Easton's Last Day

I didn't want to leave Easton out of the end of school posts.


Easton as he was leaving for his last day in 2nd grade. (Don't mind the funny pose) :)

He had a really good year. His teacher, Mrs. Olsen, was such a great teacher.



She was really patient with him. Easton is very social and loves to be the class clown. He loves to be silly and make people laugh. But, this gets him in trouble fairly often. So, I was so glad that he had Mrs. Olsen who understood Easton. She did not think he was naughty. She always told me how much she enjoyed him and how she loved his big blue eyes. But, she didn't put up with his antics, either, which I also appreciated. :)

Easton did very well with his grades this year. I am very proud. He struggled a bit with reading at the beginning of the year. I thought he was reading great, but it turned out that he was in the lower percentile for reading. But, he is doing a lot better now.

I went over to the school on the last day to snap a few pictures of Easton and his friends. Enjoy...


Easton and Rece have known each other since birth! :)





Now....let the summer begin! :)

Kindergarten Graduation

Paisley had her kindergarten graduation on Thursday, May 27. What a fun night! I am sad that Easton never had a kindergarten graduation. It was so fun to see the kids sing and perform.



Paisley is the biggest ham EVER!! After every song they sang, she would bow and blow kisses to the crowd. She was in heaven and so in her element up in front of a big group of people. (She is SOOOOO different from me!!!) It was funny to watch. After the program, the school counselor was laughing and talking to me about what a ham she is. I jokingly told her that it was almost embarrassing. She said, "Oh, no! She is such a shining light up there!" That made me smile. She really is a shining light.

Dave and I were put in charge of putting together the slide show with music for the program. Dave did it all, with some input from me. But, I think it turned out really nice and we got a lot of compliments on it. It was very fun to see all the things the kids had done through out the year. The kids really seemed to love it!

While we were waiting for the program to start, my grandma decided that Avery needed a little sprucing up:




She loved it!!

Easton took my camera for a while and took a bunch of pictures. Here is one that someone took of him. I don't know where he has gotten this new pose:



After the program, we got one more picture of her and her friend, Morgan, and one of her and Mrs. McCammon.



We really loved Mrs. McCammon!!

We brought her a yellow flower and my parents brought her a hot pink carnation. She was so excited to receive flowers!!




I am so proud of Paisley and all she has accomplished! She is such a bright little girl. She is constantly amazing me with how smart she is. Now, on to 1st grade and all day school. What will Avery and I do without our buddy???

Kindergarten Party!

My little girl is growing up much much much too fast! Yesterday was her last day of kindergarten. She has done so well this year. She loved kindergarten so much. She met some great little friends. She had a wonderful teacher. She just thrived in every way. I am so proud of her.

Yesterday another mom and I threw a pizza party for her class. We had a bunch of money to spend in their class fund and so we had pizza, capris suns, and icecream. The kids loved that little surprise!



And, we were also able to buy each child a large ball, a kite, and bubbles. It was a fun little summer gift bag for them to be able to take home.

I have loved helping in her class this year. Her teacher was awesome and her classmates were so sweet. Her very best friends are Kyra and Kianna. They are twins and the cutest little girls. I am so glad that she made such fun friends this year.

I wanted to make sure that I got some pictures of her with her friends. I took one of her with Kyra and Kianna:



Then, another friend wanted in on the fun:



And another:



AND another:



It was funny how they all wanted their picture taken. But, these are her buddies in her class.

Here are a few more cute pictures from her pizza party:

So busy...

I have not blogged in quite a while, too long for sure. But, it has been crazy here. Lots going on. But, this is a momentous post because it is post #200 for me. Crazy! But, sad. I used to be so much better at updating. :(

Paisley has been in soccer and she has been busy with practices and games. But, the bad thing about spring soccer in Idaho is that the weather is usually not good for being outside. They have missed several practices due to bad weather. But, she does really well and enjoys soccer quite a bit. It is fun to watch her. She thought she would love to be the goalie. But, when she finally had the opportunity, she didn't like it. It was much too slow and boring of a position for her. She likes to be right in the middle of the action. She is pretty aggressive and does a great job.

Easton is playing his 3rd season of flag football. Dave is the assistant coach and he really enjoys it. Easton is so much fun to watch. He doesn't have a lot of size but he sure is fast. He is definitely one of the fastest on the team and has pulled a lot of the opposite team's flags. He carries the ball well, also. Last Saturday, he made 2 touchdowns which were the only ones his team had that game. This last Monday, they passed him the ball and he caught it and ran it for a 2 point conversion. (I hope that's the right term. It is embarrassing that Easton knows SO much more than me about football.) But, I am such a proud mom when I watch him play. This season has been a lot of fun for all of us.

We have been really worried about some loved ones lately. Dave's dad had a really bad fall at work a couple weeks ago and since has had to have 2 very serious back surgeries. He spent many days in the ICU. Just a couple days ago he was finally able to leave the ICU and begin therapy. We are so relieved that he is doing so much better. Last weekend, Dave and I went to Washington for the weekend to be with his parents. It was a long, yet quick trip. Thank you to all who helped with our kids. It was so so so appreciated. It was very nice to spend time with Dave's mom and dad. We saw a lot of improvement in his health while we were there and that was very comforting.

At the same time as all of Dave's dad's health concerns, my good friend, Kara, has had some serious health issues. (See her blog about her struggles here.) I have been so concerned about her and her family.

It has been such an eye opening and humbling couple weeks for me. I am learning not to take my good life for granted. I get bogged down with the weight of my own trials. But, then I see the lives of people who I love turned upside down instantly. I am so grateful for my own relatively small concerns. I am so much more grateful for my own health and the health of my small family. I am so grateful that Dave has a steady job and that we have a home. Really, what else do we need? Yet, there are days when I feel burdened down completely. But, as the last couple weeks' events have unfolded, my eyes have been opened to my blessings. I am grateful for that.

So, I have no pictures to post. We have been bad about that lately. But, so much has happened that I had to blog about a small portion of it. Please remember my father-in-law and my dear friend in your prayers. I appreciate it so much.

Bull Riding!

A couple weeks ago, my aunt invited my mom and I and the kids out to her friend's farm where they ride bulls. They have a corral set up and cowboys pay to ride and practice. It was a lot of fun to watch and the kids really loved it!!