Summer 2010 (part 1)

I got that "memory card full" warning when I was trying to take some pictures the other day, and it made me realize how terrible I've been at updating this blog with our summer adventures!  I don't feel too badly-- hopefully you're so involved in your own summer fun that you haven't noticed my little hiatus.

We're always busy, of course, but we've been having such a great time this summer.  I have been doing my very best to battle the B-word ("bored") and with the help of our fun neighbors, friends and a visit from cousins, we're not doing too bad.  And rather than give you a big long travel log (even though I know some of you like that kind of thing...), I'm just going to post some postcard shots of our Summer 2010 over the next few days and catch up.

Today:  Part 1-- from top left corner:  Sprinklers! (and slip & slides, and little pools); (top middle) relaxing in the hammock at Chris's parents' house; (bottom middle) Thomas LOVED watching all of Gordon's tee ball games;  Gordon and his cousin David are two little peas in a pod-- it's so fun to watch them together (and only a little bit rowdy)
Bottom left:  Thomas and his cute cousin Audrey; Gordon and Mom spelunking at Craters of the Moon; two little buzz-heads and their buddy Nicolas at the sand dunes

Happy Summer!

Last day of school recap!

Blogging is a lot like laundry-- the longer you let it go without doing it, the harder it is to do!  So, here I am, catching up again!  Grr!

Summer has been in full swing here and we've been having such a great time.  Before the great time, however, we were getting rained out of pretty much everything.  Let's start with Tom's last day of school, when I had volunteered to help with their field day:  rain, rain, rain.

First off, I should say how much Thomas has loved Westside.  We were a little bit (okay, a lot!) nervous about switching schools-- our school in Logan was so wonderful and I had a hard time imagining that we could like another school even half as well.  While there are still a lot of things that I miss about EBLS, Westside has exceeded my expectations.  Tom had a darling, energetic teacher, made lots of new friends, and most importantly, really loved going to school every day.  And, I must brag for a minute, he did end the year with straight A's!  ;)

On the last day of school, the field day was rained out and moved inside.  We still managed to have a great time, though.  My favorite parts of the day included playing a game with the kids that involved holding hands and getting a hula-hoop around the circle of kids, the absolute hilarity of "Extreme Simon Says", and hearing the whole elementary school sing along to "Fireflies" during the end-of-year slideshow.  

Thomas was a little bit emotional, but I promised that we'll meet up with some of his friends this summer and we'll see them all next school year.  He'll definitely miss his cute teacher, Mrs. Cassidy, but I'm sure they'll say "hi" in the halls.  He had a great 3rd grade year!

For the last day of school, Chris had promised the boys that they could sleep out in the tent in the back yard.  The rain was too heavy, but the boys were sad not to sleep in a tent, so Chris compromised and set the tent up in my parents' large shop.  We had an indoor BBQ with hot dogs and hamburgers cooked on the George Foreman grill, and s'mores made with marshmallows roasted on the stove top.  

The kids and Chris were really comfortable in their indoor tent-- they actually slept in pretty late!  What a great way to kick off the summer!

{Almost} Summer!

It's the final countdown-- the last day of school is tomorrow, then summer will be officially underway! I've been pouring over our calendar, confirming dates, looking up destination information, and getting excited for a fun three months! And did I mention the added summer benefits of not having to drag Tom out of bed at 7:30 every morning? That's something to look forward to, too!

Before summer kicks off, though, a lovely Memorial Day weekend, a couple of graduations, and a visit from Nonny and Bob. I didn't take any pictures over the Memorial Day holiday-- we went to Salt Lake City to visit Gramm & Gramp, and Marilyn has a fabulous new camera that was much more fun to play with than my own. I'm sure she'll post some pictures of our adventures soon. We had a great time!

Gordon is all ready for kindergarten in the fall. He had his immunizations (a fun-filled experience that included two screaming kids, and embarrassed mother and a very calm, very strong nurse), he is registered at the school, and he passed all of his numbers, letters, and other pre-requisites with flying colors. Now all he had to do was graduate from pre-school! The graduation/singing performance was last week and, in true pre-school form, it was adorable. The kids sang several songs and I loved watching Gordon on the top row, singing his little heart out and following along with the actions in his bold, energetic style.

Gordon has had a great year at Smart Start. His teacher, Mrs. Taft, has been wonderful and he really looked forward to every day at school. We'll miss his cute teacher and all of her creative energy!

My mom gave Gordon $1.00 as a graduation present. I love that when you're in pre-school, getting a dollar is not only satisfactory, it's thrilling!

My youngest sister, Allison, also graduated this last week-- but her graduation was from high school. I'll admit it: the best part of her graduation was the fact that my grandparents, Nonny and Bob, came to visit for the occasion! They've been out of the country since the end of last summer, so it was very sweet to see them and catch up. Gordon, Neil and I had the pleasure of spending Tuesday afternoon with Nonny and Bob, eating lunch at the Olive Garden (have you tried the roasted chicken flatbread? Yum!), then visiting the Museum of Idaho. The museum has a fun dog-themed exhibit-- "Wolf to Woof"-- and our animal-lover Gordon was in heaven. (Neil stayed contentedly in his stroller.)

Nonny and Bob are such good sports and crawled around with the kids in the children's area. Gordon is still carrying the tickets, illustrated with different dog pictures, in his special tote!

Graduations are always a cause to celebrate and I think Allison was especially thrilled to be finished with high school. We enjoyed a family dinner at Allison's choice, Red Robin, then I went with my parents and grandparents to the graduation ceremony. It was long-ish, the benches were uncomfortable, and the seniors were a little on the unruly side, but finally, diplomas were awarded and the class of 2010 was on their way into the real world-- after a stop at an all-night party, of course.

My sister, Ann-Michelle, me, and Allison (yes, she has blue streaks in her hair) at Red Robin

The graduation attendees-- me, Nonny, Mom, Allison, Dad, Bob

Allison, the happy grad! She'll be going off to college at the end of August and my parents are going to have a very empty house.

Happy Birthday Gordon!

On Saturday, my little Gordon turned five! It's hard to believe my funny little boy is growing up so quickly. Gordon is a darling little devil and he really does add so much joy and energy to our everyday lives. Here are five favorite things about Gord:

1. Everything Gordon does is done with gusto and enthusiasm! Even his fits are full-blown, which is super fun for his parents. It's fun to be around Gordon because his energy is so contagious.
2. Gordon gives the best, most heartwarming hugs. He is completely in the hugging moment, so you really feel like he means to give you all of his love.
3. Gordon is a clever little thing. He has an uncanny memory, especially when it comes to promises about treats!
4. Gordon loves holidays-- especially Halloween. We probably have a conversation about which holiday is coming up next and what we'll be doing on that day at least once a week.
5. We're starting to see some musical talent emerge from Gord. He loves to play the piano and sing-- my very favorite is to catch him singing when he doesn't realize that I'm listening!

I love my little Snuggle Puppy and I'm so glad he's mine! Happy Birthday, Gordon!

One, two, three, four... FIVE!

Oh, five. Such a glorious, adventure-filled age. Especially if you're Gordon, for whom everything is just plain awesome. He really is an excited little guy-- always! I barely have enough energy to keep up with him, which is why I'm SUPER excited for kindergarten. I'm also excited to leave the glue supervision to someone else for a little while!


Gordon's actual birthday isn't until tomorrow, but we had his birthday party today. First off, I should note that a long time ago, I vowed not to have anything other than a family party for my children until they reached a certain age (not 5), but when I asked Gordon what he wanted for his birthday, all he could talk about was a party. So, I gave in and got him a teeny little present and a big ol' party. Now that it's over and it appears that everyone had a blast, I'm thinking birthday parties are not such a bad idea. I'm not sure what my problem was to begin with, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the mess.

So, here's a rundown of our fabulous 90 minutes: Pizza! Dinosaur Pinata! (and thank goodness for ages 5 and under who don't hoard the candy but make sure even the little guys get some) Presents! Presents! Presents! Cupcakes with trick candles! Trick candles?! I know, I had no idea! Help us blow the candles out!! Okay, stomp the candles out! Cupcakes! Party horns! Party horns on the trampoline! Sticky, squealing, happy children all over the yard! Hooray!

And that's about it. An hour and a half is just about right-- and I'm feeling pretty safe in betting that most of those kiddos (especially the ones in the younger age group) fell asleep on the way home.

Right now we're dealing with a bit of birthday-boy-bossiness and older-brother-jealousy, but aside from that, I'd say it's been a really fantastic day. Certainly a "best day ever" in Gordon's book-- and it's not even his birthday yet!