Wrap up

Summer is officially here.  School is finally over.  I was more anxious for that than the kids I think.

This is our wrap up week.

Last game of baseball.

Hallie's dance recital.

Last gymnastics class for Aubrie.

Last day of kindergarten for Robbie.

Last day of second grade for Aubrie.

Last week of piano lessons for me.

Today was Robbie's kindergarten graduation which I honestly think is a little silly.  But they treat it more like a recognition day and they highlight some of the major things they learned this year: colors/numbers/reading/making friends all with their own song and actions.  Robbie even spoke in front of everyone and did a good job.  It was pretty cute.   I mentioned before how sincerely grateful I am for his good teachers.  He thrived this year.  He went from this cute little Robbie that has always been with me all day and we saw him learn new words, pick up new phrases& ideas from watching his teachers and classmates.  He grew up a lot.

Mrs. Natale, Robbie and Mrs. Edmunds

                                       

 While we were finishing up with Robbie's program Blake got a little restless and Aubrie's teacher knows Blake because I spend time in the class doing Math Superstars this year.  So she invited Blake to come in to the class for awhile during their snack time.  So, after Robbie's program we all went into Aubrie's classroom and got to spend a little time in there.  I LOVE Aubrie's teacher.  She loves to read and imagine and pretend just like Aubrie and  they get along really well. She let Aubrie have free reign to any and all books from her class and trusted Aubrie to take and bring back as she wanted to.  It was a great year for Aubrie.  She wrote a school memories packet during class this week and I'll just write a few things here:


Green is her favorite color 
The spider web (on the playground) is her favorite school activity

Favorite food/animal/sport/TV show:  Pizza/cheetah/swimming/Avatar
Favorite school project was the butterfly unit (they participated in the entire butterfly life cycle releasing them with tags at the end)
Fav recess activity/favorite subject/special/book:  Swings/Math/Library/The Boxcar children

Big events: Learned to read big chapter books, lost 3 teeth
Five new things I learned: Mass, Verbs, Parts of a seed, Night creatures, calculators

I sit next to Tyler J.  I eat lunch with Ryan and Tucker.  During recess I play with Nycole.  My best friend is Nycole.

Aubrie and Mrs. Knepper

Aubrie and Peyton

                                      
                                             Blake is the class toy here.

We leave next week for our trek across the US with a stop in Kirtland and Nauvoo.  This will be the kids' first time so we've planned scriptures and FHE's for these two weeks before leaving to study the stories/revelations from those years in Kirtland/Nauvoo.    And ALL of us can hardly wait for next week.  We will spend almost 7 weeks in Utah with 5 family reunions and lots of playing with cousins.

Robbie's teacher had me a little worried at the beginning of the year but it all has turned out to be awesome! Her name is Mrs. Natale and although  I don't know how much Robbie LOVES her, he has sure flourished this year in Kindergarten and has really become a different boy since starting.  He has learned to read and to write short stories.  He learned about how to grow plants, how different machinery works, actions and consequences, how to add and subtract "big" numbers, the lifecycle of a butterfly, tie his shoes, raise his hand and answer questions in front of groups, speak in front of a cafeteria of people, jumprope, lead out in games on the playground, trust his new abilities that he is learning about himself,  and on and on.  He is more confident and it seems like to Ryan and I that he is off to a great start in school and life.  We are really glad that he had a teacher that knows how to teach and tried her hardest to get our shy boy to open up and be confident. (She even went so far as to get in contact with me to ask me what some of the things that Robbie likes or likes to do so she could try better to connect with him.  And the last time I met with her she said they did---about dirt bikes:) She really did a great job!

And not only has he grown intellectually and socially but he is taller.  He started kindergarten at 45 inches and is now 47.5 inches.  Almost tall enough for the big watersides and roller coasters.  He is a skinny, tall and handsome boy.

Aubrie and her poor bout with poison ivy.  

She couldn't look away from the mirror for the picture she loved her  cute costume so much! :) The theme of their dance recital (with Ms. Katie) is "Around the World". Hallie's class is off to Paris. 

He is one tough little hombre. 

Wet days outside mean our bed becomes the trampoline...every day. 

Robbie is seriously LOVING baseball.  And we are all LOVING watching him play, particularly Ryan.  Ryan is usually one of the parents out in the outfield helping and cheering during the game. 

Robbie's # 1fan.  As long as he has a sucker.

Aub jumped up for a five as he came to 3rd. 

A rainy Saturday found us at Chuckie Cheese.  The kids were in heaven (and we'll just leave it at that). Blake jumped on the motorcycle game with Robbie.