Happy Eleventh Birthday, Curtis!

Curtis is ELEVEN today! And it’s a Monday, just like the day he was born. 

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Curtis continues to be such an easy child to parent. He is sweet, thoughtful, and helpful. He is quite a character and keeps us laughing so much without even trying. Basketball continues to be his favorite sport and he was SO disappointed this school year when sports were cancelled due to COVID. He has a sweet tooth and is really enjoying lemonade and sweet tea this summer. He got his own room this year when Graydon took over the guest room (though he now shares with Mabel since he has the biggest of the three kids’ rooms). He is doing a fantastic job of keeping it clean and organized. Curtis makes this world better and brighter and I am so thankful to celebrate him today. Happy birthday, Curtis! We love you!

Happy Birthday, Curtis!!! 

Summer. . . so far

Here it is! Our second annual school paper burning night. 

I'm not sure which subject this workbook covered, but Graydon was very enthusiastic about throwing it in the fire. 

On Memorial Day, we took the kids to Kings Island. This is usually an end-of-year field trip that the fifth grade class at our school takes. COVID cancelled it these past two years, so both boys missed it. Since they didn't get to go with school, we decided to make it a family day. The weather was perfect and we were able to get on SO many rides. 

While Bella and I went on a few rides, the boys went to the arcade area. Curtis played a dart game where he was given three darts to throw at balloons. He popped three balloons with the three darts, so he won a stuffed animal. He chose the taco. The other options were an avocado or Bob Ross. Andy and Graydon both tried the game as well, but Curtis was the only one to be successful with all three darts. 

Family days make my heart SO happy! 

The pool across the street is wonderful for those hot summer days. While taking a break from the water, Graydon put his knees on his crocs and covered his legs with his towel - making himself appear to have super short legs. 

Then Bella gave it a try. 

And then they asked me to do it. 

I'd been wanting to give this hutch a makeover for a long time and I finally made the time to do it. 

It put our kitchen in a bit of disarray for a couple of days. 

Things always look worse before they get better, right? 

Voila! She was painted in Toasted Poppyseed and I think she looks a lot better. 

Tennis is done and now Bella is back to basketball for a little bit. She played in a tournament this past week. 

And I jumped on the animation craze. I'm not sure how accurate Andy and I look, but the kids look pretty good! 

Curtis has been doing a lot of drawing and sketching lately. I lent him my iPad this week and he even learned how to do some simple animations. Pretty talented kid! 

Graydon Graduates!

Graydon's graduation was on the evening of the last day of school. Here he is before the ceremony looking so handsome and grown up. 

Normally, the ceremony would have been held in our elementary gym, but in order to distance people a little more, it was held in the high school gym. This will be the same gym these students will have their high school graduation in six years. 

Graydon with one of his best buddies, Corbin. He came up to find Graydon after the ceremony and it was only fitting to get a picture of the two of them together - we have a lot of them over the years. 

Here they are after their kindergarten graduation in May 2015. 

Graydon took away several awards and, like Curtis, also received the Citizenship award for his class. These kids of ours make me SO proud! 

Our three babies are growing up. 

I'm so happy and thankful to celebrate these milestones with them. 

After all these photos were taken, it was time to party. A graduation party was planned by 6th grade parents and held in our church gym. There was food, prizes, and a DJ. The kids danced and laughed and enjoyed a fun, memorable time together. And it felt normal - whereas so much of this school year was not normal. I was so happy they were able to all celebrate and have such a great time together. 

Final School Days

Bella had her FFA Banquet on a Saturday afternoon. Kids were recognized and awarded based on competitions they'd taken part in throughout the year. Scholarships were also given to some seniors. This was the only photo I got from the event and had to leave a little early because. . . 

it was our friends Jessica and Ryan's wedding day as well! (Those cupcakes were the VERY best I've ever eaten). 

We celebrated Mabel's 5th birthday on May 20th. I can't believe she is already FIVE! Bella made her birthday cake: peanut butter covered english muffin sprinkled with dog food and topped with a milk bone. 

Mabel waited so patiently while we sang to her. 

Licking her lips in anticipation of her birthday treat. 

She's such a good girl as she waits for the go-ahead to start eating. Happy Birthday, Mabel! 

I was out shopping with Bella and Curtis. Curtis discovered chocolate-covered gummy bears. I don't know. . . that sounds kind of gross to me. 

Just like everything in these days of COVID, school awards looked different this year. Instead of a gym filled with family, the gym was empty with the exception of teachers, students, and admin. The ceremony was streamed live through our school Facebook page. One excellent perk of working at the school is that I got to be there. Here is Curtis receiving his awards. 

He got a lot of awards! The one I am most proud of is the Citizenship award. That is given to one student in each class who is basically a good role model to other students in kindness, work ethic, character, etc. Curtis is such a great kid. 

And now, we have come to the very last day of school on May 27th. This was Graydon's very last day at Hope Elementary. 

For a little comparison, here was his first day of kindergarten in August 2014. It's hard to believe his elementary days are over. 

Due to COVID, we weren't able to do any field trips this school year. But on the last day, we were able to do something special with our students in grades 3-6 and take them to a local campground for a field day experience. Throughout the morning, the grade levels rotated through four stations and after lunch, they swam for the afternoon. Another perk of working at the school is that I got to help out with this. It made my heart so happy to see the kids having fun together and being so carefree. 

We got back to the school about twenty minutes before the bell rang. As is our tradition, on the last day of school, the sixth graders take one last walk down the elementary school hallway while all of the students and staff come out to cheer for them. My eyes get a little teary looking at these photos. I'm sad that Graydon won't be at our school anymore and I am also going to miss all of these students who are moving up to junior high. When I started working at the school several years ago as a teacher's aide for first grade, this was the group I started with. I'm so happy for all of them - but a little sad that they won't be around next year. 

There he goes. . . too cool for school. 

When we got home, Bella had made some fun signs. Her last day of school was a couple of days earlier since she got to be exempt from her finals (good grades, no unexcused absences, no disciplinary referrals). 

And she created a spot for our school paper burn pile. This is our new tradition that we began last year and is a great kick-off to summer. 

 Over at the high school, there wasn't any awards ceremony. Instead, the students were just given their awards in a packet. Bella continues to do amazingly well in school. She was in Advanced Geometry this past year (the highest math level she can be in at this time) and earned the highest average in the class. She is such a hard worker with everything she does. 

This also came home in Curtis's folder. I think this will be a nice keepsake for him to look back on someday.