Who are we kidding? This blog - formerly titled "Arning Family News and Notes" - is all about the Arning Bros., Charlie & Chase, and their crazy Mama who's obsessed with taking photos of them. Good thing they're such cuties!
We had an absolutely glorious beach vacation a couple of weeks ago. Perfect weather, wonderful house with a pool, short walk to the beach, beautiful bike trails, tons of great food and drink and well-behaved little boys. It was fabulous!
Our best buddies, Erin and Jonathan, and their boys, Colby and Max, joined us mid-week, which was perfect. Charlie and Chase were ready to see their best friends come Wednesday.
But, before they arrived, we had all day Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to play and enjoy the beach. The Arning Bros made good use of their new dump trucks and carried loads of sand and water back and forth all day every day. They also searched for sea shells, rode the waves, swam in the gully and built sand castles.
Here are a few pictures from our first day at the beach. (Yes, this is just day one. What can I say? I took a gabillion photos, so yes, I will probably do more blog posts about our beach trip. I have a problem. I know.)
Enjoy!
Charlie spent lots of time digging. The boy would dig to China if he could.
The new dump trucks were a big hit.
This is a cool pic of Charlie scaring off the sea gulls.
Contemplating... "Should I play with the dump truck or ride the waves? Decisions."
Charlie Monkey LOVES the ocean!
Such a great smile!
Chase tried his hand at wake boarding this time.
Nice form, buddy!
What a great picture!
Chase and Dada. I wonder how many more years Mike will be able to carry Chase on his shoulders?
Chase found a starfish! (We probably should work on "gentle.")
The Arning Bros had a successful first day at the beach. Smiles all around!
This summer, I signed Charlie up for the Skybrook Swim Team. It's a neighborhood swim team whose primary goal is to encourage team spirit and friendly competition for kids ages 5 and up. I thought it would be a great opportunity for him to see what "competition" is like since he's never played t-ball or soccer. I know you're surprised to hear this but Charlie's never really been interested in any stick and ball sport.
Anyway, the Skybrook Swim Team (which is actually very good, by the way... local champs for the last several years), is great for Charlie for several reasons. First, it's the perfect opportunity to compete individually but as part of a team at the same time. Second, swimming does wonders for building strength in Charlie's core and back (which he desperately needs). And, since he's been swimming from the time he was 9 months old, I thought it might actually be something he's good at. (I love my child dearly, but coordinated, he ain't. Not yet, anyway. Too much arm and leg to control at this point!)
We've had swim team practices since mid-May, and frankly, i's been quite the commitment. Practices are 30 minutes, Monday-Thursday, every week. But, we've stuck with it and last week, it was finally time to put all of that practice to the test... at our very first swim meet!
We were supposed to be the away team last Tuesday at a neighborhood called Cedarfield. We trekked over there, set up and were ready to go when Mother Nature decided that she had other plans for our swim meet. So, long story short, they scheduled an inter-squad swim meet for the following day (meaning Skybrook would compete against itself, just for practice.)
This actually worked out well for us because Charlie was nervous about competing. With an inter-squad swim meet, Charlie could practice competing before he actually had to do it for real. Perfect!
So, the pictures you'll see below are actually a mix of photos from Tuesdays rain-out, Wednesdays inter-sqaud meet and Thursdays actual meet at home against Cedarfield.
And, if you're wondering how Charlie did, here are the results:
Inter-squad meet:
6 & Under 100 Yard Freestyle Relay - 2nd (team results)
6 & Under 25 Yard Freestyle - 12th (of 13, boys & girls mixed)
Cedarfield meet:
6 & Under 100 Yard Freestyle Relay - 4th (of 5, team results)
Boys 6 & Under 25 Yard Freestyle - 5th (of 11)
As you can see, he did much better at the second meet. Here's what we worked on after what we saw at the first meet:
Don't look at Mom and Dad and giggle in the middle of your lap. Yes, it's cool. Yes, it's fun. Yes, we're watching. Now GO! FAST!
Don't look behind you and see how far ahead of your competitor you are. Look straight ahead and go as fast as you can.
When you get to the wall, don't stop, tread water and check your goggles before you touch the wall. Reach out and touch the wall as fast as you can.
In Charlie terms, think of it as a drag race and your a high octane dragster that shoots fire out the back when it takes off and doesn't brake until it crosses the finish line. Got it?
We're sure to win the next swim meet now...
(P.S. I also have video of Charlie's inter-squad swim meet below. Enjoy!)
This photo is from Tuesday's rain-out. He's ready to go, complete with his meet info written out on his arm. Michael Phelps, look out!
Little Brother wanted to have his info written on his arm, too! (It says, "Arning. Little Bro.")
"Swimmers take your mark. Get set. GO!" (Part dive. Part belly flop.)
See what I mean? Giggle and smile. It's cute, but this is a race, son! Surely you have SOME of your Mama's competitiveness in you somewhere!
Don't look at us! Go! GO!
Now we're talkin'! He looks like a pro!
This is the relay. He's getting a pep talk from a parent volunteer.
Nice form there Charlie!
Ok. Now we're onto the official swim meet against Cedarfield. He has his game face on here.
It's the relay. He's off!
Steely determination!
This is the 25 yard freestyle. It's a dead heat!
You did it, Charlie! Awesome!
And, here's some video for your to enjoy. This is from the inter-squad meet.
This first video is the giggling episode. So cute though! (I love Chase in the background, cheering Charlie on... and saving him a popsicle.)
I really wanted to make it a fun summer for the boys this year, so I took a few minutes to come up with a list of things we could do over the next couple of months. I call it our "Summer Bucket List." I decided that I wanted to make it official, so I found a cute "Summer Bucket List" printable on the internet. I printed it off and added our items to the list and off we went!
Here's a picture of our Summer Bucket List. It hangs on the magnetic chalkboard in my kitchen so we all can see it.
Some of the outings on our Summer Bucket List we've done before such as Discovery Place Kids, Summer Shootout and Birkdale Splash Park. Some are things I know we'll be doing on trips we're taking this summer such as camping, tubing and riding a pontoon boat on the lake. But, a few of the excursions will be brand new for Charlie and Chase. The first one we decided to tackle? Bowling!
I figured the boys would really like bowling. Take a heavy ball, throw it as hard as you can and try to knock over all of the pins. What's not to love? They knock over stuff at home all the time, right? In fact, they both took to it right away. They each had their own unique method of bowling, but it worked for them and that's all that matters. Chase even got a strike! He was so excited! Chase handily beat Charlie, but Charlie was a great sport about it. And in other news, Dada beat Mama, but she wasn't such a great sport about it. What can I say? I don't like to lose. (I'm kidding.) (Sort of.)
Anyway, here are a few pictures of our first Summer Bucket List outing - BOWLING!
These are the cutest bowlers you're sure to find!
"What can I say? I'm a natural?"
I think Charlie is willing the ball down the lane.
"Ta-dah!"
Patiently waiting his turn.
"Can I offer anyone some expert tips?"
Such a sweetie.
Both boys enjoyed watching the ball pop out of the machine.
Nice technique there, Charlie.
That's more like it!
Dada teaches Chase proper Granny technique.
Right down the middle...
...but then it curves to the left. Bummer.
Charlie oversees the operation.
NICE FORM, CHASE!
Ummm... not sure what to call this?!
Dada shows the boys how its done.
I believe Chase has it down.
And here are the final scores. Chase beats Charlie. (And Dada beats Mama, yada, yada, yada.)
Well, here I am at the beach with time on my hands. I forgot my camera cord, so I can't download pictures I've taken of our vacation thus far. Looking on the bright side, that just means I have time to catch up on my blog, right?
With that in mind, let's go back a couple of weeks to Chase's last day of preschool at StoneBridge. It was a little touch and go at first because Chase was in a mood to start the day. You know what I'm talking about. A Chase mood... being grumpy, fussy and stubborn just for the sake of being grumpy, fussy and stubborn. (One day, I hope he has a little boy or girl JUST LIKE HIM! But, I digress.)
We finally made it to school, but Chase DID NOT want to be left in the classroom with his buddies and Mrs. Yascur before the presentation. He wanted Daddy and Pooh Bear to stay with him. Eventually Daddy had to leave (he really wouldn't have fit in on the stage with the other 2 and 3 year olds) and Chase... well, Chase just lost it. Mrs. Yascur did her best to try to calm him down, but after a few minutes, she had to send the teacher's aide to the auditorium to get Pooh Bear. It was her only hope, and thankfully, it did work. Chase calmed down.
By the time he made it onto the stage, all was right in the world. Like he often does, Chase just snapped out of it and decided he was ok. He didn't even need Pooh Bear anymore. Go figure.
As for the presentation, Chase did not sing. He didn't even open his mouth. He did, however, do every bit of choreography... full on. That's my boy! And, in typical Chase fashion, he made lots of cute faces with big expressions and googely eyes. (Spell check does not like the word googely, by the way. Maybe I made that word up!?)
All in all, everything turned out fine. Really, it was just like any other day with Chase... major drama in the beginning... fine and dandy in the end. Maybe someday we'll grow out of this. Maybe. Just maybe.
Here are a few pictures of Chase's End of Year Presentation at StoneBridge.
Ahh... Chase. Perfect example of what I'm talking about. Grumpy. Stubborn. Fussy.
I made him take a picture with me anyway.
At least I got a little snuggle out of it.
And here we are on stage. He's perfectly fine here. Not even a glimmer of the angst we'd had all morning.
See what I mean? Choreography! The only one doing it in fact!
Cue the cute expressions.
Cute expression #2
#3
#4
Choreography!
Choreography! That's my boy!
And here we are post-presentation. Happy go lucky. Not a care in the world. Drama? What drama?
Mama with her boys. (What's up with Charlie's angst? I can't handle any more drama.)
Mrs. Yascur and Chase. She's the best!
I asked the boys to hug each other but all Chase hears is "let's wrestle."
Big brother loves it though, doesn't he? (And typical Charlie with his hands full of cars and trucks.)
On to the 3 year old class next year! I hope Mrs. Jacobson knows what she's in for!
