Zoo Day

First day of summer for these preschool graduates. Since big kids are still in school, we decided to take Cole and Toby to the zoo. Big thanks to Michalle for letting us sneak in on her pass, and spending the morning with us. Love these two little buddies, and glad they still have church together now that preschool is done.

Little boys always love the map:

Petting zoo:

Such a nice day to be there - lovely weather, and not too crowded. Always good to hit the zoo before it gets way too hot.

Fun and relaxing morning spent with these friends. Got me excited for some good summer outings.

The Long Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend kicked off with Adam working super late, so we had Menchies for dinner. No complaints here.

Our first Saturday without a baseball game since February! We slept in, then off to Cole's T-Ball party. Barbecue and swimming at the nicest house with a huge, beautiful yard. So relaxing. Cole's team was full of really wonderful families - it was nice to get to know them better, and hopefully we'll play with them again.

Congratulations to our #11! Coach Mike was awesome and we will request to be on his team next season. Cole said, "It's my very first trophy!!!"

The T-Ball Dodgers:

Sunday we went to church, and had our own bbq in the backyard. Adam worked from home quite a bit, prepping for an upcoming workshop. The kids played (and fought) and played. Oh man, summer is coming and while I'm ready, I'm hoping to not just play referee. I love it when they finally get into a game or something that keeps them playing happily together. They worked on this comic book quite a bit Sunday afternoon. I hope they do things like this in the summer:

This morning I worked, and Adam and the kids hung out and ran errands - then we all ended the day together with The Angry Birds Movie and pizza.

Good weekend all around with this little family. Gave us a taste of summer. Two more weeks of school and we'll be there!

Preschool Graduate!

Cole's last day of school - our very last preschooler!

 Cole's class - what an awesome bunch of kids:

The kids sang songs for us, then Grandma K announced each of their names and they stepped forward. Followed by lots of goodies, picnicking, and park playing.

Two of the best teachers around, Grandma K and Grandma B. Cole really loves them.

I actually don't feel very sad about Cole moving on to full-day school. Maybe because it's TK (not quite Kindergarten yet?) Maybe because he seems really ready? I feel like I've enjoyed my mornings with him, and really he was home with me until he was almost 4. There are days I want to freeze time, but mostly I feel like we are exactly where we're supposed to be, and it's neat to see the kids grow and watch my family move to this phase of life. Can't wait to see what the next year bring for Cole. Here he comes, TK!

Finals, and Pancakes

Last little league game and we lost. Tyler pitched a great first inning and his team had an absolutely awesome first inning at bat (Tyler finally got the double he wanted all season!) After a few innings we just couldn't hold the Indians. It was a good game with a good group of boys. Celebrated at Toppers afterward with friends, where we hilariously saw a Backstreet Boy and his family. My friend Stephanie and I chickened out for a picture, but it would've been so funny!

Happy these boys got a playoff experience. A little more pressure now that they're getting older, and they handled it well. First and second place Minors:

Tyler, and his buddy Clarke to the left.

Both teams piled on the field afterward running and playing and tackling each other. It was so neat -  good feeling after the game. Fun shot with coaches in back:

Lots of lasts right now. Last pancake breakfast for achieving 100% of reading goals. Good job kids!

With lovely Ava:

These three... my goodness. 4th grade boys! I hung with Tyler, Frankie, and Kaiden for 5 minutes then it's like "Mom, go away", but it's funny to hear what they have to say. Hoping to get them together this summer for laser tag or arcade games. Cute photobomber, too.

Little brother/sister love:

Weekend Catch Up

First, this photo makes me laugh because of Audrey's attention to detail (see my roots!)

T-Ball ended about a week ago and it was sure fun watching this guy play organized sports for the first time. Cole did great, even got a couple hits from the pitcher, and learned to run fast to the bases (since he occasionally would stroll). He wants to be a catcher one day, and it would be fun to train a little catcher, so let's do it!

The T-Ball Dodger siblings. Loved hanging with these cute kiddos all season.

Spoiled Rey who is never allowed to sleep on my bed. I was feeling bad for her for some reason, so I let her, and she took full advantage with a nice long nap.

Some crazy turn of events got our Minor Pirates to the little league finals! They won this one really important game, then another team forfeited because of not enough players, then voila - we are in the finals undefeated. Tyler has been keeping this chart to make the process nice and clear:

We have been rooting for these eleven boys all season. Man they've played some good baseball and learned a ton, too. Their opponents are the Indians - two of our good friends are on that team which is fun, and I must give all the boys, coaches, and parents A+ in sportsmanship.

Kind of a tough shot to see, but Tyler warming up as pitcher. He was the start-off pitcher in yesterday's game and pitched two great innings.

It's really neat for the boys to get this playoff experience. Man, there can be a lot of pressure in baseball (all eyes on you, really), and it's been inspiring to see Tyler rise to the occasion. Fun to watch Adam coach. I've enjoyed this season more than ever (maybe because I'm not working Saturdays?), and I guess our family is becoming quite the fans of baseball (like, as I type this on the couch outside, the boys are practicing pitching and Audrey is running out giving updates on the Dodgers game.) I just hope no matter the outcome, the boys give it their all and feel really proud of themselves on Wednesday - last game. Go Pirates!

Open House

One of my favorite nights of the school year. Tyler and Audrey were so excited to show off their classrooms and all their work. They've both had fantastic years with two wonderful teachers. I'd be happy to have Cole and Audrey in Mrs. Forbes and Mrs. Carmichael's classes one day. Crazy there are just three weeks left of school for these big kids. Starting to feel ready for summer.

Tyler's desk:

 The wonderful Mrs. Carmichael. Man she really challenged these kids and turned them into critical thinkers. I can tell Tyler's in the upper grades now.

Audrey's desk:

I was lucky to spend a lot of time in Audrey's class this year and see how great Mrs. Forbes is. She's been teaching forever and still has so much love and passion for the kids (same with Mrs. Carmichael actually.) Mrs. Forbes has been out for three weeks with a surprise major surgery. She let me and Audrey visit her at home yesterday, which was a big treat for Audrey. We've loved getting to know her and all she's done for our girl.

Three Girl Scouts all in class together this year:

Grateful for another great year at a school we love. They have a pretty nice view from the playground, too:

Cole's last week of preschool is next Friday, so there will be plenty of pictures of him coming up. But this was a good one today. These two might drive me nuts sometimes but they sure are adorable. Partners in crime. Plus there's nothing cuter than watching Cole play Captain America on the mornings he's with me. Love that he busts out the dress up clothes.