17
Jun
Ben was quite adamant that Little Ben run errands with us today.
16
Jun
This is the last week of school and that means Kaitlyn’s last class party. The other room mom and I worked with the teacher on a theme. The mom and I met last week at Chick-fil-a with our youngest boys. They played in the play structure and we planned the party. Today we showed up at school with all of our supplies. We had two crafts and two games and a few goodies for the kids. We sent home mini beach balls, star sunglasses, and a class picture that had everyone’s signature surrounding the picture.
For crafts we let them decorate a sand pail with stickers, tissue paper, and markers. They also made straw rockets. After coloring a rocket, they could attach a pipette to the back. When a straw is inserted into the pipette, you can blow and the rocket flies!
We had a series of games involving races with the mini beach balls and then a set of games with red Silo cups. The kids got a little wild with the games, but I think everyone had a good time!
16
Jun
Alex and I saw someone make a perfect circle out of Pringles. (see here). This was as far as he got.
16
Jun
For end of year gifts, we usually get teachers gift cards and put the gift cards inside a thank you note. I have tried to teach my children that you write a thank you note by including something personal instead of just the generic “thank you.” Teague’s thank you notes cracked me up this year!
16
Jun
End of the year class party!
16
Jun
Bus stop fashion this morning.
15
Jun
Alex decided to cook dinner tonight – which was a huge help to me. The only down side was when he left his cooked chicken unattended and Pepper helped herself. Thankfully we had some extra and it was a quick-cooking recipe.
15
Jun
Teague used to always have an issue with unloading the dishwasher but I haven’t seen this grumpy face in ages (thank goodness). I was trying to tease him out of it by taking his picture but it got the opposite reaction.
15
Jun
These kiddos went to visit their new school today. They even got to meet all the second grade teachers.
15
Jun
Ben of course had to put his own “man” on his hand just like Alex.
15
Jun
None of our local sports teams ended up doing pictures this year, but one of my friends in town (Deirdre Rakus Photography) is a photographer and she offered to do sports pictures for anyone that wanted them. I did them for my kids and even got pictures of my two lacrosse players together!
14
Jun
This is Kaitlyn’s last year at her current elementary school. Next year she will move to the bigger elementary school and join Teague. To celebrate, the small school had a graduation ceremony for the first graders. Wade and I were able to attend and enjoyed seeing all the first graders line up together, sing some songs, and receive their “diplomas.”
14
Jun
Alex says, “This is Todd. He’ll be dead tomorrow.”
What a nut job…
14
Jun
Teague’s class fit in one more field trip. They walked to a nearby park for lunch today.
14
Jun
1st grade graduation!
14
Jun
Afternoon water table fun.
13
Jun
I was quite surprised to see Kaitlyn appear downstairs in dress-up clothes. It has been months and months since she was so inclined. Ben of course wanted to dress up too. I loved it when he came down in one of Kaitlyn’s dress up dresses! Then he couldn’t wait for her to do his make-up. I think she liked having a living doll. Some days they play really well together (and are so fun to photograph). These pictures are going to be great in years to come.
13
Jun
Electronics for all!
12
Jun
Sunday church best. Alex is wearing Ben’s purse for him. The minute Ben saw Kaitlyn’s purse he wanted one too. Kaitlyn was nice enough to get one for him that matched his outfit. He carried it all morning but didn’t want it for the picture.
12
Jun
Today we had our last Sunday of sports. Kaitlyn and I spent Sunday morning at the lacrosse field. It was a pretty funny game to watch. From the beginning I could tell Kaitlyn was not into lacrosse. She never put two hands on the stick and had a lot more interest in watching the ball than actually trying to get to it. She seemed happy to be there though…. (The funny part is she has said for the last few weeks she definitely didn’t want to play lacrosse next year, but on the car ride over she told me she was reconsidering!)
We had a few hours and then it was off to the last soccer game of the season. Kaitlyn was on fire today at soccer. It was like watching her play in the last league!
11
Jun
Pre-dinner games.
11
Jun
Ben got in on the cleaning and tried to wash the toys in the sunroom.
11
Jun
We were having hotdogs on the back deck tonight and Wade decided it was a great night to teach Alex some more life lessons. Tonight Alex was in charge of the grilling. (I think they both loved it.)
10
Jun
This particular dinner place is a favorite because it has a grassy field next to the picnic tables. We always try to remember to bring a soccer ball to keep everybody entertained.
10
Jun
Teague ending his day with the dreaded teeth brushing.
10
Jun
Ben convinced Kaitlyn to build his car wash, but then she didn’t want to share. Ages 7 and 4 are rough.
10
Jun
The big boys have nicknamed him “The Gremlin”
10
Jun
Wade has been so awesome about working from home so I can help out at the schools the last few months. He stayed home today so that I could help out at Teague’s field day. My friend Lisa and I worked the water station and had quite a bit of fun on this hot day. (I remember field day as true track and field events. The kids now get to do awesome silly games – so much better!)
09
Jun
Lacrosse – again.
09
Jun
Bedtime.
09
Jun
The final soccer practice of Spring.
09
Jun
KitKat chose to return to napping with Ben today. It was the sweetest.
09
Jun
Tonight was Kaitlyn’s last soccer practice. Her coach decided to make it special and incorporated the pizza party and parent game into the hour. Thankfully Wade had worked from home and was happy to join in the game. I came along to take pictures!
08
Jun
Practice, practice, practice.
08
Jun
Teague had a field trip today to Old Sturbridge Village and one of my friend’s was nice enough to send me a picture.
08
Jun
We bought a new lunch box in preparation for next year, but it has just made Kaitlyn want to pack her lunch most every day the last few days of the year.
08
Jun
Ben has been begging to paint in the shower for ages and this is the first truly free morning we have had in forever.
08
Jun
This story starts with my laziness. I had an Easter wreath on my front door and was quite lazy about taking it down. At some point I realized we were WELL past time it should have been down and I should really do something about that. I finally walked to the front door and swung the wreath down. The “swung” part is quite important here. When I swung it down, I saw something go flying and then saw bird eggs splat on my front porch. I immediately felt horrible. I had no clue there was a nest built in the very top of the wreath where I couldn’t see. I use the front door every afternoon to get Kaitlyn off the school bus and never had a clue.
A few weeks later, I was walking by the side of the house and I saw birds flying around my side porch. I got smart and wondered if those birds had built a nest in top of that wreath. I watched them and confirmed that they had. Since we only use the side door to retrieve packages, I didn’t think too much about it and continued with daily life. Late one night, I opened the side door to put some items on the porch for pickup. Normally the parent birds fly away when I open the door. This time, a bird flew in the house! It took Wade and I quite a while to convince the bird to go back outside. We had lights off, windows and doors open. I had a broom and he had a lacrosse stick. Finally Wade had to catch the bird and escort it outside. It had toured our entire downstairs before it went back outside. Now the door is entirely off limits to use.
I took a picture of the babies today to see how big they are and how close I am to being able to use my door again. It looks like I am getting close!
07
Jun
Spring Concert is done! Wade and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Alex perform.
07
Jun
Teague looks rather large on Kaitlyn’s scooter, but they were all having a great time outside.
07
Jun
Kaitlyn is worried about her strawberry plant and trying to give it extra care lately.
07
Jun
Ben and I bought flowers for all of my pots today and I was determined to get everything potted before rain comes through tonight.
07
Jun
Ben and I had a free day today so we decided to spend the morning hiking the Storybook trail. I had heard they finally updated the book after several years so I was hoping Ben would be excited to read the pages as we hiked along. It turned out that the story wasn’t quite as engaging as the previous Eric Carle book, but we still enjoyed the hike. (We also saw a snake on the trail. We both jumped a little and then quickly took a picture before it slithered off because we knew Kaitlyn would be mad if we didn’t.)
This evening was the Spring Choir Concert. Alex was not excited to attend but Wade and I couldn’t wait. We have thoroughly enjoyed these events now that we can attend kid-free. The kids did a great job performing and we even got a picture with Alex and two of his good friends. (I did offer to pay $3 per kid in the picture…)
06
Jun
We bought this raincoat last fall when we realized Alex would be walking in sometimes unexpected rain storms. This is the first time he has agreed to wear it – most likely only to protect his headphones and Chromebook.
06
Jun
As the school year wraps up, there are all kinds of fun events at all the schools. Today was field day at Kaitlyn’s school and Wade was kind enough to stay home with Ben so that I could volunteer. I worked the parachute station and it was HOT. Thankfully I was only there a few hours and I loved getting to see the kids. There is also a short 20 minute break where each class gets to see Waddles (the mascot), have a popsicle, and take pictures with friends and family. It’s a great way to start wrapping up the year.
06
Jun
This doesn’t look comfortable, but Teague took quite a long nap just like this.
06
Jun
Field Day!
06
Jun
Mac & Cheese for lunch – Ben chose to be prepared for anything.
05
Jun
We decided to grill hotdogs for dinner and then ended up spending the entire evening outside. The kids ran around, Wade and I sat and talked. It was perfect. Kaitlyn decided to dig out her bow and arrow and do some practicing before dinner. Then Alex picked it up after dinner – that’s what started the battle. Wade and I got such a kick out of watching the battle that followed. Teague brought his nerf bow down and the kids played forever. The little kids were content retrieving arrows and chasing the big kids. (No one ended up in tears – a miracle.) Why can’t every night be like this?
05
Jun
Kaitlyn is practicing to be the next Katniss Everdeen.