Rebecah and I went to her friend Melanie's confirmation party. We wanted to share in this special experience with Melanie even though we don't share the same faith. We weren't able to attend her Confirmation service, but we wanted to.
The weather has been really nice so we went on a lot of walks. These two do make me nervous at times when they don't listen and a car is coming, but they love to be outside.
Kimball had his Spring Orchestra Concert. It was really nice. The little ones were a bit noisy so I spent the last half of the concert with them in the hall, but I was still able to hear the music. I think Kimball has finally come to terms with Orchestra and the Cello. It's really a love/hate relationship with him sometimes. He is VERY good at the cello and ended up being 2nd chair in the 5th/6th grade orchestra. He decided he wanted to take a solo to the District Solo Festival. I wasn't sure he would pull off a solo, but we encouraged and supported his desire. He rarely practiced at home, but he practiced at school with his Orchestra teacher and even had some extra lessons. He ended up with an Outstanding rating with a 96 out of 100 score. We were proud of him and he wants to continue to play the cello.
The little ones like to spend time at the library. Lincoln loves vehicle and dinosaur books. Annika loves Princess stories. Edie is just there for the fun.
I saw this book at the library and I just had to borrow it. The book was more Annika's personality than Edie's, but it was still fun to see Edie's name on a book.
When I have time I take the kids to play group at the park. If it's too hot...above 75...we don't go, but they love it when we go and they love to swing.
If Kimball has a love/hate relationship with the cello I guess you could say I have one with baseball! I am very eager for the Little League season to end, but at the same time it has been fun to see Kimball doing so well on his team. He plays 1st base most of the time. The team rotates innings since there are more than 9 players so sometimes Kimball sits out. Kimball has made some good catches and his hitting has improved. Kimball had to miss a few games here recently and I think the coach was missing his first baseman. One game was on a Sunday and there was a Science Club competition another day. I don't like the last minute notices about practices (sometimes we only have 24 hour notice) or the long games because the little ones don't like to sit through the games and they would rather be at the play ground, but I would most likely agree to let Kimball play baseball again....shhh...Don't tell him I said that!
Kimball's team...the Tampa Bay Rays
Kimball plays first base most of the time.
Kimball's favorite thing is to steal bases. He loves the rush. It makes me nervous!
Here's beautiful Eden at the game. The little ones usually want to play on the play ground, but will occasionally play near the field so we can watch the game.
Watching the game.
Lincoln relaxing in the grass during the game.
I love Lincoln and I love how he likes to mow the lawn with the stroller. As soon as he hears Joseph is mowing the lawn he grabs the lawn mower-stroller and heads to the grass. He is very trusting of Joseph and mows right along side him. I love hearing his lawn mower sounds. He makes a different sound for the blower as well.
One day for lunch Annika decided she wanted to sautee zucchini all by herself. She did a great job and knew perfectly when her zucchini was ready.
We celebrated Joseph's 37th birthday toward the end of May. It wasn't the most exciting of birthdays, but the kids each gave him a different treat. Joseph always tells me a person can have only 1 favorite but he received a Mounds candy bar, York Peppermint patties, Andes Mints, M&Ms, and Black jelly beans. Fun story...or not so funny if you try to surprise your husband. When the Easter candy was on sale I bought Joseph 4 bags of black jelly beans. I have given them to him slowly over the last few months, for our anniversary, Easter, birthday and Father's Day this coming Sunday. Well, after the second bag ran out Joseph asked the little ones -who love black jelly beans too- if they should eat some black jelly beans. Joseph said they didn't have anymore but Lincoln pipes up "yes we do, upstairs". Joseph thinking one of the kids had taken some of the jelly beans and hidden them away follows Lincoln up stairs to my dresser where I had the last two bags hidden and shows Joseph the jelly bean stash. It's hard to keep things a secret when you have little PIs around the house! Let's just say that Victoria Kann the author of Pinkalicious should write a book called "Blackalicious" about jelly beans!
A true labor of love...I made Joseph a mint chocolate chip ice cream pie.
(I'm not a mint lover in the least.) We have a very similar picture to this one from 2 years ago. In that picture Joseph is holding 19 month Lincoln and Annika on his lap as he blows out his candles!
I just need to say a few things about Eden. She is such a wonderfully fun girl. We all love her. She still sleeps like a dream and is so sweet and fun. If I ask a yes/no question to the family she always responds by raising her hand and saying "me"! She likes to be included and if she is left out of an outing or play time her feelings get hurt and she'll cry and cry like her heart is breaking. She loves her mom, but she loves daddy now too. I love seeing her raise her arms to Joseph so he can pick her up and hold her. Usually after a nap or when she wakes up in the morning she'll whisper "Daddy" wanting to know where Joseph is. She has a sweet smile, although that smile is turning mischievous as she learns things from Annika. She loves to color, eat bananas and play outside. Edie talks a lot and will frequently put together 3-4 word sentences. She is very good at following directions.
Lincoln and Annika had their first camp out with Joseph in the back yard to celebrate the last day of preschool. They did pretty well and slept outside all night.
Porter, Lincoln and Annika's friend, had a birthday and our family was invited to the party. It was fun to socialize with a few families from church.
We went to a grocery store we don't usually visit and my kids loved the racecart! I was just glad I could squeeze all 3 of them in the seats because no one wanted to miss out!!
Our church congregation had a picnic for Memorial Day. It was a bit warm, but in the shade of the pavilion it was comfortable. Here is Lincoln chowing down on chips with his friend, Sage. I guess you could say they bonded over bags of Doritos!
End of Preschool
Preschool really deserves its own post, but I'm so behind that I'm just lumping it in with our May memories. Lincoln and Annika LOVED preschool. They had two amazing teachers and just fit in perfectly in their class. They are sad preschool is over and are eager for more preschool next year.
The preschool took pictures of class activities and would post pictures on their Facebook page. Most of these pictures game from that FB page. I loved seeing these pictures from their time at school.
Their Spring Program was a short program where they sang songs and recited fun poems. Annika had a case of stage fright so she just stood up front sucking on her dress instead of singing. At least she was up there!
The grand finale for the program was the "Pete the Cat: I love my White Shoes" song. For some reason Annika did not like this song. When the kids would practice this song she would run to the corner and hide. For the program she came to sit with Joseph and me but Lincoln had fun.
With teachers Mrs. Dawn Spink and Mrs. Wendy Murray. Fun little tidbit about Mrs. Murray, her older daughter Grace is in Kimball's class at school so I have heard about "Grace Murray" for the last few years. We had a lot of fun when we made the 5th grade child connection.
One last Annika moment. Annika loves little toys, containers, cards, etc. She would find little toys she liked at school and then sneak them in her backpack or her boots to take home. A few times I had to return some of the toys she had taken. It became a little joke between the teachers and me. Annika did not like it at all when the teachers would catch her putting school toys in her backpack. On the last day of school the teachers checked Annika's pockets for toys, but she had managed to put a few things in her backpack without being seen. Mrs. Spink and I had a good laugh when I showed up the day after school ended with a few toys in hand!
Last day of school. Waving goodbye!
Here are the kids left to right:
Melody, Hailey, Raya, Susie, Mrs. Spink, Porter, Guianna, Annika, Jade and Lincoln
