Cousins Birthday

These cousins sure do know how to party! Thank you Grandpa and Lala for another wonderful birthday party at Five Pines. We love you!

Loons

We have a pair of loons on the lake....and we do mean BIRDS not crazy neighbors. It turns out that there is usually only ONE set of Loons on a body of water at a time. They don't like to share. Anyway, the pair on our lake happen to like to appear over by our dock quick frequently. Last night, while we were fishing off the dock, they came around and made a bunch of noise and enjoyed some fishing of their own. We are seriously in a sweet spot for fishing! This morning, they were even closer, but I didn't bring my camera out so this is a photo from last night. The kids are entertaining names for the birds (because they name EVERYTHING). If they decide on anything, we'll let you know.

Oh, what do you do in the Summer Time....

My kids have discovered the joy of fishing. Their dad isn't much of a fisherman. (Understatement) I grew up fishing with my dad and have very fond memories of frying up our catch and desperately trying to eat the trout without swallowing a bone as well. Our kids don't want to eat what they catch, but are THRILLED to be able to catch and release the small perch we have swimming in abundance around our dock. The little guy in the photo below was literally caught without casting. Brogan just dangled the worm on a hook over the side and watched as a fish crept up and took the bait. He was thrilled at the catch, and equally as happy with the release....after which he determined to try and catch it again.

The photo below is what SUMMER is all about. KK likes to cast and real. She is convinced that every little tug is a bite. I have a rather entertaining video of her bringing in what she is certain is a very large fish...and is disappointed to discover that she has actually managed to snag a rather large branch. Regardless, be it branch or fish, my kids LOVE this activity. We were back on the dock early this morning. I am only relieved that our neighbors on each side are not visiting right now...and were not subject to the early morning squabbling.

Cassidy at Art Camp

One final week in NH Cassidy spent at Kimball Jenkins Art Camp. It was Fantasy Week. She has a lovely time and made some wonderful items.

In the photo above, Cass is modeling her jet pack. You can't see it, but she made two buttons that say "Super Fast" and "Super Slow". Super cute! Below she is showing her magic wand and hanging at her side is the terribly cute bat (I suppose if you must make a flying rodent, this is a good choice.)

Her favorite item (and probably my least favorite based on mess value alone) can't be seen in this photo. But, in the little white cup she is holding is the wonderful creation of OOBLEK. It looks and feels just like it sounds.
She enjoyed her time and met even MORE friends. This week (July 25th-August 1st) Cassidy is at her very first sleep over camp called "Camp Chateaugay". She's been at camp since Sunday night. Today is Wednesday. We miss her. I'm certain she is having a wonderful time but she didn't take a camera and will probably report that she didn't "do anything" when she returns. Which I know isn't true. I sent her with a journal and request to write down one thing that she enjoyed doing every day. We'll see if she was too excited or exhausted at the end of the day to comply with this request. But...a mom can hope. :)

Saying Goodbye.....

...or more accurately, "See you later." So the kids and I start the first leg of our move to the West Coast on Saturday morning. We are only go as far as our Lake House in New York though. While there Cassidy will attend wonderful "Camp Chateaugay" and KK and Brogan will play on the beach with me. Brian will still be at SPS wrapping up the summer program. On August 1st I will come back long enough to collect him, load up the car, and depart. We will spend one week at the lake house and then, on August 9th, we will officially leave the East Coast. But, we are only leaving for a year. So it has made saying, "Good bye" rather interesting. 'Cause it isn't good bye....for the most part....it's just "see you next year". But some of our friends will move while we are gone, which means that we really are saying, "Good bye". This week, rather then keep the week free of appointments and spend the time focused on packing, I filled the evenings with final play dates and visits with friends. Cassidy will be turning 8 just after arriving in WA. She won't know anyone there so a birthday party with friends might not work out. We had a surprise party for her here in NH. I decided to do it about 48 hours before the actual event. (In my defense, I was sort of preoccupied with packing tape, bubble wrap and other such distractions.) I was able to invite 4 of her sweet friends from school who she will miss quite sincerely. She was completely surprised. I am so grateful that she has such good, kind girls as peers (it helps that I adore their mother's too!). I wasn't quick enough to invite Teagan to the party, so instead Cass and I met up with Teagan, her mother, and her younger sister for mini-golf at "chucksters" . It was a riot....and the perfect way for these 2 to say, "Bye...for now." We are looking forward to keeping in touch with everyone via email, post card, and a good old fashioned letter. Bring on the pen pals!

A girl and her horse

While Kayla was busy searching for buried treasure (see previous post) Cassidy was happily exploring life on the ranch. Milestone Farm, to be exact. A charming horse farm in the sleepy and beautiful town of Dunbarton, NH. Here Cassidy met and fell in love with a horse. Her name is Mini. She is for sale. And although you can SEE the LOVE, money just can't buy this sort of adoration....it's that "first love" adoration. The kind that would eventually wear off after too many early mornings of mucking the stall. However, for one full week, THIS was Cassidy's dream come true. From 9am (a respectable time) until 4pm every day, Cassidy learned about caring for a horse (yep, she mucked a stall, cleaned water buckets, and groomed the horses as well) and she also learned how to ride. She was in Heaven. I have no doubt that if we would have let her, she would have moved right on in. I think there may be many more horse camps for us in the future. And I'm quite alright with that. (The Brown horse in the photo's below is Mini. The white one is Silver and Cassidy rode her during the horse show. She was assigned to ride Silver, if it had been up to her, Mini would have been her mount the entire week.)

Shiver Me Timbers.....

Kayla attended a week long day camp with a PIRATE theme. For the entire week she was called "KK the Sweet". When I picked her up from camp the first day, she informed me of her pirate moniker and I jokingly asked her, "Are you sure it shouldn't be KK the Sassy?" She gave me a look that was anything BUT sweet and mostly quite sassy and with exasperation gave me the dreaded, "MOOOOOMMMMM!" complete with eye roll. Kayla took to Pirate week all too well and the next morning she came down dressed in a spiffy little outfit with a pirate bandana, one clip on ear ring, every bracelet she could find and tacky plastic ring (all of which she called her Pirate Booty) and a scarf tied around her waist. It was a riot. But she was serious about her look. During class the kids made a very large pirate boat. Here KK is demonstrating her fierce pirate look (HA! It totally cracks me up.) and showing off the boat and her fashion savvy. Enjoy....

Sleeping Sisters

There is NOTHING like a long day full of fun to exhaust these 2 little ones. And there is nothing that puts a smile on a mommy's face then coming in and finding that the two of them have snuggled together in the same bed and fallen asleep. SWEET!

Bear Brook...spa?

On July 5th we were treated to a SURPRISE going away mini-party at Bear Brook State Park. It was lovely fun. Miserably hot, so the perfect solution was a dip in this pleasant water. The kids found clay and decided to cover themselves from top to bottom. Check it out:

We had SO much fun on the 5th that we decided to take the whole family and some more friends back on the 7th. Cassidy was thrilled to bring her friend Mia. I think she will be missing little Miss Mia quite a bit this next year. Hooray for internet though! And although I don't have a photo of it, my mother is here with us...visiting from Washington State to help us pack up and prepare to move. Thanks, Mom!!!

July 4th

I think there is some sort of general Blogging Rule that demands a post for any major holiday. And so, here is our 4th of July post. The kids all got dressed for church today wearing red and white. (They chose blue and white for me...and had Brian wear a red tie.) They looked so charming. Cass and Brog were ready for the photo below...but Kayla wasn't quite set.

Fortunately we almost always take 2 photos and the second shot caught Kayla with a smile and the other 2 as well. Such cute little kids. They are getting so big!
We were able to share a lovely meal with our friends at church, and then return a few hours later for some amazing and colorful fireworks. Brian wasn't able to go with us (we missed him) so we don't have any photos of the event. I spent a lot of time chasing Brogan around and trying to keep tabs on the other 2 (single parenting is exhausting). The kids had fun running around with all their friends from church, playing games, doing "pops" and making a lovely 4th of July theme hat. If any of them survived the furiously fast pack-up job I will take a picture and try to post it later. The hats are really quite cute. All 3 kids were awake the entire time and only Brogan was sleeping when we arrived home at 10:30pm. It was a lovely evening. Our only incident came when Brogan decided to jump out of the back of the van (which was parked with the trunk open) and bonked his noggin on the parking lot. It was just a graze though...far more scary then damaging. It taught him nothing though...because he was right back at it a few minutes later. Oh well. Boys will be boys. Or something like that. Hope you all enjoyed a happy 4th as well.

Swim lessons

We just finished our first (and only) round of swim lessons for the girls this year. Kayla enjoyed a wonderful year. All the other parents would tell me, "She's too good for this age group." The community pool though determines what class you are in by your AGE at the time of the class and not you SKILL level. So, she was with a young class. She had great fun though. At this age/level it's all about teaching kids to be comfortable in the water. We are hoping for swim lessons in WA this next year that will challenge her a bit more.

While Kayla was busy swimming, Cassidy was busy playing on the park right next to the pool. She met a sweet girl named, Nell. They were in the same class (and Nell's sister was in Kayla's class) and even had matching swim suits. The 2 of them became very good friends and are hoping to spend some time together before the end of the summer.
Cassidy had a successful year. She is swimming with more confidence and prefers to float on her back and swim backwards. Her favorite part was jumping in the deep end. She really enjoyed her lessons this year and it helped that she had a new friend or two. There was also a sweet boy named Connor who gave her a bunny "silly band" on the last day of class. Those of you who are aware of the silly band craze sweeping the nation can understand the IMPORTANCE of such a gift.
And Brogan got to play on the park the entire time both girls were swimming. He is a very confident climber. It makes me nervous at times but he has yet to fall and get hurt so he must be doing something right. If he isn't climbing, he is in the swings. I think he could spend all day in a swing and be very content.
All in all...a wonderful experience. The session only lasted for 2 weeks, M-TH. The girls are sad it is over, but are excited because Grandma Harmon arrives this week and then NEXT week they are onto even more fun and summer camps. It's going to be a busy summer. We signed the up for Summer Camps because we know that I'm going to be packing up the house and can't spend a whole lot of time entertaining or organizing activities for them. This way, we ALL get to do things and be happy. It's a win:win situation.

Good night?

This is how Brogan has started going to bed lately.  First, he gets every construction vehicle he owns (there are 4 in this photo) and lovingly places them on the cushion next to him in the brown rocking recliner in our bedroom.  Then he gets his "night night" (the much loved and in desperate need of repair blue blanket) and his ipod (he has declared it his).  He climbs into the rocker and selects a movie to watch on the ipod (his current favorite is a flick about "diggers" and "monster trucks").  He will then arrange his construction vehicles so that they can all see the ipod too.  Then he will rock furiously until he passes out.  It might not be the BEST way to manage bed time, but it is working for us and when you have a 2 year old who has a routine that WORKS for them, you just don't mess with it.  Life is a little more peaceful this way.  He is suffering from a sincere case of "Worker" hero worship.  Fortunately SPS has graced us with some impressive construction projects this summer and there are "workers" abound.  Brogan waves to them all,  he showers them with questions and exclamations of excitement.  Usually he is wearing his "worker hat" (a yellow foam dollar store find of the century) to bed as well.  I snapped this picture before he realized it was missing.  He wears this hat *everywhere*.  Many other little boys have gazed at it with love and admiration at the park, the grocery store, the swimming pool, the dining hall, etc.  This is going to be our summer of Diggers and Dozers.  Bring it on.

OH, Sweet Summer!

Have we mentioned that we L-O-V-E "campus"?  "Campus" is what our children lovingly refer to Grandpa Schroyer and La-La's home on Lake Chateaugay in upstate New York.  We go there every chance we get.  We love it so much, we went ahead and bought our own home on the very same lake.  And yet, there is NO PLACE like Grandpa's place.  The fun never stops.  Whether we are swimming, skiing, digging in the sand, enjoying the hot tub, the outdoor shower, or the numerous aquatic vehicles (can you see the rack of boats?  There are more.) or hanging inside where chocolate abounds, toys (for kids AND adults) can be found in every nook and cranny, fresh popcorn is made, movies are watched and karaoke is sung (often times off-key)....campus is the place to be.  We spent our first week of Summer vacation at "campus".

Playing "mother may I" is one of the games the kids enjoy most.  No props or toys are required, but it is made infinitely better when Grandpa gets in on the action.  In the photo above, Cassidy is "mother" and Brogan is attempting to sneak up on her.  In the photo below, Brogan has gone rogue.  He isn't much for waiting his turn.
This may very well be one of my favorite camp pictures of all time.  This is Grandpa taking "one giant step" toward Mother...gracefully stepping over Kayla to complete his granted task.  It makes me so happy to see my children play with their Grandfather.  They adore him and he returns that adoration.  Despite all the fun and fancy "things" there are to do at campus, these are the times and stories and memories that we cling to when we leave.  We talk about them and frequently hear, "Remember the time Grandpa and LaLa...." and thus will begin a walk down memory lane.  The Schroyer family has some GREAT family stories (a single word like: TWIG conjures up giggles galore) and I love watching my children build and create their own "Schroyer Family Stories".  

Final Day of School

I'm doing this post for the benefit of my 2 girlies.  2009-2010 was a remarkable year for them.  Cassidy completed 2nd grade.  Kayla finished "Readiness" (full day Kindergarten).  They both made some wonderful friends and memories.  It's very possible that they won't remember these days.  Which makes me a little sad.  I've kept a journal since I was about 10.  I wrote things in there about events that happened that I honestly have no memory of...but I wrote about it.  So it must have happened.  These pictures and my little notes are my effort to provide a little bit of fun history for my kids.  I don't journal as much as I once did (in fact, I rarely write in a journal at all anymore) but I DO manage to update the blog monthly.  This post is specifically for my girls.  Indulge me, or feel free to skip it if you're not interested.

This is Mia (pictured above).  She is one of Cassidy's best friends.  She joined the class this year.  Cassidy's birthday party in August was the first class party Mia was invited to and attended.  They have been good buddies since.  She is a very sweet, kind, thoughtful girl.  Cassidy and Mia formed the "Best Friends" club together and were frequently coming home with grand plans for sleep-overs and play dates.  There were many frantic phone calls and emails between the moms trying to figure out if something really was planned for the weekend, as the girls would convincingly report it was.

This is Madison.  She is a gentle, quiet, spiritual, and kind girl.  She and Cassidy bonded after being teased on the playground for being "good girls".  They both believe in Jesus and although they worship Him differently, He is a central part in both their lives.  We adore Madison and are grateful that Cassidy had a friend like her to stand together with and give each other strength.

And now and introduction to Miss Cheyenne.  Another one of the "good girls".  We have several play dates with her and her little sister (Alexis, who is one of Kayla's best friends).  She is fun and witty.  She learned all the "signs" to the songs they sang at the end of the school year concert...but not everyone else did.  So she performed the signs all by herself.  So cute.  She and Cassidy laugh together, non-stop.  They both have a love of horses, dogs, and silly jokes.

This post could not be complete with out a picture of Cassidy and Teagan.  These two have been BFF's since the first day.  Teagan is sassy, fun, spirited and spunky.  We have Teagan to thank for Cassidy's "relationships"....Teagan was a match maker.  These 2 kiddo's got into mischief of one sort or another together quite often.  But, they were drawn to each other and no amount of persuasion could be used to separate them.  SIGH.  This is Teagan's last year as SFNH.  Cass will miss her dearly.  

*A note must be made here quickly that there is not a picture of Cassidy with Lily.  Lily is camera shy (or at least she was on THIS particular day).  Cassidy and Lily are also BFF's.  They were each other's very first "sleep over" partners.  They are so funny together and have dramatic role playing and imaginative story telling moments.  They feed each others creative side.  Lily is a gem.  I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the 2 of them together.  We'll just need to get one later on this summer when we get together for play dates.

Now, if you ask Kayla what the most memorable things about school was this year, it is, without a doubt, her beloved teacher, Mrs. Cheryl Bennett.  I have no doubt that years from now Kayla will remember her with fondness and love....and vice versa.  Mrs. Bennett loves the students in her class.  They know it.  We all know it.  But Kayla and Mrs. Bennett share a bond.  In the photo above, you can see the kids in her class all gathered around Mrs. Bennett.  She is looking at a book.  It is the book the children wrote for her as an end of year "Thank you" gift.  She cried.  They smiled.  They were so proud of themselves.  Look at those faces.  Those are some happy, pleased kids who have a REASON to be that happy.  Their teacher.  (See photo below)  

Now, although Mrs. Bennett was the high light of KK's year, her relationship with her fellow classmates was a meaningful part of this experience as well.  At the end of the year the students were asked some very basic questions like: what is your favorite part of the day?  What do you remember most? etc.  one of the questions was: My friends are: and then the kids got to list 2 people they were friends with.  The responses were written down and then hung up outside the classroom on the wall for others to see and enjoy.  I stopped to read them the last day of school and found them to be entertaining and delightful.  But, the thing that stands out in my mind most was that almost all of the other kids wrote that Kayla was one of their friends.  Kayla loves people.  She is kind to them and they respond to her.  She has a sweet little gift....she makes people feel important.  My cheeks hurt from smiling and I'm pretty sure a tear or 2 might have slipped down as I walked out of the doors of the school that day.  I have 2 little girls who have wonderful friends.  2 little girls who are influencing others for good.  Who are being kind and respectful members of their small society.  Little girls who understand that you can be friends with everyone and you should be kind to everyone.  Sure, they are "energetic" at times.  They get hyper and drive me (and other adults around them) crazy at times.  BUT, they are kind to their peers and the people who they see eye to eye with (literally) recognize the goodness in them and want to be part of it.  They don't realize it yet, and it will be many many more years (post teen, in fact) before they understand, recognize and acknowledge it, but there is greatness sprouting in them.  I love watching it grow...and I'm so excited to see what happens next.  There are many more adventures and school days to come but we are off to a pretty good start.

Now and Then

Remember this picture?  August 2009.  First day of school.  

The girls wanted to wear the same outfits to school on the LAST DAY of school, June 2010 as they did on the FIRST DAY of school...just to see how much they've changed.  Cassidy isn't wearing the same pants (she got taller) but....they duplicated things as closely as possible.  

FAIR TIME

My kids L-O-V-E the fair.  I have a general sense of dread and a raging case of germ phobia when we take them.  It takes every ounce of my control NOT to swab down EVERY ride before they get on...and each child once they get off.  I find community ball pits disturbing.  I have a physical reaction to the image above of Kayla IN such a ball pit.  SHUDDER.  I love the photo of Cassidy (yes, that's her) in the swing and all you can see are her feet sticking straight out.  She LOVES the swings and would go on them over and over and over again if we allowed her to.  Brogan was particularly thrilled with the motorcycles.  He admires them from the side of the road and was almost confused by the sudden permission granted to climb on one and give it a go.  This was a happy boy.  He still asks to go ride the motorcycles.  Oh, and he refers to fairs as "Parties".  We are certain there will be many more germ filled celebrations in our future.

End of Year Concert

See these Two BEAUTIFUL faces?  These are my daughters.  I adore them.  A few days ago they had their "end of year" School Concert.  Their classes each sang 2 songs.  Of course, every mom wants to say, and rightfully believes, that they kids are the STARS of the show.  I gotta tell ya though, I really think my little ladies shined bright on that stage and they sang their little hearts out.  I can't believe another school year has slipped past.  How amazing it is to watch them grow.  I miss those baby years of holding them close at night...when their whole little bodies would fit snugly in my arms.  But I am blissfully happy watching them accomplish and DO so many things....and they still fit snugly in my arms.  They just spill out a little bit more now.  

Mother's Day follow-up

My kids spoiled me on Mother's Day.  I don't know if a mommy has ever felt as loved as I do...not just on Mother's Day, but every day.  I have great kids.  I have a pretty snazzy husband that I'm still crushin' on after 10 years of marriage (incidentally, I met him when I was 18, which means that I have now officially known him for 1/2 my life already.  Cool!).   I could get all gooshy and fill this post with all the incredible amazing things that PROOVE my statements above, but...these images will do.  Sweet.  Little.  Munchkins.

SpiderBoy!

I think this picture speaks for itself.

Cassidy Will Rock You

Cassidy's science project. She researched the rock-cycle and then re-wrote the lyrics to Queen's "We Will Rock You" and then I helped her put it with images. Sweet.