The big end-of-the-school-year presentation for first grade is Portfolio Day. This is the time where parents get to come to school and hear a couple cute poems and songs, get their parent volunteer awards, look through their child's work portfolio, and then most parents take their child out for lunch.
Tyler's teacher this year, Mrs. Martin, is a friend of ours from our previous ward (she was actually Brandon's sunbeam teacher).
She had the kids stand all around the room, so it was a bit hard to video, but here is their butterfly song.
It was fun to go out to lunch. Being a middle child doesn't often provide many one-on-one opportunities, so I need to be better about that. The ironic thing is that usually you can't get him to be quiet, but when it was just the two of us, he had almost nothing to say!
Tyler has had a great year and has learned and grown so much academically. We were worried the structure of this school would be a challenge for his free-spirited personality, but he continues to amaze us with his near-perfect grades and good behavior. He is definitely ready for second grade!
It was a bittersweet evening last night when Natalie had her preschool program and graduation. I can't believe it's my last preschool program ever and my baby girl is growing up so quickly. But we feel so blessed that all three of our kids have been fortunate enough to attend Packer Preschool.
And I had to get a picture of her with all three of our
kids.
We have been carpooling with Natalie's two best friends, Tatum and Chloe, for two years. These girls are so cute together! Unfortunately, they are attending three different elementary schools next year.
The kids sang lots of songs, but this one "When I Grow Up" is my favorite and always brings a tear to my eye. Mrs. Packer did it a bit differently than in the past. Usually the program and graduation are during the day. This year she did an evening program and graduation and did a slide show for this song. After 6 years of preschool and 12 programs, Kevin finally got to attend one!
There was a very short graduation ceremony.
We will miss Packer Preschool, but Mrs. Packer will always be in our hearts and has been a huge part of our lives. Great job Natalie and it's onto kindergarten in just two short months!
Yesterday was our 15th wedding anniversary. In some ways it feels like we've been married forever, but in other ways it feels like it was just the other day. I'll save the sappy stuff to write in my journal and to tell Kevin personally, but when we got married I thought I understood what love was. As the years have gone by, I finally KNOW what love really is. I still can't explain love, but I can feel it and I am thankful for it everyday of my life. On my wedding day, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. I still feel that way. Our marriage is not perfect and we have been through some challenging trials, but Kevin is my best friend and I love him with all my heart. Happy Anniversary to us!
Our wedding day: May 22, 1997 (if you want to read about our wedding, click HERE)
Brandon had two big piano days recently. Last Saturday he participated in Piano Achievement Day which is done by the Desert Valley Music Teachers Association. They perform 3 memorized songs for a judge, scales, do a sight-reading test, an ear training test, and a theory test. Brandon has worked hard over the past few months to prepare for it and he passed with excellent scores and comments from the judges. He does it mostly for the trophy and getting to choose whatever place he wants to go out for lunch with me afterwards, but it's a great accomplishment and I am proud of his hard work.
Yesterday was his piano recital at his teacher's home. He did well and only had a few minor mistakes, mostly because he plays everything so fast! He never used to get nervous about performing, but he said he was this time. I think he's great, especially since he's only playing for 3 1/2 years! I know I'm probably biased, but this boy oozes talent when it
comes to piano. He always says he wants to quit, but I won't let him
because I know he will do great things with his skills in the future. I
better start practicing more or he's going to pass me up soon!
It has been an amazing experience to watch the new Gilbert temple being built. Natalie's weekly tumbling class was near the site and Costco is right across the freeway, so we get to see it often. This week marked a milestone when Angel Moroni was placed. There was no formal announcement made nor ceremony planned, but word spreads quickly through the Mormon community. We were told it would probably happen sometime around 1-2 p.m. I had to take my mom to the airport at that time, so she & I went in the morning to see if we could get a glimpse. We saw Moroni laying down on a trailer.
I drove my mom to the airport and Natalie fell asleep in the car on the way back, so I thought I would drive over to the temple site to see what was happening before I had to pick up the boys from school. From far away I noticed that Moroni still wasn't up. It was 1:55 p.m. I got off the freeway and up to the stoplight next to the temple site right as the crane started lifting Moroni off the ground, precisely at 2:00 p.m. I couldn't have planned it any better if I tried.
I quickly woke Natalie up so she could watch. There were hundreds of people everywhere watching, even though it was over 100 degrees outside.
I drove past the site, tried to pull over, got yelled at by police, made a few illegal u-turns, almost caused a few accidents as I was trying to watch and take pictures while driving, but it was worth it! We saw it! And better yet, from our air-conditioned car!
This was as much as I got to see, since I needed to get out of the area to pick up my boys before the hundreds of cars caused a traffic jam.
We were truly blessed that day and I know that Heavenly Father provided a tender mercy for us to be able to see it happen. I am grateful a temple is being built here and the wonderful opportunities it has provided (and will provide) for us and our children.
I took the kids back a few days later so the boys could see it.
For comparison, here is what the temple looked like in January (4 months ago):
This is not my video, but someone else posted it and I love it. The music is my favorite hymn (How Firm a Foundation), and if you look very carefully around 3:24 you can actually see my blue van as I was sitting at the stoplight waiting to make a turn!
I had a really enjoyable Mother's Day this year. Church was nice and didn't even make me feel too guilty about not being a perfect mom! My mom was in town visiting, so my sister & I got to be with her on Mother's Day for the first time in many years.
It was also Kevin's birthday the same day so we nominated my brother-in-law to cook us all dinner since he was the only adult not celebrating something, and he did a great job! We bribed all the grandkids with dessert to get them to take a picture with Grandma.
But don't let them fool you...this is what they look like for real!
I am thankful every day that I am a mother and have the blessing to stay home full-time and raise my kids. Having children did not come quickly or easily for us and I never take it for granted. I am also grateful for a mother who taught me everything and sacrificed so much. When people tell me I am like my mother, I think it's the highest compliment ever.
Even though the reason for our trip to Texas was Zack's funeral, our family did manage to have a bit of fun together. After the services were over, we let our kids swim in the hotel pool and then we relaxed in our rooms for a bit (we had 3 hotel rooms on the same floor). Natalie was apparently very tired and fell asleep while sitting in Grandpa's lap!
We went out to dinner together, and Red Robin was able to seat all 13 of us immediately so we took over the entire patio area. Natalie proceeded to make new friends with all the family members she's never even met, like my dad's ex-wife Kay.
The next day our flight didn't leave until the afternoon. There is a restaurant called Babe's that Kevin has been talking about ever since we went there six years ago. It didn't take too much convincing to talk my brother Mark and his daughter Rachel and her family to come with us for lunch. Babe's doesn't have menus - your only choices are chicken fried steak or fried chicken, and you get all their standard sides (creamed corn, biscuits and gravy, mashed potatoes, and salad). Thankfully it was as delicious as Kevin remembered.
The other thing Babe's is known for is that the waitresses do the Hokey Pokey and invite anyone to come up and dance with them. Brandon still remembers it from six years ago and he was the only one of our three kids who wanted to go do it. I was a bit surprised that Natalie, our little dancer and performer, didn't want to. We found it amusing that my brother Mark was the only adult up there besides the waitresses! The other two kids in this picture are my niece Rachel's children, Jenna and Austin.
The trip home was uneventful since Kevin's boss had kindly arranged for us to fly emergency travel so we had real seats instead of standby. But I did end up with a bunch of bed bug bites on the back of my leg from the hotel.
I wish we didn't have to go to Texas, but I'm glad we were able to be there with family and support each other.
Natalie's dance teacher switched from doing a combo tumbling, tap, and ballet class to just doing tumbling this semester. Although I am sad she didn't have a cute outfit and a dance recital, Natalie still learned a lot and loved every minute of it. With her petite size and flexibility, tumbling suits her well and she is very talented (okay, maybe I'm a bit biased, but you can judge for yourself!).
Here they are practicing somersaults and crab walks (first video) and cartwheels (second video):
Her back arch & "cat scratches:"
We have loved these two years of dance and tumbling with Miss Misty. She is awesome with the girls and I have made a wonderful friend. We will miss her!
The 4th graders at our school had two field trips this year. Usually each grade is allowed only one field trip (due to costs), but 4th grade has always been allowed three field trips (the two they took plus the Grand Canyon). The kids were disappointed they did not get to go to the Grand Canyon this year, but we reminded them that they were still getting more field trips than any other grade! I was not able to chaperone the State Capitol field trip in January, but was able to chaperone the Wells Fargo Historical Museum last week.
This is real Wells Fargo stagecoach. This tour guide lady (her background is as a historian) was amazing and held the kids' attention the whole time. The kids were all very well-behaved and it was the easiest field trip I've ever chaperoned...I literally did nothing!
We split into classes for part of the time and we ended up with the man tour guide who wasn't quite as entertaining as the lady, but it was still interesting and the kids seemed to enjoy it. They are studying Arizona history this year and they knew quite a few of the answers to his questions. He was impressed.
After we toured each of the areas, the kids had free time to explore the exhibits and do all the hands-on fun activities. The simulated stagecoach ride was the main attraction (Brandon is on the right side in the middle)!
And being the mean mom who loves photos, I forced Brandon to pose with me in front of the real stagecoach to prove I was there and chaperoned!
I never even knew this museum existed, but it is wonderful. If you are
local and have not been there, it is worth the trip to downtown Phoenix
(if you have older children - probably ages 8 and up would enjoy it). I
learned tons of things I never knew! And best of all, it's FREE!
It was a fun morning with Brandon and he was thrilled that I was able to chaperone. I am so grateful to have these experiences with my children and I am trying to take advantage of them while I can, since I know someday my kids won't want me around!
A few weeks ago we said a sad goodbye to some dear friends of ours who moved back to New York. They moved to Arizona 5 years ago. Brandon and Joaquin met in kindergarten and have been best friends for 5 years. Over the years, Joaquin's mom Danielle and I have become good friends also (sadly, I have no photos of us together!). We are heartbroken that they moved, but we know it is best for their family. I put together photos book for Brandon and Joaquin so they could remember all the years they spent together. I thought I would also share the photos here so they will be included in our family blog book because they have been a big part of our lives. Brandon could not have chosen a better friend. Joaquin and his family are amazing, kind people and we miss them so much already.
Kindergarten:
First grade: Second grade:Third grade: Fourth grade:The photo below was taken the night before they left Arizona. And yes, they are that much different in size! Joaquin was one of the tallest kids in the grade and Brandon is one of the shortest in the grade.We miss you Jeremy, Danielle, Joaquin, Jonas, and Jude!
