Alex's Birthday Bash

Since Alex's birthday always falls on a holiday weekend, we let him have his party early this year.  More than anything, he wanted a big water slide in the backyard.  So we got a BIG water slide!  When the guy came to set it up I got a little nervous that maybe it was too big!  It was 20 feet tall and pretty tough to climb.

 

No problem for these kids!  Ben started sliding around 2pm, kept right on sliding when the kids starting coming around 4pm, was forced to pause for pizza and cake, and finally got off when it was completely dark outside and we made him go to bed.

Alex preferred to mingle and enjoy all of the other activities like water balloons, the slip and slide, and the wet trampoline.

This guy was so happy!  He even loved his hideous zombie birthday cake, but hey, when a kid wants a zombie cake, the cookie company makes it.

 

 It was a great group of 18 kids - neighbors, school friends, and baseball friends.

We wrapped things up with a pinata out front and Alex made sure the kids knew what to do.

Time for candy!

Everyone got a turn and then the mad scramble started.  I was so, so thankful that the weather was great and it started raining just a few minutes after we finished with the pinata.  It had been a stormy week and I was so nervous about lightning ruining the party.  A little rain was no problem at all!

Alex was so excited his friend Gillean was able to come :)

While a lot of the kids (and parents, too!) got back on the slide, Alex opened his gifts and read his new Angry Birds comic book cover to cover.  Never know what this one's gonna do!

We enjoyed the slide for a couple more hours with some of the neighbors.  The kids could climb halfway up but it was impossible for the grownups.

 Alex caught some air on the way down.

 His hands were hurting from the handles to climb up, so he was happy to use mittens!

Ben and Ryan enjoying a slide together...

Just a few days later, Alex got a makeover with a summer haircut and a missing tooth.  I'm beginning to believe he's really about to turn 7!

Hanging with Reid

Aunt Stacey and Uncle Jason got to enjoy their anniversary trip to Hawaii so Reid and Carter were spending some time with Grammy and Grumpy.  We went over to visit, play, and steal Reid away for a few days.  We would have loved some more time with Carter but I don't know that I could have handled four boys by myself!

It is impossible to get a decent picture with four boys.  Here is a small sample of the challenge...

 

 

All right, fine...we got one with (most of) everyone's face.  Let's call it a day!

Back at our place, we passed the time while Ben was tutoring with a trip to the carousel.  These two had so much fun I'm pretty sure everyone in the food court heard the laughter.

 

 

I found some very cute creatures at Rainforest Cafe!

Tropical Storm Bill cancelled most of our outdoor plans, but we did get a few sunny hours to swim in our neighbor's pool.  These boys loved it and spent the entire time jumping in over and over.

Ben looking fierce! (but we all know he's a sweety...shh..don't tell him I said that)

 
I love boys!  An extra boy in the house meant one more guy to hang out in his undies and play video games.

We had so much fun together but eventually we had to share him with his grandparents, too.  Alex was in tears when Reid left but thankfully summer is full of cousin visits!

Another Year is Done!

Is it possible that another school year has come and gone?  I got my picture by the front door and I realized the boys almost cover it up now.  Time is going too fast and they're growing far too quickly!

 

Think someone was a little excited about the last day?

 

These were the sad faces heading into school back in August....

...and these were the happy faces going in one last time for the year!

Earlier in the week, I got to go into each of the kids' classes to celebrate all they'd learned over the year.  First grade had a reading restaurant and Alex was so proud to read books and some of his own writing to me.

Several stories had to do with blankies or minecraft...no surprises there!

My sweet boy in his last days as a first grader!

The entire class had a sweet presentation for the parents that they had rehearsed for weeks.

Alex was really sad to say goodbye to his sweet girlfriend but she put her phone number in his yearbook so we should see more of her :)

Thanks for a great year, Ms. Wilson!

Alex also wanted a picture with Ms. Cook, the principal's admin and probably his favorite person in the entire school.  He talks to her every single morning.

Next up was Ben's celebration, which was entirely different.  I was really blown away by all the technology that was integrated into the third grade presentations.  Parents played "Are you smarter than a 3rd grader?" by linking our phones to a multiple choice game created by the teachers.

The kids in the class made multimedia presentations counting down their favorite parts of 3rd grade.  Ben and Venus were assigned to present rotations.

 We loved Ms. Butler and were excited to be a part of her very first class.

 

Ben's math and science teacher, Mrs. Barnes, was incredible!  Fingers crossed Alex gets these teachers when he gets to 3rd.

We celebrated the completion of a wonderful year with our sweet neighbors at TCBY.  Now bring on summer!!