Mrs. Winegar's retirement

I went straight from TJ's continuation to pick up Trey. I was already a bit of a mess, and then I had to say goodbye to a teacher I love. Mrs. Winegar has had three of my kids now in kindergarten. She is alsolutely wonderful! She is the one responsible for making this year so successful for Trey. She has started the school experience for the boys on such a positive note, that it has really made them excited for school. She makes everything fun, and does so many "hands on" activities with the kids. They have had rainbow day (for colors), a huge thanksgiving feast and program, made and caught gingerbread men, a magic St. Patty's celebration, 100 days of school celebration, hatched chicks, and gone to the farm (to name only a few). I will really miss her- the whole school will! She has really touched our family's life!

TJ's Continuation

For TJ's last day of school, he had a continuation ceremony. Each child got a certificate, got to tell a favorite school memory, and they ended with a slide show of all the students. It was really nice and I got a little teary thinking that TJ is kind of entering a new world next year. The time has flown by. It seems like only days ago that I brought him home from the hospital. I remember looking down at him and wondering how we were going to this. I guess I have some of those same feelings now. I have anxiety about Jr. High, the whole puberty thing, his friends, rebellion, and all those wonderful things that go hand in hand with the teen years. I know that it won't be all bad. But, I wish that I could just make his decisions for him to keep him on the right path. Luckily, we don't have to do this alone. I do have confidence in TJ. He is a good kid. I just hope that he doesn't have to go through too much heartache. Anyway, after the ceremony, they all had a party at the park. I hope next year will be as great as this one!

Brody's last day of school

Brody is Mr. Social! We were all looking forward to spring break, but I hope Brody doesn't go crazy without all of his friends! This was a great school year. He had great teachers and friends!

Charli's field day

On Charli's field day it rained. So, we had it in her preschool classroom. It was a little cramped, but the kids had a great time and didn't mind a bit that it was inside. There were just no other days to reschedule it. Her teacher amazed me and simplified the games and races and had everything under total control. Charli thought it was a great party!

TJ's school play

The last couple of weeks of school, TJ was really busy with plays. This is his play for his school. All of the kids in his grade sang in it, and then if they wanted to they could audition for a part. The musical was, "We has Jazz." He played Charlie (Bird)Parker. The musical explained what Jazz was all about and some of the famous musicians of the time helped to tell the story. (He is the one in the white shirt and red suspenders.) It was really cute because he even did a little "voice" for his part. His music teacher put this on, but his regular teacher came up after and talked to me. She told me that she thought he did a great job, and that she couldn't believe he could just get up there and perform like that. He's kind of quiet in class, so she said it was fun to see him in a play like that. I think that wraps up how I feel about all the acting he has done this last year or so. It has been really fun to see him do something different (out of his comfort zone) that he loves, and to see the confidence that has been built because of it.

Memorial Day

I think I explained this last year, but when I was a kid my Grandma Dubois started this tradition of making breakfast in the canyon on Memorial Day. A couple years ago, my Uncle decided that we ought to bring the tradition back in my Grandparent's memory. So all of my family and extended family who lives here goes. It is really a fun thing to do. We don't get together as often as we used to so it is great to catch up with everyone. The kids had a great time and even went hiking up a little mountain with some of the men. Then we came home and the kids played with this batting machine that my siter her husband gave them, and a bunch of neighbor kids joined in. Then we went to my parents and celebrated my parents' birthdays with my sister and her family. It was a busy, fun day! I wish we had a few more holidays where we didn't have to work and could just do fun things together as a family!

TJ's Spring Show

TJ has turned into quite the little actor. Here he is doing his Spring show for the acting group which he's a part of. He has had so much fun with the whole acting thing! In addition to the show performances, he got to take a day off of school and go on "Tour" with his group to perform at various elementary schools and a resting home. He's been in this group for a year and a half and when I went to see this last show, I couldn't believe that it was the same kid up there as when he started. He smiles through all the songs, and is totally comfortable on stage. You can tell he loves it. I wish I could better describe the skits, but he's in some western skits, a skit about what it would be like if Abraham Lincoln ran for class president, and one about being in a band. They were all really fun!