Last Day of School

Today was Drew's last day of preschool for the year. A sad day for mommy on many levels! He only has one more year before we head off to Kindergarten - wow! He has had the same teachers since we moved to AZ and to say that I love them is an understatement. They are fabulous with the kids, he has learned so much - academically, socially, emotionally...I pray that Allen is blessed to have them as teachers next year. (I am also sad that summer is officially here, and so is the heat! So not only is Drew out of school, but it is increasingly more difficult for us to get out of the house! Let the fun begin!)


Mrs Parker & Mrs Fenton

On a side note, after school we went with some friends to McDonald's for lunch. Of course the kids wanted to play and run off their energy, which was fine. Until Allen decided to go up to the top of the play structure...and proceed to freak out wanting to come down. So what did mommy do? Climb to the top after him, of course! Those things are not meant for a 5'8" adult!!

And Happy Half Birthday to Drew!

Since Allen had his half birthday celebration, Drew needed one too! Last night we had half of a square cake (which we reminded him was just a rectangle cake, but he said that was fine - it was still half of a square!) and sang Happy 1/2 Birthday to Drew! They boys loved it again! Now we'll see if they remember it next year and this becomes a regular thing!

Legos!

Drew has officially "graduated" to the "big kid" Legos and he is thrilled. He got a starter set from Nana & Grandaddy on our trip to Disneyland and had to build everything when we got home. Today he built an alligator from a kit that came in the mail (Patrick joined the Lego Brick Master club for Drew...yeah right...) and was able to complete it by himself with very minimal input. Actually, only once did I have to step in and say that he had put something in the wrong place. He had already figured out that something was wrong and was trying to figure out what - I just stepped in to reduce frustration so he could continue. We are definitely proud of him and his building!

A Decade Later...

Ten years ago, on a very hot and humid day in Knoxville, I married an amazing man. I had no idea what the next decade would hold for us, but I knew if I was with him that life would be good. We have shared many laughs and tears as we have traveled through life, marriage, and parenthood together. We still do not know what the future holds, but I still know that with him by my side, I will be happy.
Happy Anniversary Patrick! I love you very much!

Mother's Day Tea

Yesterday was the annual Mother's Day Tea & Art Show at Drew's school. It was beyond precious! The kids put on a little show for the moms with adorable songs about mothers and how they love them. We then went to their rooms where they gave us gifts they had made for us. We had "tea" (fruit punch) and cookies in the courtyard and walked around looking at all the displayed artwork from each class. It was a wonderful day and provided precious memories!


The "Welcome" Archway - doesn't he look cute in his plaid shorts? He picked out his outfit (with some assistance) but wouldn't tuck in his shirt. Oh well - he looked adorable anyway!


Getting ready to sing! He was so excited!


My beautiful Mother's Day present - the flower pot is a metal box and his picture is a magnet. Around the box is a paper that says "If mother's were flowers, I'd pick you!" and has flowers made from his fingerprints. Those teachers sure do know how to make a mommy tear up!


Mommy & Drew!
(Notice my "corsage" on my wrist - he picked out each individual color and made it for me earlier in the week. He was so proud of it!)

Here are a couple of videos of the singing. I didn't get every song, and I was in the back so I could stand and not block other's view, but these are pretty cute! This is not his entire school - just some of the 4-year old classes.

When it's quiet...

...you never know what you might find! They boys were being very quiet this afternoon after lunch. I found them in Drew's room, laying on their backs in the middle of the little nest they had made, just talking! It was pretty sweet...a rare moment of brotherly love! :)

Happy 1/2 Birthday Allen!

In the car the other day, I mentioned in passing that it was almost Allen's half birthday. He immediately said "I get cake?" - it was so precious that I couldn't let it pass. So on Friday afternoon, Drew and I baked Allen a birthday cake. We celebrated after dinner by singing "Happy Half Birthday to You!" and enjoying the 1/2 cake. It was lots of fun and Allen was just beaming from ear to ear! Priceless!

Congratulations!

The boys have a new cousin - another little girl! Katherine Susan was born 4/6/10 and weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. Maggie, Jim and big sister Elizabeth are doing great! I am excited to have another niece - with two boys at home it's nice to have an outlet for my "girly" side!
(And now Jay can officially be my favorite nephew!)
For more on Katherine, see the link to their blog under "Our Friends"

What have we been up to?

Patrick hiked a mountain near our house...


...and took some cool pictures along the way...


Drew picked out his first car...


...and Allen started his preparations for our upcoming trip to Disneyland...


Drew had his Easter egg hunt and party at school...


...and Allen got some early practice for school next year...


We found a squirrel at the zoo protesting their strict rules...


...and, bucking all botanical rules, after nothing for the past 5 seasons, my Christmas cactus decided to bloom...on St Patrick's Day...


And finally, Allen has taken to reading books at all hours of the day and night...or at least those hours when he should be asleep...and then just crashes any which way in his bed...leaving the magic fairies to clean up the mess...


I think that about sums it up!

Catching up...

So...I haven't been so good with posting, although I have tried! We went camping in February and I documented everything on blogger with tons of photos and when I went to publish it everything disappeared! So I got frustrated and gave up for a while but I'm determined to try again!