Kianna's Last Days of Pre-K

Butterfly Girls: Kianna, Callie and Ada

Trace's face was too dirty, so he had Elmo painted on his arm.

Rainbow Girl

Unfortunately, Kianna spent the last two days of "official" school home sick on the couch with the stomach flu. However, she bounced back and was able to attend her pre-K picnic and say goodbye to her friends and teachers for the summer. Each year they hire a clown who is a very talented face painter. Kaylee somehow finagled her way into attending the picnic instead of staying in class where she was supposed to be. It was a fun time had by all. Afterwards we headed home for baths and then jumped into the van and headed to Iowa for the long weekend. All the time praying that no one else came down with the stomach flu...

Broderick's Visit

Kianna up in our tree.

Kaylee climbing the tree.

Broderick showing off how strong he is.

Broderick came to visit us on Weds and stayed until Sunday. We had such a fun time catching up with him. He became such a big part of our family after living with us all last summer. He is one amazing guy and it felt so good having him around again.

Broderick's endless energy continues to amaze us! Our kids adore him and for good reason. He played tag with them, jumped on the trampoline with them, climbed trees with them, and even colored the driveway in chalk with them. He is one amazing cousin!!! He even got to see the girls' soccer games. Both girls scored 3 goals. Kaylee is really improving and is getting so much more aggressive. Way to go girls! Thanks Broderick for a great visit. We miss you already!!!

Mother's Day

Notice Trace in the background. He said he was too busy eating to be in the picture.

The girls made me one of my favorite breakfasts today, peanut butter toast with sliced bananas and a cup of coffee. Kianna even arranged the bananas into the shape of a flower for me. It was perfect. She also made me a t-shirt, which she decorated with fabric markers. I love it! Kaylee got me a bouquet of purple flowers, which are beautiful.

After a relaxing afternoon, we went for a family bike ride, where we enjoyed the perfect weather. The evening concluded with cheeseburgers and sweet potato fries. Yummy! Happy Mother's Day to our moms too. We love you so much!!

Mother's Day Tea Party

The girls and I had a tea party with our friends, Karen and Katie, at the new tea house in downtown Adrian. Of course Molly and Kit came along too. Kianna ordered a big bowl of chicken noodle soup, a cheddar muffin, a chocolate mousse tart, and some blueberry tea in her own teapot. Kaylee ordered the Little Lady High Tea, which consisted of triangle shaped ham tea sandwiches, heart shaped cheese, butterfly shaped crackers, a fruit cup with whipped cream, a scone, a chocolate mousse tart, and apple juice in her own teapot. I ordered a spinach and feta cheese quiche, a cup of butternut squash soup, a cheddar muffin, and some spiced chai tea. We had such a fun time enjoying each other's company, the yummy food and fancy teas. We also were able to practice good table manners. Afterwards the girls decided to model in front of some local attractions with their friend. What fun memories we made today. I want to do this again every year.

Kianna's Field Trip

Kianna's class went on a field trip to the Kids-n-Stuff museum. They had a fun time. Kianna's favorite activity was the climbing wall in honor of her cousin, Broderick.

Soccer

Trace dribbling the ball.

Trevor coaching Trace's team.

Kaylee taking a rest.

Trevor coaching Kianna's team.

Happy Kianna!

All three of our kids are playing soccer this Spring and loving it! The Centre just started their own league and are following the AYSO model, which we discovered back in Iowa. They are playing 3-on-3 and have fields that vary in length according to the kids' ages. It has been such a positive change from our experience with soccer last Spring. Trevor has taken on coaching both Trace and Kianna's teams and is doing a great job! He is so gifted at working with kids. He teaches them skills while making them laugh and have fun at the same time. Trevor is in charge of a group of 40, 3 and 4-year-old boys and girls. They are then divided into age and gender groups, so Trace is on a team with other 3-year-old boys. He has 5 stations he rotates to, one of which is a 10 minute game. The game is without question his favorite station. Being that he has a short attention span, he does not enjoy standing in lines. After about one rotation through his drills he will often cross his arms across his chest and pout saying he doesn't want to do that drill anymore. However, when it comes to the game rotation he is a force to be reckoned with. It doesn't matter who has the ball, his team or the other team, he wants it. In fact, he doesn't care if he scores in his goal or the other teams goal, he just wants to score. He scored 5 goals his first game, 2 of which were in the other teams goal. Last game he scored probably 3 or 4 goals, several of which were in the other teams goal. It appears he is going to be one tough little athlete! After his first game, I took him to get a drink at the water fountain and was in the middle of praising him for what a great job he did during his game, when all of a sudden he started peeing uncontrollably all over himself. At first I though he was spitting water out of his mouth, until it just wouldn't stop. It was one of those up and down parenting moments, when one moment I'm praising him and the next I'm upset and wondering what in the world is happening. Sometimes you just gotta laugh!!!

Kianna is also loving soccer and has really surprised us by how into it she is this year. She is super aggressive and is doing a great job! She loves to score goals. I believe she scored 5 goals her first game, 1 goal her 2nd game and 5 goals her last game. My favorite was when she stole the ball from the other team right next to their goal and then dribbled the length of the field and scored. It was so fun to see and she was so proud of herself! She is also working on passing the ball to her teammates and has done a great job at being unselfish with the ball. We are very proud of her!

Kaylee too is enjoying soccer. She has discovered a love for defense. She loves taking the ball away from the other team and has surprised us with a new level of aggressiveness. She is doing a great job and even scored her first goal last week. Way to go Kaylee!

Hare Bike Race

Trace at the start line.

Kianna getting ready to race.

Kianna with her medal.

Kaylee at the start of her race.

Kaylee on her trail.

Kids proudly displaying their new medals.

The kids had a great time doing their first ever bike race. It was a race put on by the city of Adrian and was free, so what more can you ask for? Trace rode his bike in a parking lot and raced three laps around some cones for 1/5 of a mile. Kianna raced along a street for 1/2 of a mile and Kaylee raced along some trails in the woods for 1.2 miles. Kaylee had never ridden on a trail before, so was pretty tuckered out by the end of it. She wants to do it again next year but train for it in advance. The kids all received medals for finishing their races, which they thought was pretty cool! Fun times!!!