Birthdays, July 4th and more!

Here is a photo of Axel and Phoenix with Max and Sophia, the neighbors that moved to Singapore, they came for a visit a couple of weeks ago. Axel made sure to be King of the house when his friends were over. Phoenix has recently mastered the sit and spin and now tries to do it standing and then pretends to fall over laughing. 

Last Saturday, on my birthday we spent the day at the beach in Aptos, CA. My work had their annual picnic here for the first time. It was a beautiful day.

The kids had a great time playing in the sand. Keith and I played catch for a short bit and enjoyed playing in the sand with the kids while visiting with my coworkers.

When we got home we enjoyed a mellow dinner and some yummy ice cream cake thanks to Daddy!

Recently, the kids and Keith purchased a bird house. My neighbor gave us a bird bath for my birthday and the kids and I picked up a bird feeder at the hardware store. We have had lots of birds and SQUIRRELS eating the bird seed. We can't wait to get a bird to use our bird house for their babies. The kids and I were a little bummed to see the squirrels eating the bird seed so we are on constant look out to scare them off and make room for the cute birds that we have seen using the bird feeder for a source of food.

Last Sunday, Daddy took us out to our favorite restaurant, The Pastaria in Los Gatos.

We all enjoyed a delicious meal!

On the 4th of July we headed to Grandma Susan's house. Grandpa Brian and Grandma prepared an amazing steak dinner. The kids had a blast playing with the Grandparents, their toys and each other.

Here is my pretty princess. I had to take a selfie, because I wanted to make sure I got a picture with both of the kids :)

After dinner we headed to the Rancho Cordova Festival/Carnival. Daddy and Phoenix had to turn around and go back to Grandma's house because Phoenix was too tired and overheated. The rest of us continued the 3/4 of a mile walk to the fun and games.

After years of talking about riding the train that runs around the park, we finally did it!

Here is my selfie of Axel and I sitting on the train. You can tell by Axel's face it was really hot out!

Here is Axel with Grandma and Grandpa after the long train ride.

When we got back home we discovered that Phoenix was not in a good place and was too scared of her new environment to go to sleep. After a couple of hours of trying to get her to sleep, we gave up. I fed her some food and then let her join in on Axel's glow in the dark fun.

They both had a blast! Luckily, with it finally pitch dark out and a full tummy Phoenix fell asleep around 9:30pm.

Just in time for Axel, daddy, Grandma and I to go outside and enjoy the fireworks! Grandpa Brian was tired from his long work week and headed to bed early.

Axel had an absolute blast being up late and .......

watching his first fireworks show! We are extremely spoiled to view them from Grandma's driveway. Axel was in bed and asleep by 10:30pm.

On Saturday was our first annual Burgess family get together. While half of the family golfed the other half swam at my cousin's house. Phoenix was a wreck from the lack of sleep from travelling and ended up taking an hour nap in the car, while daddy and Axel got started in the pool fun. By the time Phoenix and I arrived, most of the second cousins were out of the pool and drying off.

We enjoyed some extra time with Michaela and Landon at lunch and then headed over to the BBQ, which was the big event where everyone would be together. Landon was extremely sweet with both Phoenix and Axel and we were really impressed at both Michael's and Landon's hospitality (you too Dustin!)

Here are 10 of the great grand kids. Only Braylin is missing.

A silly pose as well.

Five of the 10 cousins. The only one that I had that wasn't blurry was one with Axel hanging off of me.

The five Aunts and Uncles with their spouses.

And the two responsible for all of these offspring are (great) Grandma and Grandpa Burgess themselves!

It was great to see everyone and we hope to make it a yearly or bi-yearly ritual. We have such amazing people in our family. It is such a pleasure to enjoy each other's company. We are gearing up for Grandma Sonia and Grandpa Bruce's arrival tomorrow. We can't wait to spend the week with them and celebrate daddy's birthday on Tuesday!

Swim Lessons, Chalk artists and Riding Horses

Sorry for the delay in posts. I meant to post last week and then I received an urgent phone call from Tyler and Cynthia, our friends who were expecting twins. Cynthia developed preeclampsia and had an emergency c-section last Thursday. It was a bit scary for all involved because she was very low in platelets and despite several platelet and blood transfusions the doctors were having trouble getting control of her bleeding. To make a very long story short everyone is alive and slowly recovering. Cynthia is home and her baby girls are still in the NICU. They are healthy, but having typical premie issues with feeding, increased red blood cells, etc. Hopefully within another couple of weeks the four of them will be reunited and safely home. The extra late nights and energy helping our dear friends took me all week to recover from :) 

Now onto the little ones. I was able to capture a picture of  Phoenix eating with the "shovel" or extra large spoon. I had cooked the oatmeal with this spoon and decided to eat with it to not waste silverware. Phoenix taking my spoon and eating my breakfast has become a regular occurrence. There has been a couple of times why I can't figure out why I am so hungry at 8am and then remember that I was only able to enjoy a few bites of my breakfast before my hungry little girl finished my breakfast after eating all of her own. 

The week of June 16th Axel took his first swim lessons. Over the course of the 4 days he improved quite a bit. His kick is better, he is more comfortable keeping his face in the water and he is able to kick with his arms straight out in front of him and on his back.

He took the lessons with his friend Connor. Both of them really liked "Miss Liz" their swim instructor. They liked the swim lessons so much they have 3 more weeks scheduled. Next week they are going to Lego camp in the morning and then swim lessons in the afternoon together. They requested Miss Liz, but they will only get her one of the three more weeks they are taking lessons because she only teaches in the morning.

Last week when it was hot out we played on the driveway in the shade. Phoenix had fun being goofy.

Annika came over to say hello. Phoenix was excited to have Annika join in the fun.

Both kids got so messy making their chalk creation I had to rinse them off with the hose. If you look closely you can see the family tree with swings hanging and the four of us on top of the tree. You can also see the family Ferris wheel and Szolusha, castle.

After our chalk fun the kids enjoyed an extra long bubble bath. Often if they get really dirty or it is really hot out they request to take an early, longer bubble bath. Since Axel has started swim lessons both kids will lay down on their stomachs or backs and pretend to swim. Phoenix loves the water so much I will likely start swim lessons with her next summer.

Last weekend I was able to capture a few cute photos of Louis and the kids early in the morning.

It is moments like these that I feel extra blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Yesterday we headed to one of my patient's house/farm. It is only twenty minutes from our house in the hills. She has 13 horses and was kind enough to let the kids and I come feed, comb and ride the horses.

Easy, is a 33 year old horse who loves kids. Apparently he has had hundred of kids ride him in his time. He gave both Axel and Phoenix a little kiss.

Phoenix actually got  a little scared, but Axel thought it was cool.

The kids squealed with delight almost the entire hour and a half that we were there. They hand fed Chief, Kristin's horse, who is 26 years old.

They also brushed Chief to make sure he was clean and ready to ride.

After a nice brush, Axel and I hopped on Chief. After one time around the arena Axel said he didn't need me anymore.

 I got down and my brave animal lover proceeded to ride alone.

Of course, Phoenix got super jealous and couldn't wait to join Axel. The two of them rode together for sometime.

It is amazing how much fun they both had. It is even more amazing how much they both are such big animal lovers.

We had so much fun that we are definitely thinking about going back again sometime.

Axel being silly!

Axel and Phoenix had fun chasing around the chickens and cats around after the horse fun. Axel got to hold fresh eggs that were just laid. You can see from the picture that one of their chickens is very small and she lays very small eggs, nearly half the size of a normal egg.

Last night we had a big BBQ as our old neighbors who moved to Singapore were in town. We had the old neighborhood crew back together. Axel had so much fun playing with Max, Sophie, and Rishaan. Phoenix had fun chasing the big kids around and playing with Annika. This weekend we are headed to the beach to attend my annual work picnic tomorrow and Sunday we plan on going out to eat to celebrate another year completed for me. We are also gearing up for our 4th of July fun with Grandma Susan and Grandpa Brian and seeing the Burgess family at our first annual family reunion. We are so excited to see everyone and then have a visit from Grandma Sonia and Grandpa Bruce and celebrate Daddy's birthday. July is going to be a busy and action packed month with lots of adventures to share, so check back soon for more Szolusha fun!

Axel the graduate!

Yesterday evening Axel "walked" to receive his "diploma" for completing preschool. It was a bit over the top celebration, but we made sure to attend and give Axel our support and love without all of the pomp and circumstance.

 Here is Axel receiving his fake diploma. His real diploma was in his file so it wouldn't get wrinkled. Ms. Theresa and Ms. Salima were wonderful teachers for Axel's first experience at school.

 We were the only parents who were against the hat and tassle. They were only $7 but I didn't think graduating preschool should be made a big deal, especially because it is not even required by the state and we initially were not going to have Axel attend because we didn't think he needed to. Luckily, we did have Axel attend because he has learned and grown a lot socially. I believe he is more ready for kindergarten because of his experience at preschool.

 Keith and I are very proud of the person Axel is becoming. He actually did a great job of not caring about the graduation hat and didn't let it effect him. The classroom was packed. Keith and I were shocked at how over the top other parents were. Entire families were there. Balloons and presents were ready to be delivered to several children. Luckily, Axel was happy to receive his piece of paper and eat......

 some yummy chocolate ice cream! After the kids sang four songs and received their diploma Axel and Phoenix played hard for over an hour in the playground.

 Phoenix has no idea that she is smaller than the other kids and that she needs to be careful. She plays with the big kids like she is a big kid. I love her for that, but it is a bit nerve racking with the other kids jumping around her. Luckily, she has not gotten hurt.

 Here is Axel with Axel R and Connor, his two best buddies. Diba is also in the picture and occasionally plays with the boys.

Yes, the 20 graduates and their families slowly trickled home while the three boys closed the party. Here is there last conversation before we all headed home to bed. 

Axel and Phoenix continue to play more and more together. Phoenix likes to pretend and play inside forts and structure. I am not sure whose idea it was to eat dinner under the table, but as you can see both kids were having a blast. 

On Sunday, with the scorching heat we had the privilege of swimming in our neighbors pool. Here we are getting ready to go.

Here is Phoenix pointing to Axel still in the pool. After an hour she was done and ready to eat.

Axel and daddy still swimming away.

After swimming and all ready for bath time. Phoenix was extremely sad that her floatie couldn't come into the bath with us. We hope to have more pool fun this weekend as our neighbors our out of town and we have full access to the pool all weekend long!

Tomorrow is Axel's last day of school, June 11th. He is going to have game and movie day. He is really excited to play all day with his friends. Here is to a happy, joyous summer for everyone!

Family Time

We have been very lucky the past couple of weeks to spend more time together. One of the things we do during family time (often when Phoenix is sleeping) is play school. Axel likes to teach us. On this particular day he taught us about castles. This is Axel's first attempt at 3 dimensional drawings. We also are really into playing UNO. Axel is quite good and has picked up some sneaky strategies from daddy. 

 Phoenix and I managed to make it to the big park last Friday while Axel was at school. We had a blast watching the other kids. Phoenix is too funny. She carefully watches and then immediately copies what another child is doing, especially Axel.

 Axel and Phoenix have been enjoying a big fort the past week or so. It is Axel's first home made fort. He had tons of fun designing it and more fun playing with Phoenix in it.

 Last weekend we headed to the mall to exchange some clothes that Axel received as a gift. Keith and I haven't been to the mall for 7 years! It was both Axel's and Phoenix's first time. With the crazy crowds and lines it will likely be one of our only trips to the big mall, although we do have plans to try to make it to Gilroy outlets sometime this summer. After the mall with thought it would be fun to play in the fountains in downtown Los Gatos.

 The kids and daddy had a blast getting wet!

 Afterwards we dried off for a few minutes and then walked to dinner. Yes, those are Axel's underwear on Phoenix's head! I don't know what sparked the desire to put his underwear on her head but she didn't mind :)

 Phoenix did great for her first time out. She sat on a booster seat and ate like a champ.

 Axel was mesmerized by the 5 huge TV's going.

 We had a special story time as it was Miss Rose's last day. All of the kids received their own glasses for "these are my glasses, this is my book" song. This is the second librarian we have had to say goodbye to. Miss Cindy was the first. Luckily, it was a bit easier this time since we already went through it before. Axel gave her a hug and made her a goodbye card.

 The library has a new activity center that has been great for Phoenix. She plays here while Axel and I pick out books. We are signed up for the summer reading program so it will be fun to log how many books he reads. And yes, Axel is now reading!!!!! It is really exciting. He is getting better and better each day/week. He received these great books from his friend Connor. Hopefully, his reading will continue to improve and he will become a book worm as I was growing up! Time to get Phoenix from her nap!