The (Jr. K) Graduate

My baby isn't a baby anymore. He's officially a Kindergartner. I can't believe it. Where did the last five years go? When Charlie was little, I remember thinking about what it would be like to send him off to Kindergarten and at the time, it seemed like years and years away. But now, in just three short months, it'll be here. He'll be off to school for an entire day, five days a week. Ugh. I hate it. I want him home already. *sigh*

But, before I get too far ahead of myself, we did have a celebration last week. A Jr. K graduation, in fact. A few tears were shed, but mostly, it was a happy occasion full of smiles and hugs. And, once again, Mrs. Moske did not disappoint with the presentation. The kids performed for almost 30 minutes and they knew every - single - word. It was impressive. I think it was one of the cutest shows I've seen thus far. I sure hope Davidson Day does presentations as well. It's such a great experience for all of the kids, and deep down, I even think Charlie likes it, too.

After the show, the kids "graduated" from Jr. K and officially became Kindergartners. Then, we said goodbye to McKinney Academy (forever!) and headed to the park for a graduation celebration.

Now, it's time to soak up the next three months and make the most out of every single day. August 21 will be here before we know it.

Bring on summer!

Is he the cutest or what?

I just love how McKinney Academy goes all out with their decorations.

Here are photos of Charlie during the presentation.

This is when Charlie had to stand up and say,
"Good morning. My name is Charlie Arning."
So sweet!

Look at Mrs. Moske getting into it. She's the best!

And here's the graduate. He's ready for Kindergarten!

Mrs. Moske played with the kids at the part afterward.

Thomas (on the left) is Charlie's best buddy. Sidnee (on the right) is also a pal.
They're digging for earthworms.
Boys = Dirt.

This is when we gave Mrs. Moske the yearbook that we had all signed and
a photo of all of the moms, kids, Mrs. Moske and Mrs. McKinney.

Can't you just tell how much Charlie loves Mrs. Moske.
We all do.

And here are a few short videos of the presentation.



This is a super cute song!



And this is a short clip of when Charlie "graduated."



Now, onto Kindergarten at Davidson Day! (Sniff. Sniff.)

Mother's Day School Celebrations

It is so fun to be a mom of preschoolers... especially when it's mid-May and it's time for Mother's Day celebrations at school. Teachers do such a great job of making us feel so special and loved. Plus, they're all so creative! I just love the little trinkets that Charlie and Chase make me each year.

McKinney Academy had a little presentation as part of their Mother's Day tea party. It was absolutely adorable, as usual. (I will try to download the video and get it on YouTube for you to see.) They said a poem, sang a cute song and one-by-one told us what they liked best about their mom. Then, each of the kids served us tea and we enjoyed snacks while catching up with other moms. So festive!

At StoneBridge, the kids brought us flowers they had made, then they "sang" us a cute little song. I say "sang" because really, it was Mrs. Yascur doing all of the singing. Chase did participate in a little bit of the choreography. Way to go, Chase! Afterwards, the kids came running toward us and showered us with hugs and kisses. Chase is a little snuggle bug, so he was especially good at this part. I definitely felt loved.

Here are a few photos of both Mother's Day school celebrations. Aren't I lucky?!

Such cute stuff from McKinney Academy.

The tea display was especially adorable.

Here's Charlie and his classmates during the presentation.

Charlie participated, albeit very quietly. He's still very shy in front of a crowd.
I have no idea where he gets that from. It certainly ain't from me!

Doesn't he look so big sitting at his desk?

This is Mrs. McKinney with Charlie. She's amazing.

Me and my little bubby.

This is all of the McKinney Jr K moms along with Mrs. McKinney and Mrs. Moske.
I will miss them all so much!

Here's the flower Chase made for me. What a ham!

I mean seriously, what a ham!

Does he know how to turn on the charm or what?

Notice he's next to Max. Surprise. Surprise.

A real cutie patootie!

I love my snuggle bug!

Hope you had a great Mother's Day!

He Shoots. He Scores!

Well, we all know that the Arning Bros haven't been all that into sports to this point. Frankly, if it doesn't have wheels, then they're not really that interested in it.

However, Charlie has picked up a basketball occasionally and we did sign him up for lessons at McKinney Academy this spring. Whether or not he learned anything is yet to be determined, but at least it got him a wee bit excited in something that requires the use of a ball.

A couple of weeks ago, Charlie showed a steely determination to try to sink a few baskets, so I thought I would grab my camera and do a little "shooting" of my own.

So, what do you think? Do we have a future basketball player on our hands? I think we might need some divine intervention, but you never know!

Ok. So, we're starting with Chase. Sue me.
But, Grandpa's right. Chase is a little dude. Wouldn't you agree?
Or maybe a GAP model. Who knows.

I promise the basketball is coming, but first, we're going to take a few swings.
Is this good form or bad form? I have no idea.
I do like the underwear sticking out of the pants.
All the cool kids are doing that nowadays. 

He's so happy. I think he's willing the ball into the basket.

Check out those big feet! Someone get him a basketball coach stat!

'A' for effort!

Love the big smile!

I think we might have a winner!

Look at that determination!

C'mon, Charlie. We're rooting for you! See? There is life outside of cars!

Mud Brothers

What is it with boys and mud? Seriously. Boys would spend hours playing in the mud and it would never get old. What's that about?

My boys especially love to push trucks through the mud. The bigger the puddle, the better. The more muck to shovel, the better.

We found a rather large puddle in the woods behind our house earlier this week. The boys were in heaven, and frankly, so was I. It's been awhile since I've had time to pull out my camera and photograph the Arning Bros in their element, so I was eager to do it. I was even lucky enough to capture both boys together in a big hug. I'm so happy!

Here are a few photos of the Mud Brothers living it up!

Little brother is becoming more and more like big brother every day.
Chase loves to follow in Charlie's footsteps.

Chase: "My arms have mud on them!"
Well, yes they do, Chase. What did you expect?
(Bad photographer moment... chopped off his hands. Oops.)

Believe it or not, Charlie was a little unsure as to
whether or not he liked getting mud on him.

Chase, on the other hand, jumped right in... literally!

"No, Mama. No pictures."
(Seriously. That's what he said to me.)

Obviously, Charlie got over his weariness about the mud.

If Chase comes down with some obscure bacterial infection,
I'll know exactly where it came from.

Ah, at last! The Mud Brothers hugging. I love it!

On a side note, I'm back! Mom Prom kept me especially busy this year, but that's behind me, which means I can go back to what I love doing... taking photos! Watch out, blog. I have a lot of catching up to do!

The Arning Bros Take Walt Disney World

Well, I can't believe it's been two weeks since we left for Disney. Good grief, where does the time go?!

I must say, we all had an awesome time at "the happiest place on earth." The boys were spectacular with very few "drama" moments. And, surprisingly, they LOVED roller coasters! Anything they were tall enough to ride, they jumped on without hesitation. Charlie even rode Space Mountain and Everest Expedition! You go, Charlie!

We absolutely loved our hotel room, too. It felt like we were actually staying in Radiator Springs! We had to walk down Route 66 to get to our hotel. We stayed in Casa de la Tires, but you could also stay at Tow Maters, Sarge's bunker or even the Wheel Well. The Cozy Cone Motel was also on property (albeit a swimming pool, but it looked JUST LIKE the Cozy Cone!) Disney had every major CARS character parked along Route 66... life-sized I might add. Every morning we had to make our rounds and say "Good Morning" to each and every car. So fun!

A few other highlights:

• Chase giggling with pure joy while riding Thunder Mountain Railroad and Test Track
• Charlie wide-eyed on Space Mountain
• Chase asking me to dance at Biergarten in Germany
• Chase actually standing next to a character to have his picture made (even though Daddy had to hold him)
• Eating dinner at the Sci Fi diner in a REAL car! (The boys thought they had died and gone to heaven.)
• Chase holding up his Stitch stuffed animal while the actual Stitch walked the parade route (and subsequently, Mama and Daddy screaming to try to get his attention)

Oh, and of all the rides at Disney World, Charlie's favorite were the bus to the parks and the monorail. No kidding.

And, speaking of Charlie, you would think that by the end of our trip, Charlie would have learned that you have to have some patience at Disney World. That there will always be a line, no matter how small the crowds are or how many times you use a Fast Pass. Well, sadly, he never did learn this lesson. Never. Every time we stood in any sort of a line, no matter how big or small  (and nothing was over 10 minutes), we heard this undercurrent of commentary from Charlie that went something like this - and I DO NOT exaggerate:

• These people are MEAN! They aren't letting us go!
• You're MEAN! Your'e not letting me get on the ride!
• This line is too long!
• Why do we have to wait here? 
• These people are in our way!
• That guy (the Disney World ride operator) is mean because he won't let us get on!
• I don't want to wait!

This lasted the entire time we were waiting in any line of any sort... even for buses, boat rides and monorails. And, when we finally did get on the ride, as we were headed back to the exit area, I'd here:

• No! I don't want this ride to end!
• These people are MEAN because they're making me get off the ride!
• I don't want to get off the ride! I want to go again!
• You're mean for making me get off the ride!

And on, and on, and on, and on...

This even took place as we were waiting to board our plane to head home. It was endless. Poor Charlie. (Poor Mama.) Maybe someday he'll learn some patience. A Mama can dream!

Oh, and if you were wondering, Chase collected four stuffed animals while on our trip - Daisy, Jesse, Goofy and Stitch. (Regardless, Pooh Bear still went everywhere with us.) That brings Chase's stuffed animal total up to 348.

Well, that was a glimpse into our trip to Walt Disney World. All in all a fabulous trip. Until next time!

P.S. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for coming with us and joining in on the fun! (Grandma is a roller coaster junkie, BTW. Love it!)

And so our adventure begins!
(The boys rarely got out of their stroller. They literally rolled everywhere.)

Charlie insisted that we ride the "racecars" first. We had to get there right away...
...then wait in line once we got there. He was not amused.
But, he did have fun driving his own car!

Chase making typical goofy faces...
...no pun intended.

Aww... Piglet and Charlie. Adorable!
(This was day 1 so Chase was not willing to get anywhere near Piglet.
He was literally clinging to Daddy at this point.)

Look at that awesome smile on Charlie's face!

This is part of the "rounds" we made each morning.

Chase, trying not to appear impressed when in fact he's the one
that insisted that we visit each and every car in the mornings.

With Guido.

Doesn't this picture sort of capture that typical Disney moment
that they always show in commercials?

This was a big hit at Epcot... the dancing water fountains.
By the time we left, Charlie was absolutely soaked.

I just love his cute smile!

Look at Chase next to Mickey!
Smiling, no less!

Isn't Minne Mouse the cutest?

Mama, Charlie and Lightning.

Handy Manny

Jake (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates)

Chase wasn't a big fan of Jake.

This is when Chase asked me to dance!
I had so much fun! I will never forget it!

Chase actually asked to meet Daisy Duck.
Look how happy he is!

Great picture!

All of us at the Magic Kingdom.
Don't you love the big crane in the background?
(Actually, the boys do probably think that's cool. I'll tell them I planned it.)

Mama and Chase. 

OMG. Look at the size of Charlie's eyes on Space Mountain.
Hysterical!

Riding Dumbo the Elephant.

Charlie with Pooh Bear and Tigger.
Chase was not interested in meeting Pooh. Go figure.

Silly boy!

I love this picture! This is us along the parade route waiting for Stitch to walk by.
Look at Chase holding up his little Stitch stuffed animal. He wanted to
meet Stitch so bad. He burst into tears when Stitch didn't come over to greet him.
I would have done just about anything to get Stitch to come by.