The Beach

Sunday afternoon merited a trip to the park. This particular park is becoming a favorite of mine. We've been coming here for years. We hosted our wedding picnic here and Spencer's graduation party. But recently it feels like the perfect mix of kid, dog and nature friendly activities. We typically start at the playground, which is right next to the parking lot. One of us plays with and chases the kids, while the other plays with and chases Frida. There's lots of open space and other kids and dogs to fraternize with. Next we make our way down a path to the beach. It's still early, so the beach is rarely crowded. Every time, I'm reminded just how big and beautiful Lake Michigan feels. It's great to live so close.

Mother's Day

The kids completed this session of swim lessons. Claire is moving up again and really showing progress. Kyle loves to swim and can't wait to go to a water park next.

We traveled to my parents this weekend to celebrate Mother's Day together. The kids enjoyed watching a movie with Nana...

... and breakfast at one of my home town favorites.

I asked my parents to pick up a pedal bike for Kyle that I found on Craigslist. He was super excited to try it out.

And I went for a training run so I can keep up with Kyle on his bike (while my parents watched the littles). A mother's day present to me! 

What's New

My niece, Lucy, got to observe one of my TV shoots as a job shadow project for school. The crew had her slate a scene as they taught her about the process. Props to her school for encouraging exposure to professions, that frankly I knew little about at her age.

Kyle got a haircut. He brought T-rex with him for a quick trim too. Luckily the stylist didn't charge us for Rexie;)

There are moments these guys get along. The kids were telling secrets while out for breakfast the other day. Kyle would just say the name of a dinosaur. I'm not sure what Claire was saying, but they both were laughing at each other's comments.

Claire is participating in spirit squad at school. They meet once a week to learn a dance routine that they will perform at an all-school assembly, as well as a separate performance for parents. She is really enjoying the practices and was so excited to get her official t-shirt.

Kyle is mastering the balance bike. I suspect he will be an independent pedal biker this summer.

And Claire is perfecting her reading skills.

Welcome Spring!

This lovely spring kite, made by Claire, was just one of the highlights of her school's open house. We visited her classroom and met teachers all while introducing Kyle to his school for next year!

Claire walked us through the book selection and check out process in the library. 

Weekends lately are filled with time outside, bike rides and trips to the park. On a recent outing, Kyle pretended to fish with sticks and both kids skipped rocks.

We also spend time at the play structures, of course. 

Frida explored the beach. She unintentionally jumped in the cold water as well. Classic Frida. 

We've really enjoyed spending time outside in the warm sun. Hope it sticks around. 

And this beauty lost her other front tooth. Corn on the cobb season will be challenging, I think;)

Spring Break Trip

We headed to Florida again this year for spring break. Our flight left at 9pm and got in close to 1am Eastern time. Both kids watched a movie and slept on the flight.

With all the stuff to carry, I needed Claire to walk and pull her suitcase when we landed. She was a trooper!

Lucian's sister and her family were there the first 2 days of our trip. Claire and Lydia really enjoyed some pool and beach cousin time.

We cooked some meals in and went out for dinner most nights. 

Kyle is obsessed with dinosaurs as of late. Most pictures of him consist of dinosaur poses and roaring.

Even when wrangling a crocodile.

The sunsets were beautiful.

And the sand was perfect for castles and creations. 

We tried to spend mornings at the beach and afternoons at the pool, since it wasn't sunny there until after lunch.

We had more special visitors too. Lucian's grandma and aunt were there most of the week.

And Nana Kathleen made a brief appearance as well. They even watched the kids one night while Lucian and I went out to dinner alone!

We made another friend that lent us some capes. Love this shot of Kyle admiring his shadow.

It's been hard to return to Wisconsin spring. Snow in April just isn't right if you ask me. 

End of Winter Update

I volunteered for Claire's 100th day of school. I helped with activities in her classroom as all the K5 kids made the rounds to complete fun activities offered in each room. She seemed so happy to have me there and I enjoyed seeing her interact with friends and her teacher.

Recently at work (an edit company I work from frequently), I was treated to an Uber puppy! Uber WI paired up with the Humane Society and sent out adoptable puppies to snuggle with for 15 minutes. Emilio was super cute and adopted shortly after.

Speaking of puppies, Frida is growing and settling in with the family. She likes to nap with Kyle, or anyone for that matter, and is extremely tolerant of the kids. The other day I caught Claire rolling up Frida's ear like a taco then trying to put it in her mouth. The dog didn't even flinch. 

Kyle got a pretty significant hair cut. He looks adorable, as always.

And Claire had a music performance at school. It was called the Creepy Crawly Concert. The K5 classes performed three songs all together while some older kids acted out a story. She did great and was very excited to get dolled up for the occasion.

All About Kyle

Kyle turned 4 in December and asked for a "chocolate birthday." On his actual birthday we had a spread of the most chocolaty delicious bakery we could find. He enjoyed sampling a few things but didn't seem to enjoy our singing;)

He did better at his family party, but passed on eating cake that day.

Kyle is outgoing, bold and has a great imagination and enthusiasm. He is in Pre-K this year and will attend K4 next fall at the same school as Claire.

He draws a "masterpiece" each day at school that is often red and most likely contains some sort of fire, volcano or sand storm.

Kyle just finished his first swim class and will be in the next session too. He loves cars and dinosaurs and all kinds of adventures. He just mastered pooping on the toilet, which his parents love.