So hard to believe that another summer has whizzed by and that we have begun the 1st and 3rd grade with Kate and Jackson. 
They are both still young enough to look forward to school and their excitement was contagious. Despite the excitement, of course I still teared up when I hugged Kate goodbye. Some things will never change!
Jackson was playing it 3rd grade cool but I know that he secretly wishes that I'll come by for a visit today. :) Last night I was talking to a friend and totally freaked myself out when I realized that he'll be going to college in 8 years! How can they grow up that fast? It really isn't fair!
On Friday, Jackson had a dermoid cyst removed from the top of his ear. He has been anticipating this for months but unfortunately, the anticipation did nothing to calm his anxiety about the procedure. Over the course of the last 4 months, he has asked me hundreds of questions about how it would feel, where he'd be, what it would look like, etc.
When they said that I couldn't go back with Jackson he started to tear up. Thankfully I was able to calm him down and he bravely walked along through the OR maze to his room. I too felt like crying as I watched him walk alone. On the way home he confided in me that he was scared when he was waiting for the sleepy medicine. Of course he was scared! I told him that I am scared every time I have to go to the OR to have my babies. I told him that he was so brave and that seemed to make him feel a lot better. 
On July 2nd and 3rd, Jackson and Kate competed with their swim team, The Barracudas, during the county wide swim meet. They both had fun and did a great job! Kate's getting psyched up in the picture to swim like "white lightning". I think she reminds me of LL Cool J. What do you think?
Unfortunately, Kate's heart wasn't in it on the prelim day and she didn't place high enough in her individual events to swim in the finals. She placed 21st overall for the backstroke but was seeded 11th I think. Her relay team stepped up the second day, moving up from 9th place in the prelims to finishing 5th overall in the county. Way to go Kate!
Jackson finished 8th in the individual medley, and his team finished 8th in the medley relay and 5th in the freestyle relay (they were DQ'd in the last race though for an early start - I think it was a rough call if you ask me). 
You know that I have been busy because we have already had our 3rd swim meet and I haven't posted a single picture yet. I figured that I'd better get to it before the season ended! 
Jackson is doing a great job on his backstroke, freestyle and butterfly. He has also been competing in the IM races this year. The IM (individual medley) is a length each of backstroke, butterfly, breastroke and freestyle. It is painful to watch (Jackson says it's more painful to do) but he has gotten first for the last 2 meets and beat his best time by 23 seconds during the last one! We are so proud of him!
Kate is also a super duper backstroker, coming in first or second each meet. She swims freestyle too and is really getting her breathing down. She cut all of her times in half from last season to this one. What an amazing change in one year!
Jackson had so much fun at the triathlon last year he wanted to participate again. He swam 100 meters in a pool, followed by a 5K bike ride and finished up with a 1/2 mile run. Jackson definitely exceled in the running, finishing 2nd with a pace of 7:42. Not too shabby, eh? (I am quite sure that I would have been hard pressed to keep up with him!) 
There is another youth triathlon in July at Six Flags and he is trying to convince us to go to that one, too. (I am sure that is has nothing to do with a secret hope that we'll stay at Six Flags for the day.) 
Between Kate and Ava's back-to-back birthdays our family has had enough cake to last for the year! We had barely put away the wrapping paper from Kate's gifts before we had to bust it out again for Ava. I am so very glad that the next celebration won't be until October!
I think that we lived up to her 3 year old expectations and threw her a wild family party complete with dancing to Mylie Cyrus. In Kate's words, "it was rockin'." Ava loves her talking/moving baby doll and Winnie the Pooh telephone (thanks Aunt Shauna!) and we love our 3 year old big girl!
We can't believe it but our Kate is 6 years old today. The day was entirely as she requested beginning with Lucky Charms cereal. Then on to the pool where we spent 7 hours playing in the sun and eating popsicle after popsicle. She said on more than one occassion, "It's my birthday Mom, so can I ________. " Smart little girl, eh? As each hour passed, she begged for "one more hour" at the pool. I couldn't refuse the birthday requests.
After the pool we came home and had the family party. Kate's meal of choice-spaghetti and meatballs with a side of strawberries and sourdough bread. How lucky am I? It's a good thing it was quick to prepare as we were all famished from the day in the sun. 
Everyone had fun watching Kate open her presents but Jackson and Ava really enjoyed feasting on Carvel ice cream cake. For my family members reading this, I know you are totally jealous as you imagine me eating those chocolate crunchies! Kate's favorite gifts were a Hannah Montana/Mylie Cyrus CD, Tiny Ponnieville My Little Ponies and The Last Unicorn DVD. 
All in all, this was a wonderful day to celebrate Kate and to remember that very special day when she joined our family.All 5 kindergarten classes at Kate's school put on a Patriotic Performance yesterday. Words fail me (I know that is a rare event, but it's true) as I try to describe just how amazing the performance was. Every one of those kids learned each word to the six songs that they performed and one of the songs was even done in sign language! One boy in Kate's class recently had his father leave for a 14 month tour in Iraq. They dedicated the event to him and those kids sang their little hearts out. I am pretty sure that there wasn't a dry eye in the auditorium!
The first clip is of Kate leading the Pledge of Allegiance and the second is of the signing song. The quality isn't great because we were using my camera but you'll get the idea.
A week ago, Jackson and I went on the annual Church Father and Sons campout up in Lake Alatoona, which is about 45 min north of Atlanta. Unfortunately, it started by getting lost and driving around for an extra 90 min but wefinally made it.
We had plenty of time to cook our hot dogs and chow down on some s'mores (a lot of s'mores). Jackson had never had one before and his first was not his last. After a short program by the Church leadership, we headed off to our luxurious two man tent for bed. I realized that when camping, an 8 year old's clock gets kind of messed up as Jackson stayed awake until at least midnight (probably longer, but I drifted off). At 3 a.m., it started raining very heavily. This, of course, woke Jackson up, who then woke me up to tell me that he was awake and it was raining. After an hour of heavy rain, we both went back to bed, only to wake up again as soon as their was daylight at 5:45 (did I mention an 8 year old's clock get kind of messed up?). We headed to breakfast, which consisted of eggs, pancakes, bacon and cereal. After the whole evening, we were pretty exhausted (okay, at least I was pretty exhausted). 
Still, Jackson said, 'Dad, this was one of the best days of my life.' While, sleep derived, I could only say the truth, 'Me too, buddy.' I wouldn't have it any other way.
This blog is not about bragging. It is merely an expression of awe over my 3rd child. I am by no means declaring her my favorite mind you, but she has been the easiest of my three, hands down! When Jackson and Kate were 3 years old, both they and I were ready for a few days of preschool each week. Against my better judgement, I enrolled Ava in preschool this year and then withdrew her when one month I realized that I'd paid a month's tuition and only taken her twice. I'd only taken her twice because she slept until 9am every morning and was then much fun that I hated to part with her.
One day last week, Ava and I went to a Mommy and Me swim class, followed by a trip to the gym and then we rounded out our afternoon by sharing a salad on the patio at Chipotle. (That's right, she even likes to eat salad for lunch - sounds too good to be true doesn't it?) My other children would have complained about my lunch selection ad nauseum, until I finally caved and went next door for some chicken nuggets but not Ava. As I sat on the patio chatting with her, I realized that I couldn't have asked for a more perfectly suited little buddy. Her good natured temperment allows her to go with the flow and tolerate so much of the running around that we do. I just love that she is happy to hang with me and I am so lucky to be able to spend most days enjoying her company. I am especially grateful to have the mornings with her because once Jackson and Kate get home from school she often has to take a backseat to them and their activities. I know that if I have more children there is no chance to duplicate this little spirit so I am going to enjoy every minute I still have her at home with me. From experience, I've seen that the time goes by WAY too quickly! 
