Preschool Graduation

About 3 weeks ago Owen graduated from preschool.  He has attended this school since he was 2 years old, so it was bittersweet to watch him graduate and move on.  His graduation day was also his last day at the school and for the past 2 weeks he has gone to Summer Camp (where the big kids go).  But more on that in a later post.

Leo and Owen

The Bears Class

The graduation was really cute with a performance by the kids, diplomas, each child announcing what they want to be when the grow up, and a reception.

Start of the ceremony

A cute performance

Owen receiving his diploma from Ms. Jo

"When I grow up I want to be a baseball player."

Owen & Ryder

Owen is registered to start Kindergarten in August at the local public Montessori school.  Although it's hard to believe he's old enough to start school, I'm really excited to watch him school.

Great Weekend

We had an amazing weekend last weekend, celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary AND Mother's Day!  On Saturday night we left the kids with a babysitter and went to Tahoe for dinner and a concert.  Sunday was the perfect day......breakfast in bed, bike ride to a bakery for lunch, bike ride to a park, date with Owen to see the movie Chimpanzee, and sweet dinner at home.  Micah even did the meal planning and grocery shopping for the week.  I was completely spoiled!

So, this first picture has a story behind it.  Adler is doing one of her favorite things here......rubbing my mole.  That's right. she has become obsessed with the moles on my neck and even claims them to be her own.  Whenever she's sleepy, or sad, or cuddly, she's almost always stroking my neck, and more specifically my moles. Sometimes when she gets really mad, she reaches for me screaming, "MOLE!  Me want mole!"  Who needs a security blankie, when you can have mommy's moles, right??  It's a little strange (ok, really strange), but maybe she'll become a dermatologist one day!  And I'm glad Micah caught this photo, because I'm sure she won't do this forever.

Washing each other's feet and teeth.

Snuggling on Mother's Day morning

Mmmm....delicious breakfast in bed!!

At Tahoe for our anniversary date!

Baseball is Life

Life seems to be passing before our eyes lately, filled with energetic kids, work, and t-ball.  Micah is doing an amazing job coaching Owen's t-ball team and has displayed some organizational skills I never knew he had....and I've known him for almost 20 years now!!  He emails all the player's parents once a week, reminding them of upcoming games and the snack schedule (yes, Micah created a snack schedule).  He also created a spreadsheet for every game, listing all the players and what positions they will play during each inning, making sure each child plays every position, keeping it very fair.  And he's enjoying it so much, he just volunteered to coach Owen's soccer team this fall.  I'm so proud.

GO RANGERS!!!

Adler loves hanging out at the baseball fields.  She's also pretty good at hitting off the T.  Here she is having an after-game snack on first base.

On another note, I've been enjoying my new road bike, and this is a shot I took during a lunch-time ride.  Only in Nevada will you come upon wild horses crossing the street.  I absolutely loved watching them.

Reno Aces Game

Last weekend was Carson City Little League Day at the Reno Aces Game and Owen's entire T-Ball team attended together.  They got to parade around the field before the start of the game and listen to "Chalk Talk" with the coaches and team.  

The highlight of the game?  In between one of the innings, Owen and two of his buddies were chosen to have a race around the bases, dressed as mustard, ketchup, and a hot dog!  It was the cutest thing ever!  They were supposed to only run from 1st base to 2nd base and stop at 3rd......but they kept going all the way to home.  You'll see Owen get s a late start, but makes up for it in the end!

This photo was posted on the Reno newspaper website.

Walking out on the field for their race!

Owen, Ryder & Ethan

Ethan & Owen



foot-long corn dog!

Owen's team waiting to go out on the field.

It was a great day, with gorgeous weather and baseball fun!

Bodega Bay

Last weekend we went camping on the coast with our good friends Brenda, JP and Ryder.  It turned out to be a nice mini-vacation and good for us to get outdoors after a long winter.

The kids get special treats when we're camping......sugary cereal and donuts.....things that are not allowed at home!

This little girl wasn't afraid of getting dirty!

Adler taking a tub-bath at our campsite.

Owen and Ryder digging in the sand.  They had a blast searching for beach critters all weekend.

Two tall ships were visiting Bodega Bay that weekend, taking people on rides.  We had the pleasure of watching them sail by several times a day.  This ship was actually in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies!

Daddy's Girl!

This is not our tent, but it was the view from our campsite.

Canoeing in the Bay.

The Easter Bunny came all the way to Bodega Bay to hide eggs for the kids.  They were hidden really well in the plants and shrubs around our campsite!

The kiddos stole the washer boards from us.

Pure joy running on the beach.

The kids found a deep trench that was perfect for hiding in, rolling down, jumping in, and getting filthy.

DIRTY.

Yes, she did take a shower after this!

Micah took the boys crabbing several times and this was the highlight of the trip.  Check out all the tiny crabs they captured (and later released).

This trip was an early birthday celebration for Micah, who turned 35 last week!  I just love this photo of my family!

Take me out to the ball game.....

Owen is officially a T-Ball player, and has the best coach in town, Coach Micah (or Coach Daddy, as Owen calls him).  They've been practicing for a few weeks and had their first game last night in 34 degree weather and a snow storm.  I thought for sure the game would be cancelled, but not in Nevada.  The game went on!

Owen playing second base.

It was freezing cold and total chaos.  Adler screamed the entire time and Micah's co-coach was missing.  By the end of the game half the kids refused to play and were crying themselves.  I could hardly blame them.  I'm hoping for better weather for all our future games!

The Rangers trying to stay warm in the dug out.

Owen batting in the snow

He was freezing, but a really good sport!

Opening ceremonies were last weekend in the middle of a wind storm.  You just never know what "spring" weather in Nevada is going to bring.

Ryder, Owen, Ethan, and David

The Rangers

Having fun on picture day!

Coach Steve and Coach Micah with the crazy team!