Last Day of School 2011

I always try to make the last day of school special for the boys. I remember how fun it was and how excited I was when I was in grade school. I did some of the same ideas that I did last year for the boys. They woke up to breakfast parfaits. They were basically just yogurt (strawberry and vanilla) and granola, oh and you can't forget the whipped cream and a cherry. I did them a little different last year.
Lincoln downed the parfaits like nobody's business. He even finished his brothers parfaits.
Palmer was ticked because the yogurt had strawberries in it (the kid loathes strawberries). So he wasn't too into it.
Hunter wouldn't taste it, threw a big fit about how he didn't want to eat it, then he did taste it and decided that he liked it. I have the PICKIEST boys!
These are the gifts that I made for my boys' teachers this year. I got the lemonade labels from here. I bought "Simply Lemonade" to put inside them and made the tags on Photoshop. The graphics I bought from this shop of etsy.
I just added some ribbon and stripey straws and voila, a cute teacher gift.

The bottles I got for around $4 at IKEA. They were my favorite part. I just stuck the labels on with tape so that the teachers could use them again for whatever they want. I need to go back and get some bottles for me :)
We also gave all of the kids in each of the boys' classes a bunch of Otterpops.
We did this little gift last year too. I really like it, and will probably do it every year.
I just made the labels once again in Photoshop and bought the graphic from this Etsy shop.

Hunter actually had his "Goodbye Day" a couple of weeks ago, but I figured I would wait and do them all together. I have to be honest, I had a harder time with this Goodbye Day as I am fairly certain that we will not be back at this preschool (although parents drive here from Farmington, so maybe I will :).
We have loved every aspect of this preschool and especially how much the teachers love our boys. They really do treat the boys like rock stars.
Hunter and Jacque were good buddies.

I am no less sad to say goodbye to my boys' teachers this year. The entire year has been perfect. Full of fun and learning. Palmer's teacher has been better than I ever imagined a teacher could be. She has been supportive and fun, but at the same time has given great rules and set boundaries. Palmer learned so many valuable things this year.
He has loved his class as well. There are so many good friends in this room that Palmer will miss like crazy.
Lincoln's teacher has been the perfect Kindergarten teacher. We also couldn't have asked for a better one. She is EVERYTHING I think a Kindergarten teacher should be. She was perfect for Lincoln and he will definitely miss her.
This is Lincoln's class. He has also learned such good lessons this year and become so much more responsible. Lincoln is reading so well now. He always surprises me with what he can read. He is also do so well at basic math. I am excited to work more with him this summer.
I made the "Welcome to Summer" banner that I also made last year. I got the idea from here. We had my niece Savanna with us this year.
They always love to get to run through it.
This one was actually pretty sturdy and so they just ran under it.

I had surprises waiting for them on the couch. I did a little bit more last year, but I like to mix it up (I don't want to always have to top myself). The boys each got a new swimsuit, and swim shirt, some water shoes, sunglasses, water gun and silly string. I also had some silly string and a watergun for Savanna.
The boys were so excited to get their new swimsuits and wasted no time in putting them on.
Lincoln came home with the cutest diploma and graduation hat. I LOVE the crayon for the tassel.
They were all ready for the silly string fight. We started this tradition last year as well. Palmer was a little impatient to wear his sunglasses. He couldn't get the tag off, so he just wore them with the tag still on.
And boy did they go crazy. Poor Hunter just gets nailed over and over. He just runs his little heart out and totally forgets that he also has silly string!
Palmer is by far the most aggressive. The best part about it is that he ran out first so the kids all ganged up on him. He loved it.
The boys' friend Cody came over for a watergun fight. Last year was so cold on our water party, that I decided to just do water balloons and water guns. The funny things is that it was really warm!

This is serious business.
And the guns serve a dual purpose.
Then we had water balloon volleyball. Savanna had to go to her uncle's graduation party (she came back the next day for more water fun).
They didn't quite get it at first, but eventually they figured it out.
They each got one water balloon at the end to throw.
After that we had a sundae bar.
Mmmmm ice cream :) They loved getting to pick their own toppings. We actually don't have ice cream very much , so it was a huge treat.

Let the summer begin! It is going to be so wild for the next few weeks as we are moving, but I have lots of fun ideas for activities and crafts. Hooray summer is finally here!

AR Awards Ceremony

The last week of school I received an invitation to come and see Palmer get an award in the AR (Advanced Reading) Awards Ceremony. I didn't know which award he had gotten, but I knew the award that he had been working his heart and soul out for the entire year. He wanted to earn first place in his class in points for the most books read. He read and read and read the entire year. He ended up earning 161 points. His teacher told me he was 1000% of his goal. I was so proud of him. Above he is wearing a medal the kids all got for earning their goals in the DIBELS (I think that is what it is) testing.
I love that first graders still like getting their pictures taken. In a few years I am sure that most of the kids will be rolling their eyes in the pictures :)
We were pretty far back, so most of my far away shots of him getting the award for 1st place in AR points for his class, are blurry. He was so proud of this award that he wore the medal around all day, sneaked it to school the next day and wore it, and then wore it to his cousins house that night (at which he nailed said cousin in the back with it and lost it for the rest of the night).
In their class Palmer earned the first place medal and his buddy Cemryn earned 2nd. Those two are so funny. They are so competitive with each other, which has pushed Palmer farther than he would have gone on his own. The funny thing is that they best buddies at the same time.


The next award that he got was for getting 85% accuracy on the tests that he took (comprehension of the books he was reading). He also wore this award around all day. He was jingling all over the place (they were real medals, not plastic. I think this fact also thrilled Palmer as most of the medals he gets are plastic).
Palmer's cousin Savanna is in his class and they are the best of friends (more like siblings actually). They both earned the accuracy award together. He will miss her a lot when we move. It has been fun to have them in the same class for the past two years.
Palmer and Cemryn.

As the year has been ending I have been feeling such a sense of loss as I realized that we are leaving the school year behind. It has been perfect as far as I am concerned. Palmer has had great friends, a great teacher, and great experiences as have my other boys. It is always hard to start over and hope that your experience is as good.

Memorial Day 2011

This year for Memorial Day we didn't have anything really going on, and we really needed to pack (moving day is 1 1/2 weeks away!!). We spent the morning packing up a storm with the boys helping quite a bit. After we had gotten a ton done, we decided to reward everyone for their hard work and go out for a fun evening. The boys had some free Red Robin kids meal coupons, so we headed there for dinner. I LOVE a good burger.
The boys all had a good time too.

McKay had chocolate milk and boy does he love it (surprise right?)
This was a painting that hung up behind our table. The boys were convinced that it was a turkey. What do you think?
Palmer and Lincoln are getting to be better friends lately (Hunter sometimes too, it is all coming slowly). I am always so excited when they are laughing together or helping each other with something.

After dinner we headed to The Children's Museum. My wonderful friend Kristen gave us a free pass for all six of us. Sweet right? Are you catching the freeness of this wonderful night? To me it makes it that much better :)
The kids love the Children's Museum. We try to get there at least once a year.  We missed last year but when the year before and the year before that.
This was McKay's first time there and he had so much fun. I love the little area that they have that is just for kids 18 months and younger. It was great for all of the babies to get to play in one area.
Don't try this at home, Lincoln is a trained professional :)
McKay was so curious about everything. It was fun to get to just be with him (Josh was with the other boys) and watch how his brain works and see what interested him. He is so silly and loves to make me laugh.
The Construction Zone is always a favorite. Lincoln however wound this rope around his neck and almost fell off the ledge. What?! Yep, that could have been so bad! Luckily I was close and there was a lady was closer than me and she got him out of it. It really scared me.





Even Josh had a good time.
Since we didn't play baseball this season, much to the boys' dismay, we did our traditional end of baseball season trip to Leatherby's on Memorial Day. I will really miss not living close to this place.




It was a fun Memorial Day full of work and play. Our house is now FULL of boxes, right up to the ceiling in some rooms. I will take a picture, it is nuts!

Lowes "Build and Grow"-Airplanes

I am hoping to figure out some way of putting the activities and crafts that we do as a family on the right of the blog for quick reference rather than scrolling through the blog....work in progress. Anyone know how to do that? Maybe I just have to "label" some of the posts. Oh well, I'll do it soon. Especially for you moms like me who are ALWAYS on the lookout for things to do with my kids on the LONG (and sometimes boring) summer days. Do you know about Lowes Build and Grow program? It is awesome and best of all...free! Last week Josh brought home one of the Build and Grow projects for the boys to do and we finished it on Sunday after church.
Lincoln needed some safety glasses and his cool sunglasses worked in a pinch. It was so funny to watch him working on his project with his through his sunglasses.
Josh helped the boys with the project while the family photographer snapped away :)
This is what the end project looked like. These are so fun and the boys LOVED them. They have played with them non stop

I had to coax them to stop flying them for a second to get a picture. It was a job I will tell you.
I used to have a calendar that told me all there was to do for kids in Salt Lake and it is GONE. I am so sad about it and have to find away to stay in the loop on what is going on (especially all the free stuff :) If anyone has a calendar for what is going on PLEASE share it with me!

I Love a Man with a Mullet

My dear little McKay has a mullet. A whispy, curling, adorable mullet. I never thought I could love a mullet so much :) My other three boys received their first haircuts around a year old, but for some reason that loveable little mullet gets me every time I try to cut his hair.
The time is coming that the mullet is going to go. He has been mistaken for a girl on a regular basis (even when wearing ALL blue) and even Josh has said that it is time to say good by to his baby fine hair. I am struggling with it.
I am not sure exactly why I am struggling with is so much. Maybe it is because I know that the second I cut it he won't look as much like a baby anymore (maybe that is why I am secretly okay that he doesn't walk yet.) For his own sake I am going to get up the strength to cut his hair...soon...

Palmer's Piano Recital

Josh and I finally got to see Palmer in a piano recital. When he had his Christmas recital, we had overbooked and were going to be in Phoenix AZ, for the weekend with Josh's company.
My sweet boy was so nervous! He did so well though. He sat up there so confident and did a great job on his song.
He played two songs for the recital. One was a duet with his teacher. I love to watch him play. He has a slight bob of his head for each beat. That is how he keeps the timing of the song.
He has the best school teacher! She came to his recital (and a soccer game, coming soon). She even brought him a present. He went back and sat with her after his song for the rest of the recital. I think every kid in her class thinks they are her favorite.
Palmer has the best piano teacher. He brought her some flowers to say thanks for a great year. I am so bummed we have to leave her behind when we move. She is a perfect teacher and Palmer works hard at home practicing so he can be ready for his lessons with her. I hope we can find one as good as her where we are going!
Palmer had lots of love and support at the recital. Both grandmas, his teacher and even the rock star Uncle Nathan (he is a total celebrity at our house).
We were so proud of our boy. He worked hard and it all payed off. I love to watch and listen to him play the piano.