End of School Activities, Grandpa E, a Pig, and More

Our May turned into it's own version of December. Whew! When May finally wrapped up I felt like we had run a marathon race. It seemed we had an event, celebration, visitor, trip, etc. every few days during the month. Here are the highlights from our very busy month of May. It was a whirlwind but lots of fun!

End of the Year Awards for AWANA

Eli was in Sparks this year and loved it. 

My 4th grade class had a special visitor, Louie the Pig. 

Backseat riding in the back of Daddy's Jeep with this cutie

"Take a picture of me, Mommy!" 

Eli chose this picture location while we waited for supper one night. 

Grandpa E came to visit for a few days. 

We loved getting to spend time with him. 

We went to our favorite hiking spot with Grandpa E.

We loved getting to show him the waterfalls. 

Treats I made for Eli's friends on the last day of school.

Ready to pass out his treats. 

I pulled up all my pansies and snapdragons so I could plant my summer annuals. 

I selected a few to put in a vase on our table. 

Left: Eli on the first day of Kindergarten.

Right: Eli on the last day of Kindergarten.

It was such a fabulous year for my little guy. He grew academically and stretched his reading skills. He was one of two kids in his class who was able to start Accelerated Reading in Kindergarten this year-normally the kids don't start it until First Grade. His handwriting and sentence writing improved a lot! I loved reading through his journal he brought home and seeing how much he progressed every week with his writing. He began taking spelling tests and passing them with flying colors. In math, he started addition and subtraction and did most of it mentally. We were super proud of all his accomplishments. Not only did he grow academically, but he grew physically as well! He lost four teeth in Kindergarten this year! Next year he'll start First Grade with some big grown-up teeth :) All in all, it was such a great year for Eli. His teacher and aide were just precious and took great care of Eli all day, every day. We loved having them!

Last day of school for Eli. 

Girl's Night Out with some of my favorite people in the world. 

The students' last day of school was Thursday, May 21st, and that morning each class had their end of the year programs. Eli's class performed a "Zoosical" and each kid had to dress up like a different animal. Eli was a snake and Cooper was a tiger. Finding a snake costume was not easy at all so we did the best we could being it was the end of May and Mommy was DONE. He was a rare blue diamond rattlesnake and he loved it :) That's all the matters!

Cooper and Eli developed such a sweet friendship this year. 

Sarah and I loved watching the two of them together. Sweet boys!

Zue-Zue came to watch Eli's program and he went home with her afterwards.

They had a great time!

Friday, May 22nd was the last day for teachers. Our day consisted of getting all our furniture off the floor,  covering everything for the summer, and completing all our end of the year records. It always amazes me that in a matter of minutes I can dismantle a room that took me weeks at the beginning of the year to put in order. Such is the life of a teacher. I'm sure it'll take me the better part of two weeks to put everything back the way it was when summer is over.  

On our way out the door on our last day, Sarah and I took one last picture. What an incredible, amazing, blessed, and wonderful year it was for both of us in Fourth Grade. The entire year flew by so quickly and I can't believe our first year in Fourth Grade is over. I am so thankful that I had this chick by my side and we were able to wade through the waters of Fourth Grade together. Both of us are still amazed how we ended up together again, but I know it was definitely meant to be. I'm looking forward to many more years with her as my teaching partner :)

Sarah and I left school, had lunch downtown, and then did a little shopping before parting ways. Eli was having a Mammy day so I stopped by the library real quick before going to get him. Summer for me means reading and I was so excited to get started! 

That was our May in a nutshell. Lots of activities, lots of memories, and lots of fun. Now we're looking forward to all the fun that summer brings!

Mother's Day Weekend

This year for Mother's Day weekend I went to my parent's house to spend some time with my family. Frozen on Ice was going to be at the local theater that weekend so we all bought tickets to go see the show. Tinsley and Eli both loved Frozen so we knew they would really enjoy it. Before we went to the show, we met at Chick-fil-A and they reminded me why I love their restaurant so much. Every mother that walked through the door that day received a rose and a gift card for a free frosted lemonade. They sure know how to make a gal feel special :) That frosted lemonade was super yummy too! 

After Chick-fil-A we went down to the theater to see Frozen on Ice. I snapped this picture of Eli and Tinsley before we walked in. Aren't they the cutest kids ever?

They love each other so much. 

Once we got there Grammy bought Eli and Tinsley each a souvenir and then we found our seats. While we waited for the show to start we took a group selfie (not pictured Joshua and Andrea). The show was lots of fun, but watching Eli and Tinsley sing along to all the songs was my most favorite of all. Tinsley was so thrilled every time a new character came skating out and usually squealed with delight. It was precious! 

We came back to Mom and Dad's house (Dad and Caleb had been cooking while we were gone) and enjoyed a wonderful supper. I spent some time with Jameson in the swing outside. Sweet boy!

Sunday morning we went to church together and then came back to Mom and Dad's for lunch. We had some leftovers from the day before and they were just as tasty as the first day! Then we stepped outside for some Mother's Day pictures. 

Josh and Andrea gave mom a pot of flowers that had pictures of the grandkids modge-podged on it. 

It was really cute!

Andrea and her babies :)

Mom and her babies :)

Me with my baby :)

It was such a fun weekend and I loved getting to spend it with my Mom and the rest of my family. My fun didn't stop there though...as soon as Eli and I got home, I changed into my garden clothes and Josh and I dug up all our new potatoes. Talk about a fun Mother's Day present! I was so happy with our harvest! We literally had a wheelbarrow full of new potatoes! Yay for my garden :) In case you're wondering, these potatoes last a long time. We put them in two closets in our house where it's cool and dark and use them all year. It's wonderful! I love my little gardening life :)

Eli's Last Year of T-Ball

This year was Eli's last year of t-ball and what a great season it was! Josh was his head coach this year and it was so much fun getting to watch my two boys together. I was so proud of Josh for stepping into this "Dad Role" because he was only one of two dads who did in our community. Kind of hard to believe that isn't it? Every other t-ball team was coached by a mom. I'm thankful that these moms stepped up to the plate (pun intended) because otherwise our t-ball league wouldn't have made it, but it was kind of sad to me that out of ten t-ball teams only two had dads signed up to be the head coach (cue "Cat's in the Cradle").

Our team was blessed to have three great dads as their coaches and they all did such a great job. Our team lost only one game, but more importantly these boys learned so much! Getting to watch them progress from the first game to the last game was such a treat. They really bonded as a team and that made it lots of fun. I took pictures at every game in between doing my "Dug-Out Mom" responsibilities and these are the highlights from Eli's last season in t-ball. Next year we're moving up to coach pitch with a pitching machine. EEEK! That makes me incredibly nervous, but I know my little guy will be able to handle it, especially with his Daddy by his side :)

First team picture

"Ready" position

Tagging a kid out at home.

Batting practice before the game.

One thing that stood out to me about Josh as a coach was how he always had a quick team meeting before and after the game (no other coach did this). It really focused the boys and made them get into the "team" mindset.  They loved their team meetings! 

Coach Chris always prayed with the boys after the game. 

Team Chant after the prayer

Melt. my. heart. 

Eli's athletic abilities really "clicked" this year in t-ball. He was one of the top three hitters on our team and he was one of the best fielders/catchers. He and his Daddy worked really hard in between games on catching, hitting, and fielding, so it was rewarding to see how his hard work paid off during the actual games. 

About midway through the season, Josh started bringing eye black to the games for the boys to wear. He told them it was "war paint" and that it made them tougher. These little boys LOVED getting their war paint on as soon as they arrived at the game. It definitely seemed to help, too! They were the toughest t-ball team around. 

Josh and Eli at his last t-ball game ever. 

Last team chant

#1 t-ball team in the league :)

Way to go, boys!!

Pop and Zue-Zue with Eli after his last t-ball game. 

A week after our last game, we had closing ceremonies for t-ball. All the t-ball teams gathered together on the same field and each coach passed out trophies to the boys on their team. It was so much fun to see the excitement on these kids' faces when they received their trophies. 

Grammy, Pop, and Zue-Zue also came to closing ceremonies and we celebrated with a little Johnny's Pizza afterwards.

Last team picture with their t-ball trophies.

Great season, boys!! You all did such a good job!!