Unexpected Memory Making

Date night was Saturday and Brian and I ended up at St. Claire Winery for dinner.  They happened to be having a wine tasting event...right up our alley... and on a whim we entered the "Summer Crush" grape stomping contest.  Long story short, we WON 1ST PLACE on Saturday night (a gift certificate to come back to the winery) and the opportunity to come back and stomp again for a chance to win a trip for two to Las Vegas (exchangeable for another destination thank goodness).  When we told the kids this morning about our little date night adventure they were so excited about the prospect of winning a trip that we decided to take them with us this evening to cheer us on in the stomping finals.  WE WON THE TRIP!!!!  We had to crush sixteen pounds of grapes as much as we could with our bare feet in three minutes.  Our strategy was no grapes left behind and use Brian's giant feet!

Here's the cheering section!

Checking on the kids...

Discussing strategy...

...and victorious!

Photos by Thomas.

Flash (not too far) Back: The Corrales C-Horses

Thomas and Lauren joined the Corrales Swim Team this summer.  When we started it was just Thomas and we had decided we would not do any meets.  After a few weeks Thomas got wise and said "What's the point of practicing every day if we are not doing meets?  I want to do meets!"  And Lauren said "I can swim that far too!"  So the coaches said Lauren could participate as long as she could swim the length of the pool even though she is only five.  We went to our first meet at Sierra Vista pool and the rest is history....the kids LOVED it!! 

Coach Cameron gives Thomas and Lauren some last minute pointers.

Lauren was SO proud that she received a ribbon.  I was so proud of her in general for being fearless and going head to head with all the older kids!

The spectators.

We did 4 meets at the end of the summer and Thomas even ended up qualifying for the City Meet in the 25yd buttlerfly.   Not bad for our first year.  I think we will definitely be signing on again next summer!

First Days of School 2010

I have a second grader!  I think Thomas had typical first day butterflies, but was more excited than nervous. He seemed really eager to catch up with all of his buddies.  He has Mrs. Julander, the teacher that his friend Clayton had last year, so he felt like he already knew her.  We hear she is a fantastic teacher and we are looking forward to Thomas being challenged once again this year.  OUR challenge is dealing with the fact that Thomas seems to use up ALL of his good behavior at school and unleashes on me and the other kids when his gets home....not fun, but I guess it is better to have it that way than the other way around!

 

A big sign in the hallway of the kindergarten classes at CES says "Welcome Class of 2023"...WOW!  Lauren insisted on riding the bus the very first day of school and entered the classroom (where I met her with all of her supplies) with all of the confidence of a seasoned student.  I was, as I always am with our kids, feeling so glad that Lauren is independent and outgoing but also a little sad because she was not the least bit sad, wary or seeming to need me in any way.  I was comforted after school when she got off of the bus and I was treated to the biggest, tightest, longest hug that Lauren has ever given me.  The following is usually said of college graduates and such, but I truly feel that Lauren is "off to make her mark on the world".  Even in kindergarten she will be a force to be reckoned with.

It is Connor's turn to go to All Saints Lutheran Pre-school!  He asked me almost daily over the summer "does my preschool start today?".  He would point out the building every time we passed it while driving, and would tell anyone who'd listen that he was going to school and his teacher is Ms. Cathy.  I knew he was looking forward to going, but I thought maybe just maybe he would be a little hesitant to let me go on the first day.  Instead, Connor RAN into the classroom and said "Bye mom, you leave me at my school now!".  He plopped down on the carpet with his friends Caroline Kaplan and Sam Zortman and that was that.

Aaaaaaah (sigh).  Not sure if I am sighing in sadness that time is going by so quickly and we have started yet another school year, or relief that for a couple of mornings each week it will be just me and the twins at home.  Okay, yeah.....just two kids for a little while is going to be nice!  But this has always been one of the funniest things about parenthood (for me):  No matter how crazy they drive me, I absolutely miss them when they are not around!!  They are great kids if I do say so myself...mostly ;)...and I wish them all the best as they begin this school year.

Eggs!

We have eggs people!  The chickens are going to start earning their keep!!!

Enjoy It While You Can!

Enjoy it while you can bud!  School starts next week!

Look What We Can Do!

Standing up and ready to go!  No steps yet, but they are sure to happen soon...yikes, we are in TROUBLE!  Am I allowed to tie them together or something?