, have you?"

And then he just hung his head in shame... oh boy.

So as I'm sitting in my quiet house for the last time for a few months, these are the thoughts that are running through my mind:

• I always want to majorly purge my house of junk this time of year. I want to throw it all away!!!
• I've got bleach soaking in the bathroom because it smells like a public urinal in there...
• I won a little family competition we have going on with license plates. I found triple 8 on a plate, so I get to request something from the kids. My request was that they learn how to strip and wash their own bedding this summer. Should they have learned this by now, I don't know. Whatever...
• I've got the kids end of the year surprises all ready and waiting for the kids today. I made scrapbooks out of all of the notes I put in their lunches this year. I even included some instagram pictures of each of them through out the year in the books. I also made another summer playlist, just like last year. And I have a pile of new books to give them that will be our summer out-loud reading.  I kind of like these traditions we've started.
• I'm grateful that I don't have to make school lunches anymore for a while. I hate that job.
• I'm thinking about how much time I'm taking on this post, and that the number of minutes to myself is dwindling, so I better make them count. 
• I love summer! (But I also like a little peace and quiet...)

Lady Macbeth Kills it!

Macbeth My Dear from Kate Rober on Vimeo.

Ashlynn played lady Macbeth in her 6th grade musical. It was a VERY amateur production, but it was a really fun experience for her. I managed to get a video of her singing, also, a VERY amateur production (my filming, not her singing) - lots of heads in the way and such.

I loved hearing her sweet little voice. In my eyes, she stole the show!

Random Monday shots

 During Briggs's games, he always comes running over to us in between innings just to check in and give me a kiss on the cheek.

 These two got a few minutes at the park while we were waiting for Briggs to finish up cubs. This shot is entitled, "Mommy! Can you take my picture?" Always.

Whenever these two find a few spare minutes, they can be found drawing and doodling. I signed them up for a cartooning class this summer and they are pretty excited.

Elk Grove has tons of great parks, which apparently catch on fire easily. We came across this park the day after it burned down. Can you see how the slide melted?

Snoop Ash

Ashlynn just announced that she is rapping during her sixth grade promotion ceremony.

You might want to get your tickets now...

Just sayin', yo.

May at Warp Speed

This time of year seems to move at warp speed for our family. The kids last day of school is May 30th, which means Glorious Summer is on the horizon. Our time has been filled up with end of the year field trips and parties. Between dance, Activity Days (Ashlynn), baseball, cub scouts (Briggs), piano lessons (Ty), and the never ending line up of playdates, our schedule has become a bit of a brain teaser puzzle.

You know that brain teaser about the fox and the chicken and the corn that you have to get across the river in a boat, but you have to make sure that the fox doesn't eat the chicken and that the chicken doesn't eat the corn, so you have to separate and supervise and take what seems like superfluous trips back and forth across the river? That's how I feel lately. I'm just trying to get all of my cargo safely across the river, and still enjoy the ride.

 Last night, our baseball coach made a mistake on our schedule, which means I went to four different parks before I found the right one that our team was playing at. It was a bit of "Let's tour all the parks of Southern Elk Grove!". We would pull up to a park and see a bunch of little boys in red shirts. I'd drop Briggs off and send him running to the dug out only to notice that he was slowing down because they weren't his team. Elk Grove is known for it's surplus of great parks, so having nothing to go off of, we just kept going to park after park until we finally found the right one...45 minutes late (of course nobody was answering their cell phones to help straighten up the mess).

The only thing that saves me is that most of the kids are old enough to be left home alone for a bit so I don't have to drag EVERYONE EVERYWHERE!

But this month alone Ive been to the State Capitol, Coloma State park, Fog Willow Farms, and end of year swim party next week, worked at the school book fair for a couple of days, helped out with a farmers market at school, helped Ashlynn audition and get the part of Lady MacBeth in her school musical, taught a relief Society lesson and spoke in Sacrament meeting, attended umpteen dozen baseball games and practices and dance rehearsals, collected dozens of costumes from 40 kids for ashlynn's performance group, helped with Mormon helping hands days... really this is just the tip of the ice berg.

This time of year I love preparing for summer. I'm in the process of getting scrapbooks together like I did last year of all of the lunch notes I wrote to the kids. This year I included a smattering of instagram photos, as well. I'm making another summer playlist, as well. And there's always our Summer To-Do list, which I love. I always want to get their treasure boxes of school memories organized and accessible because they always bring home tons of projects that they have worked on throughout the year. And then there's the occasional OCD urges that come out of the blue, "Let's deep clean the grout in the kitchen!" "Let's make a quilt!".

I just have to remember that I enjoy all of this stuff, and I have to remember to constantly check my calendar, otherwise a chicken or a fox is going to get left behind!

State Capitol Field Trip

 I never posted pictures of our State Capitol field trip. Have I mentioned I've been on a lot of field trips this spring? This was with Briggs's class again.

 My cute little group of boys.

 Drawing the state seal

 View out of the capitol looking at the golden bridge.

Easter 2013

 I love this one. This is his true personality.

Here's our easter. It was pretty relaxed. We decorated eggs with sharpie markers and had to hide them inside because it was raining.

Field Trip! Field Trip!

May has been the month of field trips. And today I went with Ty's class to Fog Willow Farms. Here's what we saw:
1 volcano
2 of the sweetest Burnese Mountain Dogs (that I thought acted just like Nana from Peter Pan)
3 baby bunnies (called kittens)
2 fluffy chicks
1 peeing turtle
A bunch of baby goats, one of whom was standing on her moms back like it was No Big Deal
1 diva piglet who squealed if you looked at her wrong

Ty was cute and bossy.
It's was hot in the sun and I wanted to jump into the Cosumnes River.
26 first graders can be exhausting.
Ty wants to go back.

I'd go back just to see the dogs again.

Heat

It's May and I'm already over the heat.

Mother's Day 2013

 We did a little photo shoot before church on Mother's Day. It was a good day to be a mom. I got to relax, didn't have to cook any meals, and I had created a Pinterest Board of Mother's Day gift ideas that made the shopping really easy for the family. I was spoiled!