A New Parade

On Sunday night the weather forecast for Memorial Day was 100% chance of rain, heavy at times, pretty much all day long.  The big Kennett Square Memorial Day Parade we usually attend was cancelled.  So we figured we'd be hanging out inside all day Monday, and not parading.

And then the ever-knowledgeable FaceBooks told me about a previously unheard of parade in Oxford.  As well as where to park.  And we woke up Monday morning to no rain, and completely updated forecast of NO RAIN, and even some sunshine.  So we discussed some flexible thinking with Dexter, discussed how it's not healthy for your body to hold its pee for 15 hours straight to Erin, and then headed to Oxford.

This was a much shorter parade.  Without the Boy Scouts handing out flags at the beginning.  Without horses, or guns, or floats.  But it had a couple marching bands, and some old cars, and more fire trucks than we anticipated.  And also we were home before 11AM.  So I do believe it was a success.

Here's a link to a super quick video that Google Photos so kindly made for me this morning.

Flag waving practice by the small one who is too big to want to nap, but still too little to NOT be grumpy when she skips her nap.  She's pretty fun these days...

Daddy had to do a quick fix of Dexter's flag - it's been hanging out in the garage since last year and needed a little re-stapling.

Yay!  Parade!

Parade Watch 2016

Erin wants YOU to have a Happy Memorial Day

Waving flags at cool classic cars

Love Erin's "What's coming next?" expression.

An impressively long line of fire trucks, considering they were all just from Oxford.

Aaaaand DONE!  Parade over, quick walk back to our car, easy drive home.  This is a parade I can support.  We considered going to the West Grove parade on Saturday morning, but it started at 9 and Erin slept until 8:15.  So we had no shot of making it there.  Maybe next year.

Aunt Maria took the kids to Applebee's for lunch.  Ms. Dianne, Dexter's MT, is coming here at 3:30.  Maybe we'll do some swimming or some sprinkler running this afternoon.  And that's pretty much it!  Memorial Day 2016, done.

Aunt Maria has been here all weekend, so we've been having a fun time with her.  On Saturday our little pool got set up and filled, and left to sit and warm up a bit before anyone decided to swim in it.  Saturday afternoon the kids went to the DE Children's Museum - they had a "Be an Aerospace Engineer" program there, so Dex went and built a Mars lander, and then got to test it from the top of the huge climbing structure.  He did an excellent job of building his, and had a successful landing.  John has pictures, but hasn't shared them with me yet.  So you're picture-less.  Erin and Aunt Maria played and slided and touched fish and crabs and had a lovely time.  And everyone ate ice cream.  Saturday evening was kind of our only shot at roasting marshmallows, so John built a little fire in the fire pit and we had s'mores for dessert after a hot dog dinner.  Erin was super brave and actually got within 20 feet or so of the fire.  That girl.  She REALLY dislikes fire.  So she didn't have a s'more, but she had marshmallows and chocolate and crackers, all on their own.

Little Miss Chocolate Face

Dex still enjoys his marshmallows WHITE, but sticky.  It's a fine balance.

Waaaaay back there is Erin.  She wants to be sure she doesn't get too close.

On Sunday we did a lot of pool-ing.  Our pool in the morning, which Aunt Maria said was still really cold.  Erin lasted about 15 minutes, though, so it couldn't have been THAT cold.  And then the YMCA pool in the afternoon, along with picnic dinner there, under the pavilion, while it rained.  They finally asked us to leave so they could close the pool down early.  I got a good glimpse at what my summer will entail - sitting in two inches of water at the baby pool, while Erin fills cups and buckets with water.  Cuz she won't get it.  Cuz it's "too cold."  Dexter and Aunt Maria had a lovely time on the slide, and diving in the diving pool, and swimming in the lap pool.  I have no photo evidence of this.  Because I was sitting in two inches of water with Little Miss It's Too Cold.

Here's a Link to a quick video of Sunday morning in our pool.

In our pool.  Aunt Maria eventually was numb from cold.

Erin got tired of the pool, and went to help Daddy wash the car instead.

And then she washed her own car, at the car wash.

Erin drawing aliens on the driveway

Erin at the YMCA pool

Cold little Erin Duck, eating cold pizza and Boy Scout popcorn for dinner.  Oh, and gummy rings from the candy store.

On Art. And Writing. And Last Days of School.

This is the time of year when all the things happen.  ALL.  THE.  THINGS.  The calendar has been a little ridiculous.

We got the "end of the school year" party started at the end of April with a cute little drop-in art show at Erin's school.  I took both kids, and they both really enjoyed searching for Erin's art, and also checking out Erin's classroom.  Oh, and eating cookies.

Erin's pointing way up, at her polar bear picture.

There it is.  "Polar Bear Ice Fishing"

Here she is in front of her Self Portrait, that she did way back in September or October.

And then all the classes did a lovely piece of art on canvas, that were then silent-auctioned off at the end of the night.  They were impressive for preschool-assisted art.  Erin's class did the sheep.

Then last week we went to Dexter's school for the Young Writer's Fair.  I love taking him to this, because he is SO EXCITED to be the tour guide at his school, and to look for his writing sample, and then to read it to us.  His book was a non-fiction piece, "All About Cheetahs."  Erin loves going, too, because 1) she loves Dexter's school and 2) she loves books.

So excited to have found his book!

There's the famous author

And here he is reading his book.

Erin had her last day of school on Thursday.  She is now officially on Summer Vacation.  I was sad to leave her teachers, who were also Dexter's teachers.  But I know she'll be in good hands there again next fall.

Here's Erin's first day of school (left) and her last day of school (right)

Also on Thursday (ALL THE THINGS) was a Volunteer Tea at Dexter's school.  It's a nice breakfast for volunteers, and then the kids from first and second grade classes come in to perform on the stage.  It's a fun morning.  Dexter came in with the entire First Grade Downstairs, which I think is six classes of First Graders.  They were last - so they did a couple "Good-bye" poems.  HERE"S A LINK to the video.

And here's Dexter with a bunch of kids in his class.  Don't ask me their names.  I've been in there volunteering, but kids, man.  They all look the same.

Then on Friday was Erin's End of School Celebration, when all the classes got on stage and did some singing.  Erin's class is a bunch of 2.5 - 3.5 year olds.  The M-W-F kids, taught by the same teachers, are 1.5 - 2.5 years old.  Cuteness.  Erin did an excellent job.  She said "I didn't want to sing too loud, Mama, because I didn't want to hurt anyone's ears."  HERE'S A LINK to a video of her class.

After we got home from her singing and the picnic that followed, we played outside with Nonna for a while.  It was lovely on Friday - finally not raining.  And we checked out our blooming rhododendron bushes.  So here's a few pictures of Erin by the pretty flowers.

Finally, although art and painting are REALLY not my thing, I got talked in to attending a painting night Fair Hill fundraiser.  It was entertaining, and my painting kind of sucks.  Clearly, as Jeanne says, I needed more wine...

Sporting

John and I are pretty firm believers in the benefits of organized sport.  Pick a sport.  Any sport.  Probably it's good for you and is teaching you some good skills.  So we've all been sporting this year.  All four of us.  Our opinions on our sporting lie on a spectrum between "this frustrates the hell out of me" and "this is super fun - when do we get to play again?"

Basketball is a sport near and dear to John and my hearts.  Dexter surprised us by asking to play back in January.  John surprised us by volunteering to coach the team.  This is their second session of basketball - this session is a co-ed team, and the girls are WAAAAAY better than most of the boys.  Dexter comes home saying how much fun he had.  John mostly comes home tired, and a little frustrated, because there's so much to teach these kids, and you just can't do it in one, one hour practice a week.  But the kids are having fun, and the parents are appreciative and nice, and so I think it's working out ok.  Here's a video from basketball today.

Dexter is swimming now, too - Spring Clinic for swim team started a few weeks ago, and summer swim team kicks in to high gear after school is over, with practice FIVE DAYS A WEEK.  I am not sure I am ready for that sort of commitment, to tell you the truth.

Speaking of swimming, Erin learned how to swim on her own a little over a month ago.  She no longer uses a back pack during her swim lessons, and she's been fetching diving sticks off the bottom of the (very shallow) pool for the last few weeks before and after her swim lessons.  She's looking forward to the outdoor pool opening at the YMCA, although I am positive she will think the water is "too cold."

Erin has been team sporting, as well.  She did eight weeks of Soccer Shots at school and loooooooved it.  She is a tremendous cheater who will happily pick up her soccer ball and run down the field to place it where she wants it to be (here's a link to a little video that shows just that).  She is also an excellent listener who does what she is supposed to do, with no drama.  Which means she kind of fades back in to "the noise" in a class of 20 mildly rotten preschoolers - I don't think her coaches ever knew her name, which made Erin a little bit sad.

Grown-ups like sporting, too.  Besides basketball coaching, John has been shooting guns at clays.  I have no pictures of his doing this, as I've not been with him at the gun club.  I believe John is on the "this frustrates the hell out of me" side of things with the sporting clays.  Except when he shoots well, and is all "this is super fun."

I have signed up and paid money for two sprint triathlons this summer, which makes one much more likely to actually exercise.  I've been biking as much as I can, running, swimming, and doing my favorite cross-fit class just to keep things fun.  I am mildly terrified.

So that's us.  Sporty.  It means we can eat more ice cream.

Happy Anni-Birth-A-Mom!

Poor John had to share his birthday with Mother's Day again this year.  And still, it's the day after our anniversary.  We often times have company for John's birthday weekend, but this year all was quiet here.  We had basketball (Dexter scored a basket!).  John took Dex to the library to build some Geo Trax.  John and I watched a movie (that never happens).  On Sunday we wandered over to Fair Hill for an hour or so to watch horses splash through the water jump at a Horse Trials.  I rode my bike 20 miles.  We ate a lot of ice cream cake.  John mowed the lawn.  It really was a lovely weekend.

Rode 10 miles to the blueberry farm and stopped for a snack.  Erin was disappointed that I didn't bring her home any blueberries.

Birthday boy nap

Cake for lunch.  And snack.  And maybe also for dessert after dinner.  Why not?

Horse splashing through the water.  The kids sat on every jump available around the water.  And they were fairly entertained, for about an hour.

This house looks like a good one to lie on, Mama.  The kids spent most of the time climbing up and sliding down the jumps that looked like houses.  No slivers in butts, surprisingly.

The view is way better from Daddy's shoulders.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!