Splash Day - B Last Day

Brooklyn's last day was celebrated with a lot of water! What better way to say adios to preschool than with a splash day. She had been talking about splash day for two weeks, asking each day and counting down to THE day when she would wear her bathing suit, cover up and FINALLY get to officially wear flip flops to school. I was able to stay the whole time, help and snap away at all the shrieks, giggles and just plain preschool fun. I think I had more fun watching the kids and especially more fun watching my happy girl LOVE everything about this day.

Packing her last lunch of her preschool years - along with my notes that even though she can't read yet she knows they will be in her lunch and that her mama sends her love in the middle of the day!

her little scrunched up smile is my favorite!

finishing her final touches on her picture of her and one of her teachers for their end of year card - it feels like just the other day when Kennedy was writing and drawing these!

madeline, noelle, b, grace & lucy

these girls were together AGAIN this year - sweet girls!

1st run down the water slide

sweet friend Avery

first it's hold hands down the water slide, next it will be going to the bathroom together to gossip -

they grow up too fast!

b & lucy

b, lucy & addison

the girls got creative and decided to paint the ball with shaving cream

the artist herself

last big jump of her 4's Pre-K splash day

one last look in the window we walked by each morning and each afternoon

HELLO! Kindergarten

Gone Picking!

Check blueberry picking off the summer list and it's by far a FAV still! We headed out bright and early a few Saturdays ago to beat the heat and beat the crowd. We managed both and came home with 10.5 pounds of blueberries. They are dissapearing way to quickly now as they have found their way into quite a few smoothies, in muffins, pancakes, or JUST plain. Kennedy and I promise to make a blueberry cobbler before we run out though this year for sure.

It was funny to watch the kids as this has become a tradition at the beginning of every summer. The girls are getting GOOD and pick away. Carter only dumped his bucket once and then found that playing in the dirt was WAY more fun and that a stick can become an awesome sword for those "dangerous" blueberry bushes. And after eating handful after handful last year, he wouldn't touch the things this year?? Kennedy I think beat me or came close to picking the same amount, CAST and all. I am telling you besides that little thing called H2O, nothing has stood in this girls' way this time.

The girls could't wait to get home, make a smoothie and some homeade popsicles (our favorite RECIPE from last summer) and check this one off of our summer 2012 poster. Check Check...

cast and all this girl could work it!

Carter's blueberries that found their way on the ground...he preferred dumping the blueberries from one bucket to the other - way more fun that way!

my cute little picker who debuted her "summer haircut" - another post but I think I was

still trying to digest what we did!

Tim is all business at picking the blueberries. He calls us over when he

finds a "GOOD" blueberry bush.

 

 

you never know what you might find at the blueberry farm so it's a good thing we had Carter and his weapon of choice with us! ALL boy!

 

best part after some hard work - "owange" snow cone

From This to That - Part 2

THIS felt like just the other day...except it happened all over again with FOUR slight differences!

1. She fractured her left forearm (before it was her right hand)

2. This cast goes all the way up to her upperarm instead of to her forearm

3. This cast is purple with sparkles instead of hot pink

4. Her daddy is to blame for this break instead of her bike :-(

The day before she ran her first 5K...she then practiced that night (Monday, May 21st) her first time with her new competitive soccer team and was so excited and LOVED it. She made it through those two physical things. BUT it was when she got home that the adventure stopped. Tim had met me at the fields towards the end of the long and hot practice so I could take my red faced sweaty younger two home to start dinner and baths. She walked in flushed face while the younger monkeys ran out in the jammies and wet hair while I was finishing up dinner on the stove. She was heading to the shower when I heard laughs and screams coming from our bed that signaled the start of a game they play where Tim gets Carter and the girls try to save him. Kennedy couldn't pass up this game and stopped on her way to the bathroom to join in and like any big sister save her little brother. She went to tickle Tim and as she did he leaned back knocking her over and pinning her left arm under the full weight of his body.

As I stood in the kitchen flipping the fish I heard the shrieks go from laughing to screaming and heard the first words of, "oh my gosh daddy, I heard a crack." My mommy instict knew just looking at her face that it wasn't good. Deep down I knew she was trying to be tough and brave but was in so much pain judging by her now pale face. She held her arm/elbow in a way that only meant we were on our way to get an x-ray.

So we grabbed the frozen peas and my purse and headed to the urgent care all the while praying we would have a doctor with wisdom so we would have a better situation than last time. I also told her there was some unwritten rule that once you broke both arms/hands you were DONE. She just kept saying I can't have broken it, I have this and that and swimming...her little mind was racing. She had calmed down by the time we reached the place and was so patient and brave as we waited, filled out information and then finally got some x-rays done. She had fractured the bone on her forearm right below her elbow. Thankfully the doctor we got was the head doctor of their 5 locations and owner of the business. We had put in a call to the babysitter who thankfully was around and ran over so that Tim could join us after putting the kids to bed.

She was in good spirits despite knowing she would have a cast and miss the first summer swimming and everything that comes along with this time of year. My heart broke for her as a mama who had envisioned her growing up little girl throwing caution to the wind and running into summer literally jumping in the pool following her last day of school with water balloons and basically washing away some of the parts that came with this harder year of school.

waiting for the doctor to come in with the splint

 

we had to wait until Wednesday to get her into the orthopedic doctor to make sure the swelling went down. As soon as we did the doctor walked in and asked what color cast she wanted.

pretty big smile for a girl who just got a massive cast on - love you!

Good news is the doctor told her it should hopefully just be 4 weeks. UPDATE we went this past Wednesday, June 6th and he said two more weeks! She quickly calculated in her head that that was the Wednesday right before her cousin Aubrey gets to town and did a happy dance - the girl can still dance cast and all. I do have to say that she has surprised me completely this time. Her determination to continue to do as much for herself as she can is WAY different this time around. Two years age makes a huge difference. She figured out real quickly she could only wear running shorts. She was making her bed by day 2 all by herself. And went right back to helping her little brother and sister wherever she could. The only thing she misses is getting Carter out of his crib - those two have a special bond and it showed as soon as Kennedy walked in the house with her new bright purple glitter cast - Carter looks at her and says, "I like your new sprinkles Kennedy!"

 

Her cousin Aubrey drew her the sweetest picture to tell her to feel better soon - the scanned it and emailed it so I was able to print it out. It brought an immediate smile to K's face!

So if you can't get ahold of us in two weeks, no worries we will be in the pool!