Slip and Slide Fun

As soon as Savannah got off the bus she asked about going to the water party at Lena's house this afternoon.  I wasn't sure exactly what the plan was, but I quickly figured out that the neighborhood kids had all been invited to the Richardson's house for a slip and slide party!  Mr. Dace arrived home from work and was out (still in his work clothes) setting up the plastic for his amazing, self constructed, designer, slip and slide.  By the time I verified it was okay for my kids to play, got them dressed in their suits and covered in sunscreen, and walked back over, he was squirting dish detergent all down the slide to get it ready.  The kids play for at least an hour before retreating to their back yard for some super soaker water gun fun!  I guess sometimes the most fun is had on days with OUT a plan. :)

Wrapping up the School Year

The past week has been filled with fun activities for both Savannah and Preston. As the school year at PSE comes to a close there are a ton of special events! The first one happened last Thursday at Camp Eagle Rock. Field day is held off campus, one grade level at a time. I was able to swap the little kiddo with Elizabeth so we both could enjoy some field day fun. These pictures are tiny and compliments of the class mom (no idea why they are so little).

Savannah clearly had a blast.  When I got there to set up the class lunch she was soaking wet and smiling from ear to ear!  Then today was the annual Parade of Nations.  Each class represented a particular country and dressed accordingly.  This year Mrs. Baker's class represented Kenya.  The classes each parade in and then after the entire school is in they come back up as a grade level to do the dance they've learned in PE.

Fungi Alaphia was a big hit!

After the Celebration of Nations Preston had a play date with his buddies Jake and Luke.  We met at a park and the boys played until they couldn't take the heat any longer.

This week Preston and I have also had fun keeping Baby Hudson two mornings.  Miss Leslie is wrapping things up at school and since WEE school is already out, we've had the pleasure of keeping her little one a couple of days.  He is such a great baby and a certain someone has LOVED being able to act like a big brother.  But he'll have to get his fix with Hudson because Lord willing there will be no more little ones to call our house home. :)

Preston pushing Hudson on a morning stroll

There are still a few more fun parties at PSE to finish out the year.  The Accelerated Reader party is tomorrow (which Savannah clearly qualifies for with a whopping 486.5 points), the perfect attendance party is Thursday (she's had perfect attendance all 3 years), the 2nd grade end of the year water party is Friday, and the 2nd grade spelling bee is on Monday.  It's going to be a blast!

A Wonderful Saturday

Some pool fun with Daddy

It's been a really long time since I can remember a Saturday as laid back as today has been. Dave and I snuck out for a long run together this morning to start the day. We then had two errands to run (again involving my car) and came home for a quick lunch before heading to the Y pool. This entire afternoon has been wonderful. When we came home from the pool the kids played for a bit while Dave and I worked on our to do lists. They had early baths, our dinner (which was delicious and easy to prepare) was enjoyed on the deck without mosquitoes, and the kids gladly went to bed before 7pm for the third night in a row. Now I'm looking forward to some dessert and time with Dave in front of the TV! If only all weekends could start like today . . .

Happy Early Birthday Savannah

Today Dave, Preston and I went to PSE to celebrate Savannah's summer birthday!  She got to choose one friend to sit with us at the parent table and she chose Ruthie.  After a few minutes of eating lunch they brought out the birthday cookie cake that we shared with the class.  Savannah even cut and handed out the slices herself, with Ruthie close behind.  What a fun way to start our weekend!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great Memorial Day weekend!

 

On Saturday we decided to pack a picnic and visit a local park.  We let the kids play on the playground for awhile and then went for a long walk on the Greenway.  Afterwards we had our picnic lunch and then ran a few errands.

 

Sunday worked out perfectly for some "one on one" kid time.  Savannah had been asking for weeks to have a play date with her friend Grace and also wanted to go to the pool for opening weekend . . so we combined the two and took Grace to the pool for a play date.  I have to say it was heaven for me.  I sat in the shade and read some magazines while the girls played!  When they were tired of the pool we went home and they did some science experiments before it was time for Grace to go home. 

 



Savannah and Grace at a pool break

It also happened that Preston's bestie Luke invited him to a Charlotte Knights baseball game at the same time on Sunday.  So Luke, Preston and their daddies went to the baseball game.  It was a super long game, but they had a blast! 



Monday we decided to take the kiddos to play Putt Putt.  It was quite comical watching Preston rake the ball into the hole and Savannah swinging like she was playing baseball.  Never the less, they both had a great time. 

Preston raking his golf ball into the hole

By hole 18, we were all hot and exhausted!

We ended the weekend with a good old fashioned cookout.  Cheeseburgers and corn on the cob fresh from the grill.  Yummy!  Oh, and then we surprised the kids with a trip to Brusters.  What holiday weekend would be complete without delicious ice-cream?! 

Catching up on a CRAZY time of year

I had no idea it had been so long since I updated the blog.  The past few weeks have been nuts with trying to wrap things up with my class at CCS, Preston's school, and getting teacher gifts for 20 teachers ready.  Add in a Y Guides trip, end of the year soccer, awards celebrations, Mother's Day parties, curriculum nights, art appreciation to teach, and the beginning of birthday party preparations and it has just been crazy.  Here's a quick update . . .

Saturday, May 10
We travelled to Burlington for the annual Saul family cookout.  It poured down rain after we got there so the crowd wasn't as big as normal, but it was still a ton of fun to see all of our relatives.  The hamburgers were delicious, but the desserts were to die for! :)  We enjoyed the party and then headed back to Charlotte late Saturday night.

Sunday, May 11 ~ Mother's Day
Dave's sister, Susan, and her girls came to Charlotte for the day.  After church we all met at Carowinds and enjoyed the beautiful day there.  We only stayed a few hours, but it was enough fun for one day.  We ended up having TCBY for dinner!  I was spoiled with a very generous massage gift certificate, a new golf umbrella, and some very nice crafts made by the kids.

Friday, May 16 through Sunday, May 18
Dave and Savannah attended their second Y Guides camping trip.  This one was for two nights!  They had a lot of fun riding horses, going on the ropes course, zip lining into the water, shooting BB guns, fishing and lots more too.  They were so busy I only got a few pictures sent to me.



Y Guides 2014 ~ Painted Pony Princesses

The last morning there Savnanah "caught" a fish

Preston and I had lots of fun at home too.  We had pizza both nights for dinner (one ordered out and one homemade) and even made s'mores Friday night for dessert.  Saturday was his last soccer game for the year. . . and the coaches overslept and never showed up!!  Thankfully some of the kids' dads jumped right in to fill their shoes.  It was such a great season as the Railhawks went undefeated!

Hamilton, Preston, and Cole loved playing together this season!

Monday, May 19
After teaching my class I rushed to PSE for the volunteer brunch.  It was delicious and nice to be thanked for all that we did at the school.  I didn't even leave school before going to Savannah's class to teach my last art appreciation lesson for the year.  It was fun actually being in the classroom with her friends each month, but teaching art appreciation is NOT something I'll sign up to do again! 

As soon as the art lesson was over (we ended a bit early) I had to rush back to Carmel for Preston's award day.  They gave out awards to all of the students for learning to sing in Mandarin Chinese and learning all of the books of the Bible in order.  We ended the ceremony with a DVD presentation and ice cream sundaes.

Preston and his buddy John Robert

Thursday, May 22
Today was Preston's last day of 4 year old WEE school.  We feel it is the right decision to send him to TK next year so we weren't as upset as a lot of the other mommies who are headed to big school next year, but it was still a bit sad to know that we're saying goodbye to three incredible teachers and a lot of super sweet friends.  This has been an amazing year of preschool for Preston.  The things he has learned have truly blown my mind  . . . and I have these three women to thank.  They have poured into him and the other children in their class day after day.  He's learned so much academically and socially, but more importantly he's learned a lot about God and how much he is loved by the Creator of the universe. 


Miss Amy, Miss Shirley, Miss Lisa . . we are truly going to miss you next year!

 

So now here we are, almost to Memorial Day weekend.  Tomorrow will be another crazy day as Preston and I are sidekicks for the CCS Baccalaureate service and my Algebra 1 exam review. . . that is after his early morning speech session and before my mystery shop and afternoon tutoring.  Thankfully the weekend will be here soon and daddy is home on Monday!!  Woo hoo!  

WEE School Mother's Day Celebration

Today I was invited to Preston's class for a Mother's Day Celebration.  They did such a great job with all of the crafts and keepsakes . . and in preparation for the big party. 

Me with my precious Peanut

As the mothers came in we each were seated at our place with tons of keepsakes!  I had a special ceramic heart necklace, a place mat, a My Mommy story, flower pot with Preston's hand prints and a flower pen, and of course delicious treats. 

Preston's drawing of me

While we were enjoying our food we took turns guessing which was our picture from all of the class art on the wall.  Each child drew a picture of their mom and they were all taped on the wall in a beautiful display.  I had a hard time finding myself since the picture shows straight hair and green eyes. :) 


Two more precious pieces of art

As we were finishing our food, Miss Lisa read aloud the My Mommy sheets so we could try to guess who the mom was.  Some were pretty accurate, but I think Preston was a bit off on the age question.  I guess I don't look too bad for being 60 years old!  HA!  And yes, he's right about me running errands when he's in school.  Although I'm not sure my favorite thing to do is help Savannah with homework . . ??


Getting ready to sing Jesus Loves Me ~ Classic Preston pose

After enjoying our food and laughing at the kids thoughts about their moms, all of the kids went to the stage for a surprise.  They sang and signed "Jesus Loves Me" in MANDARIN CHINESE!  I was shocked that Preston knew all of the words and motions.  Very impressive!!

My FAVORITE gift!!

We also had these silhouettes of our precious children to take home.  As Preston's teacher pointed out, notice his mouth was open . . . but as we all know it usually is!

 

It was such a special morning for me.  I left feeling loved and proud to be Preston's mom!!