School's Out For Summer

The school year is over. Yea!! Here are some pictures from the closing events.

1st Grade Performance:

The picture is blurry but Anna is bottom Right, L right behind her, Zach right next to L and B 2nd row all the way on the Left)
In the classroom after. It was my little sister's last day of HS, so she decided to leave with a bang. She really wanted to be remembered apparently. This was a costume that Jill had when she was 12 for a dance festival, then revised at 16 for a play. Katy told me she couldn't believe that she had never thought to wear it before. Jill and I were both a little mortified and I told her that she shouldn't be ashamed of the fact that the though had occurred to her to wear it. She should be more shocked that it came TOO wear it. Nonetheless...we still love her and the kids were thrilled that she was there.

Katy
Jill, L, Anna, Zach, B, Me

Grammy also got to come. B was really hoping she would and asked me if she was going to be able to, but he has reached a "cool" phase, so he couldn't act like he cared whether or not she was there.

Grammy, Katy
Zach, L, KL, B

Straight from there, we headed over to CK's preschool. Here she is with what was left of her class. There were more at different times of the year, but this was the crew that made it to the end.

CK, Emma, Lacey, Sammy, Ms. Kimberly
Sam (aka Superman!)

This is their "Welcome Song." She was so excited to sing it. She told me about it all week long.

I also had 2 sisters graduate from High School. Here are me, Mary and Julia as we were waiting through the ceremony. It won't be remembered for being short. They had 5 student speakers, a school board member, plus a guest speaker all before announcing the graduates. It started to rain as soon as they started reading names. Lots of people left, but we stuck it out. It was actually a gorgeous night and I'll take the rain over the heat!

All of us who made it.
Mom, Roman, Scottie, Katy, Mary, Julia, Me, Dad
Vasa, Mariana, D, Josh
Mariana
Katy
(she isn't just pulling a funny face to be funny... she had some oral surgery 2 days before and she was still really sore and couldn't move that side of her mouth!)

Happy Birthday to My Honey!

I didn't get this post up last week, not because it isn't significant, but just because I didn't. Sorry, honey!

(a couple of years ago in Hawaii)

Anyway, last Thursday was his birthday. I'm so grateful for him. He is a great dad who loves me and his kids and we love him back. He is a hard worker who never gives up and I'm so thankful for his work ethic.

Here he is sharing his special treats with his girls. They love cuddling up with him as he shares his gummy bears with them. (B knows how much he loves gummy bears so he got his money and went and bought him a bag for his birthday.)

Our party was a simple one which is just wanted he wanted, though the kids just couldn't fathom why we weren't having everyone over. I had to keep reminding them it was about what Dad wanted not them. Some of them also couldn't figure out why he spent the whole day at work. At about lunch one of the twins just exasperated and just asked, "when is dad finally going to get home?!?!?)

With the kids who love him the most!

Hope you had a great day, Dave! We love you!

Water Day '09

Every year at the end of the year, the kids get to have a water day. Lucky. When I was little it was "track and field day". You may wonder why I sound bitter about this. After all, being out of the classroom all day long doing outdoor relays sounds fun, right? Well, please keep in mind where I grew up. It was ALWAYS over 100 and we were required to stay outside all day long sweating our guts out. Needless to say, although it was always billed as a fun end of school year activity, I would always dread it. Anyway, apparently, the powers that be realized that forcing young kids outside all day long in the sweltering heat isn't the best thing for them and have replaced "track and field day" with "water day". They get lots of big inflatable water slides and let the kids play. They don't get to do it for the whole day, in fact, they only get 30 min per grade, but I still would have gladly taken that any day over "track and field day."

I went to help out with the kids. It was fun to see them having so much fun, but unfortunately, they don't let the parents go down the slides, so despite it being water day, I stayed nice and dry... and HOT!!!

Naturally, the 1st graders went first. Here are B and Z playing in the "water tag" area. It was a little maze and they were all given water guns to shoot each other. I think those boys would have stayed in there all day, but I told them it was time to get out. The reluctantly obeyed.

Anna going down a slide.

L going down a slide.

Their awesome teacher agreed to go in the dunk take. Here are the girls as they watched her get dunked over and over again. They thought was hilarious!

(L 2nd from the left; Anna 4th from the right)

Here are my little 1st graders with their most amazing of teachers. We loved Mrs. McRobbie and will really miss her next year!

Anna, B, Zach, Mrs. MacRobbie, L

D with his friend Kade.

That is the only picture I got of David because I was helping with the dunk tank during his time. I was trying to get a picture of him with his teacher (who we also loved. thanks Ms. Selvaggi!), but my battery was dying on me and by the time I finally got him there, it was too late. Oh well!

My Baby? 2!?!?!

Could it really be? My baby is 2!?!? It has gone by so fast, but it has been so fun. She is such a fun, sweet little baby who is everyone's little sweetheart. Here are just some pictures of her, in no particular order...

This one was take last week at Dave's cousin Andria's birthday party. She just loves this little high chair. She will constantly drag it out of her closet and try and sit it.

This was from April in her Easter Dress.

November '08: This is the kilt my mom made for one of the twins for my brother's wedding after we went to Scotland.

She is 5 mo. old here and this will always be a favorite picture of mine. It had been a really busy day and I hadn't had much time for her, but she never complained. We had someone cleaning our carpets and our couches and so all the furniture was moved all around the kitchen making it so we couldn't eat at the table so I had set up a blanket on the floor in the kitchen and we ate picnic style. It was probably around 7 by this point and like I said, I had been pretty busy. I finally looked over at her and she had fallen asleep like this. No complaints... just couldn't stay awake any longer. Sweet little baby!

1 week old

3 mo. old in her blessing dress

With her daddy at the cabin... she is about 11 mo old here. She is such a daddy's girl. She will follow him around when ever he is home and when she wakes up, she always calls for her "doddy" first. He loves every minute of it too. But of course, who wouldn't?

13 mo.

About 9 hours old. The first time her big sister got to hold her.

We are all so thankful for the blessing that she is in our lives. It is hard to imagine a world where she isn't part of it. She really brightens all of our days, every single day!

Just a fun little video of her showing off some of her cuteness:

Go Broncos! Go Cardinals!

Last weekend we finished up the boys flag football season. Not a minute too soon too! While most of the season, it was really nice outside, the last 2 weekend were so hot. Those were the playoff days. It was a double elimination tournament and both boys made it to the 2nd day. B ended up losing in the semi-finals...taking 3rd place over all. His team really showed some improvement. The lost every game for over the 1st half of the season, but really started to get better as a team. D's team was really good this season. It was a fun change for him. In the previous seasons, they really struggled to get a win. This year, there was only one team that beat them (once during the season and 2ce in the playoffs). This team was really good and recruits other players. In fact, after we lost to them the first time in the tournament, the coach approached our best player and asked him to come join their team. Anyway, D's team took 2nd place overall. We are proud of both boys; they played well, but more importantly, they had a really great time.

D (on the right)

D's team

(he is 3rd from the right when you count my cute little nephew Sam who insisted on being in the picture. My brother in law was their coach.)

B (on the right)

B (on the left, with coach Jay behind him)

Just a little side note about B's last game. They were down by 9 points when they started the last play. One of the smaller boys on the team had the ball and ran with all his heart straight into the endzone. I realized while his little legs were just going as fast as they could, the other team's players could have easily taken him. They were bigger and faster, but the other coach had told his players to let him score. When B's team went for the extra point, he did the same thing. It was so cute to see another little tiny guy weaving in and around trying to get to the endzone while the other team was trying their best to NOT pull his flag, while still acting they were. In the end, B's team only lost by 2 points. I still can't help but be grateful to that other coach. What a thing to teach you players! I loved it and I certainly hope my kids can appreciate how much more important sportsmanship is than winning.

One last picture... The games started Sat morning at 8 am and we didn't finish until 2 pm. The kids were really good through it all, but by the end KL was just so worn out. I looked over at her when we were on our last 15 minutes and this is what I saw.

Cute Girls

Here are just a couple pictures of the 2 cute girls I get to spend my days with!

A little while ago, my neighbor came over to regulate my piano. The girls were so fascinated seeing the piano taken apart and him working in it so they wanted to watch. I said they could as long as they just sat still on the couch. I was really impressed with how well they did and as long as they lasted!

Here they are just sitting and watching.

Loving each other!

I just love her in a bathing suit even if she isn't happy with me for pulling out the camera.

The girls started dancing together one day and it was so cute. It took a couple of takes to get them both doing it together, but it was fun watching them anyway!

Simple Pleasures of a 4 Year Old

Before Dave and I went to DC, I had told the kids that if they were very good while we were gone, we would bring them back a present. CK got very excited and very specifically requested that I bring her make-up. I told her we would see. Apparently, while I was gone, she told my sister over and over that she would be getting her own make-up. She was quite excited. Thankfully, I didn't disappoint. Dave had his reservations about getting it, but I couldn't resist. The next day, we were at my parents for Sunday dinner and she very graciously offered to beautify everyone.

Here she is making over my little sister, Katy.

The final product... it is hard to see because I made a point of buying very light colors, but still... you can make out the mustache on Katy's cheek.Here is KL kicking back after she had been made over.

And now it was CK's turn! This is my neice Anna putting make up on her.

Backyard Campout

Last weekend was the annual Father's and Son's campout. Unfortunately, the it was also the start of the boy's football tournament and the games started Saturday morning at 8, so going up to the mountains was not really a viable option! So, Dave came up with an alternative for the kids. He set up a tent for the kids in the backyard and bbq-ed hot dogs. The kids loved it! We let them watch a movie on the laptop. As soon as the movie was over and I said lights out, B came in the house and said he wanted to sleep in his bed. I was ok with that. I was doing the same (in case you think that was very irresponsible parenting of me to let my kids sleep out in the backyard with out me, I'll just say that they slept right outside my bedroom window so I could hear everything, including everytime they unzipped the tent or shifted in their sleeping bags). The next day, D said that the reason had wanted to come is was because he was afraid the bad guys would get him. :)

I really think these 2 enjoyed the tent the most!
KL and CK

CK

(by the way, we went swimming first, so that's why CK is still sporting her swim suit)

The next morning, we took KL out to wake up the kids. She was so excited to be out in the tent again! L had already woken up at this point so it was just D and CK left out there.

KL thought it was so fun seeing Dave on the outside. She loved grabbing his hand.

Celebration of Learning

Last week was Celebration of Learning. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the kids in their classrooms with their teachers (who were all fabulous and I am so grateful for), but I did manage to get the camera out when we went to the cafeteria where each kid in school had a piece of artwork on display.

D

B

(His is on the bottom and you can't really see it so good here, but you can see it better in the next picture of L's... her's is on top of his.)

L
(with B's picture below her's)

Dance Recital Spring '09

CK and L have been taking dance from a friend of mine for a couple of years now. She is great and the girls love it. This semester, her sister in law helped quite a bit. I really feel like the girls have learned so much and are both really improving. Unfortunately, my friend is 8 months pregnant and so she doesn't think she will be doing it again next semester. I really can't blame her, but I'm sad. It has been so nice to have such a fun place for the girls to do dance. Here are some pictures from their recital last week.

Here are some pictures from L's dances. This one was from her tap dance.

She loved this costume the best. I have to agree that it certainly passed the spin test... just look at how wonderfully it spreads out!

During the ballet dance

Just showing off her beautiful dress!

With the whole class and Ms. Ashley:

(Don't you love how L has taken center stage?)

(FYI: she got to be in this class with 2 of her cousins... Kaileigha is right behind her on the right and Anna behind that on the right)

Here are some from CK's beautiful exhibition. This is her with her whole class lined up for their big dance number.

On the bar

Leaping across the room.

With the whole class and Ms. Crystal and Ms. Ashley

(My other niece Kaligh was in the class too. She is the 2nd from the left...bf was also in the class 4th from the left. CK is 3rd from the right)