Busy kids update

Isaac has been very busy playing baseball and soccer, and learning how to be a Cub Scout.  Bill is just as busy - volunteering to be assistant coach for soccer and baseball, and Den Leader for Isaac's cub scout troop (super-dad!).  Isaac has settled into his new school, making friends and really seems to love it.  We met with his teacher this week, and she says he is a great kid and is generally doing well, but he has some issues with focusing.  He's apparently very social and runs out of time before finishing his assignments in class. We are working with him on this...
Here are some pictures of soccer.  The team has made a LOT of progress this year, and there is actually some real soccer being played at the games, which is fun to watch.

Progress in baseball is not as remarkable, but Isaac really loves it.  He is definitely getting better though, and has gotten a few really good hits, but still struggles with staying engaged when his team is in the outfield.  We may have a theme here...

The cub scout thing is really cute, and actually full of great learning opportunities for the boys.  They learn about nutrition, fire safety, disaster preparedness, and nature through visits to the fire station, recycling center, hikes, etc.  And seeing them in those adorable outfits isn't too bad either.  

Cate has been busy too! She is doing Art at school and takes Hip Hop after school on Fridays, which is super-cute.

At home, she is spending lots of time doing "homework" - every time Isaac has work to do, Cate asks for paper and insists on doing some herself.  She has gotten REALLY good at letters and numbers.  In fact, her teacher told us she is doing better than a lot of the kindergartners in her Montessori class.  She also loves helping with the cooking.  On Saturday mornings, she runs downstairs to get all of the ingredients out for weekend pancakes and insists on doing the measuring and pouring.

Finally, she is still loving her makeup and nail polish.  She is allowed to play with makeup with a grownup in the house, but not wear it out (even that was hard for Bill to swallow!).  She was on probation from nail polish for a few weeks because she mysteriously started biting her nails.  I got this nail polish that tastes gross and put it on her (at her request!) to help her try to stop.  After one week, she broke the habit, and so I followed through on my promise to take her for a real manicure, which she LOVED! Such a little princess...

We have started reading books on the iPad with the kids, because they love the Stepping Stones books - abridged versions of all the classics are available using language/words that they are better able to understand.  So far, we have read Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Swiss Family Robinson, and the kids love it.  We all take turns reading, and get through each in about a week.  At the end, they get to watch the movie after we finish, which they really love.

Finally, they continue to love music and we have lots of dance parties.  Here they are dancing on the counter to "All About That Base" :)

We said goodbye to Mayensi, because her 2 years with the AuPair agency is up.  She has been wonderful with the kids, and we were really sad to see her leave.  She will stay in Colorado under a student visa, so we will still get to see her.  Our new AuPair, Pilar, is from Madrid, Spain.  She just finished law school and wants to spend a year in the states bettering her English as an AuPair before going back to be a lawyer in Spain - if a year living in our house with 2 lawyers doesn't change her mind :)  She is very sweet, and the kids already seem to love her (and so do we!), which is great.

High holidays

We changed things up a bit this year for Rosh Hashana and took the kids for an overnight camping retreat with the "Adventure Rabbi" in the mountains where the leaves were just starting to change.  The point of this holiday is to be contemplative about the year, and we wanted this to be meaningful and fun for the kids.  We met up with friends and pitched a tent before heading to the communal dinner and for an evening service.  The service was a little too traditional, and the kids weren't into keeping still and listening after a full day, so we ducked out early and roasted marshmallows instead.  We bundled the kids in two pairs of PJs, set up their sleeping bags, and tried to get them to sleep while we hung out by the fire and had some adult beverages to keep warm.      

Because it was so cold and quiet, I was very aware of the kids movement all night.  Caitlin seemed to roll out of her sleeping bag every 15 minutes and I got up and put her back in to make sure she didn't freeze.  Notwithstanding, the kids seemed to get a relatively good night's sleep.  Not so much on my part...but it was still fun.  When it got light out, the kids climbed into our air mattress for some snuggles and we all went for a mini-hike to the bathroom before meeting with the other families for a pre-hike breakfast.

Then we headed out, with about 250 other people for a hike and discussions about spirituality and reflections on the year.  The kids split off from the adults to do some arts and crafts, and walk around the lake, which was fun for them.  It was a beautiful day, and I think everyone had a good time.

After the hike, everyone threw rocks into the water in attempt to cast-off bad behaviors and habits that we hope not to continue in the upcoming year.  I think it was a great experience for everyone - s'mores and a focus on spirituality and nature and family.
Later that week we all went to Aunt Jen's for a delicious Rosh Hashana dinner with the rest of the family and the cousins had lots of fun together.

For Yom Kippur we took the kids to the Adventure Rabbi kids service for some songs and stories and then had 25 people at our house to break the fast - 12 kids!!  Everyone had a great dinner, but with that many kids, we were running around so much I forgot to take pictures!  Oh well, next year!

Finally, for Sukkot, we went to Bethany and Andre's house to eat a delicious dinner outside in their Sukkah.  It's been a busy fall!

First day of school

Two days after we got back from Disney, on Isaac's 6th birthday, school started again.  Isaac was a little apprehensive about starting a new school (4th school in four years), but at orientation he realized that he was in the same class as one of his friends from kindergarten and one of the twins, so he was immediately comfortable.  We had been talking all summer about how cool it was that school was so close to the house, so Isaac was determined to walk to school.  Apparently, the entire neighborhood had the same idea, the streets leading up to the school looked like a parade.   I was amazed at how many of our neighbors had kids at Eldorado, but it's a K-8 with about 1000 students, so it makes sense.  It made the neighborhood feel like a close community, which was nice and reaffirmed our decision to move here.  I was a little emotional taking him to first grade (!!), but he was full of confidence, giving me a quick hug and sending me on my way once we found his class.  Bittersweet... :)

Caitlin went back to the Louisville Montessori for her PK-4 year, but was just as excited for the first day as if she was starting real school.  Bill and I dropped her off together, which made her feel extra special, and she was very happy to see her friends and be back in her favorite teacher, Ms. Jean's class.  

The summer flew by in a flash, and now we're back into the routine of school again, but the kids seem happy to be back, which is a great relief.

Vacation Part 3 - Disneyland

After recovering at the beach, we set off for Disneyland.  Caitlin was beyond excited to meet all of her princess heroines, and Isaac was determined to meet Thor.  I was just hoping to make it through this day not feeling old and crippled (having learned our lesson at LegoLand, we stopped at Target to get an umbrella stroller).  Being a Florida girl, I had never been to DisneyLand before, and was shocked to find that it was a miniature version of DisneyWorld that was entirely manageable in comparison.  We got a room at the DisneyLand hotel, so we just jumped on the monorail to the park almost upon opening.  Since it was a Monday, the lines weren't too bad, and we were able to get on Thunder Mountain with no line - two times in a row.  A great intro to the park!  Cate felt brave after her roller coaster experiences at LegoLand, but this was definitely on another level.  She got a little nervous because part of it was dark and loud and almost declined a second ride, but we had a little "girl-power" chat, and she agreed to be brave and ride with me.  We laughed and screamed together through the whole thing - she loved it. The rest of the morning flew by with lots of giggles on rides like the teacups, Mr. Toads, the Star Wars 4-D ride, It's a Small World, and the Buzz Lightyear adventure.

Isaac got to design his own Light Saber at Star Wars - I'll probably regret that purchase

After this, Bill and I split up.  The boys spent time at Innovations, trying on Iron Man's armor and meeting Thor.  Isaac got called up to volunteer with Thor and realized that his Hammer really is heavy (Bill said he was shy and starstruck - might be the first time ever).  After that they went to do some Jedi training, which reportedly was cool, and then rode Space Mountain.  Isaac was a little hesitant, but had a blast and couldn't stop talking about how cool it was.  (I wasn't there, so we're a little short on pictures from this part of the day :) )
At the same time, Caitlin and I went to the Bibbity-Bobbity-Boutique.  Aunt Kristin made her an appointment at the princess beauty salon as a birthday present, which is probably one of the cutest experiences I've ever been a part of.  Cate got totally Princess-ified (hair, nails and makeup!) in preparation for her meeting with the princesses.  I was almost in tears watching her, her reaction to the entire experience was priceless.   Of course, she picked the most outlandish option - with pink and purple extensions and extra glitter :) - and loved every second of it.

As soon as we were done - it was time for the Disney Parade.  Within minutes of walking out of the salon, we saw the floats start coming down the street.  As luck would have it, the first float was Frozen, and Caitlin was ecstatic to see Anna and Elsa who "waved right to me!".  The rest of the parade was equally amazing, and Caitlin loved the whole thing, screaming with excitement as each of her heroes passed by, and dancing and singing to the music.  Too cute.

After the parade, it was finally time.  We headed into the Sleeping Beauty Castle to meet the princesses.  At this point, Cate was so excited, she was almost floating.  She was so sweet and awestruck by the princesses, that I almost didn't recognize her!  She kept whispering to me "Mommy, do you see her? That's the REAL -- (Arielle, Snow White, etc)", to which I just smiled and said, "yup!".  

After the exciting afternoon apart, we all met up for dinner (and Mickey-shaped beignets) and compared experiences.  Bill and I were exhausted, but felt great about our decision to take them on this trip.  This really was the PERFECT time to take them -- they are still young enough to be completely swept up by the magic of Disney, but old enough to go on the fun rides and remember this experience.   

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to hit the concierge floor for the fireworks show.  It was a great view, and they piped in the sound from the show (music, announcements etc), but we were able to avoid the crowds and got to go back and clean up first.  This was the perfect way to ensure they got to see the fireworks at 9, but did so in their PJs within steps from their beds.

After a full day, we all went to sleep quickly.  Another night sharing one big room - but we were all asleep so quickly, no one even noticed!

We only bought park passes for one day, because we were heading back to Colorado on Tuesday afternoon.  So, the next morning, we woke up and wandered around downtown Disney (including the Lego Store -apparently they hadn't had enough) before heading to Goofy's Kitchen for a character breakfast.

Check out the kids' faces - definitely worth the exorbitant price for a bad buffet :)  The kids were very excited to meet lots more characters up close and personal, including Princesses Jasmine and Aurora and Chip'n'Dale and Pluto, who sang happy birthday to the kids.

After breakfast, we spent an hour at the pool.  Bill took the kids on the famous two-story water slide the first time, and they spent the next hour going down over-and-over on their own.  Great way to exhaust them before heading to the airport for our flight home.  Overall an AMAZING trip - we definitely went home exhausted and lighter in the wallet, but no doubt worth every penny.