We are so proud....

I know it's been a while since I've updated, but it always seems like we are so busy. I just can't seem to find the time. AJ and Ashleigh's last day of school was on Wednesday. I don't know who was more excited, AJ and Ashleigh or Rick and I. We all love the summer time. Here are a few pictures the morning of the last day of school. Can you tell they are excited?

During the last day of school, the school held an awards ceremony. AJ was so excited because he knew that he would be getting his "Monkey Award"! Let me explain...... A few months ago, when Rick and I had a parent/teacher conference with AJ's teacher, she mentioned that they would be working on their times tables and that she tries to make a contest out of it, so it will appear to be fun for the kids while they learn at the same time. Each children was created into a monkey and they would swing from the trees of the times tables they mastered. Each tree represented a number from 1 to 12. On the day of the times tables test, each child had 3 minutes to complete the times tables. They started with 1's and went all the way up to 12. For every times tables they completed, the children were able to move up a tree. AJ mentioned, at the very beginning, he wanted to win the contest so he could be the times tables master. So, Rick and I had him practice, practice, practice everyday. He would get so mad somedays, but the end result paid off. You are now looking at the 2010 3rd Grader Monkey Award Winner. AJ was so happy and we are so proud of him. Way to go, AJ!

Ashleigh has been busy too. We have been trying since last summer to get Ashleigh to ride her bike without training wheels. She would pitch a fit almost everytime and cry and whine because she was always so afraid she was going to fall. Finally, Rick and I gave up and decided she would learn when she was ready. A couple of weeks ago, she decided she liked riding bikes and would ask to ride her bike everyday. After a couple of days of riding, Rick bent her training wheels a little so she could learn to balance better. Together as a family, we would go on bike rides in the evening and Rick and I realized that for the most part, Ashleigh was not even using her training wheels. The training wheels were there, but because they were bent a little, Ashleigh was able to balance on her own. So, last Sunday, Rick and I asked Ashleigh if she wanted to try riding without the training wheels. At first, she said No! And then she changed her mind. I think it only took a couple of times before she got the concept and she hasn't stopped since. Here are some pictures. I think the smile on her face says it all! Here is a video of her first two wheeler bike ride. We are so proud of Ashleigh. She's such a big girl!

Hope everyone is having a good start to the summer. I know we are!

Beach Days are here again....

It's not very often in Chicago that the temperatures reach 80 plus degrees in April, but when it did, we had to get out and celebrate. We had a picnic at the beach on Wednesday and Thursday.

AJ & Ashleigh are always so excited to spend time at the beach.

We had a great time playing at the park and kicking the soccer ball around.

The beach at this time of the year is pretty much deserted, so the kids could run

anywhere they wanted along the beach front. Chasing the seagulls, picking

up sea shells or chasing each other around. They always have a great time!

I can't wait until summer time when we can spend the weekends at the beach!

On the second night down at the beach, Diamond got the enjoy the beach too.

She loves to splash through the water. She never seems to get tired!

It's just too bad the warm weather did not last. Today, the temperature did not get out of the 50s with some rain. Hopefully, the warm weather will be back soon, so that we can enjoy more time outdoors.

A little Mommy/Daughter time

I have been wanting to take Ashleigh on a little Mommy/Daughter outing for awhile now, but hadn't quite figured out what I wanted to do, when Rick suggested taking her with me to get our nails done togehter. Now everyone knows how Ashleigh loves to have her nails painted, however, during school she is not allowed to have her fingernails painted. It is against school policy. Well, since this coming week is Spring Break, what a perfect time to do Mommy/Daughter time. I did not tell Ashleigh where we were going, only that she had to be a big girl or she would not be able to go again. Once, she realized what was going on, I don't think her smile left her face the entire afternoon. When we got to the nail salon, an older lady took Ashleigh with her to pick out her color and of course she picked pink. I sat down to get my nails done and Ashleigh sat down to get hers done. She was amazing. She sat completely still and was mesmerized, by the whole process. This is her right after the lady finished painting her nails. She sat underneath the dryer and allowed the nails to be completely dry. I think every couple of minutes, she had to take her hands out from underneath the dryer just to take a look.

She was so proud. Ashleigh could not wait to get home to show Daddy her nails. I promised her that I would take her this summer to get her toes done. I know she can't wait to do that! I loved spending time with just her! She is becoming such a big girl!

Trying to make it Spring

So even though day was offically the second day of Spring, it certainly did not feel that way in Illinois. With temperatures, looking like this.

It still did not stop us from trying to enjoy

the nice sunshine day

outdoors doing something

both kids now love to do!

It was cold and windy as

the bikes raced up and down the sidewalk and even through the snow!

Hopefully, we will start to see a lot warmer temperatures, so that AJ and Ashleigh can enjoy doing things outdoors again! They are really looking forward to being able to play outdoors without the winter jackets, hats and gloves!

A Blast from the Past

Rick and I have been talking about trying to find some different things to do with the kids during the winter months because it's either too cold or too wet to be outside. Yesterday, we decided to take AJ and Ashleigh roller skating. I remember going to the roller rink when I was growing up and just having a great time. I remember the music, the games they would play and just how much fun it was. Rick and I had a hard time actually finding a roller rink near us, but we finally found one about an hour away. We weren't sure if the kids were going to like it or not, but we thought we could at least give it a try.

Once we got to the roller rink, we walked inside and it brought back all of those memories from my childhoood. The loud music, the concession stand, all of the kids and their friends and the disco lights! It was great!!!!! When we got to the place to rent the skates, you could rent either roller skates or roller blades. We decided to rent the skates and for us we rented roller blades. You should have seen the AJ and Ashleigh's faces when they first stood up on the roller skates. They were smiling from ear to ear. We decided each of us would take one of them around the rink for awhile until they figured out how to do it on their own. I don't think I realized how hard it is to teach someone to roller skate. I think for the first hour or so, AJ and Ashleigh spent more time on the floor than on their feet, but they were still smiling even when they fell. Finally, one of the other parents came up to us and said that he thought it was easier for the kids to learn on the roller blades than the skates, so we traded in the roller skates for the blades. After awhile, AJ really seemed to get the concept, but Ashleigh on the other hand still struggled a bit, but did do much better with the roller blades. I think we ended up skating for about 2 hours and had a blast. It was so great to see the kids enjoy something that I used to enjoy as a kid. In fact, this morning when we woke up, the first think AJ and Ashleigh asked was if we could go skating again. We had so much fun doing it that we are thinking about buying some roller blades for the kids to use at home too. We have so many Forest Preserves around here that we could get a lot of use out of them during the summer.

As you can see from the pictures below, they had a great time!

Pancake Breakfast and Open House

Today, we all volunteered at AJ and Ashleigh's school for their annual Pancake Breakfast. The last two years, we have gone and eaten breakfast at the school for the Pancake Breakfast, but this year we decided to volunteer. We had to be at the school at 7:00 am this morning. So, it was like a normal school day for us. When we got to the school, we were among quite a few other parents and teachers volunteering for the day. It didn't take too long before someone put AJ and Ashleigh to work wrapping forks and knives in napkins.

Rick and I were busy in the kitchen pouring drinks and helping make sure the tables were set for the breakfast. All in all, we had a good time and felt good about volunteering for the school. AJ and Ashleigh were able to reap some benefits from their hard work as you can see below.

Now only was today the Pancake Breakfast at the school, but it was also an Open House to the public. The kids have been hard at work doing different art projects to display during the Open House. AJ's diorama was on display along with the entire class's "Diorama Town". The entire class did a great job and I know AJ was so proud of his diorama. They also displayed some little short stories and some decorated light bags to light the hallways of the school. Some of Ashleigh's artwork was also on display. It is always so easy for us to spot Ashleigh's artwork among her class because she likes to use all different colors and shapes on her artwork.

We were so proud of AJ and Ashleigh's accomplishments today; not only in their artwork but their volunteer services, as well.