Last Day of June???

Summer vacation has officially begun!! School ended last Thursday. Will and Colby had good report cards. Both are moving up a grade. We haven't gotten Sam's yet- we're waitng for it to come in the mail. (Because she took finals this year and they have to have the grades). Next year, Colby has Mrs. Donato, who was one of Sam's 6th grade teachers this year (science) and Will has Mrs. Harris, who was Sam's 5th grade homeroom teacher. Poor boys, living in Sam's shadow!

Next year I'm a bit worried. Colby's 3rd grade class is going from 4 classrooms to 3, which just makes each classroom that much bigger. That's not really good for Colby. And the 5th grade...well... I don't even know how to explain that one. Apparently the 6th grade teachers will be teaching 5th and 6th grade...somehow... we'll see how that goes. Again, not good for Will.

Last Friday we celebrated Colby's 8th birthday! We brought some boys to see the movie "up". It was really cute, even though it was a bit sad at times. I think the really sad parts went over the boys' heads. They all had fun, and I'm really glad to get that out of the way!!!

Owen now knows to go into the cabinet where we keep our cereal, and get a box out and start eating it. I prefer him eating that instead of dog food!! I know froot loops aren't the best for him, but he really doesn't get that many in his mouth :)

Owen also has now learned to climb stairs... so I can no longer leave him in the basement while I do laundry. And when I bring him outside, well, let's just say we cannot leave him alone for a second. He LOVES to eat grass...and leaves...and sticks...and whatever.

Will and Colby have decided to go to Vacation Bible School this week, so they are there. Next week Will has bowling camp and Colby starts summer camp.
Because I decided to not send Colby to summer school, he is doing work every day. And Sam and Sarah are helping me "tutor him". It's cute. So far it's working out good. But it's only day 2!!

Sam told me Wholly Cow has coconut almond fudge ice cream, so we'll probably head there later!!

On Sunday we had a barbecue to celebrate my dad's birthday and my brother Kaden's 2nd birthday. It was fun! Everone was here. And it didn't rain like we thought it would, which was great! The kids went on the trampoline, and in the pool, and played with water balloons! Samantha just played with Kaden the whole time <3 It was really nice to see Dad and Becky- first time this year for the kids. I wish we could see them more often. It was neat seeing Owen and his Uncle Zarek- they are the same size!!!

Well, happy summer vacation!!!

June 25th!!

Today is the last day of school!!!!!!!
The kids are excited and I'm excited too. They are definitely ready for summer break. With the nice weather all night, it's been hard getting Colby to bed. And then of course it's hard getting him up in the morning!! These guys need to sleep in. Will has been getting up at 6:30 and then fishing!! It's cute.

The hot weather is finally here so the pool has been getting a lot of use! Colby got a star wars floatie and they love it!! They like to flip eachother off of it. Even Owen went in the pool for a few minutes. He liked it, but he wasn't in too much. I did set up a little baby pool/sprinkler of his... but he HATED it! Cried and cried. I think the water was too cold or something. Or maybe he was tired. Either way, he didn't like it at all.

Art and I also had him on the trampoline one night and he didn't like that either. He was okay sitting on my lap but if I put him on the trampoline itself he cried. I don't think he liked that the floor was moving. He definitely knows fear now.

The kids will get their report cards today. Well, the boys will. Sam's will be sent to her next week because she had finals. I'm eager to see who the boys have for teachers next year. I can't believe the year is over. This year flew by. I feel like I missed a lot and forgot a lot. Probably because of Owen but I hate to say that.

Samantha's travel team is well under way. But she had miss a game last night because her own knee is swollen and is hurting her. I'm going to call the orthopedist today and see what the say. She does have PT today too but they will just stretch it. She also is having a hard time straightening it out. Hopefully it's okay.

Will tie dyed a shirt at school and it's awesome! The 4th grade played a huge kickball game yesterday and it was really fun. 40ish kids on a team!! I'm glad I was able to watch some of it.

Colby's teacher wanted him to go to summer school again this year...but I'm not sending him. This is really the last summer that I feel comfortable not sending him. She is giving us a packet of work, and his reading teacher gave us a packet of work, and I plan on doing it with Colby over the summer. He just needs to read!!! I wish I could get my hands on more comic book- books for him.

Yesterday was my last day with Samantha and Nick. I'm sad that they are no longer coming here, and I will miss them.

Happy Last Day of School!!!!

Tuesday June 16

Happy birthday, Gina!

Things are going great here!! Even though there was a loud thunderstorm last night, the weather otherwise has been beautiful and we are getting great use of our pool.

Samantha is done with rec softball for good, and travel has already begun. She had 2 great games this weekend. She hit a triple and had some other good plays. I was sad to miss it (I was at church).
Physical therapy is going well for her. She switched from the braces to taping her leg. She can do it herself, which she does every morning. She says it helps.
School is winding down quickly- she starts finals on Thursday. She is nervous, it's obvious. But excited too, I think. Yesterday I had a meeting with her math teacher for her HAL (highly abled learner). Next year she is going into advance math/pre-algebra.

Will is doing great. School is also winding down for him. He is looking forward to summer- he is telling everyone that he is going to bowling camp and church camp! And he'll have weekly bowling starting in July. That will be good- he's been back and forth to ball games for the other 2 but nothing for him.

Colby is a stinker. A real stinker.
School is winding down, too, of course. He brought home a packet already that he is to work on over the summer. I know he'll fight me on that but I'll make sure it gets done. I don't want him to lose everything he has gained this year.
He has one game left of baseball. He likes it but I don't think he'll do it again.

Owen is growing like a week. Not in size, but in ability! He is definitely trying to walk...every change he gets. Even if it's one or two steps, he usually will try before he crawls. Amazing.

We had a scare today when Colby left the door to the basement open and I found Owen leaning onto the steps. You know that feeling when your heart is in your mouth? Yeah. I woke up the kids because I was yelling so loud to get Colby's attention downstairs over the TV.

Art is still working on the other house. It's coming along, slowly but surely.

Shea is great. LieLie is great. We're hoping to get some fish next week to celebrate summer!!

Friday Update!

Three important things have happened yesterday...
First, Samantha was the queen at the 6th grade midieval feast! She wore a beautiful dress (gasp) and was so beautiful!! Max was the king. It was very cool! There were monks, crusaders, peasants, slaves, the royal court. It was fun to see!!
Also, Owen took some steps!! He took a few, at different times. It's exciting in a way, but so bittersweet. It's fun to watch him walk but I'm really not encouraging it. Ha ha! Samantha is happy though, she is very eager to have her little brother walking!
And then last night, Will and Colby had tae kwon do testing and are now RED belts! Wow! Red is so close to the end! It's amazing.
And a funny about Will... if you know Will you will understand this for what it is... he had his shirt on *inside out* for half of the test. We noticed it but couldn't do anything about it. That's Will!!!

Today was Flag Day at Colby's school so Owen and I went. Mr. Schulties, Will's 1st grade teacher, was there to raise the flag. It is so great to see him, he is such an asset to that school!! Colby was decked out in flag get up! Very cute! And in his classroom we had a treat. He fed me strawberries and watermelon and grapes! Very nutritious! I love seeing him and his friends. They all loved Owen and I think that made Colby feel good. :) And then, of course, Colby wanted to come home with me... but his teacher was great and told him all about the smartboard they would be using and he was happy to stay!!

Happy Friday!

Is it really June?

So many updates....!!!!
The kids are getting excited-- warm weather is here, school is almost over, and summer is not far away!!
To make this summer more enjoyable, we put in a pool! It was installed last Monday, and the kids have swam in it many times since then! Thank goodness it has been nice weather. Of course, the water isn't really warm yet... we filled it with our hose... but that doesn't stop the kids! Sometimes they come out shivering and shaking! But so far they love it. And so do the neighborhood kids, so we have to make sure everyone is safe. Colby has to be on his tippy toes to stand in the pool. It's pretty deep.
School is winding down. Will hasn't had homework lately. Sam is studying for finals (her first year) and Colby has already had his Field Day. I was able to go to Field Day and also have a picnic lunch with him, that was fun! I love seeing all the kids. Colby has some really good friends in his class this year so it's nice. They also have nice moms and that's really nice too!!
Baseball is almost over. It's been hard to juggle softball and baseball this year so it was will be a relief when it ends. I don't think Colby will care. He likes it but not as often as it is.
Softball rec season is over...well, the play-offs are tonight. Sam's team didn't do too well so I don't foresee them going so far. Travel has started... she had two travel games yesterday. Lost both, but the second game was MUCH better than the first. Sam made some great plays! She got the first RBI, and got a double herself. That was great!!
That game was in Clifton Park, so Mike and Renee and Leah <3 were able to come!! I haven't seen her in weeks. She is still oh so tiny! She slept most of the time. I did hold her for a while, which got Owen kind of upset. He kept looking at me funny. And he wanted to touch her in the worst way! It's neat to see Leah and realize Owen is only 7 months older, yet so different. He was very much into the dirt... he kept eating it. If we picked him up he would squirm and cry to get back down. But Leah just slept.
Will just spent the weekend with Grammy at her camp for "Will's weekend". He met some new kids and played pool and really had a good time.
Samantha had one physical therapy so far because of her knees. She said it hurt but not much. She is still wearing the braces, although sliding into a base at softball made dirt get into it and we can't get it out!! I need to find other people who wear these braces so we can get some advice on them!!
Art was busy this weekend digging a trench for the electric on the pool. Yay!!
I spent Saturday at the Great Escape with the Girl Scouts.-- oh, and Jake too. Sam wanted him to come... it was a really fun time. The kids are old enough to go on rides by themselves... and there were no little brothers to hold them back. Owen was there, but they loved him!!!

owen calls...

A good picture!

 Just wanted to post a great picture of Samantha I took last night.  She played a great softball game!  Here is she is sliding into home.  

I will post more later, Blogger is not letting me upload any more pics... and for some reason it is underlining my words..?