spring into sports:

The kids are doing sports this spring.  Naomi's been in track and field, Lucas in tennis, and Isaac started soccer.  For Naomi's track and field team, only the top 3 out of 150 team members in each event get to compete (maybe why her school often wins big), so she just went to the practices.  I had given Lucas a break from tennis because he used to have difficulty with instruction, and we were really spread thin schedule-wise.  Now he seems to be doing so much better with it, and the new instructor is really great with him.  Isaac is doing well in soccer.  There was one class where they called kids to come on to the field and play against each other one-on-one.  Isaac came darting out, did some kind of fake out around the other kid, and kicked it hard right into the goal.  I wish I'd taken a video of it.

I have also been trying to get fit.  My friend is a fitness instructor and started a class for moms at the park.  The kids have an adult and a teen watching them in the playground next to us, or at least the littlest ones do.  The first day, Lucas put Isaac on the swing and pushed him since the adult didn't really help them out.  But it was good for Lucas to take care of his brother.  After the fitness class, the kids did P.E. games with math and phonics questions, including an obstacle course at the playground, relays, and sharks and minnows.

Lucas playing tennis

Isaac often goes to the playground while Lucas is in tennis class.

Cooldown after a great workout at the park.

Isaac loves soccer!

He took to it right away from Day 1.

Lucas after tennis.  He has a water bottle, but the coach treated them all to Gatorades for completing a challenge.

Naomi's Track and Field shirt.  Unlike with the boys, I don't get to watch her practices.

Getting ready for our math and phonics games.

Isaac was the shark for several rounds, since he was the smallest one in the game and was unable to tag others.  The boy behind him let him tag him, which was nice.

avengers / art fest / g.'s birthday:

Manny saw Avengers opening weekend, but I waited until the week after.  We were busy that first weekend, and I didn't want to deal with opening weekend crowds.  I only slightly regretted it, because I accidentally saw a slight spoiler online of a sad scene in the movie.  I often cry at movies, even other action films and comedies and children's movies, but not really the MCU movies for some reason.  Maybe they're too cookie-cutter or just too fun.  The earliest showing was a 3D showing, which I normally don't watch due to my vision issues, but it wasn't too bad and not more expensive in the morning.  I was kind of wondering why they even bothered with 3D for this movie, but I'm glad it wasn't too much for me.  It was a good experience.  I've seen almost every MCU movie prior to this (not on the big screen), only missing the second Thor movie.  How would they fit all these characters into one movie without it being uneven and a bit ridiculous?  But they did a pretty good job, I think.

I got back and took Naomi to her friend's house so she and two other friends could go to an art festival.  They seemed to have a good time, from what I saw.  While she was there, I took the boys to G.'s 6th birthday/Cinco de Mayo party.  It was fun (but unusually cold for this time of year), and the food was great.  Lucas ended up being one of the only two children that didn't get a swing at the pinata before it broke, and the line was long, so he'd been waiting quite a while, but he had a good attitude about it.  Isaac had carefully picked just a couple of small toys and candies that were out of reach of the bigger kids, but somewhere in the melee, apparently someone had reached in his bag and stolen everything.  It's entirely possible, but it was hard for him.  I told him I was sorry, but there wasn't anything we could do, but two other moms grabbed a couple of toys to give to him.  I find that other parents who don't give into other kids or their own give into him for some reason.  Manny had to work again, so sadly could not join us.  

10 years of movies, and it comes down to this...except it appears to be just part 1 of the ending.

3D glasses.  I wore my Captain America shirt, since that's the only MCU shirt I have.

Party time.

Lucas.

Isaac at the pinata.  I told him to swing harder, and got chastised by my friend.  I guess I sound less like I'm cheering than scolding (but I was cheering him on).

Lucas pushing Isaac.  I love when he's being a loving big brother.

real options / soccer / open house / goodbye party:

[Fixed some typos in the last post--seldom get to blog without distractions or in a rush, sorry] 

The Thursday after Naomi's party was pretty busy.  We went to visit my friend at her work at RealOptions to drop off some baby items and take a tour of the office.  It was neat to see all the services they are providing women with crisis pregnancies.  Due to privacy, I decided not to take photos.  Then we grabbed some smoothies (we've officially depleted all our Jamba Juice giftcards, sadly, except I think Naomi has one).  Picked up Naomi from track and field practice, went to Isaac's soccer class, rushed back to feed the kids and run over to Naomi's Open House.  I ended up parking almost two blocks away due to the crowd and my being late due to soccer, and I ran all over her campus trying to squeeze in every teacher I could.  I got to four of them, not bad for only having half an hour at a campus that was a former high school (i.e., big).  Then I hurried home, got the boys in the car, and we were off to a going away party for a family from our CC group that are moving back to South America (I won't disclose where).  We made it for the last hour of the party (actually, the last five minutes, but the host let everyone stay for an hour more).  It was important to say goodbye, and one of the few times I didn't have to drag Lucas to a social event.  His one good friend in CC was the oldest child in the family.  It's so sad that the few good friends he's ever had have moved away, and now this one, too.  But hopefully he'll carry with him the memory of someone that liked being his friend, even though they had conflicts at the beginning of the school year (but that's how boys are sometimes).

Jamba Juice after visiting my friend at RealOptions.

Soccer time!  He did well again.

Shepherd's Pie.  So thankful for the Instant Pot on a busy day.  Can get potatoes cooked and mashed quickly, then get the meat and vegetables cooked quickly after that.

Japanese-style art from Naomi's social studies class.  Hers was one of the "wave" ones (on the left side) and stood out to me right away.

Lucas and his buddy E., a couple days before E.'s family left for South America.

Ice cream was great until some kids eating straight out of the tub while we were trying to gather everyone for a photo (I'm not going to post it so I don't have to blur out so many people).  So Lucas ended up missing out.  The kids and I are germaphobes.

naomi's 13th birthday party:

Finally, I get to post about Naomi's 13th birthday party, which happened over two weeks ago.  We decided to have it a week later than her birthday, because several of her friends would be on spring break or returning from it.  I was glad for the space between the previous party and this one.  We had her party at the church youth room, which has games, a microwave, and a mini-fridge, perfect for our party.  We had it after church.  Some of her friends had never been to a church before, others have been there before, and still others have been regular attenders.  We had three last-minute cancellations due to work schedules and other things, but she still had 17 friends in attendance.  These were actually her closer friends, so I know most of their parents.  One was a former mayor of the city and another is the district superintendent, but it's nice to see they are just regular moms and dads.

Naomi helped a lot with the party, and she pretty much ran it.  I don't like corralling a large group of teens together for games, just not my thing.  But she does it with ease.  It was more relaxing than most parties for me.  Manny stayed home with the boys.  Naomi likes an eclectic party, just fun, no theme.  So we had glow-in-the-dark stuff mixed with pastels and unicorns mixed with Italian.  Italian food was an inexpensive (if homemade) and versatile option, and it went over pretty well.  I also made mac and cheese.  Naomi said the salads hardly ever get eaten at parties, so I just brought cut vegetables that I could use later if uneaten.  For dessert, we had funfetti (party chip) cupcakes with bright green frosting and provided spring-themed sprinkles.  There were also ice cream cones and whipped cream for those who wanted that.  But no ice cream since it would have melted.

For activities, we had planned mafia in the dark, musical chairs (which we ended up doing glow-in-the-dark), and a cooking contest.  I didn't want to do the cooking contest again, because it's so much work to procure supplies and separate it for each team.  But some of the girls mentioned how fun it was the previous year, so I did something I enjoy--I streamlined the process based on lessons learned from last year.  I got start a couple of days ahead of time, and put much of it in ziploc bags.  I do feel bad about plastics and the environment, but this was the most efficient way.  It had to be a no-cook party as well, or I'd have to pay extra for renting out the kitchen and clean it as well.  But the microwave was good enough.  We also brought Apples to Apples Jr. just in case we ran out of activities or had dead space, but that didn't happen.  

We had the room for three hours, and it was hard to keep to the time.  Naomi had made a schedule which she kept to successfully, and I was proud of her.  She helped a lot with cleanup without my asking, as did any girls who stayed later.  Many of her friends said they had so much fun at her party, and I'm sure that made her feel good.  She thanked me for several days after.  It really worked out after we had racked our brains trying to come up with venues that would accommodate the numbers and personalities of the guests.  It's easier to do a venue party, but this is the type of 13th birthday made of magical memories that suits my unicorn/narwhal/llama-loving girl.  All sunshine and rainbows over here!

I had made an evite that had flowers and a cheesy quote about friendship.  I just chose whatever brightly-colored theme they had.  Naomi stepped in and personalized it to have this as a background photo.  I loved this; it's very much her.

Spaghetti, farfalle, marinara, pesto, turkey meatballs, mac n cheese, garlic bread, cut vegetables for an easy-to-please crowd.  I spent just $30 on food vs. if we'd had it catered.  I bought all those foil pans from Costco.  Manny asked if I was actually going to need them.  Yes.

Air hockey.

Calm before the storm.  And you can see she's a little taller than me now.

The sign and balloons up in the nook.  I like the color of the balloons ($1.50 for a pack from Target), and they happened to match the unicorn balloon really well.

Lunchtime.

Foosball.

Naomi laying down the mafia laws.  We played three rounds per guest request.

Glow-in-the-dark musical chairs.  Naomi I think lasted till the top 3.

Cooking contest.  They had bananas, cinnamon, marshmallows, pretzels, marmalade, chocolate, and Ritz crackers to work with, and were judged on taste, creativity, and presentation.

Naomi was the judge.  Some dishes were pretty successful, others not as much.  But she was nice about all of them.  

Got to use the galaxy candles we used for Isaac's party as well.

Happy birthday, Naomi!

Z. made this perfect whipped cream cone with sprinkles.

Choose-your-own favor bags with decorative mini tape, Jolly Ranchers, lollipops, and glow bracelets.

Our musicians (a ukelele player/singer, and a piano player/singer wearing Naomi's taco hat) provided entertainment.

N with her girls.

día del niño:

(Yes, way behind here, trying to catch up to let you know about Mother's Day.)  The Friday before Día del Niño (April 30 in Mexico), our neighborhood center held a celebration outside.  I think we were expecting warmer weather, and it got quite cold.  One of the staff of the non-profit organization that oversees the school programs invited me, so I just went for an hour.  These days, I either decline invitations or try to limit my time anywhere and make sure I get done what I need to at home first.  It was fun, and nice for Isaac to see that side of his heritage.

Jump house gone wild.  Good thing it was just Isaac in there.  Lucas really has a hard time with crowds and kids breaking rules.

Some of the newer kids in the baile folklórico program about to perform.  

Isaac watching the ladies' performance.

I love those skirts!

They did great!

More of the group.

Ticket and goody bag, which included all kinds of Mexican candies and treats.

recreational soccer:

We had a playdate with some other CC families at the park, and the boys got to play some soccer there with their friend C.  They started with nets and then moved on to the bocce ball area.  They split between that and going on the swing.

Also, Isaac has finally started soccer.  He's been looking forward to it for months, but I didn't feel like enrolling him during the rainy season.  He did very well his first class, even winning one of the games.  Second class his team won two of the games.  He's actually wearing Naomi's cleats from when she was in the same recreational soccer class.  If it turns out to be his thing, then we might move on to competitive when he's a little older.  Lucas is continuing with tennis (posting that later).

All boys this time (usually there are a few girls).

Scoring a goal, then running back.