Owen's Graduation

Owen was less than excited to participate in the Kindergarten Graduation Program...can't you tell?  His part was about being a doctor when he grows up.  We practiced for weeks leading up to this big day but he was still pretty nervous.  Owen hates attention or people looking at him, so I was also pretty nervous as to how this was going to play out.  But he did a great job!  He got right up there to the mic & recited his part.  We were so proud of him :)  He only half halfheartedly participated in the rest of the songs & such, but that's okay!  He has come a long way this year.  It started out kinda rough but he slowly warmed up to his classmates.  His teacher, Mrs. Fonnesbeck, was great & really helped him make this transition.  Way to go OJO!  We love you buddy!

Watch out 1st grade-here comes Adee!

Adelyn graduated from Kindergarten-how time flies!! The graduation was very cute. They sang a few songs & showed a slide show of some of the children's work. It was pretty funny to see how their little minds work & the things they remember & what sticks out to them. Adee wrote a whole book about Lake Powell. I guess she must really love that yearly trip!

Adelyn with her teachers Mrs. Clark & Miss Jones. Thanks Ladies-we will miss you!

Owen's Preschool Graduation

Owen's Preschool Graduation was so cute! They sang several cute songs & did a few dances, they even sang the whole Sign Language Alphabet! Owen has grown up so much this year. He struggled at the beginning of the year & didn't want to go, but by the end of the year he was loving it! His cousin Cam Jones was in his class which made it even more fun!

Owen with his teacher Mrs. Ginny Nobis. He got the award for Most Organized...not sure where he gets that from? ;0)

Back to School

Well, the summer has flown by and now we are already back to school... Averee is in 2nd Grade Adee is in Kindergarten Owen is in Preschool

Graduation!

Where does the time go? This school year has flown by & here we are at Owen & Adelyn's preschool graduation. Their teacher was Miss Dani & they completely adore her! But who doesn't? They have learned so much this year & Owen has matured a lot! The graduation was really cute-they sang songs & talked about what they wanted to be when they grow up. Then Miss Dani put together a slide show of pictures from the year -it was so funny! Kids are such a hoot :0) Here are some pics from the evening:I can't believe Adee will be in Kindergarten next year- she can't wait! Now bring on the popsicles, flip flops & swim suits cuz Summer-here we come! :0)

Too much help?

How do you know when you are helping TOO much?

Last week, Averee had a big assignment due & I had major guilt about helping her TOO much. The project was to pick a MagicTree House book, read it a few times, research the subject matter & create a tri-fold display board to showcase the book & what you learned about the subject matter. She is in 1st grade! I loved the idea of the assignment-but realistically how much of this can a 1st grader do on their own. I know her teacher expected some parent help-but how much help is TOO much help? So, of course I let Averee pick whichever book she wanted-she picked 'Monday with a Mad Genius' which is about Leonardo di Vinci. Awesome-he is fasciniating! We read the book together a few times. Then I let her pick which pictures she wanted on her board & she cut them out. She picked 'Mona Lisa' since that was in the book & she had learned about it & painted her own in her Art class. Then she also picked 'The Last Supper' because she thought it was a neat painting of Jesus. Then we searched through pictures of all his drawings & inventions & picked the best ones we could find. Since she loves to draw just like Leonardo-she drew a picture of a scene from the book-so cute! Then I gathered the basic facts about him & his life to put on the board also. I let her pick what scrapbook paper & stickers she wanted & then we went to work. I did most of the cutting-more for safety reason than anything else, but she did all the gluing & decided where everything should go. Then expertly embellished the whole thing with stickers. All our scrapbook time was paying off-I was so proud! :0) I typed up (word for word) her review of the book & we put that on the board too. Anyway, it turned out great-she was really excited about it:

But then I started to get really nervous-did all the parents help as much as I did? Well, the assignment due date came & Averee was stoked to show her teacher her project. That afternoon they had a project fair & all the projects were on display in the gym. Averee really wanted to go & see all the other 1st graders projects-I was curious to see how ours compared to the rest. Well, I was happy to see that we were about the middle of the road when it came to parents involvment. Some projects were so cute & obviously done with VERY little parent help-good for them! But other projects should have just had the parents name on them-it was a little ridiculous! I am glad I didn't go that far! But it was funny cuz one project even said "by Anne Tanner and her mother", which I thought was cute. It was kinda cool cuz Averee was the only child to pick that book so there weren't 10 projects just like hers. She is one of kind! ;0)
Anyway- it was a good learning experience for us both. I think next time I will try to help her even less, but encourage her to think out side the box & be even more creative. You get an A+ from me Ave! Love ya~
P.S. it was funny cuz all us moms kept teasing each other & asking if we got OUR book report done yet...we felt like we were back in school ourselves!

Alright Alright- Geez!

So, after a much deserved tongue lashing from Christan... I am finally doing a legitimate update-with pictures & everything! :0)

These last few months have been full of milestones, birthdays, recitals, & graduations...here are the highlights:

We started the year off with a major milestone- Averee lost her first tooth! Oh the drama! It was loose for weeks & hanging by a thread for days but she wouldn't let us get near her. She was pretty freaked about the whole thing. It doesn't help that Danny kept suggesting things like tying a string around it & to the door, you know all those horrific schemes that grown ups love to tease kids about. Anyway-finally one night after dinner (she was getting tired of not being able to eat anything) she agreed to let me just wiggle the tooth a little to see how loose is was. Well, the next thing we know-POP- her tooth came right out. We were both surprised- I started laughing & she started crying. :0) I really wasn't trying to pull it out-honest. It took awhile to calm her down- (which is why she looks so puffy in the picture) she said she didn't like how it felt or the blood in her mouth. But once she remembered the blessed Tooth Fairy would visit, she settled down. I would like to say the next tooth was less dramatic- but this is Averee we are talking about here. The drama continues...

In March, Averee turned the ripe old age of 6! Crazy huh? I can't believe my little princess is already 6! She had a party with all the girls from school- they made personal pizzas, decorated cupcakes, & played games. Man was she spoiled this year-she has Little Pet Shops & Barbies coming out her ears! In April, our little Adee Patty turned 4. What a cutie! After seeing Averee's festivities- she just had to invite all the girls from her preschool class. They had so much fun- they decorated princess crowns & cupcakes, & played games. And just like Averee- she was totally spoiled too! As for Owen, his major milestone has been potty training. I am proud to say that we are past that hurdle-other than he still wears a diaper at nite-but otherwise he is totally potty trained. Even poop. HOORAY! :0) Way to go OJO! He also got to go on his first Fathers & Sons campout. Danny said he did great & almost slept thru the nite. He was so super excited to go camping with Daddy & Papa. I just love that pic of them in the sleeping bag together-too cute!

This just might be the cutest picture EVER! :0)

The girls have been taking ballet for a few years now & love it. They were so excited for their recital & couldn't wait to dance for us on the 'big stage'. Since this was Adee's first recital Averee was giving her all sorts of advice & insider info. Pretty funny-but she really is a great big sister. She even told me not to worry about Adee because she would take care of her backstage. :0) They both performed great-Adee was one of the few little girls who remembered the moves & stayed on time. As for Averee- I was really impressed to see how much she had progressed from last year-she seemed much more graceful & coordinated-thank goodness! :0)

Averee with her two best friends from school-they are also in our ward. Very convenient. And yes- she is a head taller than them. :0)Averee's Kindergarten Graduation was so funny. Kids just crack me up. Each child was dressed up as something they want to be when they grow up- Averee was a nurse & she delivered her lines perfectly. I was super impressed by all the songs they had memorized. She has learned a ton this year-especially reading & writing. She loves to read to Owen & Adee-so cute! Watch out 1st grade-here she comes! Adee & Mrs. Nobis Adelyn graduated from preschool this month as well- can't believe the school year is over. It has flown by. Adee has learned & grown up so much. The program was so cute- they sang all their songs-really quietly-but they sang. :0) Adee was one of the only kids that didn't need help with her lines. She even announced that "No, I don't need help..." and continued on with her part. Too funny. She still has another year of preschool before she moves on to the big leagues-Kindergarten. Which she can't wait for- she really wants to ride the bus with Averee & have recess like the big kids. Oh, the joys of childhood! :0)

As for me (sorry no fat prego pics) I am 30, flirty & thriving! (That is a line from 13 going on 30-cute movie!) I am still in the Primary Presidency & really liking that- although it has been a challenge. I have met some great people in our ward & made some lifelong friends. In fact we all got together & had a sleepover with all our daughters while our husbands & sons were at the Father's & Sons Campout. What a hilarious nite-I haven't laughed that hard in awhile. I was starting to worry I might go into labor! We get together once a month to scrapbook which has been fun & we are even learning to digital scrapbook together. I am loving that. Although I think I will still do it both ways just cuz I like the hands-on of regular scrapping. Now we are just on the count down for baby sister to get here. 4 weeks or less (I am hoping for more like 2 weeks!) but we will just have to wait & see. As for names it is still between Reese & Quincee, so I guess we will just have to wait & see what she looks like. I will keep you posted on that exciting news...

Well, that has been the first half of our year in a nutshell- hope it didn't bore you to death! :0)

P.S. Thanks Christan for reminding me that no one really wants to read my ramblings-they just want to see pics of my adorable children! :0)