It's been a busy week!

Sammy has started Kindergarten! The first day was this past Tuesday and he did amazingly well. He's thrilled to finally be in school and be a "big boy" going to the "big school". Feed back from his teacher has been very positive. She reported to Scott that Sam did "an amazing job" at pick up on Friday. Now, I've been trying to get details from Sam about what they did, but I've only been hearing about going to the library and reading stories.
He's loving it, and it's giving him a good foundation, so I'm thrilled.
Alex has been missing Sam each day, but I think he's really enjoying the one on one time he's getting with Scott. They're getting into a routine and starting to do some activities that have been difficult to do with Sam around.

And, soccer....Sam had his first game yesterday. Oh-so-painful. LOL. The other team was much more organized...our team had trouble remembering which goal we were supposed to use. It'll get better, and Sam had fun so that's the most important thing.

I'll try to be better about updating.

Summer colds

We finally got hit with the summer cold bug that's been going around. I was very hopeful that it would skip us, but no such luck. Why is it that summer colds are always so much worse (or seem to be so much worse) than winter colds? I think I'm going to dedicate a day this weekend to wiping the entire house to clorox to help get rid of any lingering germs. Nasty little buggers.

On the bright side, it seems to be a short lived bug. Sam is already feeling better, Alex appears to be on the mend (he's a day or two behind his brother on this thing) but sadly Scott is down with it now. It's going to be some long days for Daddy until he's feeling better again.

I've got to run, but don't forget to wash your hands!

Busy times in the Howe household.

I returned from my girl's weekend in Chicago a weekn ago tonight, and pretty much since the plane touched down we've been running non-stop. Not that I'm complaining at all, but hopefully it will explain to those who've sent an email asking for an update why it took me a bit.

Sammy has started swimming lessons, since he's still talking about learning how to surf when he gets older. I promised him that if he took all the swimming lessons offered at the Rec Center and passed all the tests that I'd let him learn how to surf. He's doing amazingly well and has told his swim teacher (Mark, who is a friend of Sam's preschool teacher last year) about his deal to learn to surf, so he's been getting a few extra pointers before each lesson too. He's loving it.
And, he's still in soccer camp, which is going very well. His fall league starts practice tomorrow night, so he'll be going straight from soccer to swimming. The only night this week that he doesn't have "something" going is Tuesday. Things will settle down after Labor day as far as the extra soccer camp & swimming lessons, but that's when school starts too. He says he wants to continue with his swimming lessons once school starts, but that will mean that he'll have something every night but Wednesday, plus school during the days and soccer games on Saturdays. I haven't made any promises yet...we'll have to see how it all plays out.

Alex is, well, Alex is 2. I now understand the phrase "terrible twos" as he throws tantrums like Sammy never did. It's quite exausting trying to keep up with him...and it's hard to be sympathetic about his frustrations when my frustration levels skyrocket in direct relation to his screaming tantrums. *sigh* I'm hoping this is a short lived phase that will play itself out before too long.

That's what's happening here...I hope all is well for all of you.
Until later,
ciao

Seafair is here!

which for my family doesn't mean we go sit on the lake and watch the hydros race. (although I still think that would be/will be a BLAST when the kids get a bit older) We started the festivities by hitting the "Tour de Terrace" parade about a block from the house last night. I manned our spots while Scott & Sam went into the carnival (tourture for Sammy) to get "dinner" aka chili dogs, hot dogs, fry bread...YUM!
The boys loved the motorcycle police (which was a big hit with Alex last year too), the cool cars (my personal favorite is the Shelby Cobra Mustang, 1969 I think Scott said), the Seafair pirates of course, and then: Ronald McDonald riding a segway. The kids went NUTS. They loved it.
Toward the end of the parade it started raining so I bailed on the last little bit and took Alex home while Scott & Sam stayed until the bitter end.
Today I'm getting a mani/pedi while the boys go and get haircuts and then, if the big kid is good, we'll hit the carnival for some rides. It's a fun weekend to be a kid!

Fun in the sun!

I don't really have too much to say this Monday morning, but wanted to share the adorable photo of the boys playing outside yesterday. They are such great pals that I just love watching them together.
So, yesterday we all got our swimsuits on and ran through the sprinkler, read books, played ball (no specific game, just anything with a ball) and enjoyed the sunshine. It was a lovely weekend.

Grab your honey and go on a date!

Last night Scott and I went on a date. With our differing schedules, two active boys pulling us in different directions and various household obligations, it's so easy to overlook the simple need to continue to date. We dropped the boys off with Auntie Cora and off we went for dinner and a movie. It was SO MUCH FUN! We sat in the bar and caught the last little bit of happy hour and ordered dinner. We had a wonderful pitcher of sangria with a calamari that melted in our mouths...and reminded me of Spain. We talked and laughing and people watched...just enjoying spending time with eachother. It was a glaring reminder that we need to do it more frequently than we do. So, listen up: GRAB YOUR HONEY AND GO OUT ON A DATE!

The goodies

The peach and blueberry gallette I made the other night was a huge hit. It was only the second time I've made it, but our little family of 4 ate the entire thing. The pastry fell apart this time (mental note, don't sub. margarine for frozen butter when baking desserts) but I served it over vanilla ice cream and no one seemed to care.
Sammy is enjoying soccer still and has made a deal with his dad about drinking his milk so he has strong bones and can continue playing.
Alex had his 2 year well baby visit and is 29 lbs and 35 inches tall. It puts him pretty solidly in the middle of the growth curve I guess. I was nervous about his appointment today because when he was asked how to ask for things last night he repied "NOW!" Ummm, not so much kid. LOL.