What Mom & Dad have been up to

When we first moved to our house it was cream colored, orange bricks & turquoise trim. GAG me with a spoon! We painted the trim a few years ago and always planned on painted the cream but got so busy once we had Kora. Well this past weekend we had officially had it. Francis went to Home Depot, bought paint & brushes and got to work.

I love that this guy is a hard worker. It was SO hot the first day but luckily some clouds rolled in the next day and we even got some light rain. Made the painting not so painful.

 Kali and Kai rode bikes and scooters with the neighbor kids.

 And two days & two cans of paint later we are done with the front stucco. Next up is painting the brick and then we are going to put new gravel out front & Francis is going to tile the front walkway.

 Francis and I went on a date to Blue Martini to hear a cover band play. We met up with a friend of mine from high school and her husband. It was so nice to get out.

Kali is SO excited because she just found out that she is going to be a gingersnap in the Nutcracker!

 

She has been working SO hard on her flexibility & it's paying off. 

 

This wild and crazy gal has been keeping me busy while Kali & Kai are at school. Kora likes going to visit them at lunch, she thinks the loud cafeteria is great.

 And, just for proof that I dress nice sometimes I took these pics of my new FAV shirt & earrings.

I have been on Pinterest pinning outfits with denim shirts so I've been wanting to buy one and I finally found one on sale at Target for only $15...score!

I am SO excited for cooler weather.

Kora's puppy

Here is Kora and her "pet puppy".

 I like it because it runs on batteries and does not poop or puke all over the house like our dog Noodle did. Kora loves it because she pick it up and it does not try to bite her.

Weekend trip

We spent the weekend in Prescott. We went to Mortimer Farm for the Corn Festival, meet my friend Angie for dinner at Texas Roadhouse, swam at the hotel, hiked around Watson lake & the boys fished at Lynx Lake. It rained during the day on Saturday and when we left the hight was 78*....we came home to Phoenix at 112*. It was a great weekend.

Kora in the day

This is what Kora does during the day while Kali and Kai are at school.

She walks around looking very serious while eating snacks.

 She walks around staring while eating snacks, this was a broccoli stem that fell on the ground while I was cooking and she HAD to have it. She gnawed on that thing for like 20 minutes.

 She likes to drink out of everyone else's cups except hers.

Then when Kai gets home she just wants to spend time with her big brother.

Kai is the BEST big brother I've ever seen :)

p.s. things at school are going MUCH better.

Missing Kai

Watching this little guy walk away from me to class breaks my heart.

I miss him during the day. So does Koko.

Luckily today is Wednesday which means it's early release! Yay!

Yesterday I went to meet him for lunch. His class came walking up to the cafeteria. Kai was NOT there. I asked where he was and the teacher said "oh he's in line". No he was not. And, he was not with any other class. I was scared now. I ran to the playground to find him. I could not see him anywhere because the entire 1st grade was out there (Kindergartners and 1st graders are not suppose to be out at the same time) His teacher finally found him on the rock climbing wall. He was just having fun and told me later that he was playing with Joshua (his friend in first grade). His teacher never said sorry and just kindof laughed it off. I was SO mad. I am still SO mad. What if  I did not go to lunch? When would anyone have noticed he was gone? After lunch?  I am hoping that things will get better. As of today I have e-mailed the Principal, Vice Principal, Student Services and his teacher. I talked to the office staff and Francis spoke to the principal. Oh and did I mention that he did not bring home any information/schedule/contact list on the first day. Nothing.

 

Here's hoping I can keep my cool and that his teacher gets it together soon.

My heart cannot stand another day like that.

Back to School 2013

Yesterday was the last day of summer which means it's our annual Back To School dinner. First we went to see Percy Jackson & the Sea of Monsters. The kids and I read the book over the summer so it was fun to end the summer seeing the movie.

 We had our neighbors over for dinner & the kids had so much fun playing.

 Kai wanted trout. Kali wanted corn on the cob and they both wanted rice. So that was the menu.

 Then it was early bedtime at 8:30. In the summer we are happy to get them in bed by 10:30.

And then I cried. I mean big, ugly face crying.

I am having a hard time letting Kai go to school. He is such a good helper to me, he always gives me hugs and Kora just LOVES to be with him. He is the best son a Mom could ask for and I just hope that his teacher will know how lucky she is to have him in her class.

 Here is miss Kali up bright and early, looking fancy & ready to go! She LOVES school!

 Kai said he was nervous but he seemed excited to get ready and go.

 They asked for cinnamon rolls & strawberries for breakfast.

 Kali said she was excited to have her brother at school.

 Dropping Kai off first. He got right to work coloring.

 And, then we dropped off our little miss social. Her teacher was excited to see her & she knows pretty much everyone in her class.

 Mrs. Dogohne and Kali

Then we went back for one more peek at Kai.

He was yapping away to his teacher & then he waved and said, "bye Mom".

OH tear drop :(

I am so proud of my brave, strong, sweet & funny boy.

The first day of school is SOOOO hard on parents :(
We went back to have lunch with the kids. Kai was happy to see us and tell us a little about his day...which he said was a little boring..ha!

 Kali was happy to be back with her friends (two of her best friends are in her class)

So far so good :)

Last Week of Summer

Kali started back at dance this week and was soooo happy to be back! She is taking jazz, lyrical, hip hop & ballet this year. Kai is back at Karate too but we can't take pictures in his class.

 I took the kids to the exotic bird store. They LOVE the movie Rio and there are the same types of birds in this store. Now they both want a bird for Christmas.

 We went to paint pottery at Ceramics at Home. Kai painted a pirate mug and Kali painted a high heel.

 They also got to go see the Smurfs 2 with my Mom. Thank goodness she took them because that movie looked awful! But they had a great time with Yaya.

We we able to attend Meet the Teacher night at the school & tour the new campus.

Their school is AMAZING.

 We even had a brick dedicated to them at the new school :) It was neat to see it.

 Here is Kai's classroom. I almost cried. He is SOOOO ready for Kindergarten but I am not ready to let him go. Monday will be very hard for me & Koko, because she LOVES playing with Kai.

 And finally.....sniff...sniff...tear drop.

Their bags are packed.