Kickoff to Summer Vacation

Today officially ended our first week of summer vacation, and we have absolutely squeezed every drop of fun possible out of it!  Here's a run-down:

Friday:  We took it easy at home just enjoying not having to rush out the door for school.  Watched cartoons and pretended it was Saturday.  In the afternoon, we played with Carter and Julia down the street.  Then we drove to Oak Ridge for a playdate with Samantha, Lauren, Anna, Hudson, and baby James.  We used to get together with this group regularly when Jackson was much younger, but now it's only a few times a year that we all happen to not be busy at the same time!  It was great to sit around and catch up with the other parents while our kids played in the sprinklers and dug in the dirt.

Saturday:  We were at church ALL DAY for 6-month planning meetings and working on our new space.  Jackson and Selah were such troopers!  Selah finally fell asleep on my shoulder (way past her naptime) and I laid her on the rug in the middle of the kids' church room.  She slept soundly there while Jason and I assembled a couch from IKEA.  I wish I had a picture.  One day I'm going to assemble pictures like this for a "Life of a PK" post.

Sunday:  church in the morning.  Jackson friend ended up spending the night with us after he informed his mom that he would rather spend the night at Jackson's house than go with them to Carowinds the next day!  His dad is the student pastor at our church and they were taking the teenagers on a trip there.  (Jentezen actually made a great choice because I think he, being 4, would have been miserable at Carowinds all day in the 90+ degree temperatures!)

Monday:  After Jason performed a magic act squeezing Jentezen's carseat between the other two in his car, I took the 3 kids to the Greensboro Children's Museum.  They had a great time playing and pretending.  In the afternoon they watched a movie and popped popcorn.  They acted like brothers all day.  It was so funny to see them hugging one minute and then mad at each other over something trivial the next. 

Tuesday:  We have been trying to beat the heat this week and go for a run or bike ride around 10am before the mercury hits 90.  Tuesday and Thursday I ran with Selah in the jogging stroller while Jackson rode his bike.  He has lost a little of his determination to persevere on the hills so I'm lucky to get 2 miles done.  Wednesday I actually biked with him mostly because Selah was asking for a "bi ri".  Tuesday afternoon we went to the library, and Jackson used his own library card for the first time.  He was SO proud of himself and only slightly disappointed that he could only check out two items his first time.  I assured him that next time he could check them all out.

Wednesday:  The kids spent the day playing together while I cleaned house and prepared for my small group.

Thursday:  In the mornings when we get back from our run/bike ride we've been spending some time in the garage coloring with sidewalk chalk and painting the cement with water.  It amazes me that Selah likes to color so much because Jackson only slightly warmed up to it by the time he turned three.  She really loves sidewalk chalk, color wonder markers (and real markers when mommy's not looking), and the AquaDoodle mat.  I have been practicing shapes and counting with her.  She can now count to 10 and identify 8 shapes!  She surprised me with how easily she learned the shapes.  Because her personality is so different than Jackson's (as I've said before, she's more like a cat) I had thought her lack of response to my "teaching" moments was because she didn't understand what I was doing or wasn't ready for it.  Then one day she casually revealed that she knew it all.  It's almost like she rolled her not-yet-2-year-old eyes and said "duh, mom, it's a crescent, everybody know that."  Oh, excuse me. 

In the afternoon we went to Wet n Wild Water Park and purchased season passes.  I let the kids play for about and hour and a half.  They loved it!  Selah is such a daredevil and amazes me at her courage in water and on slides.  I rarely let go of her hand while we were there.  Jackson was totally psyched about the season pass.  He can't wait for Jason to be able to go with us so he can do the bigger slides.

After Wet n Wild we went to Tae Kwon Do and Party on the Plank.  When he went to bed he declared that today was "a to infinity and beyond fun day!"  I'd say that says it all!

Big Day!

Yesterday was a huge day in our house!

First, it was Jackson's last day of pre-K.  I had been looking forward to this day for a while!  I am really excited about having both of my kids at home together for the summer.  We made a paper chain and hung it from the doorframe in our kitchen to count down the days til the end of school.  We took a link off the chain every day when he came home from school until finally we were down the one last link!!

As I waited in line to pick him up, I was surprised to find that my excitment was mixed with a little sadness.  Partly because I didn't feel like I had any closure with his teachers and friends at school.  I have really gotten to know them through my weekly volunteering.  I'm so glad that Jackson will be in Ms. McCoy and Mrs. Welborn's class again next year!

But part of my sadness was that very familiar sad-mixed-with-happy feeling that I get each time one of my kids hits an important milestone;  they're growing up.  I was trying to tell Jackson about this feeling, and he asked very innocently, "Why are you sad that I'm growing up?"  Good question.  I don't know why it's sad.  I guess I just love each stage they go through so much that I miss it when it's gone.  Good thing there's plenty to look forward to!  It didn't help my emotional state when Jackson climbed in the car with a very sad look on his face and through tears announced that his best friend in school was moving to a different school next year.  He was heartbroken.  That was all the excuse I needed to let my tears come, too.  I just hugged him and told him that I would try to see if they could play together this summer. 

We both started feeling better on the way home.  Then Jackson really cheered up when he found a special "you just finished pre-K" present waiting on him at home: a Leapster!  (you know me...it was purchased at a consignment sale)  He wanted to start playing it immediately, and I've already had to put some limits on his time with it!  I'm so glad he loves it!  =)

After some outside playtime and a special last-day-of-school-is-a-great-excuse-for-ice-cream-cake snack, it was time to get ready for Tae Kwon Do.  Jackson was testing for his yellow belt.  Well, it wasn't a true yellow belt.  He won't start getting solid-color "real" belts until he moves out of the Little Dragons class, which I think happens when he turns 6.  But it was real enough for Jackson!  He had to demonstrate all his blocks, kicks, and punches as well as perform two different combinations of skills.  I was so proud of him!  He really seems to like Tae Kwon Do and I think it has added some tenacity to his personality. 

Yellow belt around his waist, we jumped in the car, changed his clothes, ran through the Subway drive-thru and were off to Party on the Plank, High Point's version of Live After Five.  This is the Party's first year, and our church volunteered to host the kids' play area for the first 3 weeks.  So, although mommy and daddy were working, Jackson and Selah couldn't have been happier to tag along since that meant 2 hours of playtime on an inflatable slide and bounce house.  Side note:  I was holding Selah while policing the end of the inflatable slide.  After every person slid she would announce "Selah's turn!"  Before the end of the night I did take her down the slide 3 times.  She loved it!

Finally we put our exhausted, sweaty kids in the car and headed home.  When I was putting Jackson to bed he thanked me for all his special surprises and declared it a great day!  It makes it so easy to give him special treats when he's so thankful for them.  Even today when he was eating another slice of ice-cream cake he said, "Mom, thank you for making this ice-cream cake.  I know it took you a lot of work!"  Worth it, buddy! 

Let summer break begin!