And we've made it ... we now have a Kindergartner and a Preschooler ... how did we get here?

When did this happen? How did this happen? It seems like in a blink of an eye we have come to this place in life where we are about to embark on having BOTH children in school. That's right ... David is starting Kindergarten in a few short days. And Caleb will be starting preschool (Tiny Tots) just after Labor Day. Not only that, but BOTH boys will be in fall Tee Ball!!!!

I look back at photos of David from the past 5 years and feel like it's all gone so incredibly quickly. He is so excited to be going to Kindergarten and to "real" school. He's already met his teacher and is thrilled with his placement. Mrs. Barnes (Katie) seems like a great woman and we look forward to the year. David loves to learn and thrives in that type of environment so we cannot wait to see him continue to develop.

For Caleb, the debate was constant for months it seemed. Probably since this Spring. He is eligible to attend the first preschool class (Tiny Tots) instead of attending a Mommy & Me class due to when his birthday falls. But this also has the requirement of potty training. Which fortunately ... he meets that requirement now! So the debate only increased once that happened and we neared the start of school. In the end, we decided that he might be bored at a Mommy & Me class because he is so used to being with David and his friends and therefore encouraged to behave like the older boys and do more advanced things. So in the end, he'll be at school on Tues/Thurs from 9-11:30am. And he's definitely excited about it.  

Since Caleb has a November birthdate, he'll be entering what is known as "Transitional Kindergarten" (TK) before he goes to Kindergarten. This means essentially he'll be in a Pre K type class IN the school and therefore not paid for out of our pocket but rather the state. We still do not quite understand the premise behind having the OLDEST kids in the class do an extra class before they transition into Kindergarten but at least it's FREE. :) This class, in our opinion, is better suited for the younger kids in the class like David since they are more likely to be underdeveloped than the older ones. Caleb's school track will be Tiny Tots ('15-'16), Pre K ('16-'17), TK ('17-'18) and then Kindergarten in the Fall of 2018.

The boys may only be 2.5 years apart in age, but they'll be 3 years apart in school. Much like Mike and myself are only 1 year apart in age and 2 years in school.

Until recently ... I have not been sad at ALL about David heading off to school. Where most of my friends have been weary of the passing time. Although I'm still not sad, I've always been very excited and eager for him to truly begin his education endeavors, I do find myself a little ... oh what's the correct term ... helpless maybe. That I have no control over time. Especially since this summer just seemed to FLY by. All in all it feels like school just ended and now we're out of time. I guess we'll always feel like this ... out of time. Best to make the most of what we do have then ...

Here's to saying YES more often and living and loving in the fleeting moments ...

Red light, Green light, BROWN LIGHT!!!

Living with boys means sometimes the craziest things come out of their mouths. Example, last week I had another fight with my mandolin and precariously cut off the left side of the tip of my thumb. Nothing salvageable to glue or stitch. It hurts. It's ugly. David is enthralled with it!! So this weekend he 'pretends' and asks "mama, what if you cut off 1 finger?" It'd hurt. "What if you cut off two fingers?" It'd hurt even more. "What if you cut off FOUR fingers mama?!" WHY ARE YOU CUTTING MY FINGERS OFF EVEN IF ONLY PRETEND?!

Cut to today ... playing red light; green light in the garage as I organize and clean.

Red light = stop
Green light = go fast
Yellow  = slow
Orange = to the right
Pink = to the left
Blue = backwards
Purple = dance

Suddenly as we're in the middle of playing ... David yells ... BROWN LIGHT!!!! I'm stumped. But before I can even ask what he's assigned to brown he says, "MAMA BROWN LIGHT MEANS POOP!" I have to poop!!!" Then he blaze passed me and up the stairs to the nearest toilet. Well alright then.

I know little girls at this age aren't quite as dainty as some believe ... but really? Mama's of boy can't be faint of heart.

Civello Family trip to South Lake Tahoe!!!

Boy oh boy ... this was a fun trip full of lots of beach, beach, beach and more beach and we LOVED it!!! And of course we went trout fishing again!! I think we hit up the beach every single day we were there with the exception of the day we arrived and day we left. And the weather could NOT have been better for it. It was GLORIOUS!!!

 

This time around we got to spend the whole week up in Tahoe. Unlike last year where it was just a long weekend complete with rain. Mike and I went on 2 runs together. We went to Camp Richardson, Pope Beach, Zephyr Cove and mostly stuck around Lakeside Beach since we get access from the hotel we stay at. The trout we caught at the farm came out really great this year again and David actually ate some this time around.

 

There was a big SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard) Competition while we were in town so we got to check it out a little bit. Of course we went and visited Edgewood. Had supper in the bar and enjoyed some time with the boys explaining why Edgewood was so important to us. We had a little success in getting Caleb to nap on the beach so we didn't have to go back to the hotel for his nap. One time in particular was hilarious!! He propped up his head with 2 racquetballs so his head was stabilized. Cozied in and tried to roll his head back and forth to see if it'd hold and then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. It was awesome to bear witness to!!

Caleb enjoyed the beach more this time around. It took a day or two for him but each day he'd get in and around the sand more and more. The last 2 days he was in his swim suit the whole time and running around the sand and playing in the water!! David spent more and more time IN the water each day and really had a grand ole time. We had a whole mess of games to play with while on the beach and we all had a great time playing horseshoes, baseball, soccer and building sand castles.

Can't wait to go again next year should we be so fortunate!!!

Happy 4th Birthday David!!!

It's an odd day today for cute little David ... Mike is out of town on business and I had a race this morning so I've been gone most of the day. Fortunately he got to have some fun with Grandma Civello but still ... an odd day. It's a great thing we'll be in Tahoe later this week to continue the celebrations!!!!

Alameda County Fair ... now or never!!

Today the county fair opened its doors ... and it's our only chance to go ... so we went! We weren't exactly ready for the all nighter we pulled but we certainly had fun and made memories. :) David was tall enough to ride some more rides this year so he truly enjoyed it! He fortunately and unfortunately won some goldfish tonight too. Fortunately, because he had fun doing so and it gave him a thrill. Unfortunately because they likely won't last a week and I don't want them around because they're SUPER hard to take care of and finicky. **UPDATE** they didn't last 2 days :(

Although Caleb was INCREDIBLY tired he did great. I wore him the whole night and he wouldn't relax and go to sleep. But it in the end it was all worth it. Unfortunately we missed out on the fireworks show this year but I'm so happy we last minute decided to go. I look forward to going next year when Caleb is older and bigger and actually able to ride rides ... this year was hard on him. He really wanted to ride all the rides with David.

Congrats to Dr. Grandpa Price!!

Today Grandpa Price gave his final defense of his doctoral dissertation and passed with flying colors! They called him practically immediately to give him the good news! We couldn't be more proud of him as he's taken this great leap and completed it!! Just waiting for the hooding ceremony ... so so so proud ...

CU at the Giants vs Rockies game!

We got a special treat to go see the Rockies and Giants play at AT&T park. We used it as part family excursion, part birthday present for David and we had a blast! It was a warm yet cool day in the city depending on where you were as we roasted in the seats but got cool on the concourse and even on the street. We ate junk food and cheered on both teams. The little men decked out in CU gear, Mike and I had troubles deciding which team gear to wear and therefore root for! So we ended up with both on. LOL ... I had a Rockies shirt but I wore the free Jason Baumgartner hat we received. Mike wore a Rockies shirt with a Giants polo over it and the Baumgartner hat. Oy ... we looked silly.

The boys went and played on the little kids field and hit the ball. And David even went down the BIG Coca-Cola slide in the outfield! It was so much fun to watch them play and enjoy the game. Caleb is still a little young to truly enjoy the game but definitely was happy to watch a little bit of baseball (bay-ball!).

It was a great game but we left right after the 7th inning stretch f because it was going to end up being a long day with crabby boys if not and ended up missing quite the show from the Rockies who ended up winning the game!

David's Super Mario 4th Birthday Party

This year we had to have David's birthday two weeks early because of travel, work, vacation and all sorts of craziness. But we had a blast and just like last year, it was HOT. Some of his good buddies came to hang out and play so of course it was fun! We played baseball, ran around, ate yummy food and even had a star piñata!

I'm not entirely sure how David decided on a Super Mario Bros party but it sure was fun trying to outfit it all! Including fun Luigi and Mario hats for Mike and David. David of course was Mario, Mike was Luigi, Caleb was Toad and I was Princess Peach (but we don't have photos of us).

The star piñata was certainly a hit and likely took over 100 hits before it broke open!! It came down to Chad and Mike taking hits to finally open it. It was hilarious!

I can't believe that he's 4 and starting Pre K in the fall. Which means kindergarten next year and graduating college before we know it. PLEASE SLOW DOWN!!!