Kindergarten Graduation and Last Day of School!!

Thursday May 28, 2009

WOW, my little boy is growing up way TOO fast! He has already completed Kindergarten. Now he informs me that he is on to First Grade. I just can't believe how fast it has gone. I was talking to him about a VBS song I used to sing to him when he was just a baby. He just giggled and told me he wasn't a baby anymore. (He does remember the song and we still listen to that first VBS CD. It is actually still his favorite and we have 6 more since then!) I am excited that he is so grown up, but I am sad that he is grown up. I love being able to get out and do things with the kids and not have to pack the entire house.

To commemorate the passing of his first year in school, they had a Kindergarten Graduation. It may sound funny to those of you who are not used to this, but it was so nice. It was an easier way for us new/sentimental parents to be excited for the accomplishments of our children.

They each had a fun graduation hat with the tassel. But, they didn't fit real well, so a few kids lost theirs on the walk down the aisle. Gabe was one that lost his. He was walking funny and had a scared look on his face. Well, he could feel the hat sliding off. He lost it about the time he passed me and his face got so red. I felt so sorry for him. Thank goodness his teacher was on stage and she helped him get it back on. (Thanks Mrs Beers!) He was much better after that.

After the ceremony, we all went to the cafeteria for a little snack. We got to visit with our new graduates and then sent them back to class. Of course, the just changed out of their nice clothes and got to go outside to play. Later that day, the Superintendent of the school grilled them hot dogs at the park. Gabe was tired when he got home from playing outside all day.

Friday May 29, 2009

The next day was the last day of school. It was only a half day, so it was really fun again. hahah After we picked Gabe up at noon, we all went out to lunch at Pizza Ranch. The only bad thing was the kids still ate lunch at school! Gabe said he didn't eat much, so he could still have a piece of pizza. And of course he had to have dessert pizza!

I was able to help this year in Gabe's class. It was nice to be involved and see all the kids. As a thank you for helping his class gave me a flower. I replanted it and made Gabe take a picture with it the last day of school. (Are you even shocked at that?? -- You should be shocked that I totally forgot to take pictures of Anna on her last day of school. So much for keeping everything EVEN for the kids. hahah)

It is officially summer break now. We just have to finish packing for our vacation. We are heading to Florida to spend some time with Mickey Mouse. We will be meeting up with my sister and her family, so that will be fun. The kids are so excited about getting to fly in an airplane. We'll see how that goes....hopefully neither one will get motion sick!!

Of course, I will post more pictures when we get home.

Anna rides without training wheels!! Woo-Hoo!

For some reason the past few weeks, Anna's training wheels haven't been staying on. That translates into - she has been falling off her bike and getting really mad about it! So, finally Doug and I got sick of the issue and took the training wheels off. We had a talk to her about it and big ceremony putting the training wheels in the dumpster. But, Anna still wasn't too sure about doing this 2-wheeler thing all by herself.

So, it took her a couple days to feel comfortable. She would get going, realize we weren't holding one or running next to her, slam on the brakes (or just quit pedaling) and fall over. ???? (Why do that?? Somedays I don't get kids!) That would make her scream and cry and not want to get back on. So, we had to explain, or at least try to explain, that if she keeps pedaling, she will be fine. That was a hard concept to grasp for her.

Once we got that covered, we had to battle the issue of turning. She was so happy to go, but said she was scared to turn the handle bars. UGH! Finally I had to take the hard road with her and tell her that if she didn't start steering, she was going to have to stop riding. Well, guess what?? She steered -- turned and even turned around in the driveway which is much narrower than the church parking lot.

We are so proud of her! After a few days of practicing, she is now starting out all by herself also. Of course, we told her she was a natural! Especially since she is without training wheels a year before Gabe was. (If you remember last year, Gabe got his wheels off and took off like a rocket. He reminded us that he was more of a natural than Anna. Is that what they call sibling rivalry?!?)

The little video clip was taken before she could fully start out on her own. For some reason she went up on the sidewalk and couldn't get started again. If you look really close, she is on the verge of having a fit because she can't get going again. Patience is not her strong suit! She does such a great job though...enjoy! And yes, she is riding one day in a dress. She is such a girly girl tomboy! Has to have a dress or skirt, but plays in the dirt or whatever can make her dirty!!

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

We had a very fun Mother's Day. I got some fun things from both the kids. They were the best homemade, rather school-made, presents. For lunch we went to a friend's house for a picnic. The kids had a blast -- all three of them!

Yes, that is a snowmobile you see. We actually called it grass-mobiling. Anna got a little freaked out because she said Ricky was going too fast. Funny, she has never said that while riding with him before. Maybe it feels different on the grass...I don't know. I passed on the grass-mobiling, but I did take part in the 4-wheeling.

Thanks Gabriel, Anna and Daddy for doing such a good job helping me celebrate Mother's Day.

Crazy Anna

Mother's Day Anna woke up and got ready for church all by herself. She even added the finishing touches of make-up (thanks Kathy!). She was so proud of herself. She was ready to go to church and sit by Ricky. She even had her church sandals on. Well, she looked more like she had war paint on for church, so I had to get a few pictures. For some reason she wasn't in the mood for the pictures. Probably because I said we needed to wash her face, get her pretty dress on, and then put on different make-up. I am such a mean mom!

Preschool Parent Breakfast - May 5, 2009

This morning we had a Parent Breakfast at Anna's preschool. (Yes, that said TODAY, so I am super on top of things!) It was the last program of the year for Anna. It was so nice. We got a cute little Mother's Day gift the kids put together. We got a little pin cushion. I had to chuckle because it is just perfect! My dad just brought up my mom's sewing machine this past weekend. My niece didn't want it anymore. So, now I have a cute little table with a sewing machine and the perfect little pin cushion to start me out. Now, I just have to remember how to use the darn thing! I actually have a couple items that needed mending and were too big for me to hand sew. This should be quite the adventure! I'll keep you all posted...



Anyway, back to the breakfast. We got to help make our breakfast. First we put the batter in for the muffins. We even got to sprinkle some sugar on top. (Some were a little more sugared than others, but they were still yummy!) Then we cut up some ham for the eggs. Then we got to crack the egg, add a little milk and stir. It was so cute and fun watching all the little ones work so hard.

While breakfast was cooking, the kids song some songs and recited some poems. They also recited all the bible verses they have learned this year. Anna got to be Miss Polly. Miss Polly had a sick dolly and had to call the Doctor. Cute little song, but an even cuter Miss Polly! Am I prejudice or what? =) The girls in this picture are Anna, Riley, Megan and Zoey. Anna, Riley and Zoey are all in dance class together, so they may look familiar from the other post. Megan is a friend from preschool that Anna talks about. Her older brother Charlie is in Gabe's kindergarten class.

Soccer with Gabriel

I was going to wait until I had more pictures, but then decided I better just use the ones I had. Who knows when I will get around to updating again. I will be focusing on getting work done on the scrapbooks so I am caught up by the time we go to Disney World. It is getting closer, only one month from today!! We are getting excited for June 2 to be here.


This year Gabe is old enough to start soccer. He is so excited! Last year during Tball all he talked about was playing soccer. He got to pick his number and he is #2 on the black team. He is a good kicker and gets picked to make the kick ins from out of bounds. We just have to remind him to watch the ball while he is on the field. =) This past weekend he had two games right in a row. By the middle of the second game, you could tell he was getting tired. He even sat down on the field while they were getting a special kick set up. Sometimes I am just amazed at him, but he is 6 and was tired and the logical thing in his mind was to just sit down and rest.

He has fun and enjoys being with the other kids. He is a good learner, we just have to work on it more at home. There are things he is learning in practice that we didn't think to teach him. So, it is a learning experience for us also.

Anna's Dance Recital - May 3, 2009

This past weekend my dad was here for a visit. He also brought along my sister in law Chris. While they were here they were able to watch Gabe play soccer and also watch Anna's dance recital. (I will get soccer pictures to post later.) It was a nice weekend, but a little on the cool side for my dad. It was a little windy at the soccer game and it took a while for him to warm up.

Anna did such a great job dancing! She really enjoys dancing and tumbling. I think she really likes the cute little outfits she gets to wear also. She did a couple dance numbers and she got to do some sommersaults to the music.

Her favorite song was the Pretzel Song. Basically they ended up tangled up like a pretzel dancing around. So cute! Although, she did fall over once because she lost her balance. haha In this picture below, it is the Number 1-10 Song. Anna was excited to be #1 and get to be the leader. After Father Time of course! But, he is not as cute as the girls, so his head is cut off. =)

Ok, I tried a new layout this time and can't get it how I want it to look. Technology stinks somedays!! I will change it around for the next post and see what I can come up with.