Bella's Last Day of School and off to Wisconsin!

OK, so this post is a little out of order since all of this stuff took place before Curtis's birthday.  But anyway. . .

Bella's last day of school was Wednesday, June 18.

The boys were ready to greet her with bubbles at the end of the school day.


Here comes the bus!


It sure feels good to get off of the bus on the last day of school with your whole summer ahead of you. 




We treated the kids to Rita's.




Later that evening, Andy dropped the kids and I off at the Trenton Airport.  This was the boys' first time on an airplane and they were super excited. 

I was so pleased with how well they all behaved.  The boys were thrilled to have TV screens in front of them, even though they had no sound and they only worked for about a half hour of the flight.

Bella took this photo on her iPod. I had no idea she took it until it showed up in my photo stream.


Our flight landed a bit later than scheduled and then we had to drive from Milwaukee to Kenosha. Graydon was completely out by the time we arrived.


This was only the beginning!

Happy birthday, Curtis!

Curtis Michael is FOUR today!

Look at how much he has grown. . .

June 28, 2010


June 28, 2011


June 28, 2012


June 28, 2013


When I think of Curtis, the first two words that come to mind are silly. . . and sweet.  He likes to make crazy faces when I'm trying to take his picture and to run around the house in nothing but his underwear.  He tells me that he's not a big boy or a little boy, he's just medium.  He likes cars, legos, super heroes, Ninja Turtles, riding his bike, and playing "games" (video games - which we have to limit because he likes them a bit too much, just like Graydon used to).  He can still throw a tantrum or two (especially when we take away "games").  And he is still my pickiest eater.  But he does like Daddy's eggs and will rarely refuse watermelon. 

He's also likely to come up to me and say, "Mommy, can you snuggle me?"  Or, "I really love you, Mommy."  He has a way of using his words to make people feel special.  A few days ago when we visited a friend's shore house, he walked in and said, "this house is really beautiful."  And he said that her dog had "cute eyes." 

His favorite song is, "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" and I will often hear him singing the chorus to himself.  Graydon is his best friend and though they fight, all of the mischief and laughter they share more than makes up for it.  He likes being "one of the guys" with Daddy and Graydon and often talks about "when I'm a man. . . "  Thankfully, we still have lots of time before then.  But, these years do go fast and that's why I'm determined to enjoy them as fully as I can.

Happy Birthday, Curtis!  You are such a treasure and I thank God so much for blessing our family with you!

Sesame Place!

The sun was out and the air was HOT. 94 degrees to be exact.  We couldn't have asked for a better day to visit a water park.


We started our visit on the roller coaster since the lines were so short.  But we quickly made our way over to the water rides from there as we were already feeling the heat. 






The boys were content to stay towards the edge of this water attraction, but Bella is hiding somewhere in this picture.  She stood under the big bucket of water two times and was completely in her element as she ran all over the place getting soaked!  I loved just watching her.  


The boys were very interested in the park map and referenced it often. 




It's parade time!  I think we ended up on the exact same rock that we sat on last year.  We intended to get to the parade earlier for better seats, but got carried away with our fun and didn't arrive until the parade was just about to start. 


By the end of the day, everyone was completely exhausted, though Bella would never admit that as she didn't want to leave.  We topped off our visit with one more ride on the roller coaster.   

I loved this fun day together.  So many great family memories!

A Few Randoms

Graydon put on a little puppet show.  He made this 'Ninja Turtle' and taped a plastic snake on the back.  I love his imagination.  (And whoa!  Look at the fingerprints on that TV!  I promise that I do clean it.)


Bella received a certificate at a school assembly for completing the 'Read and Lead' program.  She read 2,000 minutes throughout several months of the school year.  One of her prizes was a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card!  Bella loves to read and that makes me so happy. 


I was a room mom in Bella's class this year.  All of the room parents plus the second graders got these t-shirts that had the school mascot on the front and the names of all the second graders on the back.  If we weren't moving, Bella would be graduating to the upper elementary school.  So, finishing up second grade is a big deal at her school.  To celebrate, we had a big party complete with lots of outdoor games.  And Bella thought it was cool that we were matching that day.  I wonder how long she will think that!

Father's Day

We got Andy a few of his favorite things: chocolate, nuts, pickles, and beer!


Then it was off to the shore where we spent the day with our dear friend Jane and enjoyed the water, sand, and sun.
















I talked with my own dad that evening while sitting in a front porch rocking chair and watching the sun set over the bay.

Such a wonderful day. 

Graduations

Last Thursday was the boys' last day of playgroup. One of our crafts that day were these little graduation hats.


And one of the moms made these cute diplomas. 




Friday was Graydon's preschool graduation. 






The ceremony was super adorable.  I made it without crying until the very end.  But the "Moving Up to Kindergarten" song makes me cry every time.  Here are some highlights. . .






At the graduation, Graydon's teacher gave us a package with the instructions not to open it until we got home.  When Graydon later opened it, he discovered the class pet, Wiggles with a note that read, "I have gotten too big for preschool and was looking for someone to adopt me.  I remembered that you and your family will be moving this summer and thought I could move with you!"  Taking the class pet home was something that each child looked forward to and it meant so much to Graydon that Wiggles would be staying with him permanently!  And it was so thoughtful of his teacher in light of our upcoming move.  


And that reminds me, I never officially announced our upcoming move on the blog!  By now, I'm assuming that most of you already know anyway.  But in case you don't, we're moving to Indiana where Andy will become the pastor of a church out there.  We'll move at the end of July.  It's going to be a busy summer! 

Some other stuff we've been up to. . .

We took the kids mini golfing for the first time.  The first nine holes went smoothly, but it was a hotter day than we had anticipated it being and everyone started to wear out a bit.  Still had a fun time though!




The boys seem to be making their way into our room some time during the night.  I'll wake up to find an extra person or two in bed with us.



We've got a busy week with end-of-the-year festivities and then it's off to Wisconsin!  Oh boy. . . there is so much to do!

Hello Summer!

The pool we belong to opened up on Memorial Day weekend. The water was freezing!!!


So the kids spent a little more time on the park equipment.


We went back the following weekend and the water was still super cold.  Maybe our third time will be a charm?

Our playgroup got a discounted rate to Storybook Land, so the boys and I spent one Tuesday there.  We were there when the doors opened at 10am and shut down the place when they closed at 3pm.  They went on every ride and then repeated their favorites.  They were able to go on most of the rides without me (with the exception of the Tilt-A-Whirl equivalent, which had me dizzy and feeling nauseous for a little bit).  They even went on a roller coaster without me!  We had such a great time and the lines were either non-existent or super short.  So perfect.

This park is about an hour and a half drive from where we live, and I had never been there before; so I needed to use the GPS on my phone.  Unfortunately, it drained my battery and I only got a few pics.  A friend I was with texted me a few, so that was nice. 






This was definitely one of the faves.  I think they rode it a total of 7 or 8 times.


Later in the week - painting at playgroup.


Bella and I had a girls' night last night.  It included summer clothes shopping, swimsuit shopping, and birthday present shopping for one of her friends.  We ended the evening with cookies and cream ice cream cones and an episode of Phineas and Ferb.  Love our times together.