May Little Things

Most of our May activities got their own blog post, but there were a few small things that I want to remember this month too.

Cory and Parker made a target so that Parker could practice shooting his BB gun.  Parker enjoyed it but not as much as trying to shoot the turtles in the pond behind our house!

May is Teacher Appreciation Month and Dairy Queen offered a free Blizzard to any teacher in town.  Lily and I enjoyed our treats one day while we were out running errands.

Eden lost her first top tooth!  The dentist had to pull her two bottom teeth so this was the first one she pulled on her own.  She worked very hard at getting that tooth out because she didn't want the dentist to have to pull it too!  I love her new toothless grin!

I can tell that we have been busier than usual because Lily has been falling asleep at random times and places.  Anytime it gets too quiet in the house/car, I can pretty much count on the fact that she has fallen asleep!

The eye clinic set up a booth at the annual Relay for Life so we went out and spent the evening supporting them.

Now that May is over, we are ready to enjoy our summer!  We have several fun things planned over the next few months that the kids are already looking forward to! 

Last Day of School

Today we finished up another great school year!  3rd grade and 1st grade are in the books!  It seems like the years fly by faster and faster the older they get. 

Eden has grown so much this year!  She had a great year with Mrs. Brightwell who was so loving and encouraging.

Parker loved Mrs. Click and learned so much in 3rd grade. I can't wait to see how he did on the STAAR test that he took a few weeks ago.   I know he killed it!

These two are excited about Lily starting kindergarten next year and I can't wait to have all three kids in the same school for two years!

We had our End of Year Awards program today and Parker received a trophy for winning the Math Bee earlier this year.

He was also recognized for being one of our school's Million Word Readers and received a Kindle Fire for reading over 1.5 million words this year!  We are so proud of his accomplishments in third grade!

We celebrated the beginning of summer with ice cream cones after baseball practice tonight.  I can't wait to sleep in and hang out with these kids over the next couple of months!

Eden's Journal Writing

Today Eden's teacher sent home several things they had worked on this year, including her writing journal.  It was fun to see Eden's writing improve over the year and read her thoughts on different topics.  These were two of my favorites that made me laugh out loud!

A girl after my own heart!

She probably has no idea how much this bugs me too!!

AR Reward Trips

Parker and Eden both met all of their AR goals this year and got to enjoy several AR reward trips over the past two weeks. 

Parker and the 3rd-5th graders who met their goals got to go to Flight Deck, an indoor trampoline park.  He spent his entire two hours in the dodgeball area and wouldn't even stop to eat his lunch!

Eden and the 1st-2nd graders who met their goals got to go to the movie theater to watch The Angry Birds Movie.  They also went to the park to eat lunch and play for the afternoon.

Parker and Eden both qualified for the Destination Unknown trip and enjoyed a trip to Hawaiian Falls.  Parker had to read 600,000 words and Eden had to read 100,000 words.  I was so proud of both of them for all of the reading they did this year!

End of Year Parties

Today Parker and Eden had their end of year parties.  In just a few short days, I will have a 4th grader, 2nd grader, and a kindergartner.  I don't know whether to cry because they are all growing up way too fast or be excited about having all three of them at Gerard with me for two years.

Parker's class had a cookies and milk party and Eden's class had an ice cream sundae party.  They were both fun and loud and chaotic and the kids had a great time with their classmates celebrating the end of school.

Parker's class played some Minute-to-Win-It games and Parker won 3 out of the 4 games.

He's had a great year with Mrs. Click and I hate to see our time with her come to an end! 

Lily was excited to join Parker at his party and even got to sample a few of the cookies with him!

Eden loved getting to create her own ice cream sundae, which included gummy bears and lots of whipped cream!

 

 

 We LOVE Mrs. Brightwell and Eden has loved being in her class!

Only four more days to go and then no more alarm clocks, homework, or packing lunches!  I don't know who's more excited- me or the kids!

Sunshine Preschool Graduation

Today Lily had her graduation at Sunshine Preschool.  She looked so beautiful and was so excited for us to see her in her program.   

 

Lily did a great job singing but she was not feeling the motions today!  She was obviously nervous (by the way she was playing with her dress) and refused to do any of the motions but I'm proud of her for participating in the songs despite her nerves.

 

 After their songs, they received their diplomas.

 

We are so proud of Lily and the wonderful student she's becoming.  She loves school and learning and socializing with her friends.  I know she is going to make a great kindergartner in just a few short months! 

Lily was excited that Aunt Emily was able to stop by for a few minutes and watch her program.

 

We are so thankful for grandparents who are always faithful to come and support the kids in all they do. 

 

We have been so blessed with two incredible teachers over the past six years.  Parker, Eden and Lily have made so many wonderful memories with Miss Tammy and Miss Amy and I would be lying if I said I didn't shed some tears when I said goodbye to them today.  We will miss Sunshine Preschool terribly and even though I know we have many fun times ahead in kindergarten, the memories from the past six years will always hold a special place in my heart.

 

Finally, Lily has made some of the sweetest friends in preschool. Several of them will be attending Gerard with her next year and she is really going to miss the few that are going to other schools.

 We will definitely have to plan some playdates this summer so we can stay in touch!

It was a bittersweet day for this emotional mom!  It seems like we were just bringing our last baby home from the hospital and now she's about to head to kindergarten.  It's true what they say about the days being long but the years being short.  I know I'm going to blink my eyes and she's going  to be graduating from high school.  Today is such a reminder to me that I need to cherish every minute with my kids because time truly does fly by! 

Way to go, Lily!  We are so proud of you and can't wait to see you shine next year!

Million Word Reader

For the second year in a row, Parker is a Million Word Reader!  He was recognized at the school board meeting tonight along with 29 other students from our school.  He read a total of 2,000,502 words over the course of the year.  We are so proud of his accomplishment and so thankful that he loves to read!

Parker and his friend Alexis