Our Pre-K Graduate

Two graduates in one year...oh, my!  :)  Veronica graduated from pre-k last Wednesday, May 23, 2012.  This little gal is so very excited to begin kindergarten in the fall.  As much as I will miss having her with me, she is very ready.  She is so smart and so social.  She will do an amazing job in kindergarten.  There is no doubt.

At pick-up, all the students walked out in a line with their graduation caps on and diplomas in hand.  They were going to have music playing; but, the cd player would not cooperate.  It was precious to see their faces light up when their names were announced.  They each were given a book as a graduation gift from their teachers.  It was all way too cute.  I had to get after one of the teachers though when she told me to hang onto her cap because we would need it again soon.  I covered my ears and said "Na, na, na, I am not listening."    :)  She is just in shock as she is in the middle of helping plan her son's wedding.  I hope these years do not pass that quickly!!!!

Congratulations, Veronica!!!!

What did you wake up to this morning?

As soon as Sydney knew we were awake, I heard..."Can we move the chrysalis to the box?"  I was not even out of bed, nor had I had a cup of coffee.   The last thing on my mind at 6:50 a.m. was the thought of moving the chrysalis.  LOL!  I would post a picture of Sydney's little pet; but, it is quite difficult to see.  Maybe, I will get one when we finally do move it...13 hours after the request was made.  I will, also, need to remember to fill you in on how we got our latest addition.  Good times!

Our Little Ballerina

Her dance teacher handed out medals today.  She even wrote a note saying, "Veronica has done an outstanding job in class this year!  She has great balance and coordination and is a leader in the class.  Keep up the good work!"  Her teacher, Miss Stephanie, even marked that she recommends Veronica for ANY of the classes/mini competition except the younger combo classes.  Great job, Little Dancer!!!!

"I Graduated from Preschool"



We are so proud of all that this little man has learned over the year.  He certainly showed his teacher that he was not just there to play!!!!  (She did not feel that he was ready to be in preschool after spending only two hours with him on the first day.  She suggested that he just come to school to play.  We told her that he needed to be challenged just like the other children.) 



Brothers

I love this picture of Max holding Emerson and looking at our pictures from our trip to China.  I think it is so sweet!

Just too cute

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day; but, how could I not?  After all, I am blessed with a wonderful hubby and four beautiful children.  They gave me many terrific gifts...flowers, a gift card to the spa (gotta get my hair done!), chocolate, a hand print butterfly magnet from Emerson, beautiful cards and a great letter from Max.  (Max- I love the letter even if you were forced to fill in the blank instead of writing exactly what you wanted.  It is perfect because it is from you!)  They even took me out for breakfast in the morning.  Yummy!!!!  The chocolate was Sydney's idea.  She was so concerned about getting me a gift.  Ron HAD to take her shopping.  She and Veronica had looked through a catalog hoping to order me some pj's, but realized it was going to be too expensive for them.  I think that is just too precious. Thank you to my loving family for making Mother's Day so special for me.  I love you all so very much and I feel blessed to be your wife and mom/mommy.

Trumpet to Baritone

Max began playing the trumpet at the beginning of this year.  His band teacher decided the baritone is more up his alley.  It is huge compared to the trumpet!!!!  He is doing a great job with it and seems to enjoy it more.  (Do NOT tell Max I am saying this; but, doesn't he just look sooooooo handsome?!)

Helicopter Incident

Yep, that is a remote controlled helicopter (Max's) tangled in Veronica's hair.  That is not exactly what one wants to deal with while trying to get 4 kids dressed, fed, and out the door by 7:20 for school.  All in a day's work, I guess.  LOL!  Poor Max is going to have to work on his flying skills if he wants to become a pilot in the future!!!! 

Movie Stars for a Night

I have been blessed with the opportunity to be one of Sydney's Girl Scout Troop leaders (and soon to be one of Veronica's too!) over the past two years.  Our service unit has an annual leader/daughter event.  This year, our first year of going, was all about being movie stars.  It was SO MUCH fun!!!!  We got to do crafts including making autograph books, flower pens, and hand prints with our autographs.  We got to do our nails, hair, and make-up (Sorry, Sydney- no make-up for you!).  There was movie trivia.  Sydney answered all of the questions correctly.  I did not do so well with the adult version.  :)  We had a pasta dinner.  Then, we did a grab bag fashion show.  We had to use every single item in a brown bag that was given to us.  You can see our costumes in the last picture.  We even had to model them on stage.  We did not win an award; but, we still had a blast!!!!

Car Wash

Emerson is big into Curious George right now.  One of the episodes is about a car wash.  Emerson and I had fun building one that his fire truck could through

Sydney's First Communion- April 21

Congratulations, Sydney!!!!  Isn't she just beautiful?!

An Invitation to a Tea Party

Veronica was invited to a tea party birthday party for her friend Anna.  The girls got to dress up, play princess games, and have "tea" (pink lemonade).  It was precious just like our adorable little girl!

I loved this quote.  Ron probably wonders why I need so many shoes if it only takes one to change your life.  :)

Future Doctor?

The Easter Bunny brought Emerson this little costume.

Easter 2012

April 5- USS MIdway and Geocaching

Ron made sure we got a hotel room with a view of the USS Midway.  What a great dad he is!!!!  Max wants to be in the Air Force when he gets older.  He was practically glued to the window watching all the helicopters flying and enjoying the view of the Midway.  He was very excited when we finally got to go over to it! 



He enjoyed trying out all the seats.



Okay, truth be told, they all enjoyed trying out the seats.

This part hung out from the ship over the water.  It was not my favorite place on the boat; but, the kids liked it.

That is one big aircraft carrier!

It was so funny watching people go up to this statue.  Hardly anyone could go up to it without looking up her dress!  There was one young couple, him in uniform and her dressed up, who reinacted this.  It was so sweet!  I think we embarrassed them just a tad when we started clapping for them.  :)



This picture just touches my heart.



The kids had a great time climbing the trees and burning some energy.

We love geocaching and had a great time searching for hidden treasures.

We finished the day with dinner and ice cream in the Gaslight district.  Yummy!!!!

April 4- Legoland

Legoland was one of the main reasons we chose to go to San Diego for Spring break.  The kids had been wanting to go for a long time.  Our favorite section was probably the mini land and all of the Star Wars figures made out of legos.  Very cool!

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They even greet you with Legos.  :)

I love, love, love Veronica's facial expression here!

Here, Max and Sydney are being thrown around.  They loved it!



It is amazing to think that this little guy used to panic on anything that moved.  Look at him go now!



These two gals, apparently, made some bad choices while at Legoland!



These two fellas did as well.  One looks as if he is getting ready to make a break for it.



Here the kids are posing with one of the gazillion lego figures.



Watch out world...here they come.  They are at Legoland Driving School.



They even earned their Legoland drivers' licenses.  They were so proud of them.



Unfortunately, it will not be long before this is a real car.  :(



Sydney had a great time driving around too!