Owen - Preschool

Preschool has been killin' me with the cute photos coming home or being posted on FB lately!!

Gramma was able to attend their "Muffins with Moms" event since I was stuck in SOL testing (sniff sniff):

Chris was able to attend their "Donuts with Dads" event:

Preschool graduation pics (sniff sniff):

And he's been making us all laugh lately. Chris jokingly put his paper towel on his head. He kept on as if he didn't notice it. We're not quite sure if that was part of his joke, or if he truly didn't even know it was there!

Remember this picture when Owen was as tall as an iris?

Now he's a head taller than an iris!

First Softball Game

Willow had her first game this week! They'd only had 4 practices before their game so it was definitely a great learning curve during the game, just like basketball was. She did great! They rotate through positions in the field, so she got to play pitcher (stands beside the coach from the other team who was pitching) and left field. I loved seeing her "ready" stance while she was pitcher. She had a good bit of action and knew to throw to 1st base. One time the little girl who was playing short stop said "Throw it to me!!" so Willow did instead of throwing to first. HA! I think the girl just wanted a chance to have some action too! The girls are pitched to by their coach and are pitched 5 balls. They have to hit it 10 feet for it to be fair. Willow had a great hit but it went foul and wasn't able to get a hit on her last pitch so ended up "striking" out and that was her only at bat. She watched the video of her at bat in the car yesterday and now it's mysteriously gone. Though it's frustrating, I know there will be a bazillion more videos!! Stay tuned!!  The teams play for 6 innings or an hour and 15 minutes. It's pretty slow going for girls in the outfield since there are so many pitches to each batter (with a lot of lag time inbetween as the weighted down catcher struggles to go chase down and return the ball). Towards the end when Willow was playing left field, she (and others!!) were more interested in the dirt than the game. HA! I'm sure we'll have a variety of weather throughout the two-month season (some weeks they have 3 games!) but the weather for their first game was perfect! Sunny and 80 but it didn't feel too hot with a nice breeze and the sun setting just enough to shade the entire field!

Game Two: Willow played pitcher and 2nd base during her second game. The girls did a great job hitting and Willow got on base both of her times at bat. Here she is her first and second at bat. Unfortunately she didn't get to 2nd base either time - the first time they'd reached the 5 run rule and the second time the batter after her struck out. It was fun to know 2 girls on the other team (both from her basketball team)! Owen's attention span for the game is waning already but it has been fun to see him more interested in playing ball in the backyard lately though. He loves to wear her helmet!

Spring Break

We enjoyed a much-needed Spring Break this week. It was a nice taste of summer and has us wishing for the next 6 weeks to go by quickly!! We enjoyed playing with friends and family over break and it was fabulous!!

We met Nana, Kim, and the kids at our favorite park then headed to the Qdoba that recently opened for lunch (which is a dream come true to finally have all 3 of our favorite Mexican options now within 45 minutes of us: Qdoba, Chipotle, and Moes). 

Check out the action here. 

Mama weighs the same and Willow IF she thinks "light" thoughts and leans over onto Willow's side, while Willow thinks "heavy" thoughts and leans her weight down. 

Racecar action here. 

There was some time for some shenanigans at home too. The pool "lightsabers" have been a big hit since (before) the birthday party. We combined a lightsaber attack with my favorite childhood game of "Scare" to end up with this craziness. It reminds me of these videos when Willow was younger. 

I got to take Owen to Ninja Zone to make up his class he was going to miss at the end of the week. I was surprised when he commented on the motorcycle in front of us because I wouldn't have thought he could see it, so I took the headrest off the passenger seat and he was more than thrilled to have a "front seat view."

I'd noticed an indoor rock climbing gym in the area and thought it might be something Willow might enjoy. I called her friend Elizabeth's mom, then we met up there to enjoy an afternoon of climbing together. They both did great and LOVED it! There were 6 tracks you could take with the autoballet and she made it up to 5 of the 6. She sure tried for the 6th one, but halfway up it starts to lean back and she didn't quite have the strength left in her. She's determined to go again and try that one first while her muscles are strongest though!

Owen had a fun lunch playdate with his buddy Nathan from school too!

We went to see the Murrays and go to Busch Gardens at the end of the week. It was fun to have a picnic and see the animals at Maymont again. It's such a nice park!

The Murrays weren't able to join us at Busch Gardens due to a tummy bug but we were able to pack in quite a few hours at the park enjoying shows and rides. The kids both rode a few new rides and a few all-time favorites from previous years. 

We enjoyed some backyard s'mores just in time before the rain came!

And when the kids were asleep, the adults played!!

The boys played so well together too!!

 Cadence had left this sweet picture for Willow on her sleeping bag for when we got back from Busch Gardens:

I think it helped inspire Owen to write his first sentence though! He came down asking for a piece of paper and pencil, then proceeded to write this note for Willow. He asked for help with a few words (play, with, are, fun) but knew how to spell the, toys, and you!! Watch out Kindergarten!!

The Murrays gave Owen this awesome Star Destroyer toy for his birthday. It says a lot if that's what he played with all day instead of Legos!!

And by Sunday afternoon they were apparently so tired that they played the lazy version of Twister (haha!):