Week 19

 Week 19

This week went by really fast but didn't have too many fun things going on. Blake did start the week off with a bang! He filled up his pizza party chart which meant he earned a class pizza party! He was SO excited and Jeremy and I were so proud of him for accomplishing his goal. I've never been so excited to buy pizza in my life. :) 

Blake's pizza party was on Friday. He was so cute and asked his teachers what kind of pizza they like. It sounds like he was the cutest party host. He passed out the pizza and drinks and I guess didn't even have any himself because he ran out of time but it was the best day of the year to him. I get emotional thinking about how far he has come. A year ago we were doing school at home and I didn't even think we were going to survive the day and now he is getting HAWK awards, 10/10 star behavior daily, amazing comments from his teachers, and A+ grades on all his school work. He has worked so hard and it makes me so happy! 

This weekend was filled with pretty much all swimming. We typically just lay around until swim lessons at 1pm. Blake did AMAZING in his new class. He caught on so quickly and there's a good chance he will be graduating to the next level this week or next. Kylie was really close to graduating but still needs to work on floating on her back. She isn't confident so she tends to wiggle and then sink. She can do the normal float but she struggles with going from front float and turning over onto her back. Her teacher felt so bad having to tell her she didn't make it. She just stood there with her head down. She is determined now so that's good. 

After swim lessons the kids always want to go swimming at home. We went swimming twice on Sunday because they were convinced it was going to warm up. We had a cold wave so the water dropped almost 4 degrees Saturday night. Kylie really wants to graduate her class so I practiced with her on Saturday and Sunday. She is doing much better but we will see if it's enough to move on. Sunday night I hung out with her while she swam and played with her pool toys. She is so cute with her toys. I love watching her play. 

Week 18

 Week 18 

We had a pretty fun filled week! On Tuesday, Blake had a dentist appointment to have a tooth removed. He had been really stressed out about the appointment for a few weeks and was very nervous the day of. He was super brave and ended up doing amazing. At first he was pretty uncomfortable and in pain as you would expect. He made me laugh because he asked the dentist to save the tooth for him so he could have a visit from the tooth fairy! He's always thinking about how to make a little extra money! His mouth was bleeding for about 30 minutes and then after some medicine he was more back to normal. 

Grandma and Grandpa Larson stopped by for a quick visit on Tuesday night! Blake was really shy at first because he was embarrassed about his mouth and I think just not feeling well but he warmed up quick! Kylie ended up getting to have Grandpa pick her up from school which she LOVED! 

Wednesday we planning a day of fun. We all took the day off from work and school since we only had a short amount of time together. We started with going out to breakfast at Snooze. It's probably our favorite place at the moment. 

Next, we went to Kids Empire. We haven't been since pre-COVID. The kids used to ask us every weekend when we could go to the "dragon" place when COVID started and we always told them as soon as COVID is over. The kids had a blast running around and playing on the slides. They even convinced grandma and grandpa to go on the slides with them too! It's one of our favorite places to go as a family. 

Kids Empire - Purple Slide Video

Kids Empire - Pink Slide Video

After, we went back home to go swimming. Blake was SO excited to show them his swimming skills. It was a little cold but not too bad. Chloe decided to join us in the pool as well. She really seems to like her float. The kids wanted waves in the pool so grandpa and daddy did a few jumps to create waves.

For dinner, Jeremy took us on quite the adventure. I didn't take any pictures but we started off at Mi Patio. We sat down and realized they only had a Cinco de Mayo menu which only had five options. They didn't include any of the main items that we like to eat there so we decided to leave. Next, Jeremy took us to this old church building that is now a Mexican restaurant. We sat down and looked at the menu and I honestly had no idea what anything was. It was nothing that I would eat and it was very pricy. We all agreed and ended up leaving as well. So embarrassing! We never leave restaurants and we did it twice in a row. At this point I really wanted something safe like Cafe Rio but Jeremy took us to an enchilada place which was ok but not the kids favorite. I think at this point the kids were tired and hungry so they were being picky and grumpy. 

We ended the night with bowling! This was Kylie's first time bowling, I think. She definitely made it a little more stressful but I think she had fun. We only ended up doing one game since it took a little over an hour with the pace of the kids. Jeremy became competitive and wanted to beat his dad but Grandpa took the win! I love bowling but I can never convince Jeremy to go so I had fun! We also played some arcade games at the end. It was half price games so we couldn't pass it up. Kylie found a candy claw machine and was determined to win candy. She ended up being the only one that could get any candy. It was a tricky game. 

Kylie Bowling Video

The kids had so much fun with their grandparents! They don't get to see either side more than once or twice a year so it's always a treat! I feel bad though because that tends to mean they don't act like themselves because they are so excited they start to misbehave to get attention. 

Blake ended the week with 9 out of 10 checkmarks on his pizza party chart! He has been doing AMAZING at school, behaviorally and academically. I'm amazed by what he's learning in math at his level and he knows how to do it. I also love reading his short stories. They always make me laugh. I couldn't be more proud of Blake! He is working hard every day to be the best he can and that makes my heart so happy! His teachers have been writing the sweetest notes about how well he is doing and I know it just keeps him motivated to continue. 

We had a pretty laid back weekend. Saturday was our usual swim lessons and then swimming at home. I have been really into the diamondbacks so I always watch the prior nights game the following night. Saturday mornings I get to watch Fridays game so that has been fun. The kids did really good at their swim lessons! Blake graduated his swim class and gets to move to the next level. He was SO excited and Kylie was really sad. They gave Blake a certificate and then they announced his graduation to the building and everyone cheered while he ran the bell. Kylie was really sad that he won't be in her class anymore but now she is motivated to work hard so she can ring the bell soon. Her teacher said he would guess two more weeks and then she will be ready. She gets nervous when she's on her back so she needs to relax more and then I guess she will be ready. 

We had a lot of fun in the pool at home. Jeremy joined us in the pool and we took turns racing Blake swimming across the pool. Blake did so good. I can't believe how fast he is improving. The kids always love to lay out on their towels to dry and dance to the music. We will be getting a lot of use out of our pool this year! 

Kylie and Chloe are best friends most of the time. I'm always surprised by this because Kylie is so rough and loud but Chloe is usually somewhere near Kylie. On Saturday Chloe was playing school with Kylie. Chloe was one of the students and it was so funny. I can't believe Chloe sat through it all. 

Mother's Day was very low key. We started with getting up super early and having breakfast. This is something that I remember as a kid always getting breakfast or brunch on Mother's Day. Then Jeremy ended up taking a nap while I cleaned the house because he wasn't feeling well. Around noon, I had a zoom call with my mom and sister. My mom gave us some amazing news! My parents decided they want to take the entire family on a trip to Disney World. I am so excited and I know the kids are going to be ecstatic when they find out. When I got off my call, Jeremy and the kids surprised me with a nothing bundt cake. This was the first full bundt cake we have ever had and Jeremy picked a decorated one! I was so excited! We all went swimming after cake and then I watched the diamondbacks game. The kids were so sweet and gave me a few gifts they made. Kylie made a mug at school for me which she has struggled to keep a secret. It was so fun to see how excited she was about it. Blake made me a card at school. It was so sweet because he wrote all the things he loves about me on flower petals. It was a nice and low key day. 

Week 17

 Week 17

On Tuesday morning, Jeremy and I received our second COVID shot. The most stressful part was not knowing how your body was going to react. So many people we know were sick after the second shot so we were both a little nervous about it. We went right after dropping off the kids. This time we had to go to the Coyotes arena which was cool. The line moved pretty quick and at the end you sat around the ice rink to wait for 15 minutes. I took little video clips during the process and had so much fun embarrassing Jeremy! I'm going to try and make a little video soon. :) Overall, we both didn't have too much of a reaction. I had a headache the next day but nothing too bad. 

On Wednesday morning, Kylie had Kindergarten Orientation! She has been asking when she gets to go to Blake's school since he started 2 years ago so she was so excited that she finally got to go. Kylie went for about two hours and met the teachers and they did a lesson together and then a few art projects. While she was with the teachers, the parents were meeting with the principal. It was pretty boring for us since we already knew almost everything discussed but I'm glad we did it because Kylie had SO much fun!

Blake came home with a HAWK card from school! He was super excited to show it to me. He had an amazing week at school! I couldn't be more proud of how hard he is trying. He has so much energy so its a lot of work for him to sit still all day but he has been doing AMAZING!

Saturday the kids went to their swim lessons. Blake is really focused on moving to the next level. He had a new teacher and I really liked how he didn't help the kids as much so he was really able to see what they could do. I think he was used to teaching older kids so he was used to less assistance. This worked in Blakes favor because he was able to see how much farther he is. Blake did great during the class and there is one thing he needs to work on and then he will probably be ready to move up next week. 

After swim lessons we went to the anthem outlets and did a little shopping and then picked up some pizza for dinner. The outlets were empty but we did find the kids some vans shoes. 

Sunday afternoon we did some swimming in the backyard. The kids wanted to practice what they learned in swim lessons so Jeremy went in and helped them. Blake did such a good job swimming! He is so good at swimming under the water when he remembers to go under. Kylie has a little too much confidence so it scares me. She almost just jumped in without Jeremy in the pool because she jumps in during her swim lessons. At the end Jeremy decided to throw diving rings and Blake would jump in the pool, grab the ring and then swim to the side. He did it over 10 times in a row. His swimming skills have improved SO much in just a few weeks. 

Swimming - Blake