Finley's Forever Family & Charlie!: Summer 2010

Now that we only have about 2 weeks of summer left... I'll review what we've been up to!

* Jack took a class called, "Safety Town". It's put on by our local school district and our pediatrician highly recommended it to us. Jack was a little nervous on the first day- but I talked to him about how lucky he was that he had already gone to preschool and didn't have to be nervous about taking this class on his own. I left him with his 2 middle school age teachers and the 3 other kids in his group and walked away. He didn't even shed a single tear! He ended up having a great time and learned so much! I was amazed that he did the class all on his own with no problems... the first days of preschool were tough!

The class met everyday from 1-3 for 2 weeks. He got to ride a bike around this special part of the school's playground that they set up to look like real streets. He learned all about crossing the road, stoplights, crosswalks, police officers, dialing 911, fire fighters, animal safety, poisons, school bus safety, playground safety and about a million other things. The class was full of stuff I'd maybe mentioned before- but I was so glad that he heard it all in this kind of setting. One of his teachers became especially fond of Jack and wrote me the sweetest note after the class ended. She has now become a babysitter for us!

* Emma took a mom and kid gymnastics class and loved every minute of it! She jumped on the trampoline, did an obstacle course, walked on the balance beams and learned how to behave around other kids! She is so much more independent than Jack ever was at that age. Even now she seems to be the leader- Jack will often follow her lead in situations where he'd normally be shy.

* Jack and Brandon took a parent and kid sports class for a few weeks- apparently the other kids in the class had just turned 3 or 4 so they were a bit younger. Jack still had a good time and got to try things like kickball!

* Our family trip to Disney World was amazing. I never in a million years thought we'd enjoy it so much. On the first night we went to Epcot and Jack got to ride a ton of the rides! He loved all of them and was so brave! We did a character dinner where Pluto, Mickey Mouse, those Chipmunks, and some others walked around to your table while you were eating. Emma took one look at Pluto headed her way and FREAKED OUT!! She launched herself out of her booster seat and into Brandon's lap in record time! It reminded me of when she saw Santa this year! For the rest of the trip- whenever we'd say, "Here comes Pluto!" she'd get all nervous and look around for him!!! It was hilarious!!

We also did a dinner called the "Hoop Dee Doo Revue" which sounded sort of sketchy and corny at first- but it was great! We had a great dinner while watching this comedy play thing- Jack was belly laughing at parts of it. It was so fun to see him "get" that kind of goofy humor.

The longest line we stood in was an hour long so that Emma could meet the princesses. When we finally entered the room where Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Cinderella were waiting- it was magical! Emma was in shock that they were real and Jack was in love! Sleeping Beauty asked Jack if there were dragons in his land! Cinderella kissed Jack on the cheek and he loved it!

We went to Universal Studios and did the Islands of Adventure park. That was sooo great! We loved the rides and the superheroes! Jack was in absolute heaven when he got to meet Spiderman! We had a fabulous day there even though it was incredibly hot!

We loved hanging out with Nae Nae and Dude (LaNae and David) and were so grateful that they invited us! There pool is awesome- Jack and Emma were swimming and jumping in on their own with the help of these ridiculous yellow swimsuits with built in inner tubes that I bought for them.

*Yesterday we headed up to Eau Claire for Brandon's Grandma's 100th birthday! She is in a nursing home and sleeps pretty much all of the time- but she looked good for 100 to me! The kids were a little unsure of the whole thing- but were well behaved. We took a family picture in front of 707 Water Street! That's the house where Brandon and I met just about 12 years ago! We met in the basement during a Homecoming party! Very crazy to be back 12 years later with our 2 kids!!!

*Today we hit the State Fair. The kids loved the animals and the big slide. They both also did the trampoline thing. Emma again showed absolutely no fear as she headed right in to get her harness on! She had a huge smile the whole time she was jumping and even did 2 flips! Jack was a bit more timid- but smiled the whole time.

*Being home with those 2 kids is great and hard all at the same time. I treasure the time I have with them, but look forward to a fresh school year as well. They can be quite a challenge especially when it's hot outside and we're crabby in our non-air conditioned house!!!

Jack will be headed to school with me in a few weeks for Junior Kindergarten! He'll be there 5 days a week for full days! We'll drive to and from school each day! I can't wait! I'm even more excited now that I know the transition won't be so hard. He has grown a lot in the past year and is ready to be on his own a bit more. Of course his classroom is right next door to mine-- so he'll see my face squished up on his window as I try to spy on him, so he won't really be on his own!! :) Emma will be home with Moe Moe this year- she's going to be signed up for tons of classes. She loves trying new things and will need those adventures. She'll use Jack's old backpack and pretend she's off to school each day too!

We have a few more adventures planned in the next few weeks... will I take the time to sit down and update the blog??? I hope so!!!!

Giving my little princess a smooch in front of Cinderella's castle!