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July 5, 2011June 30, 2011

Swimming lessons

We’ve been doing swimming lessons at the Monona pool since the first day of summer vacation. Hours spend pool-side are some of my favorite of the year!

Here’s a little show of Andrew jumping off the diving board. So amazing!

Sylvia’s in the big pool now – Squirts A! Last year she was too young for swimming lessons, and this year she’s delighted with her swimming lessons status.

Here’s a couple adorable pics that Jessica took post-lessons one day…

A good friend is such a treasure in life!

Here’s CC and Sylvie in the little pool as Paddling Penguins.

Check out Celia putting her head under water!

Heading out in a noodle train.

Here’s another series of Andrew jumping…

We’re doing swimming lessons through this week, and then we are doing a session in August. I’m already looking forward to it!

July 4, 2011June 30, 2011

I really love to photograph people. I enjoy capturing photograph evidence of the connections between families. But on a nice June afternoon at Peck’s Market in Lone Rock, I had fun photographing silly goats too!

Bryan was in Vancouver, BC for the weekend, so the kids and I headed out to Tom’s house on the Wisconsin River in Lone Rock to play. On Sunday afternoon, we visited Peck’s Farm Market and spent a few hours playing in the sand, on the equipment, and petting the goats, sheep, horses, and lamas.

Sylvia loves animals.

This trio of floppy eared goats just stole my heart!

How cute is this!?

The shiny eyes, the soft nose, the sleek hair…beautiful!

Uh oh, another cutie. This time it’s a sheep.

Here’s a pretty peacock. When he raised his tail, Sylvia ran toward me pell-mell, yelling, “MOM! Come quick! There’s something magical!!”

This mama goat has two adorable baby kids in her pen. So sweet!

The kids played with these sand toys for hours.

Roar!!

Here’s Sylv overcoming her fear of heights again…

And a new favorite image of my boy. What a handsome man! To get that smile, I asked him a multiplication questions. Love that sparkle, Andrew!

July 3, 2011June 30, 2011

Walking alone on the last day of KG

Wow, these posts are behind! Seems like the days of Andrew being in school were ages ago. We’re in full-on summer mode around here these days!

On June 9, the day before the last day of school, Andrew requested that he walk himself to school. Our main point of concern is crossing Davies street, but I’ve been helping him learn how to do that safely for years. And he was pretty set on the idea. So we gave him the green light. Here he is, ready for his first solo walk…

Off he goes. Farewell, my son!

What a growing up boy! When I picked him up after school, his face fell – he thought he was walking home too and was a little devastated to see me. So I let him go home ahead while I picked up his friend Alivia and walked her home. I wonder if this solo walking thing will come up again in the fall…

Here’s the last day of school. Andrew decided on his own that he wanted to dress spiffy for the last day of school, and he came out of his room with his white dress shirt and his tie.

Oh, this boy. He’s so smart, and his beautiful spirit just sparkles from his eyes. I’m so glad that his first year of school was such a positive experience! Love you, Andrew!

July 2, 2011June 30, 2011

Sylvia the tapper

I got my first fancy SLR digital camera when Sylvia was about six months old. I so wanted to capture the fleeting moments of her infant-hood, and needed more creative control of the imagery I was creating.

I wanted to get professional pictures taken of my kids, but truth be told, I just wanted to take those pictures myself.

Sitting here at Sylvia’s last tap class on June 6, I was so glad that I have my camera as an extension of my hand. It really doesn’t get much better than photographing a group of adorable 3-5 year olds dancing at the YMCA.

Can you tell that she’s having a good time?

Learning to grapevine. That’s a skill everyone should have.

And the shuffle step! Very important for tap.

That curl coming down in front of her eye just slays me.

– oh, the shoes –

My beautiful girl’s curly locks. Maybe my favorite picture.

Oh that marching tutu. You know, she’s wearing my tutu. I got it for the Mud Run last fall. She has me pin it for her so it fits her waist:)

She’s so excited to be dancing for me. Love love love that girl.

The concentration showing in the way she’s holding her hands; the various activities of the other girls; the beauty of all those cute bodies. Ahh, it’s just too much.

I love the way she’s watching amidst the activity.

<sigh>

Dance with abandon, my daughter!

Make that crazy skirt dance!

I love these next two:)

Here she is with her fantastic teacher, Ari. Thanks for a great session, Ari. Next stop – ballet. We’ll hit tap again soon:)

I’ll close with a little video I took with my phone of the girls doing their thing.

[flickr video=5805174507]

June 30, 2011June 30, 2011

Andrew’s first “tri” – the Sawyer Crossen Trithalon

On June 4, Andrew and Eli participated in Monona’s Sawyer Crossen Memorial Triathlon. Andrew had been excited about signing up, but the day before the event, he declared that he was not interested in participating. After some cajoling and light bribery, I’d about given up on him participating. But I asked him to pick up his goodie bag at the registration table. When we got to the registration, Andrew was a little mesmerized by the maps showing the routes for the different age groups. He traced the biking and running routes with his finger, intrigued.

And then when he gave him name to the registration lady, she gave him the run down on where to pin his bib and where to leave his bike, and when he turned around from that conversation, I could tell from the sparkle in his eyes that he was hooked.

The next morning, we met up with an excited Eli for the event. Here’s the boys getting pumped before the start.

Probably not a necessity for the 4-6 year olds, but they had ankle bands to record their times. And their bib numbers were written on their legs and arms just like real triathletes:)

Here’s a view of the Monona Pool, where they started with the swim. They had kickboards or swim noodles and paddled 40 meters from the shallow end to the orange pyramid and then down a lap.

They staggered the kids’ start and had lifeguards posted every few feet, and it looked like it went really well. They’re so cute!

There you can see the start on the far left and then they get out on the far right.

After the kids get out, they supposed to hop on their bikes and go up and down a few blocks (about a half mile). I ran around from the swimming viewing area to the bike transition area, and both our boys were standing there looking around, sort of watching the clouds pass by. So I helped them slip on their t-shirts and get their shoes on so they could bike.

I do so love five/six year olds. They’re so grown up, and yet, they’re really still such little people.

Here’s Andrew heading down the street. Training wheels and all.

Eli speeds on by.

Andrew ditched his bike and took off running.

Wisely, they had volunteers closely interspersed along the quarter mile run to keep the young ones going the right direction.

There’s my boy, running to greet me. He is 100% convinced that he won the triathlon. He was so proud of himself and jazzed about the whole experience. LOVE that boy.

What joy!

Our athletes post-race.

After the race, we hung out at the park and enjoyed snow cones and some of the treats from the registration bags. Andrew got to see Bucky Badger and the Madison Mallard and a couple other large creatures. Sylvia did a great job helping to cheer on the boys. And she loved playing on the playground. She’s been petrified of heights recently, but in this instance, she was a comfortable climber.

Wonder what she’s thinking there…

Oh, what light!

This picture now hangs on my living room wall in a 20×30″ float wrap. Makes me so happy!

After we got home from the triathlon, Andrew requested that I find him additional tri’s to participate in. There’s one in Middleton on August 20. Maybe we’ll sign up!

June 29, 2011June 29, 2011

Andrew’s Kindergarten graduation

On a nice evening in early June, Andrew graduated from Kindergarten.

I’ve got to say that at first blush, I wasn’t a big fan of the idea of Kindergarten graduation. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate, I thought, to have an ice cream party and say “Yay! You’ve made it through your first year!” But a full-out graduation ceremony?? Even middle school graduation strikes me as a little silly. I love to celebrate milestones, but doesn’t it somehow make other graduations (like college or graduate school) kinda blase. These kids are expected and required to pass from KG to first grade. So we can celebrate that they’ve met their requirements? I sort of shrugged and smiled and went along.

The morning of the graduaiton, Andrew was really excited, and I thought that was sweet.

Then as we sat in our metal folding chairs in the gym, Andrew’s class started to file in…

…and my heart melted.

Look at how excited they all are!

Oh, did you ever see such a sweet and earnest guy?

Look at me! I’m now a fan of Kindergarten graduations! My heart has been won over by the adorable nature of the students. I look at them all up there on stage, and I imagine the years going by like the scenery flashing past the windows on a train. If we stay at this school, Andrew could know many of these kids for the next 12 years. As I watched them smile and wave to parents and goof off together, I could still see them all for the little people they still are. They’re just past being preschoolers! But I can also see shadows of the teens that they will grow to become. Oh, the emotion! I shake my head at the wonder of it all.

Bryan, Sylvia, and Tom joined us for the afternoon ceremony.

As the principal called each child’s name, they came up, shook Maestra Laura’s hand,

walked across the stage (some kids nearly leaped across the stage, so great was their excitement!),

and shook hands with the acting principal.

Then each student received his or her certificate of graduation,

and held it up for a quick photo moment.

Andrew held his up for an extra moment just to make sure I captured it. I do so love that little guy!

Nuestro Mundo Community School has three Kindergarten classes, and after they’d all received their certificates and sang their songs, we adjourned to eat cookies and drink juice. A potent sugar combination at 2:30pm.

Here’s Andrew and Sylvia with Maestra Laura. Boy did we get lucky this year to have such a great teacher for our guy.

Party, party, party!

Sylvia (a.k.a. Angelina Ballerina) is pointing out an “s”. That’s “s” for Sylvia. The wonderful thing? She finds them everywhere!

So there you have our Kindergarten graduation experience. My little guy is now on his way to being a first grader. There’s no stopping him now. Reminds me of a post I wrote on July 8, 2005:

“Bryan and I have been having a wonderful time getting to know our precious little baby. A couple days ago, we took him for his first visit to Olbrich Botanical Gardens (see photos in the gallery). I think he liked hearing the birds and feeling the sunshine. His umbilical cord fell off too, so he’s pretty much an old man now.”

Go get ’em, Andrew!

June 28, 2011June 20, 2011

Memorial Day weekend at Tom’s

Tom’s new home in Lone Rock on the Wisconsin River is going to be a great spot for our family. Since it’s only an hour away, we can make a quick trip. There’s a huge sand pile that the kids are having fun playing in (dressed or no). The river is right there for paddling or floating adventures, there’s new outdoor parks to explore. It’s fun.

Then of course, we can just hang out indoors, which is great because since it’s not home, it’s just a nice change of pace.

Here, on Memorial Day weekend, Tom is reviewing Andrew’s first writing of one googol (that’s 10^100; 1 followed by 100 zeros). 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

I closed Sylvia’s fingers in the door. They were a little bloody and bruised, but OK. It was sad, but a good opportunity to remind both kids what a terrible idea it is to place your hand on a door frame. Sweet girl. Here, she’s chilling with some ice and poodle and paci.

We visited Tower Hill State Park. The weather was on the sweltering side (in the 90s), but the kids did well.

Andrew has magical powers to help bring Sylvie out of her downer-moods. Here he’s cajoling and sweet-talking.

She doesn’t seem to be responding…

Ahh, but there she is! The door opens, and she leaves the gloomy humdrums behind. Thanks, Andrew!

What is this in this cave? Why, it can’t be..

YES! It is two ferocious BEARS! Just look at their claws!

Up at the top of the hill, looking out over the Wisconsin River valley, with Spring green to the left.

Andrew was a little tired and got a lift down the hill from Tom. Lucky lad:)

June 27, 2011June 20, 2011

Bryan kayaking on the Wisconsin River

Bryan’s been having fun getting out on the water in his new fabulous kayak. On Memorial Day weekend, he brought his boat up to Tom’s place and spent a couple hours paddling down the Wisconsin from Spring Green to Lone Rock.

Here’s my kayaking guy pre-trip.

The kayak traveled on top of the car. Bryan took all the straps off.

Then he flipped it off the “J” rack

and carried it down to the water.

Easy as pie, right, hon? Do you like it when I stand here photographing you incessantly? Huh, huh, huh?

Such a beautiful day for a paddle.

He sets the kayak down on the beach,

gets his PFD and paddle,

Settling in…

And he’s off!

Toodles, Babe:)

He met us back at Tom’s really quickly. Love that paddling man:)

June 26, 2011June 20, 2011

Sweet Sylvia

On a balmy evening in late May, I captured some pictures of my beautiful girl as she ran and rolled and frolicked in a grassy field.

I think this is my favorite picture of Sylv. I love the level look she’s giving me!

Look at all that life and energy just oozing out of her:) It seems to shine from the tips of her hair.

Thinking…

And then running. Again and again…

Oh Sylv, I’m so glad to be your mama. You do drive me to the brink of insanity from time to time, but it’s all in good fun, right?

You’re a little like this oak leaf…just unfolding, still soft and tender and green. You’ve got a lot of growing to do, my girl. But there isn’t much sweeter than a young life, alive with promise and brimming with vigor. I can’t wait to watch you grow and to experiences so much more of life together.

June 25, 2011June 20, 2011

Soccer!

Andrew and Sylvia are two years apart in age between February and June. And it just so happened, that Monona had a soccer skills class for 3-5 year olds this spring. Then it shockingly aligned so that both kids wanted to participate. Crazy.

Eli and Celia joined us, and we enjoyed five nice evenings (Thursdays in May and early June) watching the kiddos play about.

Eli’s sixth birthday was on a soccer day. Here’s his newly-hatched Sixness:

And there’s CC. Water breaks were a major component of the soccer skills class.

Hi me:)

Soccer buddies

Here are the kids running around on another evening…

It’s chaos out there! Then, I caught Andrew on camera doing cartwheels:)

There aren’t any soccer classes that work with our schedule this summer, and the kids aren’t interested in tennis or t-ball etc. Andrew said he might be interested in karate, so perhaps we’ll add that in at some point. In the meantime, this was a great, low-key initiation to the world of kids sports:)

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