Chace's Eighth Birthday Party

Chace had a blast at his birthday party.  It was all Pokemon of course.  The kids had pizza, jumped on the trampoline to get some energy out and then started watching the latest Pokemon movie.  Halfway through we stopped for cake and presents, a Pokemon pinata,  more trampoline time, and then tried to finish the movie.  Eventually they all abandoned it in favor of the trampoline.  Two kids stayed over for a sleepover afterwards,  and they didn't go to sleep until after midnight!  So we are all bleary-eyed today, especially Chace.  He's normally sound asleep by 9PM at the latest.  I'm especially proud of the cake, although Ace of Cakes I am not.  I didn't have enough time to make the icing,  so I was using the canned stuff,  and it was hot and dripping and just a mess.  But the kids seemed to be impressed. 

Last gymnastics class

Chace is becoming quite the flipper.  He had a blast doing somersaults on the trampoline until he bumped his nose with his knee on the landing and got a nose bleed.  But the end of class made up for it- a really cool trophy!

Fun on the porch

Our neighbor was getting rid of this great playset, so we picked it up for the kids.  We thought it would be great for those really hot sunny days,  or rainy days like we've been having.  It was an instant hit, although Chace and Alana immediately started arguing about whose "house" it was.  First thing this morning Alana asked to go play outside, and was happy to stay on the porch.

Nana & Grandpa visit

Nana and Grandpa came over this weekend for Chace's birthday.  Another rainy weekend unfortunately.  Here are the kids and Nana having fun with homemade playdoh.  

Swinging into the pit

At the end of gymnastics class is everyones favorite part- the pit.  Chace likes to swing into it.  He wears goggles so foam bits don't get into his eyes.  He's started a new fashion now.  Alana loves the pit also, but she wasn't brave enough to swing into it today. 

More gymnastics fun

Alana loves going to gymnastics with Chace.  Here she is jumping and dancing and having fun.

Chace flips for gymnastics

Chace learned a new skill at gymnastics today - flipping.  I only caught the last one- he'd done about 15 before I  got my camera and he was worn out.

Epic Sword Fight

Chace and Alana had a lot of fun sword fighting with Roger.  Here is a short clip of one of their epic battles.  Roger would fend one off and the next one would get him.  Luckily the kids just had cardboard tubes this time.  They had a blast.

Aunt Cori and Uncle Roger visit from Italy

Aunt Cori and Uncle Roger are home visiting from Italy.  We were thrilled they were able to come visit us for a few days.  Alana and Chace loved all the attention.  Sunday was a washout, but Monday Chace was able to take them over to see the goslings.  Alana helped them get their fast food fix in by taking them to McDonalds on Monday.  They were also excited when Aunt Phee came over for a visit as well.  It really was wonderful seeing them.  We can't wait to go to Italy next Spring.   

Butterfly Farm

We went to a butterfly farm on Tuesday with my MOPS group.  Since Chace has declared butterflies to be his third favorite animal (after penguins and otters) I picked him up from school early so he could come along.  Both Alana and Chace had a chance to help with the presentation.  Here they are showing how a moth makes its cocoon (they get together in bunches, so only half of them actually hatch).  Chace had a lot of fun catching butterflies on his disk of sugar water.  Alana wasn't ready to hold any yet, but she enjoyed looking at them.  But she wasn't sure what to do when one landed on her!  These were all monarch butterflies. 

Hi Nana! Hi Grandpa!

We were having fun with the camera this morning.  Alana loves to watch herself,  so we made a bunch of videos.

Alana messing with Tony

We have a very tolerant dog.  The most Tony will ever do is walk away.  Here is Alana showing just how much abuse he will take. 

Happy Mother's Day!

We've had a very relaxing day.  The kids let me sleep in and then brought me breakfast in bed.  They even helped me eat it!  Then we went to IHOP for lunch.  Chace and I went across the pond to feed the geese.  They are pretty brave when food is involved so they came right up to us, hissing the whole way.  Chace collected feathers and a piece of shell from their nest.  Then he wanted to take a nature walk,  so we went to the park  to look  for squirrels.  Here he is with his binoculars looking at the squirrels.  Then he and Alana had fun playing.  Check out the videos of them playing. 

Park part 3

Alana got Newton to hold her up on the bar for a minute.  This is her happy "I did it!" dance.

Park Part 2

Alana sees Chace flipping and wants a turn.  She agrees that its "too big."

Park part 1

We decided to have a family walk to the park today.  The kids had a lot of fun on the playground.   This is part 1, Chace flipping on the bar.  He's pretty excited that he learned how to last week at gymnastics.

Mockingbird Nest and Lolly

A mockingbird has built its nest in our yard somewhere.  They are being pretty cagey about it, so we haven't found it yet.  But they're letting the pets know if they're too close. 

Gooslings

The geese across from us have hatched their chicks.  Chace has been enjoying going over and feeding them bread and goldfish crackers.  They are the hit of the neighborhood. 

Chik-fil-a

Alana's new babysitter took her to chik-fil-a for lunch.  They have family lunch/night on Monday's, so Alana got to make a craft.  She very carefully filled a bottle with colored sand, and did a better job than some of the older children.  She wouldn't tell the helper her name, but happily answered to Spongebob.  (She likes her Spongebob PJs so much she wouldn't take them off that morning).  Then we went to play in the kids area.  She's not as adventurous as Chace was a this age, so she didn't climb up the tubes, but she had a blast looking in the silly mirror.  

Birthday party at Tumblebees

One of Chace's friends from gymnastics had a birthday party on the TumbleBus today.  The boys had gotten most of their energy out in class,  so they enjoyed using the equipment in the small space.  It was a busy day for Chace -circus,  gymnastics, birthday party, all back to back.  I let him relax and watch cartoons for the rest of the day.  (The strange voice in the background of the video clip is one of the other boys who has echolalia- he mostly repeats things he hears on TV).

The Zerbini Family Circus

The circus is back in town!  This was the first year Alana got to go.  Here she is with her preschool class.  She really enjoyed the trapeze artist.  Newton took Chace and Alana to the circus on Saturday.  Chace's favorite parts were the clown acts, but he liked all of it.  This is an extremely small circus that the local church hosts, but it includes a little bit of everything. They have a daredevil act, trapeze, juggling, tumbling, performing dogs, camels, pony,  and even a buffalo. Although performing is really too strong of a word for the buffalo.  I've included a picture of his big stunt, standing.