Not sure when it happened, but all of a sudden everyone is growing up.
I have turned into a mini Mom. I like to read, sew, and absolutely love to design. On the days Mom lets me pick out my school clothes I make sure to accessorize from head to toe.
According to Mom I'm "10 going on 15".
I am not sure that Mom is ready for what is coming...
Presley has also grown up by leaps and bounds this year. She is moving further away from a toddler and closer to a little girl. She still acts like a sour patch kid from time to time, but school has helped subdue her dark side. It is hard to fathom that someone who looks so sweet can be so naughty...
Nixon, who is now 2 1/2, has outgrown Presley in weight (by 3lbs) and almost in height (2 in). Everyone always asks if they are twins and is shocked when Mom tells them that the two are 18 months apart.
He is the sweetest little boy and is becoming such a gentlemen.
Macie, despite only being 7, thinks and acts like she is 18. Mom tries to keep her attitude in check, but she is as strong-willed as they come. We all know that the teen years are going to be challenging. The good thing is that she has a heart of gold and you always know where you stand with her.
Mom and Dad both express sadness that we are all growing up, but they agree that it is tons of fun now that we can do things as a family; like short rides to the park. Nixon has gotten really stable on his scooter, and Presley is working on riding a bike without training wheels. Mom laughs that she still needs a bike trailer so that she can bring all our gear; balls, waters, food, towels, etc.
While the little ones rode bikes Macie and I built boats (using trash that we found among the rocks) and raced them down the creek.
Or distracted:
It was pretty cute watching Mom's adoring smile as Dad rode Presley around the path. She knows she married an awesome guy and is beyond grateful that he became an even more awesome Dad!
While Dad and Presley were riding Nixon kept himself occupied by throwing rocks in the creek. Mom couldn't believe how long he stood there...
Seeing Presley enjoy bike riding reminded Mom that Nixon was almost ready for a bike of his own. The next morning they took a trip to Walmart and came across a bike for only $40. Both Mom and Nixon were thrilled!
He spent the whole day doing hot laps in the yard:
We were all so proud of Nixon that Presley had to go and learn how to pump on swing that afternoon. just to show him up.
Now that we have revealed how much we are all capable of, Mom and Dad have started to put us to work around the house. Instead of spending $20 on a car wash she spent a few bucks on water balloons and got an afternoon of entertainment...
Now that Nixon can do most things (and do them well) Presley is getting a taste of her own medicine.
We all warned her this day would come, but none of us can help sitting back and laughing.
The best part of washing the cars are the guaranteed popsicles afterwards.
At the beginning of May it was "take your son or daughter to work day." Since Dad was in San Diego working with Pa, Mom decided that we would stay home and go to "work" with her. In the morning she woke us up, made us do our morning chores, and had Macie and I fix and serve breakfast (we worked really hard to put cereal on the table). After packing lunches, cleaning the dishes, and dressing the little ones, we met up with Uncle Will and went down to the new Sea Quest Aquarium.
Since school was technically in session the aquarium wasn't crowded at all and we had most exhibits all to ourselves.
The little kids loved seeing the sea animals, but really enjoyed being able to touch them.
Workers at the Aquarium brought out some interactive animals and we got to spend time with them.
Macie and I really enjoyed the large iguana.
Presley spent every second taunting the poor creature.
She was much more gentle with the snake. Maybe it's because they share some similar characteristics (I say that with love).
Despite Mom's hatred of birds, she took one for the team and joined us in the aviary. It turned out to be be our favorite exhibit by far.
Nixon was both fascinated and enamored by the birds.
He was a little nervous when it was his turn to hold one, but stayed calm and did well.
We left the aviary only for a short time to buy food for the birds. Mom couldn't believe that we wanted to spend all of our time with her least favorite animal.
She later told us that the smiles on our faces were the only reason she endured.
At lunch time we sat in the picnic area and ate the food that Macie and I packed for lunch. Presley and Nixon both gave us two thumbs up!
The heat prevented us from staying outdoors very long, but we did manage to squeeze in a few minutes of playtime.
By the time we wrapped everything up and made it to the car poor Nixon was tired and cranky. He gave Mom the stare down for a few minutes before finally nodding off to sleep.
In the afternoon we helped Mom around the house by watching Presley and Nixon. The two of them are always up to something and can sure be a handful. We both learned that we can't take our eyes off of them for one minute:
By the end of the day both of us were exhausted from our day at "work" with Mom and agreed that we were looking forward to going to school the next day.
Back at school I volunteered to help at the book fair during student council. It turned out helping meant dressing up as Clifford 30 minutes before school and walking through the playground. I was grateful that it wasn't too hot at 8am.
Macie, Presley, Nixon, and Mom all came to watch me walk around in the big red dog suit.
It was hard for Nixon to leave that morning- he wanted to stay with Presley at school. He is ready to run around with the big kids, but Mom isn't ready to for him to grow up.
The rest of the school week flew by without incident.
At the end of the week Mom took them to the Children's Museum to play in the rescue exhibit one last time (it was 3 month a traveling exhibit).
The next week was Teacher Appreciation week at school. Each day the PTO gave us a theme to follow. The first day we brought the teachers a special letter telling them why we appreciate them. Mom helped us make Candy Grams to accompany our greeting cards.
The next day we wore our teachers favorite color:
PINK
RED
PURPLE
I even wore a purple hair extension in my braid!
On the final day we were asked to dress like our teachers favorite movie character.
Mrs.Dawkins likes all the characters from Harry Potter so Macie chose to dress as Hermoine Granger.
Ms.Hughes favorite was a little more difficult. Her choice was Chunk from the Goonies. Mom googled the name and I was mortified at the picture I saw. Using old people clothes she found at a thrift store she tailored them down 100 sizes until they fit.
I am not going to lie. I cried when I put them on that morning. I DID NOT want to wear them out of the house and could not fathom walking through the halls dressed that way.
After a quick pep talk from Mom I composed myself, got dressed and begrudgingly took a few pictures. I was glad that Ms. Hughes appreciated my efforts so much that she framed my picture.
The following week Grandpa Jerry and Cindy flew out from Wisconsin for a visit. Presley and Nixon were so excited to meet their Grandpa. Nixon kept staring and him and laughing!
He stayed at our house for 3 days and we got to spend lots of quality time with him.
With only one month of school left life started to get crazy busy with end of the year projects, parties, etc.. I would say "check back soon", but can't make any promises...
