end of the school year!

I have a love/hate relationship with the month of May.  I love all the celebrations: Kevin's birthday (the big 40 this year!), Mother's Day, our wedding anniversary (#17), and end of the school year special events.  I hate that it's so stressful with all the big reports due at the same time and it's so busy you almost can't enjoy it all as you're rushing from event to event.  This May was no exception.

Natalie's 1st grade class did their "Portfolio Presentation" day.  They sing a few songs, you get to look through their schoolwork portfolio, and then parents can take them out to lunch.   Natalie was so excited that she was chosen to be the "class host" and introduce each song.  This girl LOVES to be in front of an audience or camera and is such a natural performer. Here she is doing one of her host sections:


And even though I've heard this song (below) "Express Yourself" two times previously with the boys, Natalie and her class did the best job!


And here she is with her amazing teacher Mrs. Garrison!

Tyler had his first big report and presentation this year in 3rd grade.  It was an animal report and he chose walrus.  It was done mostly at home, and I'm proud to say he did it almost entirely on his own.  He does not particular love public speaking (although he better get used to it, since he wants to be President of the United States!), he did a great job on his presentation!

Brandon had a report and presentation about Alcatraz, but in 6th grade the parents aren't invited to come watch! It was supposed to be a two minute Power Point presentation, but Brandon managed to speak for 20 minutes! Thankfully he was not penalized!

And even though he missed being on Honor Roll by a few points the first three quarters this year, he finished the year on a high note, making it onto Distinguished Honor Roll! The assembly was on the last day of school, so they weren't in their school uniforms.

Brandon is officially done with elementary school, so I also thought it would be fun to find his Kindergarten picture and see them side-by-side.  It's amazing how much he has learned and grown in 7 years!

Here are the kids with some of their best friends on the last day of school.

Madison, Natalie, Alexa

 Tyler & Jude

I finished my two year adventure on the PTO Board. The first year was great.  The second year had some rough patches, but I survived.  It was definitely a learning experience.  Mostly I'm thankful for some amazing people that I got to know and work with. 

We are moving elementary schools next year. We are all excited for a fresh start and being closer to home, but we will definitely miss all our friends.

Now onto some summer fun!  

bandit the kitten

It's been awhile since I've posted any pictures of Bandit the kitten.  And that is what most of the pictures on my camera are! Here are some of Bandit's favorite things to do, places to hang out, or other cute or funny moments I've managed to catch on camera.

We can keep him off the kitchen table if all the chairs are pushed in all the way. But this is what happens when you leave the chairs out a few inches!

Just chillin' on the couch or the floor!

He LOVES backpacks.  Playing with them, getting in them, sleeping on them.  He's not picky - any backpack will do.

He likes to be up on his hind legs looking at everything or trying to reach it!  You cannot leave anything dangling over the edge of the counter.

He knows when you're in a room with the door closed!

Not sure how this happened, but thankfully no blinds were broken in the process.

A geckos on the outside post = Bandit sitting and staring for hours straight (no joke)!

His most favorite place of all is outside. He knows the sound of the back door lock and will come running from anywhere in the house (even if he's totally asleep) to go outside.  He is allowed in the backyard when the kids are there to keep an eye on him.  If he's not allowed outside (like when the lawn is being mowed), he sits at the back door and meows.  I've only had to climb a tree once to get him down!  He caught a gecko one day. The gecko was maimed, but not dead.  Bandit kept putting it down and pawing at it to get it to move so he could chase it more.  Apparently he only likes the thrill of the hunt!

A few days later he caught himself a bird!

He's a very friendly, curious kitten and always has to know what's going on.  He's not very cuddly but we love our cute little Bandit.  He brings fun and energy to our house.

never ignore a prompting

I'm writing this down so I can remember this powerful experience.

Getting our external hard drive backed up has been on my "to do" list for a few years.  About a month ago, I felt a sense of urgency to get it done as I realized that ALL our digital photos (about 8,000) were on it and that was the only copy we had, besides the few that had been printed.  Kevin got it all backed up literally 10 days ago.  Yesterday we woke up to a backpack that fell over and knocked the hard drive off the desk, everything on it unrecoverable. It was a good reminder to me that God knows and cares about every detail of our lives, and to never, ever ignore a prompting. 

mother's day 2014

It was a good Mother's Day, probably the best so far. Church was nice; I got a nap; opened some sweet letters, cards, and small gifts; talked to my mom; and dinner was made and cleaned up for me.  Nothing extraordinary, but a simple and peaceful day, just the way I like it! My gift from Kevin was the laundry room cabinets.  I am so blessed to have the best mom, a great mother-in-law, and to be a mom to these three wonderful kids.

piano recital

It was piano recital day again for Tyler and Brandon!  I'm pretty sure I'm more nervous than they are!

Tyler is 9 years old and has been playing for 2 years and is in Level 2.



Brandon is 11 years old and has been playing for 5 years and is in Level 6.  I have promised him he can be done with lessons at the end of this school year.  I wish he loved playing as much as he is talented.

Brandon and Tyler with their piano teacher!

laundry room cabinets!

After 6 years, I finally got my laundry room cabinets!  We were able to buy the cabinets wholesale and installed them ourselves thanks to YouTube video tutorials.  We are not really do-it-yourself home improvement people, so this was a bit scary.  We are very happy with how they turned out and are proud of our accomplishment.