So we managed to take a little weekend trip to Soldier Creek Reservoir where Paul’s grandparents have a cabin. It was such a fun relaxing weekend. We went for walks complete with finding the perfect walking stick, went fishing, had a bbq with the other cabin owners in the area, and just relaxed. It was nice to get away to the good old outdoors, and even nicer to have some good family time!!
on the road
And 3 weeks after kindergarten ended 1st grade started. Ah the joys of year round school! Our elementary school started a Chinese Immersion program this year beginning in 1st grade, and Jackson was fortunate to get in the program. So he spends half his day with his English speaking teacher, and the other half with a teacher that only speaks Chinese. He has been in school now for 3 weeks and holy cow is he picking up the Chinese so fast. He is such a smart little boy and we are so thankful he got into this program. A few of his best friends from kindergarten are in the Chinese program with him and he is having so much fun. He especially loves eating lunch at school. So happy that my little boy is so happy!!
first day of 1st grade. I only cried a little. I am finding it hard to be sad that they are growing up when they are so excited for the new life experiences they are going through!
Here are some photos of our family enjoying our summer!!!!
washing bikes
re-organizing the garage!
bros!
he loves going for walks while in this backpack!
Bees game!
so stinking cute!!
Eli guy!
rocking out
And just like that a year has gone by and Jackson is done with Kindergarten. He had such a wonderful year. He has had a great teacher, and made some great friends! I am so proud of the kid he growing into. I realized we didn’t take that many pictures of the Kindergarten program. The kids came out dressed in their favorite outfits and did a fashion show. Jackson dressed in his sports clothes because he wants to play sports when he grows up. It was pretty dang cute!
Jackson and his teacher Mrs. Foster after the kindergarten program! We love her and appreciate all that she does for her students!
after the kindergarten program
Last day of kindergarten!!!
Holy cow I have a 6 year old. In June my sweet little boy turned 6! I can’t believe it. He is such a joy and we are so happy he is in our family. The day of his birthday we actually had to attend the funeral for my Grandpa but because of that, my family was able to be in town for his birthday. So we had some cupcakes and enjoyed having Grandma and Grandpa and Shantay, Sam and baby Maya in town for his birthday. After the funeral was over, and family had left town, we asked a neighbor to watch Dylan and Paul and I took Jackson and Eli to see Toy Story 3. Jackson said it was the best birthday! Glad that kids are easy to please!
Happy Birthday Jackson!
Jackson’s foot is in a bowl of ice because he stepped on a firework that had landed in the grass. Poor kid!!
Here is a Q and A I did with Jackson on his birthday;
What is your name? Jackson
How old are you today? 6
What do you want for your birthday? a new Bike
What kind of cake did we make for your special night? cupcakes
What is your favorite food? lasagna
What is your favorite treat? starbursts
What is your favorite color? yellow and green
What do you like to do? play lego harry potter on the xbox
What is something you are good at? dribbling a ball
What is something you would like to learn how to do? to be a scientist
What is your favorite movie? The Spy Next Door
What is your favorite Primary song? Follow the Prophet
What do you want to be when you grow up? a scientist
What is your favorite family activity? having a BBQ
What do you like most about Church? the activities in class
Where do you want to serve your mission? Florida
What do you love most about Eli? he shares with me
What do you love most about Dylan? he gives me lots of kisses
What do you love most about Mommy? she is pretty
What do you love most about Daddy? that he plays with me
Jackson, what makes you happy? playing video games and playing with my friends
This is my grandpa who passed away. I love him and will miss him but am glad that he has been reunited with my grandma!
Holy cow I have a six year old!!!! We told Jackson for his birthday this year he could have a party. He invited 13 of his friends over for a water party. It was fun. We played red rover, jumped on the tramp with the sprinklers on underneath, squirted each other with the hose and squirt guns, and best of all, Paul and I had spent hours filling up 2 coolers worth of water balloons for them! It was a little crazy with that many kids but oh so fun!
red rover
all the kids!!
In June we realized that we had never taken Eli to Lagoon. So while Jackson had a week off of school for Kindergarten testing, we decided to drop Dylan off at Grandma’s and the 4 of us headed to Lagoon. It was the best day. It was about 70 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. The perfect weather for walking around and being in the sun. We ended up staying there for about 10 hours. It took us a few minutes to convince Eli to go on the rides. He is always a little hesitant with the unknown, but after riding a pretty tame kid ride, he was off and running. Jackson was tall enough to ride some of the bigger rides and his favorite was the Bat. Paul and I were able to take turns riding Wicked using the single rider line. Now that was awesome! It was a great day!
so excited to be there!
brain freeze!
log ride
what a great day!
Every year the kindergarten kids get to go on a Field Trip to the Zoo. I think their favorite part is the fact that they get to ride a bus. The smiles and giggles on the bus were so cute. My sweet neighbor watched Eli and Dylan so that I could go all day on the field trip with Jackson. I had so much fun spending time with him. We walked around the zoo with some of our friends, and had fun admiring the baby elephant, the bird show, all the other animals and their favorite, the snakes. It was such a fun day!
on the bus!!
Jackson loved the snake hanging behind him… not too sure if Abby did
For the past two months we have been living at Butterfield Park for baseball. We have had games 4 nights a week. 2 games for Eli and 2 games for Jackson a week. It has been a fun season. Eli has been playing T Ball again and we probably should have had him play up a level, but he had fun and has become a great hitter. Jackson has been playing machine pitch and he almost always has a great hit!! Jackson has had such a good time playing the game on a deeper level. We can’t wait for baseball season next year!
