Up

Yesterday we took the kids to see Disney/Pixar's Up in 3-D. Sam insists on seeing movies in 3-D when it's offered, which seems to be the current trend in kids' movies. Then they can charge more for the tickets, and convince kids they must see it in 3-D. Anyway, we have been seeing trailers for months and were excited it was finally in the theatre.

The movie was great. It's so nice to see original stories and Pixar usually has such creative ideas. I had heard that it had a sad part, and it did (I cried a little), but that part was integral to the plot. Definitely a feel good movie in the end, and a good message about moving on when life throws you a curve ball. Life is an adventure, and should be lived to its fullest. Not sure Sam is old enough to have gotten the full meaning, but it was entertaining too.

Sad News

To those who may not know, my grandfather passed away over the weekend. Dale Larick lived almost 91 years, and was blessed that he did not suffer for very long - spending less that two weeks in the hospital when he became sick. Although I did not know him very well, he was a good man and he will be missed.

Lost Tooth - Finally!

Sam's top tooth has been loose for almost two months. He wiggles it frequently, and it's been hanging crooked for a while now, but it just didn't want to fall out. Until yesterday, when Sam and his friend Trey butted heads in a jumping inflatable. The teachers felt bad that Sam had "knocked a tooth loose." But we were thrilled that now it seemed closer to actually coming out. He couldn't even eat breakfast this morning because he claimed it hurt his tooth.

This morning I received an e-mail note from Sam's teacher titled "From Sam," - "i lost my tooth." So now he has that big kid gap in the front of his mouth. Now he's going to look older, as more of the cute little kid face vanishes. But at least that tooth is finally out!

Super Games Day

Yesterday was Dad's day at the elementary for Maria (kindergarten doesn't do Dad's day) and "Super Games Day" in the afternoon for the entire school. So Ben took a half personal day and spent it with Maria, where he got to watch her be recognized (each student was recognized for his/her special qualities by their teacher - " Maria taught me that there is power in words. When writing, she taught me to take risks, to not necessarily settle for the easiest word to complete your thoughts, but rather search for the word that is the most descriptive. Maria's writing was always full of dialogue, action, and descriptive and figurative languages"), and experienced the 4th grade wax museum which I saw on Tuesday. I'm sure he did other stuff too, but since I am writing the blog post, that's all I know.

In the past they have spent the afternoon having field day with games, relays, etc. But this year they had "Super Games," with the football field covered in inflatables to play in. The kids all had a blast, and the weather was hot but didn't rain. Neither Ben nor I thought to sunscreen the kids before they left in the morning, so they were both fairly sunburned and are still pink today.

Famous Ohioan Wax Museum

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

First T-Ball Game of the Season

Maria's Birthday Party

Yesterday was Maria's family birthday party. Her actual 10th birthday was Friday, but friend and family parties had to take place on separate weekends due to this weekend being a holiday weekend. So it's been over a week of birthday celebrating!

We were fortunate that the whole family could make it, including both sets of grandparents, the Bihns, and the Smiths. The gift I was most excited about giving her was the tickets to the Jonas Brothers concert in August, since it was a complete surprise. And she was thrilled (see picture above), so keeping the secret paid off. She also got lots of summer clothes/swimsuit, Wii games, origami and fossil finding kits. And she got to play with her cousins and friends Mason and Lindsey too. The weather was beautiful, so everypone was able to go outside too. All in all, a great day.

Sam's Helicopter

BK
(Pardon the brevity...I'm on my Blackberry :-)

Maria's 10th Birthday

Yesterday was Maria's 10th birthday, and as usual, I can't believe how old she is getting, don't know where the time goes, etc. But it is nice that she is growing up into such a great girl. She made brownies Thursday evening to take to school to share, and she also had her talent show at school yesterday, where she sang "Who Will I Be" from camp rock, all by herself. She did a great job, but I was nervous for her, even though I don't think she was really nervous. My 7th period plan period allowed me to walk over to the elementary and catch her performance with very little hassle, which was nice.

Anyway, after school we gave her one gift, which was a Wii game called Smarty Pants. When she opened it, it wasn't what she was expecting, so she was a little doubtful. But I assured her I did my research and it was supposed to be a really cool game, and after she played it she agreed. It's a Trivia game that caters questions to each person's age, so it's a fair competition. We also went out to dinner at Red Lobster (her choice) and dessert at Coldstone. After returning home from Columbus (where we also had to run a few needed errands), we played several family rounds of Smarty Pants and then the kids played in their "fort" in Maria's room until bedtime at 9:30. (They have draped blankets off of her loft so that they have a completely enclosed area underneath.) Maria lost a tooth right before bed too, so as an added birthday bonus she got a visit from the tooth fairy!

All in all I think she had a pretty great day, and still has the family party Sunday to look forward to, on top of crazy last week of school schedule next week!

Sam's Soccer Game

Sam had a make-up soccer game tonight, and it was so nice going on a beautiful evening instead of at 8:45 on a Saturday morning. Sam had an excellent game, scored two goals and also had a lot of contact with the ball - he's really learning how to get in the pack to take the ball away, we're just working on not taking it from your own teammate! Good friend Gage scored 4 goals, so they both had a great night. I've included a short video of one of his goals and a few pictures (thanks, Ben!).