Happy 10th Birthday!

There's nothing better than bringing cupcakes and having free dress on your 10th birthday! These two were so excited that they kept reminding me to make certain to wake them up by banging the pots and pans. I did it and it was awesome!

Pre-birthday celebrations included lunch at the Spaghetti Factory with Nana!  Lucas got his garlic shrimp fettuccine and Gracie got spaghetti with mizithra cheese and brown butter.

Gracie and Lucas also graduated to washing all of the dishes, not just putting them away. ;)

Gracie is officially taller than Lucas!  Remember when she was two inches shorter? 

Almost 10

Lucas loves chess and soccer

Who knew Lukie would love two things that seem so different!

Gracie and gymnastics

Gracie has found her passion: gymnastics.

Father's Day is for

Father's Day is for Daddy to teach his girl how to take care of her wheels.

Kindergarten Graduation Take 2

Finally, we are done with Kindergarten!  These two are officially first graders, and boy, are they ready!

click to view larger

We have been learning a huge lesson about fairness and how life is not fair.  Gracie earned a medal for citizenship and Lucas earned two medals, one for academic excellence and one for leadership. Gracie is having a hard time because Lucas is so confident about what he knows and Gracie is terrified to be wrong.  She hesitates and, as a result, people think she does not know as much as she actually does. Lucas is super speedy and can read with confidence.  He is really fast at math and can add and subtract in his head like nobody's business.  Gracie loves to draw, read, and write.  She especially loves to pretend she is a teacher and "grade" all of the books in her room.

This should be our last year in a classroom together! Hello, grade school!

Happy Easter 2014!

We celebrated Easter 2014 at Aunt Bec's house.  Of course, we took our annual picture (minus Nathan and Emmy who were at Knott's Berry Farm).

Left to right: Hailey, Brandon, Bianca, Gracie, and Lucas

100th Day of School 2014

This year, Gracie and Lukie's Kindergarten teacher is super high achieving. She doesn't mess around. She has high expectations, and she let us know from the beginning that our 100th Day of School project what have to be big. It would have to be awesome.

From time to time, she would send reminders to us, gently nudging us to get to work. Gracie and Lucas weren't sure what they wanted to make, so we have them a list of ideas and we came up with projects that totally fit Gracie and Lukie's personalities.

Meet 100 Teeth by Lucas

Meet 100 Spots by Gracie

Kicked out of karate

Gracie and Lukie have been taking karate for the last five months. It's been a really great thing for them, they've been learning about self-discipline and focus and following directions. Gracie has slowly been gaining confidence and Lucas has been working on following directions and keeping focused on the task at hand.

Lucas has so much energy that he sometimes forgets what he supposed to be doing. Today in class he was dangerous and went underneath the balance beam while two of the kids were trying to move it back out of the way. Master Jason asked Lucas to leave class 20 minutes early. Lukie was devastated and embarrassed, as he should be.

 

The problem is, that Lukie is harder on himself than anyone else is. He told me that he wasn't allowed to have any treats for the rest of the day or go any special places for the rest of the day because he has been kicked out of class. I'm not sure where Lucas has developed this feeling that he should be punished for every single thing he does wrong, but I'm hoping that in the next few months I can help him see that a mistake or one bad choice does not mean that he has failed or that he is a bad child.

 

Glasses for two

Other than her eyes, Gracie does not resemble me one bit. And to be honest, her eye color is very much her Daddy's so even those don't look like me. One thing we both have in common is that we are now both the proud owners of glasses.

Apparently, we both read a lot.

Mommy and Twinjas

Rock and Roll

From the back seat of the car, I hear the singing of church songs. Then, all of a sudden, Lucas stops singing.

"I'm not singing these songs any more. I only sing rock and roll."

Got it, Lukie!

Halloween 2013

Ninja and Ariel at your service!

Ferris wheels aren't for sissies

They looked like this for the majority of the ride.

Step Out Walk for Diabetes 2013

What a day this was! The day was cool and calm and Gracie walked four whole miles with Mom. I am so proud of Gracie for walking the entire way and not complaining one bit!

There were so many fun things to see at the diabetic walk including Star Wars characters. Mommy walk for the first time in several years and raised $375 all by herself. Daddy was proud of all of us for working so hard to have a wonderful day.

Gracie, Lukie, Daddy, Storm Trooper, cousins, and Tia Adris

All.Day.Long!

Gracie: "Mommy, I'm just so excited!"

Me: "Why, Gracie-Lu?"
 

Gracie (bouncing up and down): "Because tomorrow, I turn 6!"
 

Me: "That's right! Tonight is your last night being 5!"
 

Gracie: "And tomorrow, I get to wear a crown because I'm turning 6 and you are going to bring a cake to school for my friends, and Mrs. Averion is going to make you kiss my cheek and freeze so that she can take our picture."
 

*Punctuated by a bounce and a back leg kick.*
 

Gracie: "But the best thing, Mommy..."
 

Me: "What is it, Gracie?"
 

Gracie (bouncing like crazy): "It is going to be my birthday ALL DAY LONG!"

Yogurt with Mom

My children don't like ice cream. They would rather have ICEEs or frozen yogurt. Their favorite frozen yogurt is at Menchie's. They will beg to go.

Yesterday, Daddy went to a party and they convinced me to take them. We had so much fun! The hardest part is letting them be independent with making their own yogurt. There are so many things that can go wrong with toppings and frozen yogurt. So many things. 

The good news is that they are so proud of themselves when they put their cups on the scale. Little accomplishments like that go a long way.

Kindergarten Take Two

Today was Gracie and Lucas' first day of kindergarten at their new school. New uniforms, new shoes, new backpacks, knew everything! They are so excited to learn new things and get better at the things they already know.

A day at the park

Daddy and Lukie at the park.

Pirates at the Beach

Today, we drove to Long Beach and met Nana and Uncle Jimmy for breakfast. We ate at a restaurant called the Black Bear Diner and the food was huge!

Uncle Jimmy and Daddy

After breakfast, we drove to Belmont Pier and discovered pirates everywhere. It was Pirate Invasion 2013 and there were jumpies, cannons, and all kinds of craziness.

More than Lukie's feet got wet.

Gracie and Lucas asked if they could put their feet in the water at the beach. So I let them walk down to the sand and take their shoes off. After a few minutes someone named Lucas fell into the water accidentally on purpose. He was very wet, but that didn't stop him from having more fun. 

Playing in the water.

Gracie and Lucas with their feet in the water.

We walked up along the pier and saw lots and lots of pirates everywhere. We even saw a real parrot! Lucas got a tooth necklace and Gracie got a pirate scarf.

Uncle Jimmy, Nana, Lucas, Daddy, and Gracie at Belmont Pier

Afterward, we got in our car and drove around to see different parts of Lakewood and Long Beach. It was a great day because we got to spend it with Nana and Uncle Jimmy and be at the beach at the same time.

Next time, Gracie would like to build a sandcastle.

Climbing a giant tree at the pier.