Renaissance Feast

Eryn has always loved to sing. I love it! I remember hearing her as a two year old singing in her best opera voice. It always made us laugh. She has become quite the talented little singer, however, and has learned to harmonize. It's so fun sitting by her in church, singing the hymns. We take turns singing Soprano and Alto. I love hearing her pick out that alto part. But she is definitely the soprano of the family. She can hit some HIGH notes that I can't even come close to. She has been in choir this year at school, and has really enjoyed it. Her teacher is amazing, and has really taught them some great things. They put on a "Renaissance Feast" for their Christmas concert this year. We bought tickets, and got to go and eat while they performed. It brought back memories of doing something similar in Acapella Choir in high school. We put on a Madrigal Feast at Christmas time. I loved it! It was so fun. Eryn's choir even sang a few songs that we sang at ours! The older choir was the "nobility and royalty" and Eryn's choir was the "peasants" who served us the food. Eryn made sure we sat at the table she served. They sang while we ate, and there were some dances and other performances. It was fun and entertaining, and the food was delicious. And of course, I forgot to take the camera , so there is no video, and there are no pictures of the actual performance, so I made her stand and pose for a few when we got home. She did great and looked super cute.

Ballroom

When Eryn found out that her school had a ballroom team, she wanted to join! I didn't say "yes" at first, because I didn't know how we would fit it into our crazy lives. She decided she would NOT play basketball, and after much negotiation, we gave in. It means I have to make an extra trip up to the school twice a week, but she has enjoyed it so much. I think it's been really good for her. We were super excited last night to finally be able to see her perform.


She is on the Level I team, since it's her first year, and they got to dance while Alex Boye' sang "Are you gonna go my way?" He did a concert, and sang a ton of songs, but shared the stage with a few other people for some of them. Eryn's team, and the Level II team both got to dance, as well as some other dancers. Jared's good friend served his mission with Alex Boye', and Jared thought he better get a picture with him. He was hilarious and very entertaining.

Here are a few pictures that I grabbed from the video I was able to take while they were dancing. She did so great! It was fun to finally see her in action :) I only wish she could have been in the front so we could see her a little bit better, but it was still fun seeing her with a big smile on her face and having such a great time.

Pumpkinland!!

Tuesday, we went to Pumpkinland for the preschool fieldtrip. Of course it happened to be on the COLDEST day yet. We bundled up in our coats, hats and gloves and had a great time. We didn't stay as long as we have on past fieldtrips, because it started snowing, and our fingers and jaws were frozen, but the little boys still had fun. It's so fun for Hayden to have his cousin, Justice, in his class. They are hilarious. One minute they are having the best time, then the next they are having an argument, but they are best of buddies. Our adventures consisted of seeing bunnies, ducks, chickens, peacocks, turkeys, and a couple of goats (one of which got mad and tried to bust through the fence to get the boys), as well as climbing, swinging, sliding, and going through a cute little "haunted" house. The kids each got to pick a pumpkin before we left.

Every year, we stop here and take a "class" picture. It's both the morning and the afternoon classes.

Best Cousin Buddies!

There's Hayds peeking through the nose. I tried to get a better picture, but he didn't stay long enough. He was all over the place, soaking in all the fun!

Climbing, sliding, playing, laughing... Pumpkinland is fun!

Crazy Hair Day!

Today is crazy hair day. Eryn was worried that she'd be the only one in her class with crazy hair, but she let me do it crazy anyway. Kaitlyn is our "do it crazy, but not TOO crazy" girl. Bryson came up with his own idea. And of course, Hayden had to be involved too, saying "Make mine look like Bryson's!" It's for Red Ribbon Week at school.

WaCkY dAy!

This week in preschool, the boys have been learning a little about Dr. Seuss. Tuesday was "Pocket Day." My nephew had the most pockets, coming in with 14 (I think). His mom is super cool! I got to her house to pick up Justice, and of course I had forgotten that it was pocket day, but Jana had remembered, and had sewn a ton of pockets to his shirt, plus he was wearing cargo pants... so he definitely had a bunch. Luckily we had a few minutes before they had to be at school, so I quickly and sloppily sewed a few pockets onto Hayden's shirt. He didn't have quite as many as Justice, but came in second with 10 pockets (counting his five pocket jeans). I didn't get any pictures that day, because by the time I picked him up, his pockets were falling off. Oh well. Thursday was Wacky Day. I remembered that it was "wacky" something, but I couldn't remember if it was just wacky HAIR day or what, so I called Jana to get the 4-1-1. Thank goodness she has her October Newsletter handy (I have misplaced mine) and she let me know that it was just plain "Wacky Day!" So we got right to work finding some wacky mismatched clothes and creating quite a wacky hair-do. We felt the goggles added just the right Napolean Dynomite touch. We had to get some fun pictures of the two little buddies when we went to pick up Justice. They were hilarious! As we were getting in the van, Hayden yells, "Wacky Preschool, here we come!" What a funny kid.

Halloween is on it's way!

Wasn't it just August last week? That's what it feels like! In fact, I still can't get my head wrapped around the fact that we are a week into October. Maybe that's why I forgot to call and let my parents know about the School Fall Choir Concert that was last night. Just a couple of hours before, I had Eryn call to invite them (I know... I know... Sorry Mom and Dad!) Being the awesome grandparents that they are, they came even with the short notice. Eryn has always been our little "singer." Even before she could talk she was trying to sing. She chose to take choir this year, and is loving it. I am so impressed with her teacher. She has learned so much, and has even started harmonizing with songs on the radio. Her concert was so fun. I did record some video, but it's rather long, so I don't think blogger will even let me post it, but we really enjoyed the fun fall/Halloween music. They had these cute "monk" costumes that were made from bedsheets, and they came in singing a cool chant with their hoods up and holding fake candles. It was pretty cool, and very Halloweenish. They sang a fun fall song in Old English, then some songs from the Nightmare before Christmas (definitely Halloween songs), the other choir performed, and then they all sang "Oh Fortuna" which was VERY cool. You'd recognize it if you heard it. Here is a picture I snapped just before they sang one of their songs.

First Day

Hayden started preschool on Tuesday. He has been so excited, and every day has asked if it was preschool yet! Tuesday morning, he even asked if it was time to go at 7:00 am! Nope, sorry buddy... preschool doesn't start until 12:30. The wait nearly did him in. It was kind of nice to have a little break for a couple of hours. I got some things done that were needed, and the house was SO quiet!! I missed him a little bit, though, and when I went to pick him up, he was sad that he wasn't going to be able to go the next day too! Thursday will come soon enough. He did great, and was well behaved apparently, so he didn't forget over the summer (thank goodness!) Now if only we could get him to listen and behave in his Sunbeam class!! Love ya buddy!

First Day of School

Early Monday morning, three of our kids started school. Since they are in a charter school, they started three days earlier than the regular school district. They were so excited. Eryn started 6th grade... she gets to have a locker and has 6 different classes each day. Kaitlyn is in 4th grade this year, and it's sure to be an adventure. Bryson started 1st grade, and will be going all day this year. That's quite a change after 1/2 day kindergarten. Everyone had to get up quite early, since school starts at 8:00. The nice part is that they wear uniforms, so picking out an outfit is easy! We got there plenty early, and I was able to walk Bryson to class (after which he let me know that it was unnecessary). I really had a hard time leaving him, knowing he'd be there all day. You'd think I'd have that part down by now, since I've already gone through it twice before, but I don't. When I went to pick them up that afternoon, they all said that it was great, and they couldn't wait to go back the next day! Hooray for school.







And what were Hayden and I doing while the rest were gone? We babysat my new little niece. My sister had to go back to work (which was very hard for her) and we got to take care of Harlie. She was such a sweetie. Hayden kept wondering why she couldn't get down and crawl so she could play. I told him that she would be able to in a few months. He was excited to hold her and thought she was just the cutest!



And then we went outside to enjoy what's left of summer. Hayden LOVES playing in the water and getting all wet.

Last Day of School!

Well, the last day of school came and went. Summer is here (though it's been hard to tell with the wet, chilly weather we are having). Our kids had some fun teachers this year. Bryson was in Kindergarten with Mrs. Siebach. She was great and Bryson loved her. K had Mrs. Winn for 3rd grade. We LOVED her - she was an amazing teacher who had perfect control in the classroom, with some REALLY difficult students (not Kaitlyn, of course... Mrs. Winn had only good to say about her!) And Eryn had Mrs. Weisz. She was lots of fun and such a great story teller. Eryn had a great time in her class.

Graduation Day!

Hayden was only 3 this year, but he was able to attend preschool. With all our other kids in school everyday, I knew he would be bored and lonely just hanging out with me all the time, so I signed him up! He had a wonderful teacher, Miss Kim, who always had the greatest activities and lessons for them. When he first started attending, I was a little concerned. He had a hard time sitting still and listening (like any other 3-yr-old), but by the end of the year, he was really well behaved in class! He has learned so much, and has had SO much fun being in the same class as his cousin, Justice. He really missed Justice on the non-preschool days. He made many other friends, too. We are so proud of how much he has learned and grown over this last year. He can hardly wait to start again in the fall! Way to go Hayden.

We were able to attend his little Preschool Graduation on Friday May 22. Their theme for the year was "I'm Zoo-per" and all the learning themes centered around animals, so they came marching out looking like little animals. It was so cute! They performed a few of the songs they learned, and Hayd was so cute singing along with his classmates. Then they went back in and changed into their little caps and gowns. They looked so adorable. Hayden was pretty proud of himself for getting his diploma. Then we got to have treats (which I'm sure was his favorite part!)

They were so cute singing all the songs they learned.

I love the little caps and gowns they got to wear!

Hayden loved his friends, Justice and Victoria, and he LOVED Miss Kim. He can't wait to be in her class again!

Dalmation Day

We had a really busy and fun day on May 22. First was the girls' dance festival (you can see that in the post before this one), then Bryson had Dalmation day at school, then later on we had Hayden's Preschool Graduation (That will be the next post!) The girls both had Dalmation Day when they were in Kindergarten, too. They get to dress up as a dalmation and do dog-like things. They eat and drink without using their hands, and other fun little activities. This is one of our favorite things to do. I love dressing them up as puppies. They look SO CUTE!

Dance Festival

The girls had their Dance Festival on Friday May 22. The theme was Hispanic, so they did dances from Hispanic countries. It was fun to have Jared and PapaBob there. They usually don't get to come. Brad, Jana and their kids, and of course Grandma Cheryl were there too. The girls were right up front (unlike other years when we can hardly see them) so we got some great video. We have really enjoyed the girls' school this year. They have learned a lot and met some fun new friends. They miss seeing their other friends at school, but atleast they still live nearby. I tried to post some videos, but I just can't seem to get them to upload to the internet, so I guess pictures will have to do.

Shiny Pennies

Kaitlyn has been in 3rd grade this year, and much to our surprise, the 3rd grade decided to do a little mini science fair. The kids had to do a science fair project to share with their class and the other classes. They had to come up with a question, hypothesis, etc... do the experiment... and make a poster. We did a little searching, and decided to find out what polishes dirty pennies. This sounded fairly easy, and since we have such a crazy schedule at our house, the easier the better! We came up with a bunch of household cleaning solutions or other liquids, and decided to test them out to see which one would work the best. It ended up being really fun. By the time we were done, Kaitlyn wanted to get every dirty penny in the house and polish them all! We found out the Lemon Juice worked the best.

Busy Week

Well, what a weird, crazy, busy week. First of all, what happened to Summer? Notice Hayden in his red hoodie sweatshirt... hello! It was so stinking cold for a couple of days! Nothing a good old Rice Krispie treat won't take care of though.





Bryson has been a busy kid this week... he had Pirate Camp! His preschool teacher does a little week-long day camp each summer - one week is for girls, the other is for boys. This year it's been Pirate Camp... they learned sword-play (with balloon swords), they learned about ships, and what pirates are like. They even got to meet Captain Jack Sparrow! He had a blast!






Poor Eryn - for the most part this week was okay, but on Wednesday, she and her friend rode their bikes to a nearby park (I can't believe she is old enough for me to let her just go...) and a little while later I got a phone call from her friend's cell phone and all I could hear was screaming! I couldn't understand a thing she said! Well, the boys and I hopped in the car and drove over to the park, where we found Eryn with her foot, shoe, and pants covered in blood. She had stepped on a nail which went through the sole of her tennis shoe and got her right under one of her toes. We got her home and cleaned up and found out that she was borderline for needing a tetanus shot... they suggested we do it, but our Dr. didn't have the right one for her, so Thursday morning we headed to the health dept. where she got a shot in the arm! Poor kid. She was brave and played softball that night, even though she had to limp around the bases!

And then there's Kaitlyn... she had a great week attending Girl Scout Day Camp. They made all kinds of cute crafts, sang songs, and learned all kinds of cool things. She had a great time.

As for us parents... Jared has been SICK SICK SICK... and I am finishing up last minute preparations for GIRLS CAMP! YIKES! Jared and the kids are all excited about having a whole week to hang out and have all kinds of adventures without me.

B's Preschool Graduation

Bryson graduated from Preschool Friday night. It was so cute. They sang a bunch of songs that they learned, and they marched in wearing these cute little caps and gowns. Bryson's teacher was Miss Kim and he absolutely loved every minute of Preschool. He says he's going to miss his little friend Jennifer, but he keeps asking if Kindergarten starts tomorrow!

Here's a little video of when Bryson received his diploma and the Skor award for being the most athletic! He is quite competitive!