Trailer

We got a bigger trailer for the karts a couple of weeks ago. Chloe's kart sponsor decided to spruce it up a bit. We're a real race team now!
 

Matt cleaning the trailer before we got the decals put on.

The trailer after.

 

Matt surprised us with addition of each family member's race #'s and a nod to each family member's heritage.

Matt is #15 with a Union Jack for G.B.

Oliver is #56 with the Ethiopian and U.S. flags.

Chloe is #33 with the Chinese and U.S. flags.

Emma Claire found her race #'s - ?? (because she doesn't race yet). You can see my race #'s to the right of Emma Claire along with the Texas and U.S. flags. I'm the team's chief cook and bottle washer so I got a fork, knife and wrench. Pretty clever.

Soccer

Soccer is back in session. Oliver is on a new team this year...the Manta Rays.

We've had two games and it's rained both games. The kids played through the rain and were soaked. Oliver scored 3 goals. 



Oliver practicing before the game.

Chasing down the ball. This is before the rain began falling.

I hope it's not all grey skies and foul weather for the rest of the season. 

Wheels

It was an important regional race weekend. Chloe raced well. Great competition and the kids had fun playing with their track pals.

Chloe came 2nd on Saturday and won on Sunday.

Chloe showing off her new suit and 1st place trophy.

This weekend puts her in a tie for the lead in the Northeast Rotax. 

Oliver had lots of fun playing. I discovered him riding his friends bike (yes, without a helmet which is a no-no) but without training wheels. I asked Oliver how he learned to ride the bike so well. He replied, "I don't know, I just taught myself". He didn't get why we were all so impressed. It was no big deal to him.

Oliver riding on two wheels--self-taught!

And Miss Emma Claire had fun too.

Emma Claire looking stylish in my sunglasses.

Boots



 Emma Claire did some searching for her brother and sister after they went to school. She didn't quite understand where they went and why the house was quiet. She and I did some chores around the house and then we did a little cowgirl dress up in her pink cowgirl boots.

I was trying to teach her to say "Yee-Haw!".

First Day of School - 2014

We have a 5th grader and a kindergartener in the house!

Oliver is in full-day kindergarten this year. It's a long day for him and he gets to ride a bus. He handled it like a champ.

 Both kids had good first days. I took them for ice cream after school to celebrate and so they could tell me about the day at school.

Chloe is starting the school year with a long-term sub which had me concerned. But, Chloe really liked her sub. who will be with them until December and she has several kids she knows from swimming and her class last year in class. Also, 5th graders get perks. They get to sit on the back of the school bus and on Friday's they can sit anywhere they want in the cafeteria and not as a class.

Oliver had a good day at kindergarten. He was disappointed to find out that they only have water to drink in the classroom and not apple juice (ha!), but otherwise it was a good first day. He had music and they danced. He told me he wants a flute and a drum set. The image of Oliver rocking it on a flute cracks me up. He gets to ride the school bus with his pal who is also our neighbor but I am waiting to hear if that will change. We have to walk behind our neighbors house to the stop and if we have a winter like last year, I'm not cutting through 4 feet of snow to get to the bus stop, especially since another bus stops in front of our house to pick up the children across the street. If Oliver switches the bus, I know he will be upset, but it is more convenient.

Here's to a great school year!

Orientation & Bus Round Up

The day before school is an orientation for kindergarten students. We get to see the classroom and meet the teacher and the kids get to practice how to walk out to their bus, meet their bus driver and go for a ride in the bus. It's amazingly well organized and really made me feel more comfortable sending my little guy off on the big bus to school.

Oliver is upstairs at school. He is in class with his pal and our neighbor, Joseph. He is also in class with another boy he knows from soccer.

Chloe and Oliver at his seat in his classroom.

Outside Oliver's classroom with his classmate.

Getting on his bus for the bus round-up.

Oliver and Joseph going for a bus ride.

Its off to kindergarten tomorrow!

End of Summer Break

The days on the calendar seem to have run out on us and its back to school time. I had let the kids choose one last summer "hoorah!" before they went back to the classroom but other things got in the way (like time and weather) and we weren't able to make a trip to the zoo or the beach.

But, we squeezed some activities into the last few days, some were fun and some were not so fun--

The Apple store

Who would have thought that the longest excursion we would have taken would be to the Apple store to replace the recalled battery in the iPhone. I had an appointment but the store was crazy crowded with people all wanting their batteries replaced, etc. I was told 45 minutes,  but 3 hours later we were still waiting.

The iPads held the kids attention for a little while and we walked the shops in the shopping center as well.

Photos

I realized that I hadn't the kids photos taken professionally since last August. I made an appointment at one of the kid-centric in and out photography studios and we went for a photo shoot.

The kids being put in place for a photo. What is this backdrop? It looks like it belongs in some dilapidated house. Whose walls look like that? I should have said something, but the kids were happy and compliant and I didn't want to jinx it with a backdrop change.

These places can be hit or miss sometimes, depending on the kids moods and the photographer's interaction with the kids. This time it was a hit. Our photographer was very good. My only complaint was I didn't like one of the backgrounds. I like plain backdrops.

You can see some of the finished products in the blog header.

We also had some photos taken of Chloe in her race suit that came out nice.

Stuffed Animals -

We had lunch and then I got conned into going into Build-a-Bear. Oliver declared he didn't have enough stuffed animals and gave me a sob story on how stuffed animals help him sleep at night and not be scared. Then he let me know that he saw a commercial on TV and that they had a Spiderman bear that he wanted.

The kids making the hearts come to life.

Emma with her bunny we named "Honey".

A tie-dyed naval officer bear. She wanted a camo soldier outfit but I told her that clashed too much with the tie-dye.

Oliver with his spidey bear he named...Jeff. Of course.

The kids are ready for school. The backpacks are filled with supplies and summer's coming to a close.

North Carolina

It's been the summer of kart racing. When I think back on the last two months, I think of all the races and trips we've taken in Nellie to various tracks.



We've camped at a lot of tracks and done a lot of traveling in Nellie this summer.

We had a club race in New Jersey before we headed out to North Carolina for double-header club race in Mooresville.

The podium in NJ.

We came back from Sunday's race in NJ, cleaned up Nellie, packed for NC, resupplied with food and left for NC on Wednesday. We went so Chloe could learn the track ahead of the big Pan-American Challenge race that will be held there in October.



We had a custom kart suit made for Chloe that would match her helmet and it arrived just as we were pulling out of the driveway for NC. Great timing UPS! Chloe was super-excited to try it on and wear it at the event.

My sister and brother-in-law came up from Atlanta to see her race and our friend Tom also came with his daughter. It was a fun weekend and a learning experience for us all.

Tom, Amelia and Chloe

Shakey came too.



Deanna, John, Matt, Chris, Chloe, Oliver and Emma Claire enjoying some NC-style BBQ.

We met some nice people and we met some not so nice people who will do anything to make sure their kid wins. Everyone learned something at this race, but most of all, we are excited and looking forward to the race in October. Chloe has a whole team behind her who believe in her driving talent and ability to win.

Emma Claire liked tire lifting. I think she would like to be on Chloe's pit crew.

It was HOT in NC. I loved it, especially since the northeast has had a cool summer.

Emma Claire wants to drive.

She can almost touch the pedals.

And after the battle on the track, the top four kids go off and play together.

Emma Claire and I watching Chloe practice.

The whole family at the podium.

Oliver looking handsome on his scooter. He made lots of new friends in NC.

Oliver and Chloe got some time on track together on Friday. Oliver has driven a lot of different tracks for a kid who doesn't race!

Chloe wanted to prove she could ride her bike without touching the handle bars.

Chloe and her coach & tuner, Chris, going out for a practice session.

It's Almost Back to School Time

Oliver has been up and down about going to kindergarten. He tells me he wants to be homeschooled (He thinks he can play Wii all day if he is), but he got more excited as we went back to school shopping, especially when he got to pick out a new backpack and lunch box.

The summer break is coming to a close. Back to school is in sight. The backpacks are all loaded with back to school supplies, the back to school shopping is done and I have started putting PTA meetings, sports schedules and back to school/meet the teacher nights on the calendar.

Oliver will start kindergarten and Chloe will be a 5th grader in her last  year of elementary school. We just found out who Oliver's teacher will be and I've heard lots of positive feedback about her. She sounds like a good fit for Ollie. He is also in class with our neighbor, so both boys are super-excited to have a friend they know in class.