Parkour Anyone?

The other night on ABC News, they did a story on the increase in Parkour across the country and now there are even gyms opening to provide a safe environment (padded walls etc.) I called the kids in to watch the show. In true Grant style, Grant says, I can do that. And out comes the toys and before I know it, our family room has become their Parkour arena. :-)

In case you don't know what Parkour is, here is a link to the news story:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2013/09/parkour-turns-childs-play-into-an-intense-workout-for-grown-ups/

And here is a link to the Austin Parkour Academy. And yes, I saw that they have youth classes. :-)

http://www.texasparkour.com/academy

And now, here are the Simmons boys doing their own little Parkour!

Renaissance Fair

We have been thinking about bring the boys to a big Renaissance Fair in October, but were unsure they would enjoy the experience. So when I saw this little bitty fair advertised, with free admission, I knew it was the perfect chance to check it out.

When we arrived, there were 2 knights battling. Of course we headed right over to check it out. Beckett was soon clinging to me and Macie as the battle was pretty loud and the hits on the wooden shields were jarring. I don't know if he enjoyed it or not. Grant certainly did. He even brought his own camera! :-)

After the battle, we explored the tents filled with armor and weapons. The men running the event were very nice and let the kids try on and play with everything. I was amazed at how heavy everything is. ESP the helmets. Macie tried one on and her neck was sore for about an hour afterwards.

 This is a metal glove - Beckett really liked this one.

Beckett is waiting to hold a metal sword. As you can see, he's very excited.

That's Beckett under there.

Our Busy Bee

Welcome to the Busy Bees!

This week was Beckett's first week of school. I wish I could say it was full of smooth sailing. Beckett is our rule tester and our little man with a mind of his own. His poor teacher - I think his class is full of little rule testers. So, as he told me the other day "my day wasn't perfect." I am hopeful that he will settle in and begin to enjoy school.

This was also my first week of my regular work schedule. I am going to struggle being just an aide - I am constantly wanting to jump in with ideas. One of the teachers I work with is more open to ideas than the other. And so, like Beckett, I am going to have to learn to settle in and just do my job. UGH. Now I know why people are always saying you shouldn't accept a job for which you are overqualified. "I am just here to clean the mats."

Our weather is still in the 90s. I am so ready for fall to hit Austin. The combination of heat, busy schedules and allergies are really taking their toll on the Simmons family. Something has to break soon! I am hoping it's the weather!

Here are some pictures from Beckett's first day.

 Oh, well I had to throw this one in. This was last week on our way to drop Grant at Kindergarten. Gotta love costumes and non-matching Crocs. Way to rock drop off Beckett!

The following are when I said, just do some goofy poses for me. 

 

Grant continues to LOVE Kindergarten. He loves all the independence that comes with going to school. This week we walked him to school on Tuesday and brought Riley with us. Dogs are not allowed on school property so we walked him to the bottom of the hill and then he went the rest of the way on his own. At parent orientation that night, I found out from his teacher that he walked in to his classroom, put his hands up in the air, and announced "I walked up the hill all by myself!"

Then on Thursday I really wasn't feeling well, so we drove him to school and when I saw our good friends about to cross the crosswalk I yelled for them to stop and Grant hopped out. So that morning he walked across the crosswalk with friends and then down the block a bit and then up the hill.

So, Friday morning hits and guess what....he doesn't want me to walk him up. But this time, the crossing guards weren't out yet & there were no friends in sight. So we sat in the car and waited for the guards to come out. I offered to walk him across the street, but no, he wanted to wait. Once we saw the guard, he hopped out. He crossed at the crosswalk and then, as he was walking on the sidewalk on the other side of the street, he gave me a big smile, blew me lots of kisses, and said BYE MOM! Sigh.

First Week Down.....

Whew. We made it through the first week and let me tell you, we are all wiped out.

Grant LOVES school. I don't think there is one thing yet that he has been hesitant about. Which is good because getting the kids out the door by 7am is hard and would be even harder if he didn't want to go.

Beckett and I spent the week at his preschool. He has been going to his "playdate" - babysitting with other teacher's kiddos. It's an interesting mix of ages in there, so I am relieved he's enjoying it. I even got an amazing report from his babysitter the other day. When I was picking him up at the end of the day she said that "Beckett is the most polite, friendly little boy. So much so that he really stands out in this group." Sigh. As I told Beckett, that filled my bucket right up!

For the first day of school, Beckett and I baked some cupcakes. And did you know that if you put a Hershey's Kiss in the middle of a cupcake that has baked for 5 minutes, the Kiss will sink into the middle of the cupcake as it continues to bake. Amazing! A friend said she did it with a Reeces Cup too. Mmmm.....maybe next time!

 Here is Beckett watching the Kisses and giving me a blow by blow as the Kisses sink in. He was yelling at the ones that weren't sinking as fast as the others.

 At pick up on the first day.

 I wish I could say this was - Grant I missed you so much! Unfortunately, I think he's saying, I still need more space. :-)

Grant picks out his outfit everyday and then says, look how handsome I am. :-) So, of course, I had to take a picture of this handsome guy. That's his classroom over his shoulder.

 First artwork I found on the wall.

 Lunch with Beckett.

Self imposed Mohawk Friday!

It's still incredibly hot in Austin. So Labor Day weekend we tried to fill with indoor activities. So we hit our favorite bowling alley again. Here are a couple of pics and a video of the bowling craziness.

And here's the video.