Friday Funday

Did I really let them go to Chuck E Cheese today?!

Today was a teacher workday for the end of quarter at school.  After a slow paced morning and a nice gym workout, we headed out for some errands, of course, and then some fun too!  I let each kiddo pick a fun thing to do today.  Preston picked Chuck E Cheese and Savannah chose to get a redbox movie, Trolls.  Once we got home from CEC they enjoyed playing outside on this beautiful afternoon and now are watching the movie with their favorite neighbor friend.  So for a whopping $.27, yes 27 cents, we've had a super fun day!!

Letting Go . . . Slowly

Savannah has really been into cooking lately . . begging to whip up anything dessert related from scratch. Honestly, it is a huge hassle as I have to climb to get lots of ingredients out of the cabinets and then there is always a mess to clean up, but oh the joy it creates. Not only that, but she's really getting good at following directions and has created quite a few amazingly delicious treats! We've come along way from the first batch of rice krispee treats she fouled up. :) So when I read the following from a blog that I follow, it really spoke to me and reminded me of my job in raising two wonderful children.

I need to step back more and let my kids work on figuring things out without my micro-management.

I need to give them space to try. Space to fail. They aren’t babies and toddlers any more. They need to learn lessons through trial and error. They need to make some mistakes. They don’t need me to fix everything for them or solve everything for them.

I want to work on doing a better job of walking with them in this season. Holding their hand when they need a hand to hold. And letting go of their hand giving them the space they need when they need it.

I will be on the sidelines cheering, but, as they get older, it’s not my job to be in the race carrying them to the finish line. They need to learn to run themselves.

I want raise self-sufficient/God-sufficient adults to send into the world to make a difference, not children who constantly depend on me to fix or solve every problem for them. Letting go is hard… but it’s one of the most loving things I can do for them as they grow older!

Carowinds Season Opener

We decided to use our birthday gifts early this year (thanks Grammy and Papa) and headed to Carowinds the second day they were open.  Although it was pouring rain when we left the house, the kids didn't care and were determined to explore the park today.  Thankfully by the time we arrived it was just sprinkling and then cleared up completely!  There were no lines and it ended up being a great day at the park.

Our laugh of the day happened when we were waiting for the next plants vs. zombies ride to start and Preston spotted Savannah's teacher.  He starts screaming "Mr. Grabon, Mr. Grabon" while Savannah is literally hiding behind Dave.  It was hysterical how embarrassed she was. :)  Here's to another fun season of  Carowinds!

Sweet & Simple Friends

Savannah woke up this morning begging to have her sweet friend Ruthie over to play today.  Thankfully they were free and she came over shortly after lunch.  I looked out this afternoon and saw them in the yard and all I could think is how sweet and simple life is for them right now.  I bet they were discussing the worlds biggest problems . . . like bras and stinky boys! :)

Shamrock Race

Today we braved the crazy rain and headed out to watch Dave run in the Shamrock 4-miler.  It's the first race in the 6 pack series that I did last year . . . only this yearb it's Dave's turn to run the races.  I got in a few miles on the treadmill before leaving for the race and finished my 7 miles when we got back home, just in time to leave again for soccer.  It was a busy morning, but fun too!

St. Patrick's Day ~ Leprechaun Trap Fail

We (Preston) almost completely forgot about St. Patrick's Day and the trap he wanted to make to catch a leprechaun.  Never-the-less, Thursday afternoon he had me google "kid friendly easy to make leprechaun trap".  We saw a design right away that he quickly started to build.  It was quite the trip with candy leading to the pot of gold (m&ms) under the rainbow . . but there was a trap door that the little creature would fall into.  He just knew he'd wake up with a trapped leprechaun.

But it looks like the trap door got stuck so the leprechaun was able to escape! :(  The little creature even ate most of the candy too.  When Preston woke up he was sad and the first thing he said was that next time I needed to google "leprechaun traps that have worked!"

School Spirit Week

This week the kids have enjoyed dressing up each day for school spirit week.  Their favorite day was Mismatched Wednesday . . and they looked perfect for the part. :)

A Sunday with Snow

Our entire house was super excited to go to bed Saturday with the anticipation of snow on the way.  The kids made sure to do as much as they could to bring the white stuff . . . they wore their jammies inside out, put a spoon and white crayon under their pillows, threw ice on the deck, and said a few prayers too.  (activities compliments of Savannah's googling)

And we all awoke to a beautiful white covered scene with snow still pouring down!  With the time change we went to the late service so by the time we arrived home most of the snow had melted. :(  BUT, Dave and Preston made the best of it and created two snowmen!  Savannah had an activity at church so she literally had no time at all to play outside, but we did enjoy some snow fun on our afternoon family walk.

We headed to a local neighborhood park and the boys came up with a game called snowball kick.  Preston and Savannah would swing as high as they could while Dave threw a snowball for them to kick.  That was the extent of our snow fun . . . and hopefully the end of winter and start of spring!

Free Slushies!!

Dave and I both had offers on our phone for free slushies at 7-11 so it was a no-brainer where we would go on our Sunday afternoon family walk!  It was the first week in months that the kids didn't complain about having to go on a walk because they knew they were getting a treat. :)  Anyway, as soon as we got there Preston proceeds to pose in front of the sign and goes right into this happy dance complete with rubbing his tummy.  This kid is just full of personality . . .

Our Resident Whale Expert

For weeks now Savannah has been working on researching whales.  Their group started with choosing an animal and then spent lots of time studying and developing an interactive presentation too.  Wednesday was the day when parents were invited into school to see the presentations.  I have to say they were quite impressive!  The groups have also spent time during school presenting to lower grade classes and today was the final activity . . . a public presentation downtown at Discovery Place.

Here are a few pictures from her school presentation.

Thankfully Dave agreed to accompany her to discovery place since he hadn't seen the presentation yet.  Here she is all grown up talking to adults at Discovery Place!

After her 12-2 time slot, she was allowed to visit Discovery Place for free!  She enjoyed some special daddy time, hitting her favorite things at the museum.

I love that she not only learned a lot about whales and developing a presentation, but what's even better is what she learned about making the presentation.  It was a great opportunity to come out of her comfort zone!