Gone are the days of training wheels!!

Jake riding his bike all by himself!
He can even self start! (which happens to be a big deal around here!!)
He still uses his feet from time to time.

Eric & I were talking about a month ago and thought Jake really needed to learn to ride his bike without the training wheels. He recently graduated to a "bigger" bike with training wheels but hasn't really been confident enough to ride it. We thought we would let him try it out on his "little" bike (which is now supposed to belong to his little sis). Eric has worked many evenings and weekends with him and he can finally do it. He's SO excited about it, especially since neither of us have to help him get started. Great job Jakey boy! We can't wait to go on long family bike rides together!

We love fair days....

Daddy and Miss Ava
Jake and his buddy Hayden
Ty and Jake on the roller coaster!
Of course, we couldn't miss the boats!
Ava in her little hot rod!

We are taking a break from the fair this weekend as we've already gone two..well three times! I nearly killed myself getting there for the opening day parade last Friday and almost fought a couple of other ladies for my "free" parking space. For some reason, I just refused to pay for parking in P-town that day....so consequently we (me & the kids) walked at least 10-12 blocks. It was far...even in comfy shoes. That day we met a bunch of our friends and their mommies. We saw lots of animals and were able to ride some of the rides until we got too hot. We came back later with Eric for the Rodeo and the kids really enjoyed that. Oh, and we did get free parking again (very important to me). We couldn't leave though without doing more rides and getting a big bag of scones!

On Monday we graced the fair with our presence again for Monday madness or whatever it is they call the $1 ride day. We couldn't miss that because usually it is around $4 a ride! We went with the Linkems and Josh, Kelsy, & their kids. We love doing things with all of them especially because the kids all get along really well. We all had a great time and will probably do the fair one more time before it's over...we'll see.

Another year of the "1st Day of School"

Jake just had to wear his pre-school shirt on the first day!
Our big boy!
Ava gladly walked Jake to his class for his first day.

This is Jake's 2nd year of preschool and he was like an old pro at the whole school thing. He was anxious to go, but not nervous or scared. His teacher commented on how well he did on the first day and said that he has been making lots of new little buddies. This was great news for me as last year he really didn't come out of his shell until after Christmas. I'm glad to see that he is confident and excited about school. We're so proud of you little man!

Time for SOCCER!!

Jake's 1st soccer game was yesterday! He's very excited about being a soccer player and his first game actually went better than I thought it would. It's such a learning experience for all the little guys & girls...the coaches actually stand on the field and tell everyone where to stand and exactly what to do. What a big boy our little Jake has become! Go 'Lil Kickers!!

Breakin' The Law!

It's no secret that Jake LOVES costumes and every couple of months he's due for a new one. Mimi usually helps in out in this department and for the last two weeks he's been asking me to take him over to her house to check the front step for a little brown package the mail truck was supposed to bring him. It FINALLY arrived and he's so excited! He especially loves the whistle (I'm already going crazy) and the the handcuffs (he likes Ava and I to be the bad guys).


Here he is arresting his sister...I wonder what she did?? Whatever it is, she's probably guilty.

"The Look"

As many know Ava is our "little miss sassy pants" and today she was nothing short of her ordinary self. This is the "look" she likes to give me when I tell her not to do something (like don't play with the shredder...it's dangerous and you could lose your fingers!). It's as if she's trying to say..."well Mom, what are you going to do about it?" Stinker! She can be as cute as a bug's ear at times, but she LOVES to try my patience! Oh, and by the way, she insisted she have both the bib (which is too small) AND the dish towel.

3's A Crowd...

For the past 5 years (I know it's my own fault), we have had our little midnight monkey run in and want to sleep with us. I usually end up with about 12 inches on the edge of the bed with a foot in my side. Last night before bed I told him that if he got scared and came to sleep with mommy & daddy he would have to bring blankets and a pillow and sleep on the floor. He did it! And all by himself I might add! I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I woke up to this. Notice that his halibut from Alaska is not in my bed either. Thanks buddy...Mommy can finally get a good night's sleep!