Olympics - Kindergarten Edition

One of the end-of-the-year events at Piper's school is the Olympics.  Each grade competes and every kid is assigned an event.  Piper was chosen for the sprint; she is pretty fast.  Simon and I brought our pompoms, foam finger, and a poster for Piper.  

Piper was totally the instigator for doing this with her classmates.  They all came in marching to the Olympics theme and she held their hands and raised them in triumph.

Our neighbors/friends cheering for Connor (on the right)

Piper competed against five other kindergarten girls.

Can you see where Piper is?  The girl in red who got first place is on the far right.  Something is wrong with this picture, no?  Piper only won second place.  Well, we know she really won but we're not saying anything.

Second place!

Go, Piper, Go! (Simon loved chanting this, especially since Go, Dog, Go! is a personal favorite.)

Kindergarten Open House

Last week was Piper's Open House at school.  Rick was able to come so that was a big bonus.  She loved showing off her classroom and everything she's been working on.

I meanwhile chatted with friends while Simon rolled around on the rug doing somersaults and eating cookies.

Open House only means one thing: we've got a soon-to-be first grader on our hands.  Yikes!  

Nine days of school left and counting...

Working together on the scavenger hunt

Piper's friend Charlie with his mom and dad, Julia and Adam

Piper's animal.  It's a kangaroo named Stella with a baby joey.

Some of the animals the other kids made.  They were grouped based on where they lived.  These are the jungle animals.

A Monkey Sighting at the Zoo

To inaugurate our new annual passes, Simon and I set out one day to enjoy the L.A. Zoo.  It was a hot and crowded day but we had a fun time.  Simon wanted to walk and so I didn't bring the stroller or leash.  Since we have annual passes, I figured that if he got tired early, it wasn't a big deal to pack it in.  He did really well and only asked to be carried a few times.  Granted, it was a hot day so I don't blame him.

At one point we saw three gorillas with their backs against the glass.  There were a lot of people around and one of the gorillas seemed to be agitated.  I told Simon to stand back and sure enough the big gorilla bolted at the other two gorillas to show his dominance.  Simon didn't get scared thankfully but it was cool to see up close.

                             

Nearing the end of our visit Simon requested to see the orangutans.  Since they are on the far side of the zoo and he was on foot, I suggested we see them next time.  I could only see us going that far into the zoo only to have him get too tired to walk out.

Simon's big goal for the trip to the zoo was to go to the Churro Factory.  It's a pretty direct shot from the entrance but it took a while to get to it.  So our first twenty minutes there were punctuated by Simon asking for Churros, not whining thankfully, though.

Griffith Park Clean-Up

One Saturday morning a few weeks ago we participated in a state-wide day of service for our church.  Our assignment was to help clean up Griffith Park.  The kids were very excited about the collecting of the big sticks.  We raked, shoveled, and bagged dozens of bags of leaves.  

What a fun and dirty way to spend a Saturday!  It makes for good memories.

Group shot with the city councilman

Simon takes a soccer class

We signed Simon up for a soccer class through the Parks and Recs department.  These pictures are from his first few classes.  He is one of the most talented players, if I do say so, but that's also because he's one of the oldest; the class is for 2-3.5 year-olds and I don't think any of the kids is over three.

His coach, Coach George, is very patient and gives great encouragement.  He also has lots of ways and games to teach the kids different skills.  Simon has had a few times when he doesn't listen but he does like to show off and impress.  I think he'll do great in the next class too, if we can make sure to get Coach George again.

School Dance Festival

The kindergarten classes performed the Mexican Hat dance at the school dance festival.  Piper had been practicing at home for weeks prior and she had such a fun time performing it.  The day before the festival she told me that everyone was going to do a conga line at the end.  Piper's teacher, Mrs. Maisterra, even wore a huge sombrero and posed as a sleeping Mexican.  The girls were told to wear a white shirt and colorful skirt.  Piper picked an orange reversible skirt that my mom had made for her recently.  

Grandma Vicki was able to come up for it and all the following pictures were taken by her. 

So beautiful

Piper and her best friend Jazmin

Mrs. Maisterra looking sleepy

Fun times!

The family that congas together...

Friends, family, and teachers

Piper with her two best friends, Jazmin and Scarlett

Spring Break Extravaganza

Rick had this idea of going away for Spring Break.  I wasn't too keen on the idea since traveling with kids (especially a road trip) isn't always very relaxing and Piper only had one week for her spring break.  However, we ended up driving to Arizona the evening of Easter Sunday because Rick forgot (ahem) to cancel our hotel reservations.

Part of my agreement to go was that I do the driving.  The kids were awesome both on the way there and back.  We hit a bad sand/rainstorm on the way back but we survived.  

We had to stay at two different hotels because we couldn't get five nights in a row at a Starwood hotel.  The first hotel was more fun by far.  There were activities for the kids, lots of families, a lazy river and splash pad.  It was too bad that we couldn't stay there for the full week.

I hadn't been to Phoenix since I was a kid.  I still remembered Bill Johnson's Big Apple from our family vacations.  We ended up eating there with some old friends from Arizona.  (Hi Helen and Dallas!)  We're sad they're moving back down under but happy that we could reconnect, if only for an evening.

We also got to spend an evening with Rick's old college roommate and his family. (Hi Chet and Sharee!)  We ate dinner at this awesome Mexican restaurant and then we had a surprise for the kids.  We got to see Disney on Ice!  We were late but we didn't mind too much since the kids didn't know what we were doing anyway and also because Rick got us free tickets.  We got home late and I think Simon even fell asleep on my lap during the show.  Simon's favorite part was were the Zamboni whale came and ate Pinocchio.

One downside to the trip was the bad eczema reaction the kids had.  Too much chlorine and sun.  Simon looked like he was turning into a snake by the end of the trip.  It doesn't look like we'll ever live in Arizona.  

On a good note, I got myself a new bathing suit and it's very slimming (yea!) and a fun color and cut.

Easter Festivities

There was an Easter egg hunt at church on Easter Saturday.  We arrived a little late and as we were supposed to bring ten filled eggs per kid, I was dashing to take the eggs to the field to hid.  The bottom of my bag broke and all of the eggs landed on the ground.  The kids didn't seem to mind to much.  I didn't get any pictures of Piper because she was in the older kid's hunt and I was trying to help Simon.  Of course he headed for the eggs inside the soccer net.

The Easter bunny came!!  He even ate the carrots and hid our dyed eggs.

Simon with his basket of bath crayons and I Spy game.

Piper with her basket of Bingo and a Fancy Nancy book.  (Even Nani got in on the action. The sheep in her arms was an Easter present five years ago.)

Looking so grown up in her dress and peep-toe wedges

All decked out in a linen suit.  Such a big boy.

"Cheese!"

Stitches redux

Within two months of Simon's last set of stitches on his lip, he got five on chin.  He was brushing his teeth and then he decided to hang on the sink which made him come off the step-stool.  When he tried to set his feet back down he knocked over the step-stool and fell on the edge of it with his chin.  

I knew he needed stitches right away.  We took Piper upstairs to our landlord's house and they watched her all night.  (That was her first non-relative sleepover.)  Afterward, I took Simon to the ER and after a few hours of waiting we got five stitches in his chin.  He had a hard time waiting because he was tired and my phone had died.  We had to pass the time by watching any sports we could find.  I promised Simon that if he was brave that I would give him two rolls of pennies to put in his piggy bank.  

When it came time for the stitches he started repeating, "I'm so brave. I'm so brave. I'm so brave."  So, so sweet.  After four stitches I told him that his friend, who's older than him, had had stitches on his chin and had bawled.  That did it in for Simon and he just burst into tears.