An Interview With Alex

What's your name?
Alex
How old are you?
7 1/2
Where do you live?
Jones Circle
Who do you like to play with?
My friends.

Like who?
Everyone in the circle. Like Elle, Kelton, Brooke- everyone in the circle.
What is your favorite food?
CHEESE PIZZA and grilled cheese!
What is your favorite drink?
Orange Juice
What is your favorite snack?
um...goldfish.
What is your favorite toy?
*shrugs shoulders* I just like playing with my friends.
What is your favorite TV show?
Chowder and Phineas and Ferb
What is your favorite game?
I don't know.
What is your favorite book?
Geronimo Stilton
What is your favorite restaurant?
The Amazing Pizza Machine
What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas
What is your favorite animal?
Rats and Monkeys

If you could change your name what would you change it to?
Nothing. I would keep it Alex.
What do you love about each person in your family? Like what do you love most about daddy?
He makes me laugh.

What do you love most about Josh?
Everything! He likes being crazy!
What do you love most about Zach?
Everything! He likes being crazy!
What do you love most about mommy?
You scratch my back.
What do you love most about yourself?
EVERYTHING!!!
Where do you want to go on vacation this year?
To Hawaii!
What are some wishes for this year?
Um...Summer Break! And that dad doesn't have to go to work. I want to spend some more time with him. I wish for a thousand hundred million dollars.
Thanks for letting me interview you Alex.
Good Bye!

Pumpkin Math and Science Day

This morning I had the pleasure of helping out at the boys school for Math and Science Pumpkin Day! They had been talking excitedly about this all week!!
And I have to say- It was a BLAST! However it made me miss teaching all the more! *sigh* Anyway...All 4 first grade classrooms got together to do fun math and science activities using pumpkins! There were 8 stations that the kids rotated through.Which thrilled me because I got to work with all my boys and didn't have to choose whose classroom I was going to help in. I hate when that happens! I'm too much of a fairness monitor, I guess.
We had lots of fun!! They did lots of fun things like a sink/float activity, estimation pumpkin seeds, weighing pumpkins, sorting candy, etc. It was very well organized and their teachers did a fantastic job putting it all together! You could tell they worked very hard. We are lucky to be at such a great school!!

And in case you are wondering why everyone (except a few- like Mr. Orange Josh) is wearing red- it was red ribbon week at school. Each day they had to dress a certain way. One day was pajama day, one day was favortie sports team shirt/jersey, etc. Today was wear red day.

Summer Fun

School has let out for the summer and we have had a blast so far! WOOO HOOO! I have been meaning to blog about what we have been up to each time we have done something fun, but somehow time is getting away from me and if I don't start blogging about something soon summer will be over!

Last day of kindergarten

So school let out just before Memorial day. I had a little bit of a hard time with it. Not because my boys will be home all the time now- I am really looking forward to spending time with them! I had mixed feelings because Kindergarten was over. They are no longer little kids. They grew up right before my eyes. I went from praying to make it through the day to praying that time will SLOW DOWN now. They are so much fun!! I really do cherish every moment with them.

OK, back to the last day of school- we decided to celebrate by going out to lunch with Matt and then we went to Build-A-Bear workshop. Alex had been begging to go for awhile and so I decided now was a good time as any to go. I had no idea how involved this process was. It wasn't just a pick a teddy bear and stuff him. It was much more involved.
They had to warm this little heart they stuffed inside the bear. They "bathed" them. They dressed them. We got birth certificates. I have to admit it was kind of cool. I would have totally been into this if I was their age!
Our summer was officially off to a great start!!

Another day I took the boys to paint pottery. Each kid chose something different to paint. Zach chose to paint a mug in stripes. Josh painted a rainbow scene on a plate. And Alex chose a car box to keep his special treasures in.
It was fun. I do have to admit I had a hard time keeping my mouth shut- telling them what colors to paint where, what would look best, etc. But I did. After all- it is their art not mine!

We have been judo weekly. They are LOVING it!! Especially now that they have their uniforms.
Look out everyone- they think they are professionals now! In the picture its Josh, Alex and Zach- just in case you were wondering.

This week they have been doing tennis. I love this tennis camp that we do. We did it last year too. The coaches do a really great job teaching the kids AND making it fun!! Everyone smiles and laughs the whole time. As do I- as I get to hang out with some of my friends too!!
Alex has another wiggly tooth (number 2) and every time I look at him lately- no matter what he is doing- he has his hand in his mouth wiggling it away! :)

They also started their art classes. Zach and Josh are doing a general art class. **BRAG ALERT** I was sitting out in the hall waiting for their class to finish up and their teacher came out and told me how GIFTED they are in art!! Not that I didn't know this- they are REALLY creative. Zach tells everyone he wants to be an artist when he grows up- but it is nice to hear from an art teacher that they are gifted!!

Alex, of course, wanted NOTHING to do with that type of art- so he is taking drum lessons. Not sure that was the wisest parenting decision but he LOVES it!! That's all that matters right?

Today we went bowling. I think everyone had fun. Josh and Zach got a tad jealous that Alex got a spare and they didn't but that's ok. It's not like they will never get one themselves! They have in the past they will do it again I am sure!
As you can see we are having a blast! And this doesn't include all the playing with the neighborhood kids (or other various play dates)! Have I mentioned lately how much I love our new neighborhood? I really do. The kids get along so great and have so much fun! It's heaven!! I think this may just be the best summer yet!

Fishing!

Yesterday my step-dad, Ralph, took Matt and the boys out fishing. The boys had never done it before and were quite excited about it!


They had a great time!! They each caught several fish. Matt caught the biggest fish of the day. And the other excitement I heard about was how they each got to stick their finger inside a catfish's mouth.


Thanks to Matt for taking all the pictures for me! Looks like an awesome afternoon!

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

IT"S A MIRACLE!!

ALEX LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH!! He is beyond excited!!

He lost it at school and brought it home in an envelope to put under his pillow for the tooth fairy!!
Very exciting day around here! He is no longer the only one who hasn't lost a tooth! :)

Mother's Day Interviews

For Mother's day the boys were interviewed about me at school! Then the interview was written up in a story format. It was really sweet. I decided to type them up to share. Here are their interviews.

JOSH:

My mom is the most wonderful mom in the world! My mom's name is Katrina. My mom has brown hair and blue eyes. She is 2 feet tall and weighs 100 pounds. My mom's favorite food is shrimp.

My mom is happy when I give her stuff, but I know she is really angry when I kick her.

My mom's favorite TV show is Days of our Lives. My mom is smart. She knows all about eating food.

If my mom would have one wish come true, it would be to have lots of money. I love my mom because I love her.

ALEX:

My mom is the most wonderful mom in the world! My mom's name is Katrina. My mom has brown hair and blue eyes. She is 100 feet tall and weighs 70 pounds. My mom's favorite food is turkey.

My mom is happy when I love her, but I know she is really angry when I punch her.

My mom's favorite TV show is Days of our Lives. My mom is smart. She knows all about reading.

If my mom would have one wish come true, it would be to have me around always. I love my mom because she is sweet like candy.

ZACH:

My mom is the most wonderful mom in the world! My mom's name is Katrina. My mom has brown hair and blue eyes. She is 5 feet tall and weighs 60 pounds. My mom's favorite food is soup.

My mom is happy when I hug her, but I know she is really angry when I'm mean.

My mom's favorite TV show is Days of our Lives. My mom is smart. She knows all about school.

If my mom would have one wish come true, it would be to have lots of books. I love my mom because she reads to me.

I love these interviews!! Something I will cherish always!

Music Program

Tuesday evening was the boys music program at their school. It was really cute. Then again a room full of kindergartners singing their hearts out, how could that NOT be cute!

The program lasted about a half hour with the kids singing about 20 songs. They were all nursery rhymes. You could tell that they all worked very hard!

My kids were completely different when they were performing. Alex seemed bored by it all. He yawned a lot throughout the program.

Zach took it all very seriously. He seemed to be concentrating on making sure hand motions were to perfection.

Josh seemed to enjoy it. Not that he was totally into it, but he seemed to like it a little bit.

After the program we got a picture with their awesome teachers.
Then continued to celebrate their awesome performance by going out for ice cream!
It was the perfect way to end the night!

Hi-ya!

So the boys started taking Judo last night. And yes I now know that in Judo there's is no yelling of Hi-ya! I am no martial arts expert. That is for sure! But I did learn that much.

The boys watched Karate Kid awhile ago and have been begging to take karate ever since. Do you know how hard it is to find a karate class that is just once a week for 6-8 weeks AND doesn't break the bank?!?!?! Kind of hard let me tell you. Most martial arts places want a 2-3 times a week commitment. Which if this is the boys passion then fine, but who knows if it is! They have never tried it before! I just wanted some class to give them a little taste of some form of martial arts. And luckily I found one at the local community center! WOOT!!! And what is better they have several different kinds of martial arts available. Super excited. The boys have already planned their next class after this one.

Tonight the boys started out with learning about respect and bowing both when they get on and off of the mat. Oh and to clarify who is who- Alex is in blue, Josh is in neon green and Zach is in gray.

Then they started stretching...
It's funny to watch kids stretch. They take it very seriously and do it wrong most of the time. They did some push ups. Ten to be exact and the instructor would count in Japanese while doing them...

Look at the little boy by Zach. Just laying there. Who could blame him? That is exactly what I would have wanted to do!! I HATE push ups!! I know they are great for you but I HATE push ups!! Anyway that kid cracked me up all night. He definitely had a mind of his own!

The next thing they learned was how to fall.

To me it looked like a fancy somersault where you keep your head up and slap the mat. Again I am no martial arts expert. The Sensei (is that what they call the instructor in Judo) went into GREAT detail with everything they did. He would go on and on and on about things going off on tangents. Matt said it is necessary because when they take their test they need to know the whys too. I was in information overload. The instructor was very thorough!

After somersaulting...I mean learning how to fall, they went into their first move. Something about sweeping their leg behind their opponent and making him/her fall backwards. The boys loved that!

A boy named Edward (who cracked me up the whole time- he was NOT amused and looked completely bored the whole class) got to show the boys how to do it. So he got to knock them all down. You would think that would make him smile. Nope he was all ho hum about it. Like he does this all the time.
And then the table turned and the boys got to knock Edward down...
My boys were all smiles. Edward was still not amused. They did this for just over an hour and loved every minute of it!! They can't wait to do it again. They are counting the days until next Tuesday!! And I am so glad that we found this class because the boys are already asking to do other things too. They love Judo but seem to want to do it all!

FYI The Judo instructor is called a Kyoshi. Matt googled it for me. :)

The Reading Begins!!!

I love reading! That is clearly not a secret! I have my masters in Reading. So it does my heart good to see my boys learn to read....and enjoy it!!!

Reading comes easy to Josh and Zach. They are now teaching stuffed animals to read. It has been heartwarming and fun to watch!

With Alex- he can do it, it just doesn't come as easy to him. He compares himself to his brothers and has the "I can't do it!" attitude. Lately, Alex started to say he doesn't like books and that he couldn't read. We even had a meltdown in a used bookstore about it and it broke my heart. I knew I needed to fix that IMMEDIATELY!! We went to Barnes and Nobel and bought a ton of books on his level and his attitude completely changed!! Whew! He is now telling EVERYONE "I can read now!" and is reading to anyone who will listen!! He has even made a few phone calls to let people know he can read. :) It's awesome!

Needless to say I am a proud mama!

An Interview with Alex

What's your name?
Alex
How old are you?
6 1/2
Where do you live?
Elkhorn
Who do you like to play with?
Brooke and Brody.
What is your favorite food?
Cheese Pizza
What is your favorite drink?
Apple Juice
What is your favorite snack?
um...its...um...candy.
What is your favorite toy?
My Batman toys.
What is your favorite TV show?
Johnny Test.
What is your favorite game?
I don't like any games.
What is your favorite book?
I don't really like books.
What is your favorite restaurant?
Can I tell you a couple of restaurants?
Sure.
Ok...Dave and Busters, Pizza Machine, Little Caesars and that's it.
What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas
What is your favorite animal?
Monkeys.

If you could change your name what would you change it to?
Batman
What do you love about each person in your family? Like what do you love most about daddy?
He tickles me a lot.
What do you love most about Zach?
He plays with me.
What do you love most about Josh?
He plays with me.
What do you love most about mommy?
You snuggle with me.

What do you love most about yourself?
Just being me.
Where do you want to go on vacation this year?
To Minnesota.
What are some wishes for this year?
Go on an airplane to Arizona. And go to Uncle Andy and Aunt Marcie's.
Thanks for letting me interview you Alex.
Bye! Bye! Love you!

My New Love

I may have mentioned my new love before- but if you have forgotten-it's my new washer and drier. One may even call me a little obsessed.....I never knew you could love an appliance like this. I consider them part of the family now. They are the clean and quiet members. :)

And my love seems to be a little contagious! The other day I walked past the laundry room to see Alex just staring at the drier, watching the clothes go round and round. It made me laugh out loud- so I snapped a picture. He cracks me up!

100th Day of School

Today the boys celebrated the 100th day of school. It was quite exciting for all!

The boys had a homework assignment of putting 100 somethings on a t-shirt. After much discussion, Alex decided to do safety pins....

Josh did googlie eyes...

and so did Zach.

I think they turned out cute!

The boys said they did lots of fun things at school to celebrate....like having a parade through the school to show off their awesome T-shirts, doing the chicken dance for 100 seconds, making a necklace with 100 Fruit Loops, finger stamping 100 times and writing 100 words. It sounded like they had an AWESOME day!!

Holiday Program

Friday was the boys holiday program at their elementary school and I was happy to attend this awesome event!! Unfortunately, Zach was sick with a bad cough. Matt stayed home with him and I got to see Alex and Josh preform what they have been working so hard on. Grandma and Granddad were able to make it too!

Josh spotted me in the audience right away. He is in the red sweater.

Alex did not find us. That's ok though he knew we were coming. Top row- striped shirt.

They sang two songs and recited a poem. I am NOT good at filming these things. In fact, it took me a little bit to figure out how to record them at all. In my defense, I did get a new camera and just assumed I could figure it out. Which I did- just not fast enough. Anyway- enough excuses- their cuteness speaks for itself. Watch and enjoy! Oh and Alex is on the left and Josh is on the right.

Their snowman poem:

Jingle Bell Rock: