Catching up on April and May events...so behind

Gymnastics Spring Show - May 8
A whole year passed in a flash. We signed up for gymnastics in the fall of last year and we ended it last week - the classes follow the school year...we opted to break for the summer. Hatcher loves gymnastics and takes the class with his friends Ava Mei and Haley. Aidan will join in next year and loves going to watch - and cheer! - Hatcher on. We go and sit in the stands and watch the kids learn to hang and swing on the monkey bars, do somersaults on a balance beam (on the ground), do cartwheels and jump down a long trampoline and into a foam pit. That is Hatcher's favorite part. Here are some pictures from the spring - "year-end" event. We invited Marma and P'Bo, Uncle Ben, Grandma and Grandpa Tom to the show. Hatcher was so excited to have his family there to watch him perform...and play!







Hatcher's bigger-boy bike
Derek and I have been trying to get Aidan more comfortable riding the bicycle in preparation for our beach trip this fall, and in doing so realized that Hatcher needed a slightly bigger bike. So a big transitional moment in the house - two boys on bicycles. Hatcher even wanted to try riding his new bike without training wheels. He is ever so close and will likely nail it while we are at the beach on flat ground. Some of the photos...





Tom's Birthday Celebration
For Grandpa Tom's birthday, which was in April, we hosted him, Grandma and Tom's daughter for dinner. We cooked out and all enjoyed dinner and dessert on the deck. The kids had so much fun helping me decorate the cake. I even found these cute shirts that said "Ruff Day" in honor of his birthday. Too cute. It was a nice dinner outside.

Cinco de Mayo...and more

What a busy month May has been already. I am so behind in posting - it is almost hard to recall what all we have been up to. Thank god for all the many photos I take. They are such a vivid reminder of days gone by. We spent Cinco de Mayo with the "goddard gang" and Amy and Greg's house. Everyone had a great time and the kids all had a blast of course. Amy even purchased a pinata for the kids to all take turns beating in the hopes that they would find candy. They took turns - each made good contact and in the end the candy made its way to the ground. We always have such a good time with the group and Hatcher and Aidan love hanging out with Haley, Tomy, Ava Mei and Owen. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

Aidan's first Dentist visit

Aidan was so excited. Hatcher and I talked up our big trip to the dentist for weeks. Hatcher has loved going - which is so great! I take them to my dentist where the boys can watch movies and get toys...and the girls who work there are so patient with each of them. Hatcher and Aidan had great "reports" - they both have all 20 teeth in good condition. Heck - it was me with a cavity this time. The dentist had been watching this "sticky" spot for years and it was time. Somehow I got talked into having it filled while we were there with this new "blasting - no shot" technique. It was actually painless and quick - but of course while i was stuck in the chair - Aidan had to go #2 and Hatcher was glued to the television watching Toy Story. Meanwhile my teeth were somehow glued together. We think when I turned my head (when I was supposed to be still) to hear Aidan requesting to go potty - the filling spilled over the edge. While the filling was drying the super nice receptionist helped Aidan go to the potty. Shortly there after - the dentist noticed the error and all was repaired. Lesson learned - never take two boys under the age of 5 to the dentist without a second adult present! Here are pictures of Aidan's first teeth cleaning.

Kemmerlin boys' newest hobby - Fishing!

Who knew that we would be a family hitting the Bass Pro Shops for fishing equipment - or that Derek would love going fishing at the lake with the boys nearly every weekend. Of course we fell into the groove of really loving and using our beautiful lake (the very reason we moved here) just as there is major damage to the dam from all the torrential rains last fall. Subsequently, this fall our lake will be most likely completely drained for a period of time so the dam can be properly repaired. Until then - we are going to continue to enjoy it as much as we can - for every minute we can while it is only ~10' low. Even the beach is currently in need of more sand since the water has been forced out beyond our normal swimming area. But back to the increased fishing. Easter Sunday afternoon P'Bo, Jared and Christina came out to fish. Everyone loves it...especially Hatcher. He has yet to catch a fish - but he sure knows how to cast a reel. Aidan just throws his line and then wanders around the edge. Last time we were out there both boys ended up with their socks and shoes off running around along the edge getting covered in mud. They loved it! I am sure we will spend a good bit of time out there this summer - trying to catch more fish. Now if I could only get Derek to change the boys shoes before they head down to the mud. :)

Easter 2010

We had a great Easter. The boys were super excited and knew that we would get to partake in TWO egg hunts today. Of course the Easter bunny came to our house, but he also made his annual visit to Berkeley Lake. What was different this year was that Hatcher knew the Bunny at the lake wasn't the real Easter Bunny. He told Aidan that it was just some guy dressed up to be like the Easter bunny for pictures - and that was why he didn't speak. Aidan didn't care - he was super excited to see him. The boys got up at the crack of dawn - who am I kidding - it was still dark outside - don't think it was even dawn yet! Then we searched for eggs in the house. After breakfast - we talked the boys into going outside to play where they were surprised to find even more eggs - 75 in total. Crazy mommy and daddy - what were we thinking? It was fun. Then after nap we headed to Berkeley Lake for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. They were excited and were looking forward to seeing the bunny again this year.

Enjoying this wonderful Spring weather

What amazing weather we have been enjoying. Although it seems we went from winter to summer in a matter of days - I am not complaining. And, because of the extreme cold and longer winter, everything sprouted green in days instead of weeks - which meant allergies were horrible and pollen unbearable. But, that didn't stop us from enjoying the weather. Derek and I buckled down these past few weekends and put out 195 bails of pine straw and 4 yards of cedar bark chips. The kids were big helpers too. They have enjoyed the weather right along side us - wanting to eat every meal outside on the deck and playing on the playground nearly every waking minute. Although - Aidan doesn't like to get too hot so he will come inside at times...only to have Hatcher follow and beg and plead with him to go back out and play with him. "C'mon little buddy, don't you want to play outside with me?" he will say - over, and over, and over again. It is too cute.




And Derek got his newest toy - his iPad. He was like a kid at Christmas when the UPS truck arrived that Saturday. He and the UPS driver started talking and Derek learned it was all the UPS driver was delivering that day. I had to take these photos with his iPhone...he just couldn't stop smiling. Actually - I am enjoying it too!



Time for another party at school. The kids' school hosted a sweet Easter party - and even had an Easter Egg hunt. The kids had so much fun. When I went to celebrate with them they were both donning "rabbit ears" and talking about the Easter Egg hunt. I just love watching them get so excited about the various holidays. It really makes you stop and appreciate each and everyday.

Ready for warmer weather...and the arrival of one funny bunny!

Easter is this coming weekend and the boys are super excited. They have a spring/Easter party at school this afternoon and with the boys out on Friday, both Derek and I took the day off for a much needed 3-day weekend. There is an Easter Egg Hunt in Berkeley Lake again this year - and Easter of course is on Sunday. So, to be sure I am capturing all the milestones, I tried to take some photos for Easter. I build a photo calendar each year and figured it may be fun to try something different. I have been working so much lately - such crazy demands and late nights...that early one morning this week - I took my time getting the kids to school and we played around with the Easter decorations and talked about the Easter bunny coming to town. It was a beautiful day and the boys and I had so much fun! I can't wait to enjoy my three-day weekend with them. They just grow up so fast.
We wish you all a Happy Easter!