A little of this and a little of that...

So the last month has been a busy one for us! It's included Mother's and Father's days, Jack's birthday, a school Variety Show, last days of school, a death, and the real important stuff like a new season of Bachelorette...

Here's the rundown:

Love, love, love the Mother's Day gifts the kids made at school for me this year! They actually got to weave their own baskets. Connor said he specifically wanted something I'd use out on the counter and so he selected a color that would match everything. Ty loves to be creative and his showed just that and Sage made this cute imprint of her hand. I am very blessed...



Jack's birthday! No comments on the cake please. This year he chose to have Hello Dolly bars as his birthday dessert. Needless to say we don't even try to fit on all of his candles...



So about a month ago Connor came home from school and announced he was going to try out for the school Variety Show. (Note: The key word here is "variety"...not to be confused with "talent".) My first response was, "Great, what are you going to do?" Of course there was a long pause and then he responded something like "I don't know but we can figure out something!" Now I had remembered last year Connor mentioning how someone in his class didn't get selected and was crying at their desk after they received the news. At the time I thought how thankful I was that the boys hadn't even attempted to try out and also how sad it was that all the kids that wanted to perform couldn't. So after a few blank stares, I suggested that since he loves magic and we have a few magic tricks laying around, why not perform a small magic act! He loved the idea. Once Ty realized Connor was going to do it, he asked what he could do. I made the suggestion he could be Connor's assistant which initially he seemed excited about. Then we learned that each act could be no longer than 3 minutes which meant there would only be time for one trick. This meant that Ty's responsibility would include holding a bag upside down to show the audience it was empty. This amount of participation didn't blow Ty away so needless to say, he decided he needed to come up with his own performance. I knew that since we are short in the talent category in our family, he'd need to think up something unique that would add "variety" to the show. Ty came up with the brilliant idea of writing a piece of poetry to read aloud. I thought it was a great idea since I doubted too many kids would show up with a piece of poetry to share and Ty is an amazing writer. During their preparations I kept reminding them of the likely possibility that their acts may not be selected but that it was no reflection of their ability to do great magic tricks or write amazing poetry. They assured me they'd be good sports no matter what! My main worry was one getting selected and the other not. There were three days of try outs after school to accommodate all the kids that wanted to perform. Acts ranged from singing and dancing to TaeKwon-Do and acting! And then the news arrived and both boys had been selected. Next was a few rehearsals and then the big day where they'd perform in front of the whole school! Both kids did fantastic. It was so cute to see so many kids approaching Connor complimenting him on what an awesome job he did and asking him if he could teach them the "amazing bag" trick. Ty quickly grabbed the hearts of all the parents and teachers after writing a sweet poem about his bus driver Penny. I'm just thankful their first experience trying out for something was a success.



Speaking of Ty and his creative writing, I was sorting through his end of year stuff and came across one of his comics he had written. The funny thing was I also found a sign up sheet that included all the names of the kids in his class that wanted a copy of it...



Sage finished up her first year of preschool. It was more like a weekly glorified play date with some of the cutest girls we know! There were four of us that would rotate teaching each week. It was low key but fulfilled it's purpose. Next year it's on to a real PreK program!!! Here are a couple highlights of the year:




Here's Ty with his favorite teacher Mrs. Carter and his one and only most favorite bus driver, Ms. Penny! She's been driving the kids to school since kindergarten! (You'll also notice he's wearing a coat in his picture with Ms. Penny and yes, it was taken the last day of school, June 15, 2010!) I also included a photo that Ty requested I take of him with his cool mask and self portrait from the beginning of the year!)



Of course we couldn't end this rainy, cold school year without a trip to the ice cream shop! Here are a few shots from the last day of school and the week leading up to it! I am so very proud of the boys for all their hard work. Tyler's teacher noted his writing is above grade level and that he does an amazing job expressing himself on paper. We are very proud of Connor and his amazing reading ability. His teacher noted that he is reading way above his grade level and exceeds expectations with listening and obeying. As their reward for the year Connor will be doing TaeKwon-Do for the summer and Tyler chose a Lego set that he has wanted. Good job boys and hello 3rd grade!!!




This past weekend was a devastating one for Sage. On Saturday morning we were awoken by three kids screaming that Sage's fish had vanished. I rushed downstairs assuming it must have jumped out of the vase by accident and was somewhere on the counter or floor. Jack took a closer look and could see a tiny tip of it's tail in the small conch shell that was inside her bowl. Sadly poor London must have gone into the shell (something we had never seen her attempt before) and gotten stuck. Perhaps the shock of being stuck was too much. I have to say I even shed tears over it. Sage's fish had so much more personality than the boys. She would greet me every morning with a fast back and forth swim as I entered the kitchen. Sage had picked her out and the requirements were that it must be a "girl" and "pink". London fit the bill. Unfortunately she is now in fish heaven and has been replaced with London the 2nd. Here was the obituary Connor wrote that was supposed to be buried with London. Unfortunately, poor London accidentally got thrown out in the trash with all the dinner trash...



Father's Day! While on our Disney cruise this year we rented some bikes to ride around Castaway Cay on. The first remark Ty said to me after we got on them was "mom, I didn't know you knew how to ride a bike!" I thought that Father's Day would be a great opportunity to surprise Jack with a new bike being that they hadn't seen him ride a bike up until that point either...



It's always fun to see what gifts the kids make at school for Father's Day: What more can you expect from living in Coffee Country...kid made coffee mugs!!!