Kyle's birthday party bike ride

Last weekend we went on Kyle's birthday adventure bikeride. We ended up at a cafe for pizza and smoothies. You can't beat that! I love riding to lunch. Casey and Cami had a great time studying the map and playing in the park afterwards.

Playing at the park with Samantha

Chinese class recital

Casey takes a Chinese class at a place that also offers Japanese classes and piano classes. They had a recital last Sunday and were charging $15 per student to participate. I thought that seemed a little ridiculous and didn't want to spend our Sunday afternoon watching 2 minutes of a 2 hour show. Casey really wanted to do it though, so what could I say?

Her friend Maddie gave her a matching dress and headband and the girls looked adorable. Their show was an hour into the program so Eric let them run around outside while my friend Laura and I (and Maddie's parents) watched an hour of kids playing piano to save our seats. The only highlight was when one kid played the theme to the Pink Panther.

Anyway, after intermission it was their turn. During intermission they got on the little platform and Casey started singing "Listen to the Water" from preschool and talking to the people in the front row. Intermission ended and it was time for the Chinese class to go. The five girls got up there and the piano accompaniment started and only the girl in the middle sang. Very loudly. The teacher stopped it to start over and Maddie looked at the girl and said, "TOO LOUD!" They started again and it was the same thing. No one else sang. Casey and Maddie just looked at each other, Casey pulled her hair over her headband over her face and made a mad face. For the third and final song, Casey turned around, reached down to her shoes, and played with the velcro straps. Not quite what I had expected! She sings the Chinese songs every day all day long. Seriously. Everywhere. She sang them the week before to the staff at our favorite Japanese restaurant (they are Chinese). Usually I can't get her to stop singing the songs.

Fairy party

Art projects

Casey does NOT like doing art projects at preschool. I can see why, actually, because they are not very creative. They are cute, and creative-looking, but the teachers generally tell them exactly what to do and they are more about following directions than about being creative (except for Friday, which apparently is "crazy art" day where you get to do what you want). She wasn't liking extended care because she had to do even more projects. I'm sure the extended care teacher was giving the kids projects because she thought they would like them. Most kids probably do. After Casey and I talked about it, I told her she could nicely tell the extended care teacher that if it was ok, she would rather play than do the art projects. She didn't want to, so I wrote her a short note asking the art projects to be optional for Casey. That same day she came home with this project that looks sort of like a pre-historic cave fish. (I'm not sure if the picture is upside down or sideways.) On the back was a disclaimer, saying that Casey chose to do the project. Heh. Poor Mrs. Stevens was probably wondering how she could send a project home with Casey that day. Casey and I discussed how it's sometimes more fun to do something when you don't have to.

Casey and Ashley hit Santa Cruz

Last Friday there was no preschool so Casey and I headed to Santa Cruz to meet Karen and Ashley at the beach. The girls had a great time playing in the sand, boogie boarding, playing in the tent, and eating cookies. Karen and Ashley taught us that baby powder gets the sand off when you get back to the car. Good to know.

More Santa Fe photos

First picture is the 3 minute slumber party. Kahuna has his new stuffed animal that Casey picked out for him weeks earlier. The next photos are Casey and Aubry wearing their matching outfits for the photo shoot. Casey didn't want to wear hers until I told her she'd look like the big sister and promised she would get to change into her own dress soon. We played red light green light so I could get a few action shots but the sun was very bright.

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Whenever we see Aunt Kendra and it's a Sunday, she buys that darn New York Times crossword puzzle and tortures us with it. We all become obsessed with it until it's finished, and she won't let us look anything up. (After she left Eric and I looked some up and were able to finish it.)

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For the Mothers' Day cookout, Destiny brought her violin and played Frere Jacques and Casey sang one of her songs from her Chinese class that goes to the same tune. It was quite a performance.

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The last photos are of Casey and Aubry painting with their feet (with water). Those girls were very busy. They played really well together. Casey can't wait to play with her again in July.

Happy Mothers' Day

This is what Casey made for me. I love it.

Casey and Cousin Aubry

Grandma Micki gets a shiny red walker for her birthday

We went to Santa Fe to visit my mom for her birthday and Mothers' Day. Casey was so excited to see her grandparents, cousins, uncles, and aunt. We got to meet Cousin Hannah for the first time and she is adorable and very sweet. Casey was very excited to get to hold her. For Grandma's birthday we went ice skating and then swimming at the community center and had the ice rink almost to ourselves. (We did NOT have the pool to ourselves.) We were all flailing around the ice, trying to keep the kids and the adults from falling, when one of the staff showed us where the stash of walkers (skaters?) could be found. We made fun of Grandma Micki for needing a walker on her birthday.

I call the third photo: Amelia Earhart Takes the Ice.

Old homework

Here is the page Casey made for her class scrapbook at the beginning of the school year. She cut and taped the pictures herself and made the backwards C in the middle. Each week whoever had the scrapbook last gets to pick the name of who gets it next. She finally got to bring the book home about a week ago and was SO excited. Even the teachers made a page. It was really cute.

Late April Fools joke?

Before my run this morning I checked Casey's book bag from yesterday. There was a note from the teachers asking us to bring two live snails by TOMORROW. I really need more notice than that to come up with two live snails. Once in a while I see them around our house but it hasn't rained in a while. Then I started thinking the little note may have been stuck at the bottom of her bag for a month since April Fools Day (that would be a great joke on parents!), or maybe it's a Kindergarten-Parent-Readiness Test to see if we are ready to be Kindergarten parents (willing to go the extra mile to get the homework in no matter how outlandish the assignment). My first thought was: no way. But now of course, I'm making plans to go to someone's house tonight to pick snails out of her garden. Like I don't have enough to do today! And ... EW!!!

Dinner with Brynn

For dinner we went to see Lance, Jeanine, and Brynn. Brynn just got her tonsils out so Dr. Casey

took her blood pressure to make sure she was ok. Then Jeanine was so nice and pulled them around the yard in the wagon. They helped out with their bat oars. Lucky for me I couldn't pull them because I'm wounded. I wiped out on my run Friday so my hands and arm are bloody and gross and I'm covered with Toy Story bandaids. I picked Toy Story bandaids because they seemed more grown up than Hello Kitty, Kai Lan, or Curious George.

Casey and Ava in Half Moon Bay

Yesterday we met Susan, Steve, and Ava at Half Moon Bay. The girls and Steve rode their bikes and Steve had a hard time keeping up. We parked by Miramar Beach Restaurant, went for a ride/walk, and then went back to have lunch at the outdoor patio. The girls shared an artichoke and then we walked down to the beach. I asked Casey if she wanted me to add anything and she says, "To Ava, I love you. Miss you already."