The swimming has begun

We've been to the pool on Tuesday, Wednesday and today. It looks like this is going to be an easy summer for me. If you have multiple children - you know exactly what I'm talking about: No strollers, no swim diapers, three of the four children can swim and I'm working on the fourth and everyone can carry their own towel. It has taken me years to reach this point and the payoff is tremendous in that I get to spend time with all of the children rather than chasing one around the pool!


This is of Lake (in the green and on the left diving board) and Tate (in the black and on the right diving board.) You may have to enlarge to see Tate - I had a hard time getting this of both at the same time.

Lake, underwater.

Rosie after a full day of swimming.

Daisy

Playing tug-of-war

What happens when you play tug-of-war with your brother and sister AND you have a very loose tooth?


It pops out!

Frisbee golf

On Monday we took a picnic lunch to a nearby park. This park also has a frisbee golf course. (Yes, this is the one where John Henry broke his leg last summer!) The boys had played before but this was a first for ALL of the girls. I was surprised at how fun it was. The best things about it?

1) It was free. And believe me, with a family of six, free is good!

2) Everyone had a great time. Even when Daisy got tired of playing, she decided to be the 'caddy' and carry the bag of discs!

What we did on Saturday

After the baseball game, we hit the road. We were searching for places that might be nice to have a picnic or possibly camp. We ended up in several parks of the Bankhead National Forest. The favorite was this one - I think the name is Brushy Lake.

Did I mention that there was fishing to be done at Brushy Lake?
Hmmmm. Is that why it was a favorite?
Probably!

I love this - John Henry with Daisy. It makes me sigh every time I look at it.

OK. OK.
You had to be expecting a picture from the back, right? Please tell me I didn't surprise you with this one!

Second Grade Party

Today was Lake's End of the Year Party. I use the term 'Party' loosely because it turned into an all day event. To clarify, there are less than 100 second graders. Third, fourth and fifth grade are in another building about five minutes away. This 'Party' was a sort of 'going away' event for them.

The morning started with the second graders playing a game of kick ball against the teachers. Then the kids had a picnic lunch. Then the water fun began. The parents chipped in and rented this huge water slide which was a HUGE hit with the kids. They also had water balloons, sprinklers, hula hoops, and other water toys. They took a break and had popsicles and then played some more.

Wrapping things up

This is the last week of school for the boys. The girls finished out the year last week, so they have been hanging out with me and spending lots of time at the boys school.

Today was Awards Day. Lake's teacher told me that I should be very pleased with how well both boys had completed the year.

Lake's awards:

A/B Honor Roll (That one 89 he had the first grading period....)
Excellence in PE Award (Spend thirty minutes with my family and you'll know why he received this!)
Excellence in Music Award
Class Chess Master
Science Award
Commitment to Enrichment Award
Member of Student Council Certificate
Student of The Month (for October)

Tate's awards:

A Honor Roll (Principal's Award)
Outstanding Art Achievement
Outstanding Spanish Student
Member of Student Council Certificate
Excellence in PE Award (Surely you expected this!)
Best Problem Solver (it's good to know it's not just MY problems he tries to fix!)
IB Attitude Awards for Creativity and Responsibility (these are two separate awards)

Have I mentioned that both boys had lovely teachers this year? I don't think I would have changed a thing about either of them.

I'll leave you with an example of this: John Henry is out of town. The boys have a ball game tonight. Tate's class is having their End of the Year Party this afternoon at the home of his teacher (she has a pool.) No siblings can come to the party and atleast one parent must attend with each child - this is completely understandable by me as the children are all six or seven years old. I explained to the teacher that Tate wouldn't be able to attend for the reasons that I just mentioned. Today, Lake's teacher asked if she could take Tate to the party and stay with him for me. Shortly after we discussed this, Tate's teacher called me to tell me that she had hired a life guard for the afternoon and could Tate "Please come home with me after school, stay for the party and then I will return him to you at the ballpark?"

I should remind you that although this is a magnet school, it is still a public school!

So what is the plan?

I normally wouldn't let him miss the game because it isn't fair to the team. I'm trying to teach both boys responsibility and good sportsmanship. However, this boy has had to miss out on things this year for one reason or another and he's been really good about it. I think he deserves this.

So, as long as the other nine ball players are all well and at the game, they will have enough to play tonight. Tate is going with his teacher.

As a side note:

After I explained to Tate what was going on, I asked him what he wanted to do - play ball or go to the party?

He asked, "Who are we playing tonight?'

"I think the Tar Heels but I'm not sure."

Tate: "Hmmm, they'll probably beat us so I guess I'll go swim."

Field Day

Friday was Field Day. I remember when I was in elementary school that this was one of my favorite days of school. I don't remember us calling it 'Field Day,' I think we called it May Day.


Lake attacked his sno-cone!

Rosie enjoyed her sno-cone!

Daisy lost her smile while in the sno-cone line. Thankfully, shortly after I took this picture the kindergarten teacher came by and had an extra smile in her pocket. She loaned it to Daisy until Daisy can find hers!

Tate and a classmate.

Can you see the future?

Rosie graduated from preschool this morning. I cried through the entire ceremony. It was just one of those days and I won't bother with all of the details.

Look closely at her in this picture - can you see her in 13 years, a little taller? Breaks my heart, too.

Saturday at the ball field

The girls are very patient at the ballfield - especially since we are there for nearly three hours for each game and we have two or three games a week.

Lake at bat. He actually struck out the first time but then came back and hit a three RBI homerun.

Tate at bat. He also struck out but came back to get one RBI.

Cooling down after the game.

The boys won the game so they were in good spirits for their visit with Trixie and WaWa (they were waiting on our front porch when we got home from the game!)

little treasures

I could not have asked for a better weekend. I received a surprise visit from my cousin, Trixie. She detailed the visit on her blog and did a much better job than I would do! The only bad thing about the visit? That they had to leave so soon.

After church on Sunday we had a picnic at a park near my mom's home. The weather was beautiful and I had my sweet family with me.

Field Trip

On Wednesday, Lake's class went to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. We didn't want to have to wake up at 4:00 am so I drove up with a friend and her daughter on Tuesday night. Although John Henry was a little concerned about us driving up late at night (we left around 9:00 pm) we were all excited about the mini road trip!


The kids had been asleep in the van but as soon as we checked into the hotel they were wide awake!

Surprisingly, they were both easy to wake on Wednesday morning.



After the tour, we let the kids play outside for awhile before loading back up for the drive home.

One last foot soaking!

Velcro

Well, not actually Velcro but it's the next best thing.

What am I referring to?

Daisy, of course.

She has decided that she has to be near me. No, that's not a strong enough description: she has to be on me 90% of the time. When we are walking, she has her arm looped around my leg. When we are eating, she has one arm looped around my arm. I deal with this by sitting to her right so that she is looped around my left arm.

So, why this sudden attachment? She is fine at church and preschool with her teachers but anywhere else, she is like super glue to me.