The week after school was out, Katie was creating new masterpieces at Art Camp all week.
These included, amongst other awesome things, yarn bowls,
fused glass art,
a giant painting of a psychedelic dolphin
and some needle felting.
Mikey attended his second-ever summer camp.
It was a theatre camp.
The kids create their own play - the plot, the characters and the costumes.
The character he chose to portray was none other than Binky Superhero
(Who lives in Binkyville, in case you didn't know).
He was surrounded by his friends:
Two Toothless the Dragons
One Sofia The First
and about a million Queen and/or Princess Elsa's.
Here he is, up on stage.
And here are some snippets of his performance.
(You might have to turn it up just a tiny bit to hear Mikey...)
He was very proud of himself.
And Katie was proud of him too.
He told her all about the creative process.
We took a few pictures of him in character.
I guess Binky Superhero is too busy saving lives to be happy.
Binky Superhero is a very serious dude.
There's evil out there and it must be hit with a sword.
Annnnnnnnd, now we're back to good 'ole Mikey.
Can you tell the difference?
Mikey had me sign him up for another week of theatre camp.
He later told me that he thought that he was, "funnier than Jimmy."
I had no idea what he was talking about.
And then he said, very impatiently, "Maaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhmmmmm, the "Tight Pants Guy"!"
He meant Jimmy Fallon.
I had forgotten that we were watching a mom edited version of The Tonight Show because they were visiting Universal Studios Orlando.
The kids fell in LOVE with Jimmy......especially Mikey, who thought he was really funny.
He constantly sings this song.
I guess it helped that there were Transformers in that video.
They also fell in love with Hashtag the Panda.
Who wouldn't?
(Hashtag's bit ends at 2:32...)
Watching Jimmy in Orlando reinvigorated Katie's quest to return to Universal Studios Orlando. This time to visit the recently opened Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley.
Hmmmm. I promised her that we would return sometime in 2016.
And, knowing her, she will remember that date and remind me of it on a daily basis until we are on the plane ride over there.
Watching Jimmy in Orlando might have pushed Mikey towards a career on stage......
hmmmmm, we'll see.
Next up, it was the Fourth of July!
Katie and I "marched" in the city parade with the preschool while Huzbend and Mikey decided to sit this year out and watch.
We had a lazy afternoon and dinner and then headed out to a local fireworks show.
And we waited......
....and waited......
.....and waited some more.....
......OOOOOO! GLOW SWORDS!
Then, BAM, there were fireworks!
After the show, we headed home to enjoy our last bark free night......
But, hey, it seems to be a consistent problem, at least. Ha ha.
School ended for Katie. But, not before a field trip to the zoo.
Katie was adamant that Mikey share her field trip with her and worked with the teacher to come up with a plan to allow him to come along. Really. She did.
I was able to co-chaperone with Valerie.
She's an awesome lady and a great volunteer in Katie's class.
And she has the freaky-neatest hand writing I have ever seen.
"OOOOOOO! A duck!!!!"
Mikey had a great time. He was so happy to be included.
The purpose of the zoo trip was to view the animal that you were writing a report about in class.
Katie's animal was a meerkat.
Here is the whole group, chillin' with some otters.
Mikey REALLY liked the otters.
He thought they were funny.
But, even the otters couldn't over take the number one loved animal in our house right now......
.....LEMURS!!!
So, now, not only is Mikey moving into kindergarten next year, Katie will be moving into 3rd grade.
Youch.
There were some End-of-School-Year events that we attended - my last preschool executive board retreat, PTA volunteer night (i got an award!), Katie's last minute birthday celebration at school, a school BBQ and a preschool Summer Kick Off/40th Anniversary picnic.
Huzbend and I even got to go out on a date! We had dinner at a super fancy steak place (John Howie's). It was the best (and most expensive) steak I ever had. Then we went to the movies.
I went for a physical this past week.
We talked about all sorts of things and ended on mammograms.
Gugh.
Oh, something else of note - I've gained something like 15 pounds since I turned 40. That wasn't that long ago, people. I still run about 3-4 times a week, same as before. I still eat the same damn things during the day. Fan-tiddly-astic.
Annnnnnd, moving on.
Most of the rest of our free time (and money) was spent puppy prepping......only to find out that the puppy would not come home with us on June 21st.
One of the puppies cousins came down with Parvo, although he had been fully vaccinated. The breeder decided the best course of action would be for her to hold the puppies for another week to be sure they were healthy before heading to their new homes.
And, so, puppy is on hold for now.
We're hoping that the puppies escape their brush with Parvo, because if they contract it, the chance of their survival is slim.
We got word this weekend that things are still good, but they were not out of the woods yet.
We're hoping that this week ends on a positive puppy filled note and that we can put all these chew toys to good use.
Although, Mikey is due to be losing some teeth soon.......
Since Mikey has his birthday in the summer, his "Special Day" was in May.
Teacher Dorothy made this awesome poster.
He got to sit in front of class and tell them about himself.
Then everyone sang Happy Birthday.
He was a happy boy.
Next up on the preschool agenda was a trip for the "graduating" kids to the Bus Barn.
Partway through the ride, he got quiet as if thinking about what riding a bus really meant.
Preschool was ending. Kindergarten to begin in just a few months.
Hmmmmmm.
"I wonder if Mom will let me wear my superhero pajama tops to kindergarten?"
After the Bus Barn trip, we went back to the preschool for a really nice Mother's Day Tea Party.
Mother's Day weekend was spent in Seattle for the Color Run.
We caught an IMAX 3D showing about Lemurs at the PAC SCI Center.
Katie and Mikey both thought the lemurs were cute.
But, really, when you got right down to it, Katie was more excited about eating movie theatre popcorn that was determined to be allergy safe.
It's all about the "special treats".
Speaking of special treats....
The kids enjoyed homemade banana chocolate chip muffins at the hotel.
(We had them eat in the shower to try to contain the mess)
Huzbend and I enjoyed a dozen cannoli.
You can't find cannoli around here.
At all.
But, they're in Seattle!!
Mmmmmmm, cannoli.
Rise and shine!!!
Mikey had a rough nights sleep.
He coughed a lot.
But they were both ready and raring to go after another banana chocolate chip muffin for breakfast!
Me taking a picture of Huzbend taking a picture of me.
And we're off!!!
This year they sprayed liquid color at you while on course.
It was COLD.
By the end, Mikey was a bit cold and just a tad bit grumpy.
He was also coughing still.
Katie, on the other hand, was loving life.
Then it was time for the color explosion!
Katie was lovin' life even more!
Check out the blue teeth.
Hey! Look! I was there too!
And, O.M.CHEESE! A picture of the whole family!
That NEVER happens!
And since we were at Seattle Center, Katie could not resist hitting the International Fountain.
So, then, she was literally dripping with color.
It was a great beginning to Mothers Day.
I stress beginning because when we got home, Mikey's health steadily declined.
By late afternoon, he ended up on the bathroom floor vomiting everything he ate or drank and breathing rapidly.
We visited the Urgent Care that evening where he was diagnosed with symptoms associated with pneumonia.
Yay for us. What great parents we are to drag our sick son to a cold, morning 5K run where they squirt you with frigid liquid color and then release huge corn starch color clouds.
We are awesome.
He was put on antibiotics and was back to his old self in a few days time.
And then, gulp, it was the LAST day of preschool.
Ever.
He chose this day to finally ride a tricycle on the track by himself.
Something he had not done in his four years there.
I wonder what he's thinking in this picture.....
"I'm so totally going to kick kindergarten's butt!"
One last all-class photo.
I couldn't have asked for a better preschool experience for both my kids.
Not only did they learn a bit about ABC's and 123's and some other academicky stuff,
they learned how to make friends, share, play with and care about others.
They learned to respect and be able to listen to other kids mom & dads.
They learned to question and explore.
But, mostly, they learned to be themselves.
The preschool and fantastic teachers allowed them to do that.
It also gave ME a place to make friends and pretend that I was an adult every once in a while.
I know my kids will miss this place.
But, I think I might miss it most of all.
The evening of Mikey's last day of preschool was his
"Graduation" or "Moving On" ceremony.
So handsome....
The kids performed for the crowd.
It was great that Mikey got to stand next to his bestest pals from preschool.
After the songs and such, Mikey was able to come sit with us until his name was called to officially "graduate."
And here he is.
Walking over the bridge from preschool to kindergarten.
Sigh.
Such a mix of happy and sad for me.
He was SO excited to get his diploma.
And, then, preschool was over.
I stayed late that night to help with the post-grad clean up.
At the end of the evening, it ended up being myself, my two pals named Kerri and Teacher Dorothy.
We chilled out and watched some old slideshows of our kids at the school.
We ate pizza and drank some Cokes.
We laughed. A lot. As always.
It was a good way to end.
I'll miss it. I really will.
That brings us to this Saturday.
We went to visit the puppies!
All twelve of them.
They are 4 weeks old and getting just a little rambunctious.
Katie fell in love with every puppy. Immediately.
She could not stop giggling.
Especially when a wiggly puppy was on her lap.
I believe she held almost all of them.
To say they were cute would be an understatement.
They were UBER-cute.
Even Mikey got to hold a puppy or two.
He liked the puppies.
He was unsure about the grown up dogs.
We were able to not only visit with the puppies, but meet Mommy Dog, Daddy Dog, and brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews and even grandparents!
I met the biggest boy labs I have ever met in my life.
The puppies Daddy is a solid 96 pounds of powerful and ultra-friendly dog.
We've been prepping the house for puppy arrival by moving all the Legos upstairs into the kids rooms. Huzbend also built a dog kennel outside for bathroom needs.
Now we just have to select a vet, get a crate, get an x-pen, a collar, a leash, some tags, some food, some treats, a million plus one toys.....CHA-CHING!
We won't know what puppy we'll get until they are ready to come home at the end of June.
We have third pick of the litter.
Katie is excited and states just about every hour of every day that she wishes the puppy was here right now.
Mikey talks about the puppy, but I think he could take it or leave it.
Huzbend and I bounce back and forth between being excited and wondering if we're ready to go back to sleepless nights and constant supervision.
