Memorial Day Weekend

We packed a lot of fun into this past weekend. We spent a lot of time out and about and with Aaron's family and it was great. Saturday and Monday were really quite nice and our plans weren't changed by rain!

We took umbrellas to the cemetery in case of rain but ended up using them for sun.

I think we went to the park twice on Saturday!

Monday we had a rocket launch. We are getting back into a pattern of holiday rocket launches and it's just as fun as it was before! Nora got to retrieve the body of this one while Zeke went under the fence into the field to get the nose and parachute. 

Watch them go - up up and away!

Aaron did some burst pictures on his phone and we got some really great pictures that way. So much fun!

Preschool Program

Nora ended her preschool year with a program/graduation/celebration. It was short and sweet and fun. Nora has been lucky enough to go to school with her cousin all year. 

Nora was so excited that she bounced through the whole program. Here is a clip of Nora and preschoolmates dancing and jumping while their classmates walked to the front of the room. 

They recited their colors, letters, shapes, and nursery rhymes. They all did awesome. Nora and her nursery rhyme buddy Logan rocked their 'Dickory Dickory Dare'. 

After the program everyone got a bucket full of fun summer activities. 

Nora has adored her teacher and her teacher has adored her. They have a wonderful bond and that has made preschool that much more wonderful. 

Nora's teacher tells me that she has loved her 4 and 5 year old class and will miss them. She has teased that they were going to start the alphabet over so all the kids would have to come back next fall - but the kids won't go for it because they are so excited for kindergarten. Nora is no exception - she is so excited to go to 'Zeke's school' and so incredibly ready. We feel so blessed that both our kids have had wonderful early school experiences and love learning.

Fancy Nancy

Nora and I have been looking forward to the Fancy Nancy party for a couple of months now. We have read several Fancy Nancy books and she has become one of our favorite characters! 

The party was so well done! The decorations were simply awesome. I couldn't get enough of the balloons on the ceiling. The theme was butterflies and they were everywhere. It was so cute and very fancy. 

Nora and I got to help set up, so we got there early.

Nora played with balloons while I helped set up the ice cream sundae bar. 

Then we took pictures with Fancy Sally and made crafts and painted Nora's nails.

One of the best parts of the day was spending it with Grandma, Mia, and Dynna. We want to bring the Loertscher ladies next year!

I was supposed to help with crowd control during story time and their fashion show, but I didn't have to do anything but watch. All of these little princesses were already on their best fancy behavior. 

I was blown away by how wonderful this was. I had a fantastic time and we are already looking forward to next year! It was the perfect way to spend Mother's Day weekend. 

photo above taken by Mallory Alyse Photography

Sack Races

We went to a birthday party for two kids in a family we are good friends with. It was a windy day but we still had lots of fun eating hot dogs and playing games. 

We discovered Zeke is a stellar sack racer. It must be because he is a good jumper. 

He did 3 races and won all 3 times. It helped that he was one of the oldest kids there. There were a couple of times that the older kids in the group gave him some good competition, but he always pulled ahead in the home stretch.

Falling across the finish line, all alone in first place.

Nora wasn't a fan of the sack races. After one try she was ready for other things. She got her face painted

And then spent the rest of the game time in the ball pick-up game. 

And mom and dad had fun watching the kids play. Everyone had so much fun that the party went longer than planned and we almost forgot about opening presents! 

Zoo Field Trip

Zeke's class went on a field trip to the zoo this month, and he really really really wanted me to come. So we went to the zoo! The best part was that more than half of his classmates' parents came too, so we were our own group. Just me and Zeke, at a day out at the zoo. 

The special feature this year is robotic dinosaurs. We loved the baby triceratops. However, the mama triceratops was quite protective and growled at us every time we walked by, even though we tried to reassure her that we didn't want to hurt her baby. 

The spitting dinos were a hit with Zeke's classmates. A few of them got really wet.

We had lunch while watching the seal and sea lion show. 

We were impressed by the peacock.

After lunch we hunted the rest of the dinosaurs and found the t-rex. 

Then we rode the train. I think this was Zeke's favorite part. 

I loved spending the day with my Zeke. It turned out to be really great one-on-one time!

Track Meet

We got really excited when Zeke came home with a flier for a junior track meet hosted by the high school track team. Short races and jumping events are Zeke's best sports. 

We were sad that Zeke missed his 50 meter sprint. He wasn't feeling so great after school and while we were waiting in line to register. However, as time went on he got feeling well enough to do his field events. And he will have another chance at the sprint on Field Day in a couple of weeks. 

His javelin throw was mediocre, but he was psyched for the long jump. He's a little froggy with springy legs! I had prepared him (mentally) for running long jump, but for the younger kids they did a standing long jump. He got to jump 3 times with major improvement each time. I'm not sure if they were measuring in centimeters or inches, but his first jump was around 53, his second was 57, and his final jump was 62! 

Nora was way bummed that she couldn't register and participate (the youngest kids were 1st graders) and she really really wanted to long jump. I thought about asking them if she could try, but decided not to because there was a long line behind us. However, because I was on the other side of the pit taking pictures, I wasn't there to direct her when Zeke finished. The next thing I knew she had stepped up to the line and was jumping. The teenagers running the long jump were so good to her and she loved every second of it. She jumped around 38 all three times. 

It was a great day and they love that they came home with ribbons. It was a lot fun and I'm sure we will be back next year!

Zeke's Baptism

On a beautiful spring day, this boy got baptized. 

He was a lot excited, a little nervous, and very ready to take this step. We talked about the fact that he didn't have to do this if he didn't want to, and he surprised me with very mature responses to why he wanted to be baptized. I really felt like he knew the meaning of this and it was important it was to him. (He has had the greatest primary teachers!)

Nora was so excited for him, and she can't wait for her turn in 3 years. 

My handsome 8 year old. 

It was a wonderful service and a wonderful day for our family. I look forward to learning and growing more in the gospel with Zeke in the future. 

Zeke's Pizza Party

We celebrated Zeke's 8th birthday with a fun octopus cake

and a stack of pizzas

and some wonderful friends

 and train rides. The train was an unexpected bonus (thanks Grandpa!)

After a lot of playing outside, some pizza, and some more playing outside, Zeke opened presents and we had cake/cupcakes and ice cream. Some people made root beer floats, and grandma and grandpa brought rice krispie treats too.

Then it was back outside for more playtime until parents came. And - surprise! - the sprinklers turned on! Everyone screamed and some ran away, but most everyone came back to play in the sprinklers and it turned into kind of a pool party. Not what I had in mind for 8 pm in early May, but they had a blast!

A few of them left soaking wet, and very happy!

Happy, happy 8th birthday to my wonderful Zeke! He is an awesome student and really works hard to do well. He has a bit of a perfectionist streak in him, which both drives him and frustrates him at the same time. For the most part it works for his good. He treasures his [limited] free time when he can play games on the computer, play board games, build tracks for trains, race hot wheels cars, go on bike rides, and play outside. One of my favorite things to do with him is snuggle in at bedtime and read together. He makes me laugh and I love him more everyday!