getting older and tough decisions.

Last Tuesday I celebrated my 37th birthday. I was lucky this year because my mom decided she wanted to come up by herself, spend some time together and then watch the kids so Mike and I could go out. She left around three to take everyone to see the Smurfs movie. I had about three and a half hours to myself before Mike got home from work. What did I do with those glorious hours? Watched bad movies on Netflix. Why didn't I take a nap? No idea. Anyway, we had a nice time at the Ale House. At first, we pretended we were on a first date...asking questions like "Where are you from originally?" and telling stories about our childhoods (even though we've both heard them a million times). After dinner we moved outside to the patio for the beer portion of our evening. There we played "What's their story?" We go around the bar and make up little stories about the people. Of course, the more outrageous the better. It always gets us laughing. I think 37 is going to be a good year.

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In other, more serious, news we had to make a tough decision about Helen and school. She had a rough time in second grade last year. I don't know if it was because it was a new school, she didn't mesh with the teacher or the material was just difficult for her. She began the year a little behind grade level which is normal after coming off summer vacation. However, she consistently stayed below grade level and no matter how much we worked with her, she basically made no progress on her achievement tests. At the end of the year we met with the principal who suggested we retain her, but that if we worked with her more over the summer, they would reassess her before schools starts to see if she would be ready for third grade. We ended up enrolling her in the reading program at Sylvan Learning Center and did some additional work at home. In six weeks she made a tremendous amount of progress...some areas she was beyond an incoming third grader and other areas she was about a middle-of-the-year second grader. The assessments at the school showed the same results. So what the decision boiled down to was: move her to third grade where she would be clawing her way through or have her stay in second grade where she would be most likely to succeed, even be in the top of her class according to her teacher. We opted to stay in second grade because we felt that having that feeling of accomplishment and confidence in doing well would benefit Helen so much more than just being in the grade she's "supposed" to be in. It was difficult for all of us, but in the end I think we did the right thing. The girl is gonna be alright.

R.I.P. Dan Peek

Today my mom sent me a copy of Rolling Stone magazine that she received at the office (which she thought  maybe I signed her up for a subscription). I was sad to see that Dan Peek, of America, had passed away on July 24th. He was only 60 years old. He was my favorite member of the band. This was a cherished song. I'll miss you, Dan.

It's official!

We have a teenager in the house. On Monday we celebrated Jimmy's 13th birthday. He decided that he wanted to go to The Fun Spot on I-Drive.

The boys immediately wanted to ride the go karts.

After one ride Alex decided that he'd had enough. He said it made him queasy. Hard to imagine going in circles with gas fumes in your face could make someone queasy, but oh well.

We got Helen and Will armbands for the "Kid Spot" which is designed for the smaller thrill seekers. She loved the swings.

Jimmy and Alex headed over to the bumper cars. It's good to know they have the desire to inflict bodily harm on one another but can have fun while doing it.

This girl knows how to work the teacups...

while this boy prefers to sit back, relax and let the ride do the work.

Not too long after the teacups it started raining so we decided it would be a good time to break for lunch. After everyone filled their bellies it was still drizzling so we opted to stay indoors and play video games. Mike quickly discovered that most of the games upstairs were free...his favorite word. Some skee ball games later, the rain had stopped and we headed back outside. 

Helen and Will tried the Frogger. It takes you up real high and then "jumps" back down and takes you up again. It's funny because when Jimmy and Alex were 6 and 4 we took them here and they unknowingly climbed on the Frogger. Needless to say they did NOT like it and wouldn't step foot on it again. When it first started Will had the same look Jimmy and Alex had, but after a while he actually started smiling. They ended up riding it five times in a row (there was no line). 

Mike, Jimmy and Helen rode the big ferris wheel.

Then we let Helen and Will ride go karts. It was a much smaller track, but they still had a great time. Will crashed into the side a few times but quickly got the hang of it.

Look at that focus!

Jimmy and Mike tried their hand at some of carnival-style games. We won a couple of inflatable balls (they give them away to everyone just for playing). We spent the rest of the day playing more games and riding go karts and bumper cars. On the way home we picked up Chinese food for dinner.

Then it was time to open presents. I got this banner for Jimmy's 5th birthday and we've used it every year since. Alex informed me that I should get one for all of the kids. Silly me, why didn't I think of that? Doesn't he know by now that the firstborn gets all the good stuff.

Jimmy was excited to get some new pajamas.

He also liked the new shades he got from Yiayia and Papouli.

We sang Happy Birthday and had a yummy cake. We love you thirteen-year-old boy!

summertime...the living's easy.

We're having a great time around here. How about you? The summer is quickly coming to an end...school starts in less than three weeks. We've got three birthdays to celebrate this month starting with Jimmy's next week. Still cannot believe that boy will be 13!