first day of school eve

well… sorta.
the kids are attending their first half-day of preschool tomorrow. its sort of a test to see how they'll do without us around for a half day; and to introduce them to their teacher and so that in september, they won't be totally shocked by the three day a week attendence that is going to occur. i hope it goes well! im nervous for them, but im also very excited for them to experience all that kindercare has to offer them.
today was a nice day we had lunch at a local "wendy's" restaurant with some friends of mine who i used to work with at interbrand. the kids did great. they sat for most of the time and were conversational and sweet. we all fell asleep during nap time today. ella tries to 'outlast' you when going down for a nap. today, she won. i awoke in the lay-z-boy at 4:30pm- the last time i looked at my watch was at 2:45pm and thought= okay, she'll just be another minute.... almost two hours later, i woke up! she won! ugh.
tonight, we grilled out burgers and then went to a local park - pioneer park - in symmes township. we watched another family fish for bluegills. the kids got a great kick out of that.
now, story time on the eve of school!

story time

ella and will LOVE their nightly story time. every night (unless we are traveling without daddy) doug reads the kids stories. "best mouse cookie", "big fish, little fish" and "goodnight moon". each night, doug tackles each book, like its the very first time he's reading it to them. they love the books and look forward to each page. its funny how it never really gets old - even doug and i both have memorized them into our sleep.

today, the kids and I went to the Newport Aquarium. the kids wanted badly to see crabs and sharks. we got to touch a crab in the touchtank and we saw many species of sharks. the aquarium was not crowded and the kids behaved wonderfuly. all in all, a great trip. we got a special picture taken of the three of us to give to daddy on father's day. i hope he likes it!
there were several severe thunderstorms in our area today. wilson especially was afraid of the thunder (along with jessica, too!)
now, we are just waiting for quiet time to set in…

what fun!

this weekend was filled with much fun. saturday, the kids and myself went to uncle kevin and aunt chris' house to swim. the water was a bit chilly, but the air was steamy and humid- so although it was a bit chilly initially, it was refreshing too. after a bit of coaxing, wilson agreed to join us in the pool. however, he insisted on going ”au naturel“. so, naked he was! I applied sunsreen to his bumm and his back and off he went! we left a bit later and went home to nap.
today, we went to uncle bob and aunt patti's house to celebrate cousin zachary's gradution from high school. wilson and eleanor played with bella, amy, aunt erin and kes in the wading pool. wilson again, naked and later, eleanor joined in the nudity! weeeee. a bit after stuffing their bellies with cake and cookies; bubble blowing started. then, eleanor decided it would be a good idea to drink the grape-scented bubbles. she promptly threw up. yuk. so much for that. for about an hour, the kids and amy played "crash" on the kid-sized elephant-shaped slide. it was a blast watching them chase eachother around and see who could crash the best. grandma had a great time watching them and commented on how much they've grown!
so now, we are enabling "quiet time" and they are snug in their beds, tuckered out and hopefully - in sleepy town soon. what a day - and what fun!