Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. We drove up to Louisville to celebrate with the Hancocks. They have a pool at their new house, so we had to help them swim in it!

We had a great time relaxing, swimming, eating and hanging out. It was a perfect day hang out by the pool. The water was nice and refreshing. It felt good to jump in and play around with the kids.

When the boys got tired of playing in the pool, the water slide was brought out. The backyard has a perfect slope for sliding. After a few of the boys went down, however, it was determined that they weren't able to slide far enough. The solution was, of course, a tarp! The tarp was placed at the end of the slide to achieve maximum velocity. It worked like a charm, the boys loved it!

Tahoe was also a big fan of the water slide. He sat down at the bottom and licked up the run-off. He was soaking wet for most of the day. He kept trying to get into the pool. He would put his paws up on the side of the pool and try to figure out a way inside.

In the heat of the afternoon we paused to have popsicles. It is, of course, a summertime staple. It was a welcomed "cool" treat. The downside was the melting factor. Austin just couldn't keep up, but do you think he minded? No way, he probably didn't even notice the popsicle dripping down his tummy!

After the boys were done swimming and sliding we barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs. We also enjoyed barbecue pineapple (one of my new favorites!), barbecued corn and German Potato Salad. It was a mouthwatering feast!

Before we returned home I checked out some cool headbands my friend is selling. They are really cute. She adds a cute rose for little girls. We had to do a little modeling!

I am thankful that we have been blessed to live in such a wonderful free country. I am also thankful that we have been blessed with so many wonderful friends. They are just like family to us!

Fun Last Day

All of the boys did an excellent job this year in school. At the elementary school they give academic awards to third , fourth and fifth graders. The assembly is held on the last day of school. This year Kaden got an academic award. Kaden was the only student in his class to make straight A's for the entire school year. In fact, he was the only student out of the entire third grade to make straight A's.

Kaden was awarded the Principal's Award! Kaden was very excited and proud of his accomplishment. We are also very proud of Kaden. He did a great job!

Trevor did a really great job this year as well. One of the areas Trevor excels is reading. The school uses the AR Reading program that has each student read a book and then take a computer test over the book. Trevor has led the class in number of tests taken and in high scores. Before the last day of school Trevor's teacher announced that she would give a gift card to the student who had taken the most tests. Trevor was very excited, he knew he had a good chance of getting the gift card. On the last day of school Trevor found out he had tied with two other students! He received a $10 gift card to Walmart. Trevor was soooo excited! Great job Trevor!

After the students had lunch the fun began . . . field day! All of the kids were very anxious to get outside. Trevor asked me if I was going to come help with field day. I could tell he really wanted me to be there, so how could I say no? When I arrived at the school it was raining - not good for outdoor activities. Luckily, the rain subsided and the kids were able to go outside. The first activity was one of the most anticipated activities of the entire field day. The local fire department brought their engines and they sprayed the kids. It was quite the site to behold!

Trevor and Kaden had a ball! It took me quite a while to find the boys in the huge group of kids. When I finally spotted them their smiles were about ready to burst off their faces! They were having so much fun and they were soaked from head to toe!

After the fire trucks ran out of water the kids were separated into grade levels to begin the field day games. Right at the same moment the rain returned. The only problem was that the rain lowered the temperature outside and many of the kids started getting cold. The kids in my group looked pretty miserable and they couldn't stop shivering.

The principal made the decision to move field day inside for the rest of the afternoon. Most of the kids brought a change of clothes, so once everyone had changed the games resumed. I helped with the team building game. I'm not sure what the name of the game is, but I will call it human pretzel. You start with a group of 6-8 kids. First, the kids form a circle and put their right hand in. Each child grabs a hand. Next, they put their left hand in and grab a different child's hand. Last, the group has to get unstuck, without dropping hands, to form a circle again. It was fun to watch. Some groups did really well, while others struggled. Trevor's group did really well. They were able to do the human puzzle several times.

Kaden's group, on the other hand, could barely stay upright.

Everyone had a lot of fun! It was a fun last day of school!

Pops Concert

Tanner has enjoyed participating in band this year. He has done really well. I am amazed how quickly he picked up the Baritone and was able to read music. He never asked for any help, what they taught at school was enough. Tanner has a great musical talent, both vocal and instrumental.

The end of the year band concert was a lot of fun. Both bands, the 6th grade band and the 7th-8th grade band did a great job. Unfortunately, on the night of the concert we also had three baseball games. Chad and I both wanted to be at both places, but it wasn't humanly possible. Chad went to the baseball games and Austin and I went to Tanner's concert.

Tanner was excited for the concert. You could see that all of the other kids were as well. They played a lot of fun familiar music. Tanner's band began with the theme song for the George Lopez show.

At the end of the concert both bands combined to play "America the Beautiful." It was impressive, especially since they had only practiced the song twice together before performing it at the concert. (Sorry about the shaky video - Austin kept trying to grab my phone)

Congratulations Tanner, you and your band did a great job! We look forward to more wonderful concerts next year!

Preschool Graduation

Devon loved going to preschool this year! The first day of school he was hesitant, but ever since then he has never looked back. In fact every morning I drop him off he jumps out of the car and heads for his class. He never looks back!

Devon had a great teacher. She was patient and loving with Devon. She made learning fun. Devon learned a lot this year with her help.

For preschool graduation all the kids at the preschool put on a little program. We were told to be at the school half an hour early. It started around dinner, so I quickly fed the kids and we got there just in time. Well, at least that is what I thought. I sent Tanner in with Devon while I parked the car and when I got into the preschool the program was already running. I had put the wrong time on my calendar. Devon was embarrassed and didn't want to go up in front with all the other preschoolers. I went over to Devon and apologized for bringing him late. I was able to talk him into going up with his classmates for the last part of the program. He was a little shy at first, but then he relaxed and sang the songs with his class. He did a great job.

As we were coming in the principal was asking the preschoolers what they wanted to be when they grew up. She had already asked Devon's class, but she noticed that he joined his class after she had finished interviewing the other classes. She came over and asked Devon what he wanted to be. Guess what he said . . . a Power Ranger. What? Devon doesn't even watch that show, but he had been playing Power Rangers with a friend recently. It's good that he wants to be a hero, I was just a little surprised by his answer!

Devon is a great kid! He did a great job in preschool this year and he is very excited to start Kindergarten in the fall.

Saturday Morning Rides

I have always loved to go mountain biking. That can be a problem when you live in Indiana. There are actually a few decent trails to ride within an hour or so of where we live; however, it's tough to beat the regional park trails that were literally in my backyard growing up or the trails in the Wasatch mountains. Last December, the city of Newburgh completed the first section of a trail system that runs along the Ohio River. The trail is paved, so it isn't perfect for mountain biking, but we enjoy it nonetheless.

On Saturday mornings, the boys (at least the older ones) love to come with me. The pace is a little slower, but the company is worth it. We typically wake up pretty early so we can get out on the trail before it gets too hot. Regardless of how early we set out, the boys are always excited. They set their alarm clocks and come right downstairs to wake me up. We ride for an hour to an hour and a half and always have a great time. I can remember spending hours riding my bike when I was their age. I'm glad that the boys are excited to ride with me.

A few weeks ago, we were about 20 minutes into our ride when the sky began to turn dark. We ducked into a nearby gazebo to wait out the impending storm. The boys all enjoyed running out into the rain while we waited the storm out. By the end of our wait, the boys were so wet that I'm not sure they would have been any more wet if we had just continued the ride. I had fun watching the boys' excitement as we waited for the storm to pass. Of course, we got fairly wet on the ride home since there seems to be some sort of magnetic attraction between our bikes and puddles. We had a great time!

Trevor's Theatrical Debut

Just before the end of the school year Trevor came home to tell me he was in a play at school. He was very excited and he wanted me to attend the performance. I asked Trevor when he would be performing. He didn't know, but said he would find out.

Trevor practiced very hard for several days to perfect his character. Kaden and I helped Trevor practice the play. I played one part and Kaden played the rest!

One morning, after I got home from the store, I saw a message on my phone. It was Trevor's teacher. She apologized for the late notice, but informed me Trevor's performance would be that afternoon. She said Trevor was pretty worried that I wouldn't find out in time to come watch. I'm glad I got home in time to get the message - I didn't want to miss the play.

It just happened that Chad was coming home for lunch at the same time as Trevor's play, so Chad, Devon, Austin and I ran over to the school to see the performance. Trevor did a great job! He remembered all of his lines and didn't seem embarrassed at all. I was really glad we were able to see him perform. Great job Trevor!

At the end of the play the class got together for a class photo. This is Mrs. Stuart's last year of teaching. I am glad Trevor was able to have her as a teacher. She was wonderful!

Kindergarten Here We Come

As I mentioned, Devon is very excited to start Kindergarten. He will get to go to all day Kindergarten. That means he will get to eat his lunch at school and see his brothers periodically. Well, this morning Devon went to the school for his Kindergarten Lollipop Test. The test goes over the basics - shapes, numbers, letters, colors, etc. Devon did a great job! At the end of the test each student gets a . . . you guessed it, a lollipop! Devon was pretty excited about the lollipop, in fact he had been looking forward to it! Austin and Devon's friend also got a lollipop from the Kindergarten teacher. There were smiles all around.

After the test we decided to head to the park. It is the perfect place to eat a lollipop and burn off some energy! The boys loved it!

Mother's Day

My boys treated me well this again this year! They made me a nice breakfast and lunch and they gave me some sweet treats. Chad took the boys to the grocery store the night before Mother's Day and the boys each bought me a treat with their own money. It was really sweet. They even splurged and super-sized my treats!

This Mother's Day we tried something new. Our friends, the Sims, invited us over for a BBQ. At first I wasn't sure, I didn't know if Chad and the boys had anything planned. I ran the idea by Chad and he left it up to me to decide. I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did, it was a lot of fun!

The guys barbecued and Tanner and our friend's oldest daughter made cookies for dessert. It was a great night! We had a lot of fun eating, socializing and playing games.

The kids had a great time playing around. The Sims are great friends and we are glad they had us over for such a fun night!