School's Out for . . . 2 Weeks

Reed is going to do the Summer program at his preschool again this year but there is a two week break in between the school year ending and summer school starting. I decided to keep Reed home for those couple weeks instead of him going to the day care program. Normally I only have one day at home with Reed during the week and music class is smack in the middle of that morning so we don't get the chance for many other outings right now. We have definitely made up for that over the last week. First up we hit up ImagineU with Auntie M and Baby Ben. I have talked about this place before, but it really is great for kiddos the boys' ages. I was a little concerned that at six months Ben wouldn't have a lot to do, but he loved watching the boys and observing what was going on. It was also great to catch-up with Melissa since we hadn't seen each other for over a month.

Next up C and Tio invited us to 2Xtreme, an indoor trampoline place in Clovis, on Saturday evening. To say the boys had a blast is an understatement and they fully exhausted themselves running and jumping for almost 2 hours.

After being up late and playing so hard the night before the boys slept in a bit on Sunday. I decided to give Jon a break from the chaos that is toddlers and took the kids to a Mommy and Me Yoga class in Fresno that morning. The boys participated quite a bit, which isn't always the case, and after it was over were asking when they could do it again.

We drive by the Reedley Cemetery multiple times a week and recently Reed has had a lot of questions about death, cemeteries, grave stones, etc. I don't have many family members buried in the area but Jon's Grandparents are both buried at another local cemetery. The week prior I had mentioned to Auntie P the idea of visiting the cemetery to let Reed have a chance to see what it was like and hopefully answer a few more of his questions. Paula reminded me that her Dad was always very involved in the Memorial Day celebration every year at the cemetery and it is something she and her sister Margie have continued the tradition of since he passed. I wasn't sure how Kieran would handle it all, but both boys did great. Reed was really interested in reading the names on the gravestones and finding out how everyone was related to him. They both liked finding their Great-Grandfather's American flag in the row of flags that was put out for the event and did stellar sitting through a pretty lengthy ceremony. They were quiet and respectful, applauded at the right time, took their hats off when asked, and were in general on their best behavior. Jon was able to meet us for the ceremony as were Margie's kids and a few of her grandkids (Reed's favorite Megan included). After the ceremony the boys didn't want to leave, chatted up the other kids, and kept asking when they could come back. I think sometimes the importance of certain Holidays is lost on the younger generations (ours included) and seeing the boys take in the seriousness of the day and showing respect for the celebration really did bring me a lot of joy.

Finally yesterday we made a trip out to the Ranch office to say hi to the ladies who we haven't visited in a long time and also to check out the tractors with Tio. The boys each rode three different tractors and probably would have rode all morning if I had let them. We finished up our visit by sneaking some nectarines out of one of the picking bins and chatting about their future as tractor drivers. As if they don't already adore Tio, I think tractor rides move him into an "idolized" category!!!