Day Camp

I am 2 days away from my walking stick! Our BSA council gives a walking stick to any volunteers that come to camp for 10 days. I'm at 8... and Ryan has 2 more years of camp... I'm going to make it!

We had a very small crew go to camp. Here are the Wolf Bears from our pack. We only had 2 boys in the Webelos group.

Ryan loved camp. He got to be with Asher every day!

Macey loved camp. She got to make new friends and do awesome crafts every day!

Alex loved camp. He got to help me for 3 days!

No surprise here, I'm not in a picture. But I survived camp! I got to teach badminton for 2 days (in the North Texas wind) and to make/launch water bottle rockets for 2 days.

The kids did something awesome everyday after camp. Baskin Robins cones, tree climbing, and Sonic shakes! I am glad Ryan and Macey could go to camp and do all those fun activities. Makes me feel less guilt about the amount of TV and video gaming I'm going to allow this summer!

End of school year

 5th Grade Graduation. It was awesome. I was immensely and intensely crafted and implemented. I hope Alex will always remember this awesome event.

 Macey and Ryan were bored out of their minds. It was a long night for them.

 What's an occasion without pictures? Alex and Nico.

 Being photographed on all sides.

 Photo bomb. I don't think Dan purposely dressed the same as Alex, but since they did dress the same on the first day of kinder, I think it is appropriate for them to dress the same on the last day of elementary school!

 We were planning to go to cheesecake factory, but it was almost 9 before we got away from school. Alex requested KFC. We still owe him a nice dinner out.

 

On the official last day of school the 5th grade has a luau. Again, nothing is done small at our school. I professional DJ, a buffet table, and awesome decorations made a great party.

 Of course sometimes being weird is the best way to get attention.

 I love this kid, so I had to put this picture in!

 Conga line anyone?

 Flag ceremony for whole school.

 My new 3rd grader!

 Embarrassed by his mother... again.

 1st day of summer vacation. We took R, M and Asher to the water park. See Macey smiling. When she was ready for her turn, she would stand up, tilt her head and smile until she got the lifeguard's attention. She has learned to get what she wants from strangers without using words!

 Boys had a good time.

 Macey, Lucy and I went to the park. There was a turtle pond.

 There was a stinky smell.

 There was a 'troll' under the bridge. We were pretending the 3 billy goats were crossing the bridge. We then trekked along the creek a long ways. She is a hiker!

 Park today. 2 bats hanging a bit low for safety's sake.

I hope they survive the kids out for summer!

Random so I don't forget

 

 These pictures were just random days for us, but fun to see. They are in the same folder as the previous ones and I know I'll forget them later. Above: Our family has taken on a service project helping a local conservation park. Alex jointly gained 30 bites following said service, so I'm not sure he and I will be doing much next time we go!

 Post church fun.

Sunday night play time.

Suprise Party

I had what I thought was a brilliant plan. I would throw a surprise double belated birthday bash for my 2 boys since we completely failed to honor them properly at their real birthday seasons. (For the record Ryan did get a nice reception for his baptism, but he didn't think that counted.) However, it was such a secret that Dan didn't even know. (We briefly discussed it but I failed to include him in the planning stages. Lo siento, my hubby. I love you and beg forgiveness and promise to be a better communicator in the future.)

Actually, this party was more a glorified play date with a very short invite list. It is hard to keep secrets with children!

Man oh man, I found 2 awesome cookie cake recipes. I over cooked the chocolate chip one by about 1 1/2 minutes.

But the funfetti sugar cookie surprise was a total winner!

 The Pringles took on the challenge of getting Ryan to the pool on time. Remember it was 5 months after his birthday, so Ryan was very skeptical that we were throwing him a party.

 The Bakers were good enough to entertain Alex and get him to the party on time. Alex was like, 'Oh, someone is having a party, maybe we shouldn't be here!'

 No really, this is for you! Surprise!

 No, really, really.

 Oh, OK. That's right. I did mention to the kids 2 months ago that we could have a pool party for their friends in the summer for said missed bdays. So eventually all the dots did connect.

Alex's invitees: Jayden, Andrew, Nico, Matt.

Ryan's invitees: Asher, Gabe, Sawyer, Collin.

Yes, you've seen this picture before. Third summer in their pink, matching floaties...
Thank you a hundred times over to my friends for helping me throw this party. Without your help and your own secret keeping the party would not have turned out. You are fabulous!