Thursday, May 31, 2012

talent show

If you know Ethan, you also know he isn't really into being center stage. He prefers to not be noticed (I know it's weird that he loves his hair and clothes so much). He's a pretty shy kid, and not a big showoff so, just over a month ago, when I got the talent show tryout sign-up in his backpack and almost threw it out, but decided I'd ask if he wanted to do it first. I was shocked when he said he DID want to do the talent show, and he already knew what his act was going to be. It took everything in me to not talk him out of it. I think I know my kids pretty well, and I didn't want him to get embarrassed in front of his peers. 
The tryouts went horribly. It was in the music room at the school, and he couldn't get a good jump on his pogo stick due to the carpeting, so he stopped and ended up in tears. It was heartbreaking.
The next day when I picked him up, he was ecstatic to show me his invitation to be in the 2nd grade talent show. 
So he's been practicing on and off since then, but we've been pretty busy, and the weather hasn't really cooperated, so again, I was nervous it wouldn't go so well. Ethan, on the other hand, was certain he would rock it, and he did just that.
We find out soon if he gets to participate in the school wide talent show. He's pretty sure he will be. Haha. I'm so proud of him.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

i have a good excuse

During the week, the boys and I don't do much that is exciting, so that's my lack of posting excuse. I have a better one, but we'll get to that. 

On Friday the 18th, my friend, Andrea and I went to see Jerry Seinfeld. It was so fun, and a great "mom's night out". This was our treat to ourselves before the show.
Saturday morning, there was a yard sale down the street, and the boys are always up for digging through people's junk to find awesome stuff, so they got their dollars and biked down the street. Of course they can't leave without spending money on something "awesome". Haha. 
Then we headed to the hanger to pick up our Dad (this is my real excuse)!!
We were all excited beyond words. 
Here's the plane. :)  
Then we had to get Dad's big heavy bags. 
Seriously, the best feeling ever, to have us all together again. 
Then we got the heck out of there. 
And, because it wouldn't be normal for us to have nothing going on, we jumped in the car and headed to Missoula for a lacrosse tournament. 
Ethan is such an incredible athlete. 
Finally we were home, kids in bed, and life was starting to feel normal. 
Sunday morning, Jason put his bike together. He's been waiting for months! The boys were excited too. 
They love riding bikes. 
It's so fun to watch them all together. 
My favorite shot from the day. 
Monday and Tuesday were school and trying to get back into a groove.
Wednesday was Elliott's last day of preschool for the year. He rode his bike because that's his favorite way to get to school. All the other kids are so impressed and he loves the attention. 
So big.
He's already ready to go back to school. He had a great time. 
We are all so happy to have Jason home. 
We have to share everything we've done with Dad. That includes eating at BWW and playing video games at the table. 
Yesterday, our awesome little town had a Memorial Day Parade. 
I love parades. 
The guy in the uniform, holding the American Flag, just got back with Jason. :)  
Bagpipes make me tear up, every single time. 
They placed flowers in front of the Veterans Memorial at the park. 
And a gun salute. 
It was a great way to start our day.

The boys helped me make dinner for Jason.
Homemade chicken and noodles and mashed potatoes. 
I don't think Jason has had any trouble settling back in (it might be the chair).  
We have lots of plans for the time between now and when Jason has to be back to work. As with all times in life that are hard, I'm happy to say that we came out on the other side having grown as people and as a family. I couldn't be more proud of us. Thanks to everyone for all of your support this past year. We couldn't have done it without you.

Monday, May 14, 2012

LAX

Tonight was Ethan's last lacrosse practice. He's #17, red helmet.
Elliott can't stand not having his picture taken. He looks so grown up. What the heck happened to my babies?

Tonight, we actually had some action going on. Not just practice. Of course Ethan was playing defense. 
He was doing so good. Running fast, playing aggressive and working so hard. 
I don't know if this is legal, but lacrosse is pretty brutal.  
Again with my camera hog. 
Another attack from Ethan. 
Then it was his turn. He actually had the ball. 
Look at those big kids going after my baby. Haha 
He's quick I tell ya.  
This play ended up thrown up and backwards to pass to his teammate. Insane play, and he acted like it was natural.  
It was SO much fun to watch Ethan play tonight. 
On the way home last week, we passed a huge herd of elk, and tonight I was ready for it with the good camera. After we saw these guys (and about 50 more), we saw more elk in two different places during the rest of the drive home. Such an awesome sight. I love this state. 

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day started like this. A bagel (plain, not toasted and with about a teaspoon of peanut butter) some blackberries, a strawberry and a glass of milk, at my bedside. Talk about one, very proud of himself, 8 year old. 
After breakfast, we got ready and headed to the lake.  
The boys and I built a sandcastle.  
It turned out decent. 
Then Ethan wanted buried in the sand. 
Later, our friends joined us for lunch and some more fun.
All the kids got buried. :)  
It was a great day. I love being a Mommy. 

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Vigilante Day

Yes, Vigilante Day is a real day in Helena. The high school students put together floats and a huge parade downtown, and tons of people enjoy it. Last year I thought it was crazy, but this year I was excited.
And so were the boys. Ethan is such an amazing big brother. 
Just for fun, this was from Vigilante Day last year. 
This year............. 
And last year. 
You'll notice they didn't wear coats this year. That's because the sun was shining, but it was not very warm. They were freezing. Maybe I should have taken not from last years pics. They still had fun and loved all the floats. Ethan has learned a lot about the history of Helena just from this event. It's interesting to talk to him about what he saw and liked. He's very intrigued by it all.
We are looking forward to next year and comparing floats again.