Orange is for Beavers

And apparently not for Ducks! Since Rob and I are both big Duck fans and we are in the heart of Duck football, there is lots of what we call "Go Duck" talk around our house. We always notice "go Duck" colors, flags, car stickers, t-shirts, etc. I guess you could say we have our children trained well. Of course we know many Beavers and many of them are good friends but we still joke that they are "stinky!"

So last week we were driving home from preschool and all of the sudden Luke says "Mom, Alex's mom is a Beaver" (with a negative tone in his voice). So today at school I told Alex's mom what Luke had said. She laughed and said that they had had a conversation about the Ducks and Beavers because his painting consisted only of yellow and green. Then, I was in the bathroom and one of the mom helpers asked if Luke was my son. Yes, I responded a little hesitantly (in my head I'm wondering why she is asking). She said that they did a math game in class where they had to spin a wheel and then could take plastic spiders that was equal to the number that they spun. Since it's Halloween season the spiders were naturally orange and black. Luke refused to take any orange spiders because they were "Beaver" spiders. I think that Luke is taking the Duck/Beaver rivalry a little too seriously...Civil War could be dangerous.

And off she goes...

My little baby girl is off to first grade! I keep having these flashbacks of her when she was just a tiny little baby and then look at her now and can't believe the wonderful little girl that she has become. Last year sending her off to Kindergarten was hard for me but this year seems even a little harder, she's gone ALL DAY! I think what's getting me is that this is the beginning of the end. I guess that sounds negative and I don't mean it to but from here on out she's going to be spending more time at school than she is with me. I also feel like each year I have to loosen those kite strings a little more and give her a little more independence. I can't choose her friends anymore...a little scary. I just hope that we've instilled values in her and given her what she needs to make good choices for herself.

So anyway, back to school.... Ellie is in Miss King's class and she was very excited when she found this out. Miss King is about Lindsey's age (26 or 27 I think) and she's very cute and as sweet as can be. Last year when Ellie and I were looking at the three first grade teachers pictures on the bulletin board she pointed to Miss King and said "I want her." When I asked her why she replied "because she's pretty." Oh, little girls... She has a couple friends in her class and she's already made several new ones too. She's been just a little excited each morning, the second day of school she was up, dressed and sitting with her backpack, waiting to go to the bus (which comes at 8:12) at 6:45! She had a long morning waiting on that couch.

Next week will be another week of "change." Luke starts Small Friends on Thursday which I think he's pretty excited and ready for. Then Drew and I will have a little "alone time" - I honestly don't think that the poor child even knows what that is, I'm looking forward to it. He seems a little lost without Ellie around and Luke is definitely lonely (he asks at least once an hour when it will be time to go get Ellie at the bus). It's been an exciting but long and tiring week. I'm glad that the weekend is here...

Berries, berries, and more berries

At this time of year in the great Northwest there isn't anything better than fresh, plump and juicy, hand-picked berries. The kids and I have been berry picking several, well more than several, times so far this year. We throw on our dirty shoes (now nicknamed our berry picking shoes) put our berry boxes (and the backpack for Drew) in the car and we're off. We've now picked raspberries, marionberries, boysenberries, and just on Friday, blueberries. We drive about five miles Northwest of our house to this great little farm called West Union Gardens. The people there are so nice and the kids are always welcome to help pick. They even encourage taste testing which is a must when you are picking berries. If they were smart, they'd weigh the kids (and me) before we started and after we were done...I bet the kids eat at least a couple pounds of berries in the hour that we're there. So far though, we luckily haven't had any tummy troubles. Anyway, I just love it out there, the farm land is so beautiful and so peaceful and everything is so fresh and tasty. (They also sell fresh green beans, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes which we buy in large quantities.)

Luke and Ellie do a great job picking. Some of the berries might not necessarily be ripe by my standards but for the most part they get the idea. On Friday while we were picking blueberries Luke was picking some of the berries that the birds had gotten to so I told him that those might not be the best ones to pick since the birds had eaten them. He went on his merry way and continued to plop big berries into his container. About five minutes later he says "Mom, is this yellow stuff the bird's snot?" I about died laughing.

So after all of this berry picking, I have to admit that I've become a berry snob. I look at the berries at the grocery store but they just aren't good enough, or fresh enough for me.... Aren't we lucky to have the abundence of all this yummy fruit right at our fingertips?

The Big Day...33 years

I've always loved my birthday. As a child, my mom made it so special for us. We'd always wake up to a balloon and a birthday sign posted on the front door. Even now that I'm an adult, Mom still comes through for us and now she even includes the kids in the birthday surprises. For about a week now there have been secrets floating around the house, mostly with Ellie, Mom and Rob (Luke has a tendency to spoil surprises). We got home from swimming yesterday morning and there was a birthday sign on the front door! Must have been the birthday fairy... Ellie was so excited and proud, it was obvious that she had worked hard on it. Then, the next thing I know, she's coming around the corner with an ice cream pie in her arms. I thought she was anxious to get home from swimming, now I know why! We each had a tiny bite, very delicious...

So, as a mom of three young kids, one of the best birthday presents I could ask for is a little "Karley time." We went to lunch yesterday with my family (all of my extended family is in town this week) and as we were leaving Ellie and Luke threw a fit because they didn't want to go home with me...(boy does that make me feel good). Anyway, my mom volunteered to take them with her for a little while. Drew and I ran a quick errand and, as I hoped, he fell asleep on the way home. Could it be...would I have a few minutes to myself? It looked so promising. I was extremely quiet when I got home. I tip-toed up to Drew's room to make sure everything was "in place." (If his lamby was not straight and his fan not on, he might awake when I put him in his crib.) I carefully went to retrieve him from the car, I do this all the time successfully but this time there was so much more riding on the line, "Karley time". As I picked him up he briefly lifted his head. I stopped in my tracks and rocked him back to sleep in the garage. Now I am finally in his room, again I rock back and forth with him to make sure he's in a deep sleep. I prepare for the handoff into the crib. I lay him down and his head pops up, he sees me! I close the door quietly and hear the dreaded cry. Crap...he's awake. I run downstair to get a bottle thinking that if I get back up to him before he gets too worked up I have a better chance of him going back to sleep. As I'm feeding him his bottle I glance at my watch...only 20 more minutes until Ellie and Luke are due back home. Drew finally falls back asleep and I have 13 minutes to myself. What should I do? I have a full dishwasher to unload, a load of laundry to fold, toys to pick up, the list of chores goes on and on, and on and on. But...since it's my birthday and I now only have 12 minutes left, I decide to sit on the couch, relax and read a magazine. I deserve it don't I?

The rest of the day was great. We went to dinner at Rock Creek Tavern with the kids (my night out with Rob is on Saturday night and I can't wait!!) Then my parents came over to help celebrate. And, I finally had, a rather large, piece of ice cream pie for dessert. Yummy!

Hawaii Pics

Take 2...

So I decided that it would be fun to have a blog. I successfully posted my first post and was very proud of myself for doing so...well, that was two month ago. This time I really am going to try harder. My sister Lindsey moved halfway across the country (to Texas) last week so I want to keep this going so that she can stay connected to us (mostly the kiddos). I just read her new blog so she is my motivator. Thanks Li!

A lot has happened in the past two months, you know, those two months that I haven't posted to my blog! As I mentioned, my little sister Lindsey moved to San Antonio, TX. It's really good for her and for Nate (her husband), they've been apart the majority of their married life so I'm sure it's nice for them to be together. But...we sure do miss her. Luke keeps saying "when we go to Texan to see Winsey..." He says it like it's no big deal, like we can just hop in the car and be there. I only wish... Ellie has a journal that she writes in and today she came to show me her "entry". It said "Linsey wit a wa on a airplan. I mis her. I lik her. I love her." How cute is that???

So a few other updates... Ellie "graduated" from Kindergarten and turned 6 all in the same week. Is true, do I really have a child who is old enough to be in 1st grade? I remember when I was in first grade like it was yesterday, okay, not yesterday but I do remember it.

A few days after Ellie's birthday we left for Hawaii! Yep, the whole Wolcott clan. My parents decided that they were crazy enough to take us all for a week in Maui. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun we had, it will be a week that we will never forget! (pictures to come).

I can't believe that it's nearing the end of July. I think I'm going to be really depressed when summer is over and Ellie has to go back to school. I love how carefree the days are. Okay, I think I'm getting a little carried away, we do still have half the summer left to enjoy....I think I'll go enjoy.

Blog what??

Okay, I'm going to make an attempt at blogging since it's the "thing to do" these days. I think it's such a great way to keep a "life journal" and I know it will be something that I will enjoy looking back on in the years to come (hopefully the kids will too). I have always had good intentions of keeping journals for each of the kids but realistically, I just don't have time. So...here I go.
[I'm not going to write much on my first post because I don't know if it will even work (I'm so computer illiterate).]