Last Day of School!

Wow...it doesn't seem possible that another school year has already come and gone.  The years are flying past and even thought I try to enjoy every season as much as possible, it still seems that they end all too quickly.  This has been a really wonderful year - both boys had excellent teachers that we will truly miss and lots of sweet little friends in their classes.  They've learned and grown so much!  One look at those legs and there is no doubt they've grown :)

 

For comparison, here is their first day of school picture.  

 

This sweet boy is going to be a third grader.  Third!!  He's reading well now, loves a good chapter book, and has all kinds of ideas in that head.  He'd love to be an inventor of something, he just hasn't figured out what yet.  I love his endless imagination.

This precious guy has learned a ton this year and is catching up to Ben's reading level very quickly.  He was crying yesterday and I thought he was upset that we were having spaghetti for dinner.  No, he was crying because he won't get to see his beloved teacher again, so he wrote her a note today to ask her on a frozen yogurt date this summer.  I love his huge heart.

The last bus ride to school...

I'm feeling sad today that the time has gone so quickly but I love our summers together.  Goodbye homework and hello pool time!  No more rushed mornings or packing lunches.  Lots of time for movies and museums and friends.  Welcome, summer!

Celebrations of Learning

Wow, the end of school is such a busy time to wrap up everything and look forward to new adventures next year.  At church, they're promoting the kids at the beginning of summer so Alex got his first grade Bible already!  He was very worried at first because he said, "I can't read it yet!" but I promised him the wonderful first grade teachers (and his parents, of course) would help.  Pastor Gregg handed out each Bible.

The most important book he'll ever read!

 

At school, each boy had a Celebration of Learning to look back over the year and see how far the kids have come.  In Ben's class, each child read a story he had written about what he wants to be when he grows up.  Ben's cracked me up - a zookeeper because "he loves animals and they love him, too".

The kids also had timelines showing what all they'd done so far in life, and we enjoyed a slide show starting from the first day of school and highlighting all the fun things they'd done.  I got teary just thinking of my baby going to third grade already!

 

 
 The next day, Alex had his celebration starting in the classroom.

 

Mrs. Wright presented each child and we loved hearing Alex's answers to her questions.

 
Then it was off to the madhouse in the gym to hear the kids sing several songs.  Twelve classes of kinder kids plus all their parents makes for a very full house!  But Alex still managed to spot us and wave several times.

A closer picture!  We were one of the last classes in there so it was standing room only along the sides.

They sang some great songs and we enjoyed every minute of the show.  It was a bit bittersweet because we're not only saying goodbye to second grade and kinder, we're saying goodbye to the school.  It's our last year there because we'll be moving to a new elementary opening in August right in our neighborhood.  We're all excited about it but sad to leave so many wonderful teachers and friends.

Wrapping Up Baseball

When baseball practice started back in February, I was pretty excited to begin a new season.  By mid-May, I was really anxious to wrap things up!  Alex's team played their last game on a Saturday and met at Sweet Things ice cream shop for the team party afterward.  My little Giant was very excited to get a trophy to hold his game ball.

He was also pretty excited about the big bag of candy he filled instead of a scoop of ice cream like all the other kids.  It didn't take long for him to get to the bottom.

After the trophies were handed out and mass quantities of sugar consumed, the kids (and older brothers) all ran around the patio and played one last time together.  It was a cute little team with lots of great boys this year, but Alex is really looking forward to playing with the bigger kids next season and actually keeping score!

 

Ben's team had to work their way through the end of season tournament.  They were seeded third and won their first game but lost their second in the double-elimination playoffs, so we were thinking it was almost over. But these boys fought their way back and won their next two games, putting them back in the semi-final game!  Unfortunately, they didn't quite pull that one off but it was a great way to end the season and the boys could all be proud of how well they played.  They ended up third out of ten teams.

Ben's team party was at Fuddrucker's and coach Dalton spoke about each boy as he came up to get a ball-holder for his game ball.  He was really proud of how hard Ben had worked and how much he had improved throughout the season.  Coach Chris (behind Ben) and coach Mike (to the left) made it a great season for the 7-year old Astros.

After some Astros cupcakes, we finally closed out another successful season of baseball!  So thankful these boys don't want to play in the summer league :)

Beautiful Pictures

When the Dulaneys were visiting last month, Scott brought his nice camera and got some gorgeous pictures of the kids.  While we were busy catching up, he was quietly capturing moments with the kids so these were a wonderful surprise.  Unfortunately, the vertical shots are all sideways (and backwards, if you look closely - Alex throws right handed and Ben bats left handed) but you can still enjoy them.

 

This series made me laugh until I cried!!  Alex could do this forever.  These are now framed and hanging in the boys' hallway...

My favorite baseball shots...

Thanks for a precious gift, Scott!

Celebrating Eight

It is so hard to believe, but our sweet Ben has already turned eight years old!  He started his big day with a few presents first thing.  The little office supply junkie was excited to get his own label maker, or "hand-held printer" if you ask him.

 

 Next, he was headlong into the big set of snap circuits (with a little help from Casey and Alex).

The boys rigged up their own creation with two fans!

The birthday boy got to share cookies with his class at school, then welcome Daddy home from his business trip and open a few more gifts.  The build-your-own robot kit was a big hit.

Ben got a ripstick and got some lessons on how to use it.  He said, "I never would have expected that."  I think that's his polite way of saying "that's not what I wanted" but he's already doing pretty well on it.

That evening, we took him to Smashburger at his request and went to what would be his final game with the Astros.  The boys lost in their semi-final game but took third place out of 10 teams, so the boys were proud of their season.

Because of baseball season and the unpredictable playoffs, the party had to wait until Saturday, but Ben got to spend time with all his grandparents before the party and open more gifts.  He and Grumpy dug right into the newest snap circuits add-ons and built their own FM radio.

Then we were off to Frozen Ropes, a baseball facility where Ben got his hitting lessons, for some dodgeball fun.  Ben and 21 of his friends got to throw balls at their parents and we got to throw balls back!  I wish I'd taken more pictures but it was too much fun playing and I didn't want to miss any of the action.

 

Then it was time for pizza and cake.

We kept up the baseball theme with his cake, too.

 Everyone sang happy birthday to our very happy 8-year old and he loved every minute of it!

Words cannot express how much we love this little guy or how thankful we are that God entrusted us with him.  Happy, happy birthday, Ben, and we hope 8 is a wonderful year for you!

School Fun

We've enjoyed some fun times at school recently.  First, Ben had his second grade Authorama event.  Each kid researched a children's author, decorated a posterboard of him/her, and then taught the parents about the author's life and works.  Ben chose Laura Ingalls Wilder and was very proud of his little lady.

 

The kids spread out around the conference room and the parents got to go from child to child and hear about each author.  It was a lot of fun!  Ben's class posed for a group photo.

The next day I got to enjoy the event I'd been anticipating for weeks - Kinder Mommy Makeover!  Alex was really excited as well and couldn't wait to show me the things he'd made.  First, I got my Mom poem:

Mom

beautiful, pretty

texting*, baking, cleaning,

Mom is pretty

Mom

(*I was a little worried that this was first, but I noticed that several other kids at his table had used it, too, so I'm not the only texting mom!  At least he noticed that I cook and clean, too...ha!)

Next, it was time to get my hair done.  Alex was so careful about combing it just so and kept asking if that's how I liked it.

I got a gorgeous manicure.  I wore it for almost 18 hours before I had to scrub it off let my nails breathe.

The (almost) finished product.  Alex had asked me to wear a pretty dress and bring my water bottle because he would even hold it for me when I needed a drink.

He decided I didn't look nice enough so he tried out a few more eyeshadow colors...on my cheeks....

I got some cookies and punch, a sweet song, lots of hugs and kisses, and another priceless creation from Alex.  It was such a fun afternoon with my sweetheart!

 The trait of the month was endurance and I had to laugh at Alex's response to why he shows endurance - because he plays lego star wars and the levels are hard but he wins.  This kid always cracks me up!

He's going to kill me for this picture one day, but I love this shot of Ben!  He was asking about the hair clips that came home from mommy makeover and I showed them how they're used. 

Baseball Season

We have been regulars at the little league fields again this year...seems like we spend most of our free time there!  It's a fun family outing (3-4 times a week!) and even Casey loves joining in the action when we bring her along.  Except for all the attention and petting.  That she could live without.

 

Alex has done really well on his 4-5 year old t-ball team this year.  He's caught a ball at first base (a big feat at this age because it also means another 5-year old made a good throw!) and made several outs.

His throwing has gotten much stronger as well.  Love the windup and the "point, step, throw", although he doesn't say it quite as much these days.

This boy earned his game ball by making three outs against the other team and he was EXCITED!!  We were so proud of his hard work.

 

Ben has been working hard as well in his coach pitch league.  He had several batting lessons at a local baseball center and it's given him the skills and confidence to go out and hit the ball.  It's hard to watch your kid struggle at something but so sweet to see him succeed!

The boys were blessed with a huge cheering section one week when Mr. Scott and Miss Lou Anne were in town.  The kids played overlapping games on adjacent fields so we sat in the middle and cheered for everyone.

Just a week later, Ben scored his first points for the Astros team and started a late-game rally.  The team didn't come back to win, but Ben earned his game ball and he was a winner that night.  We couldn't have been happier for him!

All these trips to the fields and practices do take their toll on little boys that need to get to bed earlier, but Alex catches up on his sleep wherever he can.  Some days he falls asleep on the bus coming home, too!

 

We took the kids to the real Astros game one weekend so they could see how the big boys play and they loved the whole experience.

A little cotton candy makes everything more fun, too!

While Alex and I were in the bathroom washing all that cotton candy off, Matt and Ben got a foul ball!  It had bounced under a chair nearby and Matt grabbed it.  By the time Alex and I got back just a few minutes later, all was calm again so I had trouble believing they really got it.  What a great experience.

It was a fun game and stayed tied up going into the 9th inning.

We moved down for better seats only to watch the Astros implode in the last inning and lose by 7 runs, but it was a fun night out.

Not baseball related, but I had to share the best note ever.  Alex came up with this at Sunday school!  Melt my heart...