Summer Fun

Our summer started with a bang and a trip. The day after school got out, the boys and I flew to Ohio to help Mom & Dad watch Klausy and Kate while Kelli and Klaus went to Napa for Klaus' sister's wedding. We had a ball!!

Aunt Kimmie couldn't stand to not have a schedule and itinerary, so Camp Cool Cousins was born! Our first project was a nature walk to create our camp sign.

Everyone is ready to take off! I love Max--striking a pose!

Pa was our amazing "carrier". Everything the kids found to use on the sign went in Pa's bag. Kate was the fabulous assistant =)

Our finished product. Klaus' contribution was the left side, a cloud and rain, Mason's part was the right side a treasure map, and Max just generally put glue everywhere =)

A lot of time was spent eating. I was shocked at the amount of food those four kids could put away--especially Kate! That girl has to have a hollow leg; she totally kept up with the boys in the food department. Well, actually, she pretty much kept up with them in ALL departments! She's one tough little chick!

Mason being goofy...

Whatever Mason did, Kate was sure to follow.

Saturday was sports mania day! Klaus had a soccer game in the morning and then a t-ball game in the afternoon. The soccer game was the World Cup!

Max went with us to the game and had a great time cheering his cousin on; although, I really think his favorite part was the donut after the game =)

After the crazy day Saturday, the evening was spent lounging. Here are a couple of sweet pics I got:

Grandma and Kate Kate

That's Mase under the blanket with Klaus lounging on him and Kate rubbing his head. It's so nice to be loved =)

One of the major activities for the week was an actual camping trip. Klaus has been BEGGING to sleep in the tent and camp. My sister is good at a lot of things, but camping is not her forte, so Klaus has been deprived of the experience all these years.

I had done some research and found a state park not far from the house. I had my tent and we were ready to go when Pa started to back out and talk about a "backyard camp out". In retrospect, Pa's reasoning was sound--they were calling for a low of 57 degrees that night. The Texan in me, however, thought that 57 degrees in early June sounded heavenly, so I talked Pa into it. Well, let's just say the ground temp is not the same in Ohio as it is in Texas and I FROZE to death!

Pa and Mason tried valiantly to start the fire. The wood was green AND wet, but we were determined! About the time we finished roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, it got going really well =)

Just beyond our campsite was a deep ravine that lead to the lake. The boys, of course, discovered it immediately and went exploring. Miss Kate was not happy about being left behind, so off she and I went! The picture below is fuzzy and you can't really see how deep it is, but let's just say I'm glad Kate and I made it out in one piece!

Kate was definitely the princess of the camp!

After Kate and Grandma went home, the boys had a great time playing with their homemade glow in the dark comets. Pa taught them how to windmill the comets up in the air--no one within a 100 yard radius was safe!!

Once it got dark, the boys, Pa, & I gathered around the campfire for ghost stories. As I was right in the middle of my story, Mason yelled out Look over there! We turned around and saw our nighttime visitor. It was so much fun to watch him, just a few feet from us.

We had a great time in Ohio and it was nice to escape the Texas heat for a week. Next week we're off to Kansas again for some more fun with cousins! I am so glad that my career lets me spend me summers with not only my kids, but my nieces and nephew too!

Mommy didn't cry--much

Today was a big day! Mason is officially a first grader! It was an emotional day for both of us. Although he is totally pumped for summer, he was struggling with the change. I can't say Kindergarten was our best year ever from my perspective, but I think that Mason would say it was a good year.

Look how much he's grown! I love this side-by-side and it will definitely be a tradition.

Mason and some friends walking in as Kindergartners for the last time.

Me, Mason, and Miss Laura. Laura is a dear friend of mine and we have shared the counseling position at our school for the past four years, allowing both of us to work part-time. Unfortunately, with the sad state of education funding in the state of Texas, each campus was cut to only one counselor. Because of seniority, Laura lost her job. The good news is she is still going to be a counselor in the district, the bad news is that I won't have her next year.

My little star in his classroom at the end of the day. I LOVE how diverse our school is...

Mason and Mrs. Varnau. He will certainly miss her this summer and already has plans to write her.

All in all, I think Mason and Mom both learned a lot this year. Hopefully we can use this new knowledge to make 1st grade the best year ever!

Look out summer, here we come!

Old Swampy & Watch DOGS

With Mason's birthday being in July, he has never been able to celebrate his birthday at school. In Kindergarten, they take the last two weeks of the school year to make a big deal out of summer birthdays. When Mason realized this, he started planning his cupcakes =)

I know the time will come when he doesn't want me to make his cupcakes anymore, he'll want me to buy them from a store. I'm pushing for that to wait as long as possible! To help with this, I pulled out my cool cupcake cookbook and had him start flipping through the pages. Once he found Old Swampy, it was all over.

Old Swampy is a cupcake cake shaped like an alligator. The icing looked a bit detailed, but I told him I would give it a try. It actually turned out pretty cute.

Mason in the cafeteria with his cake, complete with birthday crown. You can't see it in the pic, but Mason has a 6 on his crown. When I asked him why he didn't have a 7, he said it was because it was his fake birthday =)

Mason and his buddy Gabriel

In addition to Mason celebrating his birthday, Jacob was a Watch DOGS Dad on the same day. Mason has been waiting for this day all year! Jacob then spent the day working in various classrooms, including Mason's, had lunch and recess with Mason, and just generally spent the day with the kids. We have dads come in all year long. It's a great program--the dads and kids love it.

My two handsome boys =)

Mason also got to be on the announcements--he has been waiting ALL YEAR for this. When Mrs. Benson asked what he liked most about his daddy, Mase said his bald head! And we thought Max was our clown =)

Now on to the planning of the actual birthday celebration--Mario Bros. Wonder what the cake will look like?

Wheels off!!

The training wheels are officially OFF Mason's bike! It wasn't until recently that he even showed any interest in trying to ride without training wheels, so last weekend, Jacob decided to take them off. Mason was trying when our neighbor noticed what was going on. He went to his garage and brought out the "magic" bike. He told Mason that every kid who tried to learn on that bike learned to ride super quick. That was all Mason needed to hear!

Jacob and Mase went out for the second attempt this past Sunday and after about 10 minutes, this is what we saw

He did great! Now we just have to get him off the tiny bike and back on to his =)

A year later...

Our house certainly doesn't still look the way I left the blog! After reading my cousin's blog (thanks, Beth=)) I am determined to give this another shot. It has been almost a year and so much has happened in that year, I really think this is the best way to stay connected. So that being said, in the words of a great 80's band, here I go again!

Mason is just finishing up his first year in public school. He has grown a tremendous amount academically, scoring in the 97th percentile and above on his standardized tests. He's reading really well and, most importantly, likes school. There have been some bumps in the road along the way, but we're dealing with them. I have learned just how hard it is to be a mom and a counselor at the same time, but have had amazing support in the process.

Mason took up karate this spring and loves it! We are taking a break for the summer, but he is excited to start again in the fall. This was the night of his belt testing--he is now a white belt, one stripe =)

Sweet Max is finishing his Pre-K 3 year at Blue Ivey. The staff there continues to be amazing and wonderful! Our sweet, innocent, always compliant little Max has finally come into his own =) His language delay has caught up with him and he is becoming frustrated in the classroom. This was really his first experience in an more academic setting, rather than strictly play. Luckily for Max, and us, he has a great teacher who truly does love him, even on his not so pretty days. Since he is experiencing such frustration in the classroom, we are having him evaluated through our local school district to see about a different program for next year.

We spent Spring Break in Port Aransas, which has quickly become our place of refuge since my mom and dad built their townhome, Tortuga. My boys are definitely beach babies and love their time at Tortuga!

As is the case throughout most of the country, funding for the education system in Texas is going down the tubes. Currently, we have 1.5 counselors at my school, and believe me we need both of us! However, with changes in funding, we are losing the .5 part of our allocation. Fortunately, this means I get to keep my job, but unfortunately, I will have to go back full time and will have to be the sole counselor in a VERY needy school. Even with all that, there is no other school I would rather be working at, and that is because of the amazing staff that I work with!

All in all, my little family is doing well and plugging right along. We are looking forward to summer and can't wait to have two months to play!