Monday, June 13, 2016

Last Day of School!!

We finally made it to the last day of school! We have all been anxious for this day for weeks, but Adam and Tessa have been especially excited to have a break. We took our traditional last day of school pictures before school started on Friday. 







 On the last day of school, right before everyone is dismissed, all the students and staff gather in the school parking lot to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the National Anthem. Then everyone stands perfectly still and silent as the flag is lowered and folded. It was quite the site to drive up to and literally made me cry. What a beautiful way to end a school year. 

 Adam brought home a very special award for making the Honor Roll all 5 terms this school year!
 We can't wait to have our summer time!! The kids came home from school to our festive summer backyard and some new backyard games we can enjoy as a family this summer. 


 We invited the Riley's over for our summer s'mores party that evening. We had so much fun playing, and laughing, and eating. We love having good friends so close to us.





Welcome, Summer!! We are so glad you are here!

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Goodbye May, Hello June!

We have had a busy couple of weeks with May coming to an end and summer fast approaching. Mommy was able to stop babysitting towards the end of May, and it has taken some adjusting as we figure out our new normal...again. Here's a sneak peak at what we've been up to. 
 Caleb is such a joy. He is a light in our home and family and we just can't get enough of him. He loves being outside and playing with his toys, but he also loves to just chill out in front of the TV with his favorite shows. Star Wars, Land Before Time, or Winnie the Pooh are his regulars. 

 We have had such beautiful weather. The kids have loved playing in the backyard in the evening. Adam and Daddy have been playing a lot of catch and the girls and Caleb love to play "Steam Roller" with their Daddy. 
 We've all had our check up's with the dentist in the last 2 weeks. Tessa was the only one to have any cavities. It was Gwen's first dentist visit and she was so excited to be there! She liked them tickling her teeth. 
 I never posted anything from Mother's Day. We had a nice day at home and I basically got to lock myself in my room and take the day off, which is exactly what I needed. I am so grateful to be their Mommy!!
 Adam and Tessa got to participate in their Memorial Day assembly as school. It was such an awesome experience!
 Tessa and I snapped a picture together on World Redhead Day.
 Bedtime Stories with my kids is something I love. The older 3 kids and I just finished reading the Pippi Longstocking series. We love our reading time together. 
Mommy's first week off of babysitting was a busy one. We had a special assembly at the kids school early one morning. Gwen and Caleb were happy to be fed pancakes afterwards. 
 We finally got to go to the park. Gwen has been asking for weeks to go, but with all the extra kids I had all the time, we haven't been able to. We stopped on the way home from the assembly and these 2 had such fun!!


 We celebrated National Doughnut Day with an early morning doughnut run before school. That's no small feat since we have to be ready and out the door by 7am!
 Early morning doughnut runs means nap time occurs while we grocery shop after dropping the kids off at school. 
 Tessa had her cavities filled. She said it didn't hurt one bit and she thought the laughing gas was funny. 
 For FHE last week, we made some summertime teepee's for the backyard. They are so fun!
 Adam auditioned for his school talent show, made it, and did an excellent job performing his song on the piano. He said he was pretty nervous, but then he just pretended like he was just practicing and his nerves went away. 
 Tessa's art work amazes us. She is so talented!
 The end of the school year means Mommy has a lot of paperwork to go through. 
 Adam stays up way too late reading most nights. He almost got in trouble the other night when I went in to check on the boys and saw his light still on. He as fast asleep though. 
 Tessa has been so excited to start piano lessons and this week it was finally time! She loves their teacher and she can't wait to learn.
 We had Mommy's car break down and Daddy's car get a flat tire all in the same day. We got the car started and Mommy got it into the shop and then walked home as fast as she could (Adam was babysitting), Kristin had to save us and go pick Adam and Tessa up from school, and Daddy was able to get his tire fixed after work. Not our lucky day, but thankfully, everything worked out and got fixed, and we felt blessed it happened while we were at home and not on some trip or out on some family adventure. 

Thursday, June 9, 2016

End of Year School Programs

Last week, Adam and Tessa had their end of year programs at school. Their classes performed several songs and poems that they learned during the year. Tessa got to represent her German heritage and  hold a German flag during their immigration song. She did not like being the center of attention, but she spoke very loud and clear when it was her turn to say her lines. She had them all memorized and she did a great job!




Tessa has loved Ms. Young as her teacher this year! She has loved 2nd grade but is so excited to move onto 3rd grade!

Adam's program was a day later and he did a great job too! He and his classmates memorized some fun things this year. One of which was The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. Adam has been so anxious to perform this. They all did such a great job with it. That is quite the long poem to memorize!

 

 The 4th graders got to display their tri-folds for their research projects they did a couple of months ago. 
He has had a great 4th grade year. 5th grade... here he comes!!