Nose Ring?

That's Love-Love

Tennis Star...

Well, I wouldn't go that far. However, over the past 4 weeks, he has been getting better.

Yep! Owen has been taking tennis lessons and likes them, so we will continue through the month of September (and then who knows?). He takes them at the Riverside Tennis Club. I was a little hesitant about it because it was a bit of a drive for us to get there. But the instructor is AMAZING!!! They always have at least one other tennis helper to lower the ratio. The skills are basic, but they really know how to get them to learn the moves. As in most cases, it is quite entertaining to watch my son in a learning environment. The following pictures are from 3 of the 4 sessions.

Water Break

I'm assuming he's learning the back hand?

Pose for the camera!

The good news is he was suppose to be sitting for instructions.

Allie-our sideline "ball girl". :)

Training-week 23

Well, it wasn't pretty. But I managed to get 12 Yassos done today. I thought I was going to die after 7 of them. So I stopped the treadmill and walked to the drinking fountain to refill my water bottle. Then I walked back to the DREADED ED, and finished, not strong, but FINISHED the remaining 5 Yassos. It took me 48 minutes to run the first set and 33 minutes to run the second set. I ended up running about 8.5 miles. As I said in the beginning it wasn't pretty, not all runs will be. But I did it!

All Star Sports...WHAT AN ADVENTURE!

Owen's school had a fundraiser night at All Star Sports last night. We haven't been there before, so this made for a perfect opportunity to check it out. At 6:00, we walked up and bought our bracelets. Our first stop was over by the "kiddie" rides. The first was this little bug ride. It reminded me of a small "dumbo" ride.

Allie on the pink bug.

Owen on the blue bug.

Then we walked over to another kiddie ride. This one was a train ride that went around in a circle and up a little hill. Needless to say, one kid loved it and the other HATED it!

Take a guess?

After that fiasco, we decided to slow things down and attempt putt-putt golf. We have never tried before, so this was entertaining. We made it through about 11 holes, before Allie announced she had to pee. So the game ended and we went into the arcade to search for the restrooms. I'm pretty sure we don't have ANY natural talent in the golf area.

As we left the arcade, Owen noticed the bumper boats. Allie didn't want to have anything to do with them. I thought with the heat it would be a perfect way to cool off. But Owen ended up being the only one to get wet. He LOVED them.

Shortly after this picture was taken, we had to call it a night. All in all, it was fun. But next time we will go when it is cooler outside.

Pre-K Begins...

Traditional "first day of school" photo

That's right folks! Yesterday was Allie's first day of Pre-K. She was so EXCITED! She wore her backpack almost all morning. (Her school started at 1:00.) It was so cute, about every 20 minutes she would ask, "Are we going to school YET?" Below are the pictures I took from her first day.

"WATCH OUT, World!"

Can you see my backpack?

I was born READY!

She got to eat her lunch (McDonald's) on the "special red plate".

Daddy was off work in time to take her too!!!

Once we got there, we got to watch her learn the morning routine.

1. Give her teachers her homework folder.

2. Hang up her backpack on her hook and go wash her hands.

Her day must have gone smoothly. I didn't receive any phone calls. At pickup, we got our famous "Arnett-Williams" picture.

Today was her second day. She asked to eat her breakfast on the "special" dish. (I let her.) Then when we were going to drop off I asked her if I was to just drive up and let her out. She got this sad face and said, "Mommy, I want you to come in with me." So I parked the car, held her hand and repeated the same process as yesterday. My heart was singing the whole way. SHE STILL NEEDS HER MOMMY!!!!

Day 2 photo

Day 2 photo

Pre-K Open House

Today was Allie's Pre-K Open House/Meet the Teacher. She was SO EXCITED!

Here she is outside Chapel Hill.

She got her name tag on. Too bad they misspelled it on EVERYTHING!

She practiced sitting on her spot for circle time.

They gave her a checklist of things to do in the classroom.

She diligently checked each item off.

It was a pleasant experience. We met 2 of her teachers and found where the bathrooms are. She seemed ready for Wednesday's first day of school. As we were driving out of the school parking lot, I asked her if she remembered her number (they are assigned numbers for cubbies, hooks, etc.). She said, "My number is 2. (She was right.) I know where everything is. You can just drop me off on Wednesday." WHAT!?!? I think a little bit of my heart broke when she said that. So I asked her if it would be alright to walk her in and take a few "first day of school" pictures. After a pregnant pause, she said that would be ok. I guess you can say she's ready!

Training-week 22

I am 7 weeks away from my marathon! I still can't believe I'm still going strong. The run this week was only 6 miles. EASY PEASY! Once upon a time, I would have died at the thought of running more than a couple of miles on the treadmill. Now, I see it as my "life line". I routinely run 5K on the treadmill. And after running 20 miles on a treadmill, 6 miles is NOTHING! I'm even getting faster at it. I finished these 6 in about 55 minutes.

Second Grade

That's right world. My "little" boy is starting second grade today. This means we have to start our day with a special breakfast on the "special red" plate.

Daddy was home to make and BIG breakfast!

After we eat, we take our "annual" picture in front of the fireplace.

He is getting SO BIG!

Allie wants to be in the pic. :)

Then we load up the car and head to school.

Someone looks EXCITED!

We park the car, with all the other mommies and daddies, and walk in. The timing was perfect! Owen ran into some of his kindergarten buddies!

Owen and Logan

(Logan isn't in his class this year, but they still chatted it up.)

My 3 Stooges

(Owen, Jake and Noah)

Owen had to go through the morning routine.

This was putting his name under sack lunch.

One last hug and he went to his seat, next to Jake.

Allie wasn't all that happy about leaving.

Then we ran into our friends, the Williams.

Allie looks up to Paige. (I got to give Paige a "good luck" hug!)

Now we wait until 3:35 for pick up and to find out how his day went.

Angry Birds!

Owen has several of the stuffed "Angry Birds" birds. Every night I hear him set up some scene and play it out in his bed. He decided he wanted to take his play to the next level and make his FIRST movie. Maybe he'll be the next Jim Henson?

Training-week 21

Well, I did it again. I ran 20 miles. This time I was outside. I ran a 10 mile loop, then stopped at my house for a refill on my water bottle and ran the 10 mile loop again.

The first loop was easy. I felt GREAT! I had started at 6:30, so the weather was perfect. The second loop I took a little longer to run. (But not much!) I had agreed to try "peach tea" Gu Chomps. I really needed to find something that would help my muscles repair themselves since I was running so far. I can honestly say, they weren't BAD. I had eaten one every 4 miles, until I reached mile 12. Then I ate one every 2 miles until I finished. I ate the remaining 2 on my cool down walk home. I know I should have eaten the entire package during the first loop and had a second pack on the last loop, but I was just trying them out. My stomach felt good.

The last 2.5 miles were the toughest. The wind was at my back. But there was this little voice inside my head saying, "if you get it in gear, you might finish at 4 hours". I finished at 4:02:22. I was thrilled!!! When I walked into the garage, I found a big water bottle full of ice cold water and this sign.

I feel AMAZING! I feel BLESSED! I love my life.

Teacher Draft-2011

I have come to realize that there is an event that takes place every fall that gets people excited, eager and nervous all at once. No, I'm not talking about the NFL draft. I'm talking about the Teacher Draft. The letters that are sent from the schools to families all over America informing them of their student's teacher assignment.

This fall was my first! I hadn't heard anything, good or bad, about any of the 3 second grade teachers. What my concern/focus was who would be IN my son's class. The texts began at 11:45 this morning. Some of the moms got their mail before we did. But you can bet, I was at the mailbox as soon as the little white truck pulled away from my curb.

The envelope wasn't even sealed. But there it was. I opened it up and pulled out the single sheet of paper that said.

To the parents/guardians of : Owen Arnett

Your child's classroom teacher will be: Mrs. Unrein

This was a pleasant surprise. She was the computer lab instructor when Owen was in Kindergarten. But due to need, she became a second grade teacher. Plus, she lives just down the street from us.

So I sent my text out informing others of who we got. Then we had to wait on our 2 best friends from Kindergarten. Noah's mom quickly replied back to me that he got her too. AWESOME!!! We didn't hear from Jake's mom until almost bedtime. Would we be lucky two times in a row? YES!!!! Both of his buddies are going to be in his class next year. This was very fortunate for us. There were 3 different teachers. Another mom I know got a different teacher and has mixed feelings about some of the students that will be in the same class as her child.

I'm sure it will all work out for everyone in the long run. But it sure was exciting.

Birthday Boy!

7 years old

August 9th was Owen's birthday. We had been busy over the weekend with family visiting, so on his actual day we just went to his favorite restaurant for dinner. Red Robin... YUM!

Then we got ready for his final BLOWOUT! He wanted a Mario Brothers Party with his friends. So we had one tonight. Now if you were to look on line or at party stores, you can find the usual things for a party with this theme. Napkins, plates, goodie bags... I got that covered. But my son saw some cakes on line that people made with the Mario theme. So not to break his heart, I planned out how I could make something similar. Lucky for me, my little sister is a professional baker. This is how it went down.

4 different colors of frosting.

(We don't like fondant!)

I used Air Head candy for the decorations.

My sister applied the frosting, I supervised!

Allie was picking up tips from the expert.

One cake was 2 layers of chocolate and the other was 2 layers of vanilla. You can see the finished product below.

The party started wonderfully. Our friends showed up and everyone played, played and played. We got them to stop and eat some pizza. Then there was more playing. I was able to herd them back to the table to sing "Happy Birthday" and eat some cake. Next they played a little more. Finally, we gathered them all up to open presents before people left. Let's just say they all KNOW my son and he made out like a LEGO ROCK STAR!

Boys eating pizza

Girls eating pizza

THE MARIO CAKE

Boys eating cake

Girls eating cake

It was an "awesome party" according to my son. Which translates to a success for Mommy. :)