Bouncing, a Sleepover & the usual

 This crazy kid decided she wanted to have her birthday at "that bouncy place where Chase had him party."  We went by one day to make the reservation and lucky for us they were open so we got to play too!

 They had tons of fun.  The red-eye correction makes her look slightly crazier than she really is!

 Chase was in favor of the party selection too.

 Ride 'em cowboy.

It never gets old taking pictures before ballet class and Taylor never gets tired of posing.  

She gets so excited to go to her dance class.

 Chase was most excited when I picked him up from school on Friday because he finally had his turn as line leader - a day he had been waiting for since school started!  His loving sister also brought him a slurpee when we picked him up since "him had a great day at school."  This is sister code for "I want a slurpee but it sounds better if I ask if we can get one for my brother first."  She knows how to operate.

 Chase and Kaleb made plans for their first big sleepover together for last night.  The girls wanted in on it too, so the boys were going to the Smith's house and the girls were staying with us.  Well, Chase chickened out and wanted to stay home and Kaleb decided to stay at his house too.  Kathryn was still in so she stayed with us.  We watched a movie, ate popcorn and then went to bed.

They were obviously excited to set up camp and go to sleep in Taylor's room.  Five minutes after this picture they were both in our room.  They both went to sleep.  10 minutes later I hear a loud "Kelly" from the top of the steps and then "I'm ready to go home!"  By 10pm all four kids were asleep in their own houses.  Technically it was a "sleepover" but a fast one!

 Another big soccer game today.  If Chase had a single aggressive bone in his body he could go pro.  He gets to the ball and then runs around it in circles like it's a hot potato you don't want to touch.  It's pretty funny.  He did have some good plays and scored 3 goals, so he was happy about that!

 It was our week for snacks.  Taylor was excited to be the happy helper!

Keeping Busy

 Taylor is still loving ballet class.  This past week she moved up to the 3-4 year old class since all her previous classmates disappeared.  She had a blast and there were no tears from any of the girls!

 After ballet we made a trip to Home Depot before we had to pick up Chase.  Taylor was riding on the back of the cart, munching on chips and singing "Pontoon" like she was the queen bee.

 Chase had his first soccer game of the season this past Saturday.  It was entertaining.  He did score 3 goals but he also did plenty of laughing and running in circles around the ball too!

 A typical scene at 4-year old soccer....3 teammates fighting for the ball and the opposing team in the background looking at another game!

 Chase's #1 fan.  

(Especially because she knows the Kona Ice truck is there after the game if she behaves!)

 We also got a very brief visit from Melinda this past week.  She was passing through town on her way to New York to visit family.  It was good to see her and hopefully the next visit will be a little longer!

 Thank you preschool for finally wearing this kid out!  He has taken 2 naps since preschool started.  Not much, but 2 more than he has in the last year so I'll take it!

 Yesterday we went to the river to do some fishing.  There is a report that one fish was caught before I got down there with the camera but I don't believe it!

 Chase had the most patience and the most nibbles, but no fish!

A little mid-fishing picnic.

 It was perfect fishing weather.  You could sit in the sun and not get hot!

Still waiting for a bite!  It was a good time.

Basketball, Ballet & a Birthday

 We'd been debating when to get Chase a "real" basketball hoop for the driveway.  We were thinking of waiting until next Spring but recently he plays nonstop in the playroom with the hoop on the back of the door.  We decided why wait and found one on Craig's list that fit Dave's specifications!  You can see that Chase couldn't possibly be happier.

 He will play all the time if you let him.  

 He takes it pretty serious.  I had a great video to put on here, but it was sideways and that was kind of annoying to watch so I'll try again!

 Taylor wasn't as thrilled with the purchase.  She'll stick to shopping.

 And watching from the sidelines.  

Her car (and mine too) has been hit on the roof more than once so far!

Ballet this past week was great again.  She was most excited that Dave came to watch her.  There were 3 girls in her class this week and by the middle of the class it was down to just 1, surprisingly Taylor!  Tears have gotten the best of the rest of them.  After this week if it's still a small class she gets to move up with the older girls.

   She was also proud of her new "princess bag" to carry her shoes.

 We went to a semi-surprise birthday party this weekend for one of Dave's partners.  

Taylor is admiring the glow of the birthday cake.

 She was excited to find her buddy Kaylee there.

I had a buddy of my own to sit with too!

The Motor-Bike

My brother never has many dull moments in his life.  He recently acquired a bicycle with a motor.  We went over on Saturday morning to check it out.  Dave was facinated with it.  For some reason I was tempted to try it out too.  Dave made these 2 videos - one of them is longer than it needed to be - and said they were blog-worthy.  I wish I had the picture of Dave's hair after he rode the bike - much more exciting!

My favorite part is the kids laughing at the end of the second video.
Apparently the bike has reached a speed of 33 mph so far.
Trust me, I wasn't the one riding then!

Homework, a Picnic & Soccer

 Chase had his first homework assignment this week.  He was so excited about it he wanted to do it right away.  As soon as Taylor was sleeping we went out to the porch to work on it.

 He quickly learned why they call it home"work".  

I'm afraid this was just a glimpse of homework years to come.

 He finished it but he wasn't happy about it.

 The weather this week has been perfect. 

 We had Kenley with us one day so we took a picnic to the park.

 What faces.

 Taylor loves her some Kenley.

 Chase moved up to the next division in soccer this year which means practices and real games.  Last night was the first practice and it was just as fun to watch as a game.

 He only has 6 kids on his team. We've only seen 5 there so far!  

They will play 3 vs. 3 against the other teams in the division.

 Taylor was a little jealous of the pink ball.

 They had to practice falling down.  It was a hit.

And then making snow angels.  Chase is looking at the coach like "what in the world are we doing?"  Games start next Saturday.  It should be a hoot.

Little Ballerina

 As if starting preschool wasn't enough for one week, Taylor had her first ballet class today.  She was quite upset that she couldn't wear her shoes until we got there.  After class she asked is she could get a "princess bag" to carry her shoes in like the other girls had!

 The teacher let the parents in for the first few minutes to do introductions but once it was time to get started we were kicked out.  Amazingly, Taylor was the first one to hop up and follow the teacher.  She only had 4 girls in her class and one of them got the boot after she couldn't stop crying so it might just be 3 from here on out!

 Luckily, they were in the room with the doors so we could watch from the outside.  

It was the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life.

Dancing around with one of her ballerina buddies.

The video doesn't show it all but it was a riot to watch.  The mirror is in front of the girls so they were all getting a kick out of looking at themselves.

Preschool

 We made it through our first day of preschool!  Chase has been excited about it ever since we were taking tours back in the spring but I was worried when the time came he might lose his enthusiasm.  Thank goodness he stayed excited.  I'm pretty sure that if he had cried I would have been right there with him!

 Taylor was ever-helpful this morning trying to get ready.  I had to wake them up to get ready to go.  This is not looking good for next year when we'll actually have to be ready an hour earlier than we do this year!

 Chase is ready to go and Taylor could keep taking pics all day.

 Headed to the van.

 Finally there!

 He jumped right in, said "see you later" and we were out of there. 

I will say he was happy to see us when we came back for him.  His "job" today was to say the snack prayer.  He can't wait for his turn to pass out the snacks.  He said he made one new friend today - "the boy in the basketball shirt" and he had to be in line next to 3 girls.  He was bummed that they didn't go to the gym today   but he's hoping for rain so maybe next time they can go!  Overall, he gives it 2 thumbs up!