End of School Year Wrap-Up

With the help of Dad, uncles, and grandparents, Caleb created an amazing contraption to support his egg at the 4th grade "Egg Drop" and it survived without a crack!

Materials used: bubble wrap, parachute, and paper cups.

Caleb made real progress in his Karate class towards earning his purple belt.

Lauren had a fun splash party with her first grade friends at the park during the last week of school.

Brad was invited to Donuts for Dad in Caleb's class

 

Caleb had a great recital. He did a great job introducing himself and the name of his piece this year.

June Visitors

Grandma and Grandpa were joined by Phil and Ashlee during the first weekend of June. We loved spending time together and packed in lots of fun in a short amount of time:

Tilden Park--The Little Farm

Feeding the animals and visiting the wildlife museum

 Not the best picture of Wes and Ella, but fun to capture the babies together.

Seriously, the best picture I got of all the grandkids. Nice try!

Other highlights not pictured:

• Making dinner together and enjoying Phil and Ashlee's delicious quinoa recipe

• Having G&G here to help with transporting kids back and forth from school and activities.

• Picnic and End-of-schoolyear water fight

• Soaking up cousin time and just enjoying hanging out together with G&G

• Watching G&G love and listen to every little thing the kids said and did

• Being spoiled rotten by G&G in every way--we didn't want them to leave!

May Days

The month of May was jam-packed full of activities and visitors.

Here are the highlights...

Father and Sons Campout

I thought I was pretty brave to let the boys go off for an overnighter when Ella was only a week old. We all managed just fine and I was happy to hear their report when they got home the next morning. Caleb had enjoyed hanging out with his buddies. The most exciting part for Andrew: "watering" the grass in the middle of the night because they were too far from the bathrooms!

Muffins with Moms

The 2nd Graders did a special program of songs and poems for their mothers. I cried through the whole thing. (probably thanks in part to post-partum hormones)

My favorite song was "Four Hugs a Day". Lauren smiled and sang right to me. What a heart-melter!

 

Caleb's class also got the tears flowing when they read aloud the book "I'll Love You Forever"--what are they trying to do to me?

Gramm-Z and Papa

Gramm-Z was able to come a little earlier than planned to help us while Brad had to go out of town. We were so grateful for her help!

I was just a bit nervous about bathing tiny baby Ella. I was so glad Gramm-Z wasn't afraid to get in there and get her clean. Ella LOVED those baths.

Not only was she immensely helpful, Gramm-Z brought so much fun and love to our home. The kids especially loved singing songs and telling stories ("Trashy Town" was a favorite), walking to school and the park every day, making treats and muffins. We all basked in the calming influence she brought into our home.

Birthday Fun
I was definitely spoiled on my birthday--cute cupcakes and treats. The kids get so excited to celebrate! The best present was that Andrew finally showed interest in Ella and asked to hold her for the first time! Yay! It only took him a month. heehee. Check out his cheeser grin (above)! 

Getting some love from cousins and Uncle Tyler.

Ella's blessing day

May 29, 2011

Ella was blessed in a beatiful handmade dress that was over 100 years old. It was made by Great Grandma Amelia May who died in childbirth with Grandma Kate. Kate had been told to terminate her pregnancy with David (Papa) because she would not survive childbirth, but she disregarded this. She and David survived and this dress has become a symbol of faith and the precious gift made by her mother Amelia. Many family members have worn this dress, including Papa. Lauren was also blessed in this dress.

We love our precious baby girl!

G&G
Grandma and Grandpa brought lots of fun to our home. We loved sharing baby Ella with them and playing lots of games together. We were lucky to get to have them stay through mid-June. (More to on their visit to come...)