Dax is EIGHT

Daxton had his EIGHTH birthday!  To begin the celebrations, he followed Arden's example and chose to go to Kneaders for breakfast.  Once there, he tried his best to take down the grown-up size cinnamon french toast, which I have never been able to do.  He made a valiant effort, but in the end I had to help him a little (which I didn't mind). 

After breakfast, I went along with him to school, since this lucky boy got to go on a field trip to the Natural History Museum on his very birthday!  He was excited!  I wasn't too excited to walk into his classroom and see he had changed desk locations since the last time I was there.  There was a line of desks along the back of the room, and a line of desks on each side, all touching.  Then there was Dax...all alone in the corner:

But happy about it?  Apparently he had been talking to his buddy R too much and had to move his desk a little bit away from the other kids.

*sigh*

Anyway, on to the field trip!  What do you think my boy wanted to look at first?  Hint: it starts with "D" and rhymes with "Minosaurs."  Here is my cute little group:

Look out boys, its a giant crocodile kinda thingie!  ("Dinosuchus, mooooom," says Dax, rolling his eyes like I should have this knowledge already).

We looked all around the dinosaurs and other prehistoric skeletons, and Dax wanted to lay down in this footprint (which was one of the many touchable exhibits which second graders appreciate).

 We also saw lots of cool minerals and rocks, a tarantula, some brine shrimp, lots of cool Native American stuff, learned about the human genome and all sorts of other interesting educational junk.  But by 11:00, pretty much all this boy could think of was how much longer until lunch.

Finally, lunchtime arrived!  Dax got to have his "Birthday Lunchable" that he has been waiting for since Arden had hers in March.  He's so excited he can't even look at me:

His teacher wandered by and I made her stop and get a picture with Dax.  Dax has really loved his teacher this year, (and totally understands her decision to put him in the corner).  She is awesome!  You can see from his smile.

 Why can't I get him to smile like that with his bear??  These are the best I could come up with:

Pretty bad, right?  Oh well.  You get the idea.  He's hugungous.

Dax had baseball practice after school, and then chose to eat dinner at the Pizza Pie Cafe.  He likes unlimited pizza, that one does!  After that it was homework and bed.  Not too bad of a birthday though!

Happy Birthday boy!

Purple Pythons

We are right in the middle of soccer season around here.  With Arden's life being full to bursting with gymnastics and Dax giving baseball a try, we are down to a single soccer player at our house.  

Cora has an awesome team this year, the Purple Pythons.  They are pretty dominant, which is always fun.  They also have decided to add on to the standard-issue uniforms and now sport these fancy soccer hair bows at each game:

 It is fun to watch those bows flying around as they chase down the ball.

 Cora is doing great this year!  Her favorite thing is still scoring goals, but she is getting better at playing some defense, and likes to be the goalie from time to time:

 And, the treats are still pretty great!

 It has been kind of a rainy, cloudy soccer season so far.  Last Saturday was no exception.  Right before the game there was a little thunder around and some drizzly rain, but they decided to go ahead and play.  During the second quarter the rain started coming down harder, but the girls were playing like troopers.

I noticed that Cora's friend Abby's hair was sticking up in the air like she had static electricity.  I was about to point it out to Preston when I noticed that ALL the girls' hair was sticking up a little.  Everyone's hair was pretty wet and mostly tied back, but he little frizzy flyaways were pointing towards the sky.  The coach noticed too, and said something like "All the girls hair is standing up, and it is freaking me out, let's call the game."  Sounds good.

We quickly put down our metal umbrellas and packed up our camp chairs (got our soccer treats of course) and high tailed it for the car.  I tried to get a picture of the sticking up hair, but I couldn't do it very well.  You can only see a little bit on Arden's hair, but trust me, it was freaky.

Luckily we all survived, but it was an interesting afternoon for sure.  Cora was bummed because she didn't get to score a goal, and was hoping that the next game they play will be "extra long" to make up for the shortened one.

I'm glad she is having so much fun, and I am hoping for some good soccer weather for the rest of the season!

Not Yet

So, a month or two ago, my niece got married.  During the ceremony, I just kept looking at this beautiful blond girl who I had met when she was just a baby.  And now here she was, all grown up. Getting married.  In just a few weeks she would be moving to another state with her new husband so he can go to medical school.

I kept thinking how fast the time had gone by...and then all of a sudden I started to picture Arden sitting there in her place.

Arden is ten years old.  It seems only a flew blinks of an eye since she was just a baby.  That means I only have a few blinks left until she will be all grown up too.  And leaving.  Dax and Cora will be right behind her, as they always are.

I looked over at the father of the bride, and he was struggling.  He was bravely trying to hold it together, but all over his face you could see.  Even though he was so happy for his daughter, this was hard.  He had to let her go, but how could he? 

And guys...my eyes started to water and my heart started to hurt.

How in the world can this happen?  How can I be expected to let these little people who I love with all of my heart and soul and guts go?  How can I be expected to send them off to college or wherever in the world they fly off too?  It is ridiculous to ask that of me.  Of anybody.

Of course I want my kids to grow up and find their own happiness, their own families, their own careers, their own lives.  I want that for them more than anything.

But not yet.

Right now, I love knowing each night that all three of them are tucked in their beds, safe and warm. And home, here with me (and, of course, quiet).   Mine.

Arden and Cora keep sneaking into each others rooms at night and curling up together.  So sweet.

 

Right now, I love knowing where they are and what they are doing, and how long until they will be home again.   I love that they tell me about who-said-what and who-did-what at school.  That they still want me to tuck them in and read them stories and help them with their homework (well, I don't always love the homework, but you get the idea).        

 I know I still have years to get them and myself ready.  But I still don't see how I will EVER be ready to let them go.  Maybe having them turn into crazy, drama-filled hormonal teenagers will help ease the transition?  

Time keeps rolling along, and it seems to me that it only rolls faster and faster ahead, no matter how much I plead for it to slow down.  I guess there is nothing I can do except try to soak up these days as much as I can.  I have to try to enjoy them, even when they are crazy and busy and exhausting and LOUD.  Because someday, the silence will be deafening.  

But not yet.