9,893 Miles From Home: July 2014

I just wanted to do a quick post about the kid's field days and end of school parties! I am sure by the end it won't be that quick and it will involve way too many pictures:) So, I apologize in advance! Anyway, the last 2 weeks of school here was so busy, but SO much fun!!!
Jake's school hosted their "Sports Day" in early May. He just went to a little school in a neighboring condo 3 days a week. It really is a sweet little school! There were a lot of local kids there which I thought was pretty neat. Anyway, their field day, or sports day, was pretty different then what I was used to:) It was inside the gymnasium and very loud! The parents really got into it!!I don't think I was expecting such intense competition for 18 month - 5 year olds:) They even had rehearsal a couple days before. This was serious business, folks! Anyway, Jake was NOT a fan! All the yelling and loud music...poor guy was crying for most of it. When Brent got home that night and asked him how sports day was, he just said, "I cried." That about summed it up!

They started by having the kids march around the gym. The teachers took this very seriously! If you got off the white line, the director would beat a tambourine right next to you to get you back in place:)

Each kid was only in 1 race. Jake had to put the balls from the green basket into the little car and then pull it to me.

You can see here just what he thought about that:)

Poor baby!

Don't worry, I took him for a treat right afterwards!

Ella's field day came next and she liked it a lot better than her brother!! She was lucky because she got to have field day on her birthday! I loved the way they did field day at the school! The stations were so fun!!! The kids loved it! You'll never guess what Ella's favorite was...tug-of-war! This is normally so not Ella. Her teacher and I were shocked! She was so cute and proud of herself! It was great to watch:) Ella really isn't a fan of competition or sweating, but she had a blast at field day!!

Waiting for the fun to start!!

Balloon Toss!

They had to run in flippers here:)

And there she goes!!!

Look at that determination!:)

Lily's field day was next! She had some of the same stations as Ella but some were different. They even did potato sack races and old school tug-of-war! She too had a blast!!! Her favorite was sponge tag:)

Trying not to get tagged!

Then we had end of year parties! The teachers and homeroom moms did a great job planning and both girls had a wonderful time! I love that they have, what I would consider, big field days and big end of year parties. They work so hard in school and I think it's awesome that they get to end the school year just having some fun:) Lily's party was actually 3 hours long! They got to have a picnic in the class, a magician came, they had a photo shoot, games and ended with shirt signing! Ella's class had a picnic and games! Such a fun day!!

The magician was hilarious!! Lily and her friends are about to act like models and walk the cat walk here:)

That's Lily on the right representing the girls in a dance off against the boys. She won:)

Ella got in on the shirt signing action too!

She found her match! They each got a card of an animal and had to walk around the room making the animal noise and find their partner with the same animal. It was really cute!

And who doesn't love a game of "Have You Ever?":0

I am so unbelievably thankful that the school here has been so amazing! I could not have asked for better teachers to help the kids transition to Malaysia go so smoothly and such sweet welcoming little friends for them! They both had a great start to the school year in America, and they both a great end to the school year in Malaysia!! I know next year will be just as awesome for them!

So, I realized recently that I never posted any pictures from Jake's, Ella's or Lily's birthdays. Jake turned 3 about 3 weeks after we moved, so it was a little crazy;) Ella turned 5 right as school was ending and we were about to go home to the US for summer, so, once again, it was a little crazy! I know it is a little late, but I wanted to go ahead and post about it so I have it documented for down the road. Anyway, I cannot believe that I now have a 3, 5 and 7 year old!!! Everyone always tells you that it goes way too fast. Let me tell you, everyone is right! In less than 2 weeks all of my babies will be at the same school! I don't know if I am ready for this! They really are at such fun ages though!!
So, my little man turned 3 on March 19th. He is such a boy!! He climbs on everything and falls constantly! He is always covered in bruises. He actually now has a permanent bump on his forehead because he has fallen so much on the same spot. It feels like a rock. He also has a dead front tooth from a fall...not sure which fall it was though! I think I have mentioned before that it made me so nervous when we first moved here because everything is so hard...concrete walls, marble and wood floors, and sharp corners everywhere! The 1st couple of weeks we were here, we used the flashlight at least twice a day to check Jake's pupils to make sure he didn't have a concussion. The boy is nuts, and we love him!! He is always making us laugh and keeping us on our toes! And man, does he give the best hugs;) He can be so serious, always trying to figure out how things work and loving to help daddy fix things and change batteries. Then he has a huge goofy side! He will do anything for a laugh! He is the master at making his sisters laugh and scream;) He has definitely figured out how to push their buttons!!
Anyway, since we had just moved here and Brent was actually in Australia for Jake's birthday, the girls and I did a little dinner and cake while we watched Cars for him on his actual day, and then when Brent got back we took him to a little playhouse in a local mall.

We also had a little celebration for Jake and MeeMaw before she left:)

He woke up to singing and balloons!! Then a cake made by his sisters later that night;)
Sorry about the layout btw!! I am still trying to figure this whole thing out!

Socks on and ready to play!!

Cheese???

Agh!!! I still can't believe he is 3!!!

Miss Ella turned 5 on May 29th!!! We had lots of preparation for this date seeing how Ella started her own little countdown and daily reminder right after Jake's birthday:) This sweet girl gets excited about everything, and man oh man was she excited about turning 5!!! She is so much fun...ALWAYS talking and smiling!! She loves to snuggle and you can't help but smile when she is in the room:) She will tell you what she thinks at times, but she is also the best at giving compliments! If you are ever having a bad day, come find Ella and she will make you think you hung the moon! She is so relaxed and go with the flow. Ella truly can find the best in any situation...as long as it doesn't involve sweating or getting dirty! So, we had a little family party with homemade pizza and cake on her actual birthday and then we had a friend party at a little play place. She also got to have field day on her birthday! I will blog about that later;)

She woke up to balloons and singing!

And of course a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast! Yep...that's how we roll:)

We got to bring cookies and cupcakes to her class for the big day!!

SO excited to finally be 5!!!

These 2 kept sneaking M&Ms:)

We had a face painter come and she was awesome!!

We also had a little celebration with grandparents the 1st night we were in America! SO excited to have a Frozen cake...good job MeeMaw!!!

And finally for the 7 year old! I cannot believe I am old enough to have a 7 year old!!! She is such a sweetheart, always trying her best and always concerned about other people's feelings. She can't stand to see people cry and even though Jake and Ella can drive her crazy at times, she doesn't even want to be in the room if they are getting punished. She has such a soft heart;) She is an awesome big sister and an amazing little helper! She can be such a goofball, always tickling and telling jokes, but when it is time to work, she is all business:) She has a huge smile and a huge laugh to go with it!! Lily was so excited that her birthday was going to be when we were home in the US for the summer! I feel bad that I wasn't on top of things and didn't get a friend party in before we left, but she was SO happy to spend the day with her grandparents, aunts and uncle and cousins and didn't mind at all! She had a great time celebrating with her birthday buddy, PaPaw! We did get a little girl day in before we headed back to Malaysia with a couple of friends back home;)