Officially eligible for kindergarten!

You'd think he graduated from cooking school with a bowl and Fruit Loops on his head!

Yeah, preschool is over, done, finished...outta here! I've had to force Riley to finish out the last two months of preschool because he insisted that it was time for him to attend kindergarten. Thank goodness it is finally his time. This poor kid is so restless, he needs something to do more than just 2-3 times a week. He's beginning to wear me out. I have completely run out of creative ideas... sorry Gracie and Jake. Nothing can hold Riley's attention for very long, so I hope he has a patient and understanding kindergarten teacher, or else I will be receiving several phone calls I'm afraid. Riley will definitely keep things interesting. We love you Riley...you made it!

Haydn's Debut

Check him out with the Hula Hoop...he's really concentrating on those fluid movements.

I love Haydn's smile !

Delon and I went to see Haydn's classroom skit, "Celebrating Friendship", for the end of the year. For those of you who know Haydn, he's not the performing type, so I wasn't expecting much. Well, Haydn surprised us and participated in the program like he had a been doing it his entire life. He sang, used sign language, memorized poems...and enjoyed himself!! Wow, maybe Haydn is finally learning to have a little fun. :)

Eight Years Old Already!

As you can see, we ran out of candles, so we did 5 + 3 = 8...lame, I know. But he didn't care. :)

Haydn's birthday was on the 19th. He is now 8 yrs. old and I can't believe it! I remember the day he was born...like it was yesterday. He was a beautiful baby, so sweet and mild mannered. He never cried and always smiled. Now he is maybe not so mild mannered, but is a wonderful big brother. Haydn is such a smart and curious child and I love that he likes to learn and ask so many questions. We are grateful to have Haydn in our family and we are glad that he is excited to be baptized. What a blessing it is to be a member of the church. Happy Birthday Haydn!!

Peace of Mind

We finally got the railing up on our deck...yeah! We took down the old redwood railing and put up vinyl. I just wish it had been done earlier. Several days ago, Jake fell off the higher part of our deck and scraped his face up pretty good. I should have taken a picture. He bit right through his lip, scraped his nose and chin, and as he came down, the shirt he had on went up into his chin leaving the perfect impression of his button, words and all! I could see Eddie Bauer written on his chin. I felt so bad, it's amazing how fast the body heals though, he is as good as new!
So now I can let him outside without worrying too much...which is a blessing to a mother of five.

Happy Mother's Day!!

For all of you who consider yourself a mother, I hope you have a great Mother's Day!
And to my mom...well, there are a lot of reasons why I think Mother's Day is an easy out for those people who do not appreciate or show their mothers they appreciate them every day. (Even if it is in small little ways). I don't need a holiday to help me remember how important my mom is to me, or how much I love her. So Mom, here it is... I love you for the help on all my huge History reports, for the homemade lunches, (no honey, please) , for your faith in me, for helping me hang up all my posters for office in middle school, even if we were being sabotaged by my opponent, for understanding why my socks had to be just perfect before I could put on shoes, for Chocolate Chip cookies...mmm!, for helping me to become independent, for great birthday parties and homemade b-day cakes, for cheering from the sidelines while I marched by awkwardly playing the trumpet or french horn, for putting up with my grouchiness when I had stayed up all night long doing homework, for stalling dad when you knew I had to have my hair look just right before I could leave the house, for teaching me to be clean and organized...although I think I may be a little OCD :), for being a wonderful example of how a mother should be selfless, for sending me care packages at college, for giving me so many opportunities. Most importantly, thank you for being you! I LOVE YOU MOM! Happy Mother's Day...every day!

To play soccer or not to play soccer...that is the question

Well, Riley decided he would play soccer this spring. Fortunately we found out that 3 or 4 of his friends were also on the team. That was a plus! Riley decided he likes to play only when people aren't watching him...he grew out of that real fast. He's playing pretty good now and is really starting to enjoy it. Too bad it will be over before he realizes how much fun he's having. It's definitely a good work out...those kids are so tired of running half way through the game that most of them are begging for a sub. The funniest part, is at this age the teams are still coed. The boys are afraid to hurt the girls, and the girls are afraid to kick the ball! It's all worth it though...it's great entertainment.

Violin Performance

I went to Emilee's school to watch her perform in a little assembly for the 3rd grade. She has been taking violin since about November. Normally you begin violin in 4th grade, but her piano teacher is also the violin teacher...so she got her in early. She has really enjoyed it and seems to like it more than piano. She is also very good...things came naturally for her. Emilee is most comfortable playing the violin, so I'm hoping she'll go with it. It's a beautiful instrument. I wish I would have kept up the French Horn...who knows, maybe I'll learn too!

Cookie Monsters

We all know everybody loves a little treat now and then...but Gracie and Jake can't seem to wait.
I caught these two under my kitchen table with pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that were supposed to be for later. Gracie decided to take things into her own hands and climbed up to get one for herself and Jake, of course behind my back. I could hear them giggling quietly...which is never a very reassuring sign. There they were, eating to their heart's content. Hope they enjoyed them...because it sure looks like they were!