Summertime Mommy

I must admit that I have a true love for summer! The hot days, Kent's light schedule, no lunches to pack and no rush to school. Kyle has been sleeping almost to nine. Karly sleeping past seven. The fruits so yummy--watermelon, cherries and strawberries! Less laundry since we traded our jeans and long sleeves for shorts and tanks. Otter pops for the kids and ice cubes for Gilligan. BBQ everything and evenings outdoors. Definitely my favorite time of year!

BUT,

I am beginning to miss routine. I'm growing tired of my role as social planner --setting play dates here and driving to camps and activities there. Weird bedtimes just happen somehow (??) which lead to grumpy risings and all the questions. "Uh, the gym, again?" "Why do we have to go to Winco today?" "How many things do we have to get?" They are smart too, once I have my 20 items (my guess), they let me know and insist I said 20 and it's time to go. Mommy is finally getting brighter herself and no longer estimates items. "We're getting what we need to get. You'll find out how many items very soon." And these are good kids. GREAT kids. I can't imagine what mothers do in the summer with children who are challenging. It is interesting that keeping a "schedule" that isn't much of a "schedule" can bring about it's own challenges. But isn't that what summer is all about?

What a catch 22. The flexibility of summer is fabulous. I love doing what we decide that day to do and doing the things we can't do while school is in session. I love children who sleep in, let Mama sleep in, and who have water fights. I love hearing "Mama" throughout the day and putting band aids on ouchies. Yet, I miss my time. I miss the quiet lunch with a book or a DVR taping. I miss my writing at the computer without three interruptions per paragraph. I miss strolling through the supermarket or just stopping in at Starbucks because I have no one else to bribe or lecture along the way.

I guess this is the life of a Mommy during the summer! A role, in the end, I wouldn't trade for anything!

One Big Party

Fourth of July is one big party here! We started our day with Daddy's 5k Run. While more of a sprinter, Kent pushed himself to go the distance and actually did better than he thought coming in with a decent time just over 25 minutes. We were all there to cheer Daddy on and next year looks like it will be a family affair as Kyle wishes to run as well. Mommy will probably run/walk along side of him. As for Karly, well, she isn't showing much interest. Running is just not social enough for her!

The fourth also brings Kent's dad's birthday. Born in Canada on America's celebratory birth date, he's grow accustom to sharing his birthday wishes with the good old red, white, and blue. We spent the afternoon eating watermelon and fried chicken with the kids taking a quick dip in the neighbors pool. High heat met us here, well over 100 degrees, so ice cream was a must-have as well. !

The final party for the day was an ice cream sundae buffet held just before the sparklers were lit. You name it we had it. The cream, the toppings, the cookies and even the cherry on top! The kids were on cloud nine! After licking sticky fingers, the kids had sparkler fun. Twenty plus kids running about the court with fire in their hands. After dark, we put all of the neighborhoods fireworks together and had one spectacular showing of every color of sparkle and pop imaginable. I can't figure out why they have to be so noisy. Surely a mother didn't create the screamers!


The kids are still recovering from all the fun. We've done some extra sleeping in this week and I expect there will be more! Yay!

Cool Creations

Karly and Kyle captured the rain forest this week with their cool art creations. Using chalks, sharpies, watercolor pencils, felt tip pens and watercolors, the kids made chameleons, frogs, leopards, and parrots. This program is designed to teach them about the subjects they draw as well as new techniques and drawing skills.
Kyle's favorite drawing was his frog. Kyle wants you to know, "It was amazing as our teacher told us a whole bunch of new stuff we didn't know about the animals or art."
Karly chose her chameleon as her favorite. She shared, "I made new friends, and I really like the pictures we drew."

Drawing Camp at Monart Art Studio was a big success. Both kids would like to sign up for more art fun!

Bye, bye bells!

As of July 1st, the Carnegie Scots will no longer call Kent principal. After months of the ups and downs of applying for a new position, it's finally official--Kent will be the new Director of Schools and Programs for the district. His focus will be directing the middle schools as well as the K-8 schools. We are thrilled for him!

While Kent enjoyed life as a principal and will miss it greatly, he is excited about the new challenges and experiences that lie ahead of him. The next week will be full of packing boxes, changing his blackberry to reflect the district calendar rather than a school site calendar, and figuring out how to function without the bell schedule he's programed to. (For the past decade and a half, his world has been run by school bells!)

Karly and Kyle have been pressing me all week about when Daddy will find out about his job. It was too cute to see their proud smiles when I told them Daddy's news!

Congratulations Kent! We are all so proud of you!

Kicking It Up!

We kicked it up for Kyle's 7th birthday at the local indoor arena. Kyle wanted a kickball party and his friends and family were happy to join him! The kids had a blast trying to see who could kick the farthest, throw each other out, and make a run.

Party fun included cake and ice cream and lots of fun gifts. Kyle's gifts included Star Wars legos, two basketballs, Nintendo DS items and more! He was full of thanks and hopes to do another kickball party someday!

Sunshine in Mendocino

Memorial Day weekend took the Kern family to Mendocino's coast. We stayed at a lovely home with Kent's parents and his sister's family and enjoyed a nice view of the ocean--we could actually see it there was little to no fog. The kids played tag around the house for hours. Cousins just enjoying each other. They also turned a seasoned tree into a clubhouse where they created rooms and had plans for each branch section.

As for the weather, it was BEAUTIFUL! I have never seen so much sunshine on the north-west coast! Just fabulous! We weren't too cold and didn't have to bundle too much. We spent a great deal of time combing the tide pools. Kyle especially picked up quickly on the art of coaxing a crab out of hiding. And Karly was a fan of the hermit crabs (we saw hundreds) yet most especially the shells.

We experience two types of beaches. A dark sand beach as well as a light sand beach. At both beaches Kyle played football with Kent and his cousins, while Karly rolled in the sand in her own world of imagination. Her legs were red from playing in the cool water. On our way home she wanted to know when the ocean will warm up. We told her that our ocean is not going to get warm--she'll have to wait for our cruise in July for the warm ocean waters.

A great little escape before our last few weeks of school!

E--Entertainment

This week has been quite the entertainment week. Karly took center stage first with her Variety Show performance singing "Part of Your World"--Little Mermaid. Karly always has such a sense of presence. She also informed us over the weekend that she'd rather sing in front of 100 than 10-- "it's less embarrassing".



The very next night Kyle and his fellow first graders presented a play "How Does Your Garden Grow". Kyle had the priveledge of the role of a rapping weed. The weeds sang about "ruling" the garden, and Kyle used his "groovy moves" (his words). He was actually quite the dancer! We laughed and cheered along.