Lake Havasu Trip

What a great few days we have had!  We took advantage of Steve's schedule and an available room at Lake Havasu and did a mini family vacation!  As it is now hot in Havasu (100+ temps!), the water is very warm, which is great for swimming and getting the kids in the lake!  Being able to do lots of swimming always translates into a great time!  This trip was especially great because we were actually able to go on a few family Jet-Ski trips.  Because of the kids being so young, I have spent four years primarily beach-bound.  But for the first time we were able to get out onto the lake with both kids - Faith and I rode together and Steve and Shane were together.  The kids did so well and absolutely loved riding on the skis!  One morning we rode to a restaurant on the Colorado River for breakfast, and this afternoon we rode to Havasu Springs for dinner!  It was great.  And of course we made stops each time at beaches along the way to drink some Gatorade and take a dip in the water.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures of our Jet-Ski adventures (it's challenging to take them when we are all involved - especially in the water!), but here are a few other pics from our trip...

The jacuzzi tub is a must each night - complete with bubbles!

We had to go to the store, where the kids spotted beach balls.  So they each picked one out, and that night they each needed to sleep with their new ball!

All ready to head down to the water!

The kids loved the squirt guns given to them by Uncle John and Aunt Sue!!

Playing with the new princess ball in the water

He loved the rocks...especially throwing them!

I tried to get him to just put them in the bucket

Vacation Bible School

This week we spent our mornings in the rain forest...Son Quest Rain forest that is!  The kids and I all participated in the Vacation Bible School at the church where we go to Sunday school and Faith goes to preschool.  It was tons of fun, educational (for Faith), and it has worn us all out!  Each day Shane has taken a great nap, and both kids have not uttered a noise when put to bed at 7:00 pm!  Here's another pic of the little Shane man!

While Faith's favorite part was learning the songs (not a big surprise!), she also enjoyed the crafts, stories, and snacks!  Shane was able to play in the nursery with some of his friends from church.  He also was able to have some song time and lots of playing outside, which he always loves.  As for me, my mornings were spent in the kitchen!  I worked with a group of other moms to make snacks each day for all of the kids, the student helpers, and the teachers.  I was envisioning setting out some fruit, cheese and crackers, and maybe even some pretzels, but I soon learned that at VBS, there is a whole lot more to snack time!  Throughout the week we made grilled cheese, pigs in the blanket, bacon wrapped dates (for the adults!), and Cinnamon rolls for over 200 people!  And of course they did get some fruit and cheese and crackers in addition to those things!  And then each class ate at a different time, so we would create, serve, clean up, and then start the process over again.  I did enjoy myself, and I am thankful that I was able to have such a great group with which to work!  We now look forward to seeing Faith and her other VBS friend sing during the church service on Sunday! 

Toy Story 3

The Toy Story craze has not only hit the nation, but it is also alive and well at the Poelstra house!  Faith and Shane are way into Buzz, Woody, Jessie, Rex, Hamm...I could go on and on!  They love them all!  So how could we make them wait more than mere hours to go and see Toy Story 3 in the theater??!  And not only was this a big deal because of the actual movie, but it was Shane's first time going to a movie and Faith's second movie.  Below is a picture of the kids...Faith is sporting the 3D glasses!

From the opening moments until the end they loved it!  Well, more accurately, most of us loved it!  Shane lasted about 80% of the movie, and then needed to head to Starbucks with Steve!  But we heard many "wow!" comments, some "ohhhs" and "ahhs".  Overall, it was a great afternoon!  And the fever continues around here as we had to add to our collection of Toy Story toys today!!

In addition to Toy Story, the kids have enjoyed playing outside, trips to the zoo and just enjoying the more relaxing schedule that summer always allows.  Here's a few other pics from the past week...

They like to race around the truck!

If only his feet could reach the pedals...

Firefly Days

It's official...preschool is out for the summer!  While we are excited about all the fun events we have planned for this summer, Faith is a little sad that she is no longer a Firefly (the name of her class).  It seems as though the thing that is keeping her from focusing too much on being finished with school for a while is that we talk about how she will get to go back to school again at the end of summer and that it will be three days a week!  And that has her anticipating whether she'll be a Friendly Frog of a Busy Bug!  (Those are the two 4 year old class names at her school!)  The girl just loves school and loves to learn!

A mom of one of Faith's classmates this past year is a photographer, and she was able to visit the class a few times this year to take some pictures.  Below are some pictures that showcase Faith at school!

Taking after Daddy!

I was surprised to see Faith playing dress-up so much as she has no interest in doing so at home!

Intently focusing at chapel

Showing off her art skills!  After each day of school, when asked what her favorite part was, Faith would answer "painting!"

She loved playing outside as well! 

What a day!

Apology in advance about the lack of formatting in this post!  I'm still trying to figure out this new format of posting and don't understand the seemingly lack of consistency in the format!  Sorry!

We had a very busy but very fun day!  It began with going to Faith's final ballet class for this spring session.  Since it was the last class, the parents were able to watch, which is always a highlight!  And it was enjoyable to see how much she has improved in her dancing since beginning ballet this past January. 

Here is an action shot - I'm not the most skilled photographer, so those action shots are always a bit lacking!

This is a shot from their big song and dance at the end of the class called "Baby Take a Bow".  Faith knew the words to the song along with all the dance moves.  The girls next to her are trying to keep up!!

Upon finishing ballet, we made the trek up to the Santa Barbara Zoo for the preschool field trip.  It's always a highlight to go to the zoo, but there was extra excitement as we also brought  lunch to have a picnic with some school friends.  Many of the animals cooperated and were in great viewing positions - one of the lions was not only walking around, but also displayed some roaring action for us!  And a gorilla also put on a show that Shane in particular thought was hilarious!

Besides seeing the animals, a good trip to the zoo always needs to include some time at the play area.  Shane loves running up and down the hill!

Here is a glimpse at our picnic lunch with some friends.  There was a large group from the school all picnicking together!

And if ballet and the zoo was not enough for one day, we also managed to squeeze in haircuts after Shane's nap.  The kids love having their hair cut - the haircut lady has great toys!

Shane is not only showing off his freshly cut hair, but also getting into the sunglasses!  He's always into something!

Faith was aiding in the sunglass heist!

And finally, almost bed time, but Shane had to do his new "upside down" move, wearing cowboy boats and all!!  Such a character!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great holiday weekend, and hope that others did as well!  We had the privilege of having some of Steve's family come up for Saturday and Sunday to enjoy the long weekend and the gorgeous weather!  Sadly, I have zero pictures from most of the weekend, but will insert a few of the kids that I took on Saturday afternoon!

The kids were thrilled that Uncle Joe and Aunt Renee and Grandpa Poelstra were coming up for two days as they love having company, and they love Vincent, the dog that accompanies Joe and Renee!  We had a great time as we were able to relax and just hang out.  A highlight for me was being able to go out for dinner, without the kids!, both Saturday and Sunday nights!  Free babysitters are the greatest!!  We also barbecued on Sunday, which is always very tasty!