Character Award

The elementary school that Evan attends implements a character program. In this program various skills are introduced, modeled, and taught in the hope of building core ethical values with the students. There are six pillars or values in the program: caring, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, and citizenship. Each week the guidance counselor comes to the classroom and provides mini-lessons with these core values. The program is coming to an end, and the classroom teacher chose the students in the classroom that best represent the core values. Evan won the citizenship prize for "obeying the class rules, cooperating with others, contributing in a positive way to the community, and taking care of the environment." We are so proud of him!

Spring Soccer...It's Priceless

Soccer Registration....$150
Team Pictures....$50
New Cleats.....$70

Watching my two babies score two points each today...priceless!

Surprise Visit!

Wes's Uncle Drew and Aunt Kay surprised us this week by calling us while in DC on vacation. We had them over for dinner on Tuesday night, and they surprised the boys with bags of marbles.

I have to admit that I cringed when I saw the marbles. I instantly knew that they would not remain in the leather pouch in which they were so nicely organized. I immediately had images of clogged vaccuums, cries over lost marbles, and fights over cat-eyes. And even worse than I had imagined I awoke this morning to a bag of thirty marbles falling and spilling over hard wood floors. "Oh, Dear God!" I wailed.

In the two days that we have had the marbles, the boys have created several games - some with multiple levels for advancement - and we have learned that Wes was once the "marble champion" of his elementary school. Due to my lack of skills in this area, I am not invited to participate, and as I watch them play, I think that maybe the "narbles" aren't all that bad.

Evan, the teacher

Keagan has expressed, again, the desire to learn to read. This week I covered the -at family with him and he seemed to get it the second time around. Encouraged by this, Evan has decided to help Keagan learn to read. This morning he created a list of fifteen "snap" words, made flashcards of the words, and made a check-off list that shows mastery or non-mastery of the words. Once this was done and once Keagan practiced reciting the words, Evan decided it was time to move on to Bob books. The two crawled into the bed with the level 1 red Bob Books, and Evan helped Keagan stretch out the words. At one point I heard Evan say, "Don't look at the pictures, Keagan. You need to sound the words out."

I can't wait to see how long this process lasts. I give it a week, if that, before one gets mad at the other and the reading lesson turns into a wrestling match. However, seeing them read together before bed is so heart-warming.

Soccer Week #2

At today's game, Team United played its toughest competition. However, they were able to come out on top. Evan scored two goals in the first quarter and had a couple of assists. He was motivated to do well because his best friend from school, Charlie, was on the opposing team, and he couldn't go to school tomorrow with anyone knowing Charlie had one up on him. :)

Keagan's game was just as exciting; he scored six or seven goals. I lost count in the third quarter. His toughest competition was a boy about the size of Evan claiming to be 4. He was big and Keagan was intimidated by him at first. However, the big boy didn't have Keagan's speed and Keagan was able to outrun him to score. Big Boy didn't like this too much and tried to bring Keagan to the ground several times by grabbing his shirt. No worries; Keagan took care of himself on the field with elbow or two, and if that had not been sufficient, Evan was just about ready to deck Big Boy. As bad as that scenario could have been, should it have been played out, I couldn't help feeling proud of Evan so ready to take up for his little brother.

Easter Egg Roll

Wow! What an event! Today's White House Easter Egg Roll was one of the most unorganized events that I have ever attended. Thank goodness we were in the second group because by the time we left, the wait time to enter the security gates had extended to four or more hours. Despite the crowds, I am really thankful that we had the opportunity to experience the event. Even though I am not a registered Democrat, it is exciting to experience any event surrounding the White House with such a historic presidency. 

We participated in the most popular activity first; the boys rolled eggs on the White House Lawn. At first, not understanding it was a rolling contest, Evan ran to the finish line with the egg in his spoon. He was given a second chance, and he went back to the start line and raced me to the finish. This time he shot the egg across the finish line as if he were playing lacrosse. Keagan's egg crossed into the next lane and his opponent stepped on his egg. He was in tears, and by the time we exited this exhibit, both boys were in tears. Ugh! 

Next, we hunted Easter eggs. The boys said it was too easy, but they were delighted to both have found eggs. We had no luck in finding any special eggs with prize money attached, but one little girl in the group before us did, and her whole family ran across the lawn letting everyone know about it.

Last, we took pics with various characters from Nick and PBS. 
Along the way we saw Michelle Obama and her girls; they were literally steps from us. Mrs. Biden made a short appearance, and Wes saw various generals and National Security Advisors pushing their kids and grandchildren in strollers along the lawn. We listened to Fergie and Imagination Movers perform on stage, and we took advantage of the photo op in front of the White House. 

By this time, all three boys were hungry (no surprise there!), and we made a bee-line to the exit to pick up our White House eggs. We did it, and I am thankful that we were able to go, but I think that I will be okay with skipping the event next year.

Spring Break

Today the boys and I spent the day in DC. This is what I experienced today.

Without Wes, we do not have the advantage of prime parking spots so I drove to Springfield, and the boys and I took the metro into the city. It was so easy that I wondered on the way home why we don't do this more often. And then I remembered. It is called Wes; he hates public transportation. However, I am convinced that I will do this more often this summer with the boys.

Knowing my boys would be hungry and in need of a snack, I packed several options for each to enjoy. We hadn't pulled onto 95 yet when Keagan asked for his first snack. Evan was on snack two when the metro arrived to the Smithsonian station (yes, that is a crackers sack in the pic!), and within the next hour both boys were begging for food. Really, already??? Why did I think that a package of Spongebob crackers and a banana would be enough to sustain my boys? And so we left the exhibit in the American History museum to find the closest cafe. I dropped about $30 on two sandwiches and two drinks because, as my brother-in-law says, "they are proud of those sandwiches."

We spent most of our time in the invention exhibit of the American History museum. Evan created a pinball maze with kitchen utensils, and Keagan created the masterpiece entitled "Mommy!" I love to watch their minds work..Evan is so precise, just so and Keagan is much more open minded and free thinking.

We ended the trip with a new favorite pastime of ours...IMAX movies. Today we saw "Under the Sea 3-D" at the Natural History Museum. Both boys belly laughed when the tide rushed over their heads, Keagan continually tried to catch a fish with his little fingers outstretched, and Evan begged to stay and watch the next movie. I promised that we would return to see "Dinosaurs 3-D", and he said, "How about tonight?"

Children's Theatre

It is day one of our spring break and today we took the boys to Adventure Theatre in Glen Echo Park, MD to see the stage performance "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie." 

Although I thought it would be a great idea to see a production at a children's theatre, the boys were not as enthused. Evan cried the walk to the car, complained the drive to the park, and pouted when we arrived. He was convinced it would be no fun, that it would be for babies, and that he should be at home instead. However, once we arrived, he was all smiles. It was a great performance and a lot of fun for all of us. We had so much fun, in fact, that we plan to return this summer to see "Charlie Brown", ride the bumper cars, and grab a ride on the carousel.

Spring Soccer

The long awaited start to spring soccer season has finally arrived! This year PWSI opened its doors to a new age group, U4. As a result, Keagan is finally able to play, and play he did. 

As most people know, Keagan is fast - especially for his age and size. So while the opposing team players and Keagan's own teammates picked flowers and watched the birds fly by, Keagan was running to the goal with the ball, and those that weren't picking flowers or watching birds fly were left in the dust. He scored a goal in quarter two and would have scored more if he was a little more accurate. In quarter four he was back on the field, and although he didn't score, he was still fast and turning the ball really well. 

However, I think that Wes and I were most impressed with the encouragement he gave his teammates. When Ella didn't want to play, Keagan put his hand on her shoulder and tried to coax her on the field. When Tori got hit with the ball and started to cry, Keagan gave her a hug and told her it would be okay. When the game was over and our team celebrated the win, Keagan was the first to walk to the sidelines to shake the gray teams' hands. 
After the game, I asked Keagan what the best part of the day was, and he replied, "Scoring a point, Mom!" So we can't deny his competitive nature or that he is really out on the field to win.

If Keagan is playing soccer, then you can bet Evan is, too. Team United had another strong start to the season. In quarter one I had already lost count of the score. We played with only three players to try to even out the score, but it was to no avail. The only point the Yellow Bees scored was a point that our coach allowed in the second quarter.

As we arrive home with sunburns and a desire for a good long nap, we can't help but feel proud of our two soccer stars! Does it get any better than this? I can't imagine spending a Sunday afternoon doing anything but this.

Spring Has Sprung

Wes had his first photo rating of "hot" at jpg.com with this picture taken right outside our front door. These fruitless pear trees are always the first sign that spring has arrived and one of the reasons why I love living in Montclair so much. The main thoroughfare of the neighborhood is lined with these trees and it makes for a beautiful drive.