Found

Paige attends a lot of soccer games but she doesn't necessarily spend a lot of time watching soccer games...here are some pictures I found on my phone after one of Owen's events:)

Party

Owen and Paige went to a friends birthday party recently and had a bunch of fun in the inflatable bounce house they rented. It was raining all morning and hadn't stopped by the time the party started so the hosts told the kids to bring swimsuits and towels and then everyone felt a lot more comfortable getting wet! Paige ended up in the basketball hoop!

Ballet Action

Here are just a couple of action shots from the ballet!

Spring Ballet!

This was Paige's second year participating in her company's spring ballet! The first year she was an elephant and this year she got to be a flamingo and a wooly mammoth! The kids worked really hard and practiced a whole bunch even with all the competitions and other stuff happening so we were all really glad that it was finally time for the performance! They did a great job and even had a bunch of fun backstage while they waited to go on. The ballet was called Frozen in Time and it was about three archaeologists who each find something different to study; gems, animals, and people. I don't know, that was a vague description, you'd have to see it... :)

Flamingo!

Guests for the first show!

More guests for the first show!

The girls found some pirate props and some of them were worried they were real!

Some cricket and flamingo friends!

Audience members for the second show!

Posing with Paige!

Paige and Miley

Paige and Miss Rachel, who was in charge of the whole show!

Celebratory picture on top of a table! Why not?!

One of the moms got this picture backstage during the performance and it's one of my favorites!

Field Day!

The kids' school had a field day last week and got to participate in a whole bunch of crazy activities. I volunteered to help with the 1st graders but Owen went earlier in the day with the older kids. They walk from the school to a local park a little less than a mile away. Then they rotate through a bunch of stations and eventually get popsicles before they head back. I think Owen's favorite station was the junk relay where the kids have to carry a bunch of gym supplies back and forth and hilarity ensues. I helped out at the obstacle course with a friend.

A friend took this picture of Owen for me!

Paige making her way through the obstacle course!

SaveSave

Field Trip!

School is almost over and the kids days are being filled with field trips and treats and fun! They don't ask for many parent volunteers anymore but Paige's teacher still does a good job of getting pictures out to the parents so we can see how their day is going! Paige's class went to the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center last week.

The Sights!

We had more time to sight-see in DC than I thought we would so we covered a lot of ground. Pat's cousin Brian joined us for all of it and definitely helped keep the kids entertained and distracted from the amount of walking they were doing. We saw most of the typical DC sights the first day and made it to one museum-American history the day after the wedding (Mother's Day!). The kids were pretty exhausted from the wedding the day before but made a good effort at the museum!

Coffee stop before we started!

White House

I didn't make a big effort to get the whole Washington Monument in the picture...

Close-up of the Washington Monument

This waterfall is part of a WWII memorial but had a great view of the Lincoln Memorial

There were ducklings everywhere and it was adorable! This was a whole pile of them-sleeping soundly next to the reflecting pool.

The kids and Abe. And some other people

The squirrels would get creepily close so I guess they're used to being fed! Brian was doing his best to get a selfie with this one. 

American History Museum! The kids were both really interested in this exhibit on The USS Philadelphia

In this exhibit you could pretend to be a DJ and scratch (?) the "record." 

Bending wires! Paige went through this one a couple times.

Wedding!

Pat's sister got married!! The kids were both asked to be in the wedding and it was in DC so Pat took off work on Friday and the kids got to miss school for the day so we could travel down and get there for the rehearsal and dinner. The ride down wasn't bad but we soon discovered that Friday traffic in DC is AWFUL. It was super stressful and I'm glad I wasn't driving...thanks Pat! We said hi to Lauren, Dave, and Pat's parents and then we headed to the hotel to change so we could be ready for the rehearsal. The wedding was at Lincoln's cottage so there were a lot of interesting exhibits and information we could peruse while we waited for people to arrive and for everything to get started. Pat was so stressed out from driving and then thrown off by being checked in by security that he (hilariously) told us we could not throw our trash into the trash can because it was government property. After the rehearsal, we headed to a nice Italian place for dinner and got back late enough that we were all exhausted and ready for bed. We did some sight-seeing the next day (more on that later) and then got ready for the wedding. The wedding was beautiful and moving and Paige and Owen did a fantastic job as flower girl and ring bearer. They treated themselves to some well-deserved Shirley Temples from the bar as soon as they were allowed:) The rest of the night was spent eating and dancing (looking at you, Owen) and we were all exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel!

The kids took full advantage of the checker's table at Lincoln's cottage. I wish I knew how old it was!

Rehearsal dinner with Nanny!

The kids played a lot of concentration and got as many people to play as they could!

Ready to leave for the wedding!

These two are adorable!

One of my favorite pictures from the weekend! This statue was right outside the cottage.

More concentration!

Pat with his brother and Dad (father of the bride!)

Shirley Temple for Little Mr. Owen

Upside down but here is LIttle Miss Paige and her placecard

The bride, groom, Owen, and Paige!

Race Day

Owen joined a running club at school called G Team this year, which was overseen by his school's counselor! They met twice a week for 6 or 7 weeks not only to run but also to discuss a book, The One and Only Ivan. They discussed themes of the book and then did a service project where they collected supplies for the homeless. It was such a great experience for him that I wish it had also been available to him last year too. Kids have to wait until 4th grade to participate. The culmination of it all is a 5k the kids all run  (and anyone else, it's open to the public). There's also a 1 mile fun run that Paige signed up for. The weather was pretty gross for the race; rainy and cold, but neither kid even considered not participating that morning. Because of the way the race was configured, Pat and I could only see the start and finish so we had no idea how the kids were progressing. Paige ran the whole way and was third across the finish line! I had been worried about her doing it alone but she had zero problems! Then we waited for Owen. He ended up doing fantastic as well, and came in first in his age group!! He had told us early on that he wanted to win so it was great to see him accomplish his goal. Despite the gross weather and him crossing the finish line pretty early, Owen stayed outside and cheered every single runner across the finish line! So proud of them!

Before

Owen with a couple friends

Paige about to cross the finish line! Look at that strong finish! I might have shed some tears...

Owen about to cross the finish line! Tears, more tears...

After

1st Place

With Mrs Johnson! 

A friend took this group picture while we waited for awards after the race