In the Busy Month of May

Summer vacation officially starts in about one hour...just enough time to squeeze in one more blog post until the craziness begins!  The house is silent (baby sleeping, Cole at a friend's house) for probably the last time in 2 1/2 months.  I am ready...ready for a change of pace and ready to have some more time with my kids...not so ready for the messes and "I'm boreds", but that's okay.

Anyway, when I first found out that Luke was due in April, I thought it was the perfect time of year...I didn't think about how busy the month of May is with school ending, spring sports, etc.  Somehow we have survived!  Here are some of the things that went on in the month of May....

1.  We celebrated Mother's Day...I always tell the kids that I just want one thing and that is a nice picture before church.  I wish I had many, many more pictures of my own mom now that she is gone, especially pictures of us together.  I am so thankful to be a mom and thankful for my mom!

Look at my Mother's Day gift....

That's right....I got a trampoline, because really anything that entertains the kids is a gift to mom right?  Actually, we have been saving up for a while for this and the timing worked out.  So far, it has been hours of fun!
2.  Cole finished up his first year of preschool!  They had a skating party which he loved.  I tried to get him to pose normally but that wasn't happening.  I also tried to get him to be just a little sad that his school was over...that wasn't happening either.  He seems thrilled to not have to go back (I do think he enjoyed it when he was actually there, and the teachers are fabulous!  This is the same school Ashton and Regan attended and we love it!!!!!)

3.  We got to go to more orchestra concerts.  Regan took this picture of Ashton-  I think this is how we all felt with all the running around we have been doing!  (See her yawning?)

4.  Regan had her dance recital and she did such a great job!  This year she was in 2 dances - Route 66 (ballet) and Cheetah Girls (tap).  We had a girls day out and left Dad home with the 2 boys.  We loved seeing our Roo dance- she is very talented.  Of course, the day wouldn't be complete without purple flowers.

5.  Baby Love!  We are all so in love with Luke.  He has been such a good sport through all of this and has just been a long for the ride.  I am amazed at how different Baby #5's life is from Baby #1!  The girls cannot get enough of this baby, and they are so good with him.

He spends a lot of time doing this...what a good baby boy.  

6.  Marching for a cause!  The school board has proposed a boundary change that would affect our neighborhood and bus the children to a different school (we would still attend our same school since we are already enrolled, but we would like to see our neighborhood stay together!).  Last Friday, we all walked to school to show our support.  The kids have enjoyed being on the news and in the newspaper.  It has been a wonderful opportunity to teach them that it is only because we live in a free country that we have this opportunity.  What a blessing it is that when we don't agree with something we have the chance to peacefully voice our opinions and convictions.  I have always loved our neighborhood, but it is neat to see everyone pull together and get even closer.  (Of course, it was fun to eat doughnuts before the walk, too!)

Whew!  What a month.  We are ready to sit back and relax and enjoy summer around here.

My Fifth Grade Graduate!

It's official...we have a child who has finished elementary school!  (She does have a half day still on Tuesday, but she's all but done!)  Where has the time gone?  It seems like only yesterday, we were dropping Ashton off at kindergarten in Texarkana, Texas....Pleasant Grove Elementary school....neither of us knew a soul and we were both so nervous!!!  But, she did great that year and has continued to SHINE all through her elementary years.

A cute little kindergarten girl:

First Grade (Back in Iowa):

Second Grade:

Third Grade:

Fourth Grade:

And on the first day of Fifth Grade:

This week was bittersweet as we got to celebrate her 5th grade year.  We are so proud of her and happy for new adventures, but a little nervous about middle school (at least I am!)  On Tuesday, we got to go with her to a local YMCA camp for 5th Grade Day.  I guess I wasn't really thinking to haul a 4 year old and a 6 week old there, but it was such a great day and worth it to see our Ashton.  And she was so happy to see us.  She is always such a good sport about having the little kids tag a long.  I am so glad to have a nice jogging stroller that made hiking on back trails more enjoyable!  The kids got to play different games, do some team building activities, do archery and go canoeing.  It was all so much fun and such a gorgeous day.

I can never get over how green and lovely it is in the state of Iowa.  The simple scenery is truly magnificent.

What a great group of kids...it was neat to see them all together.

We had a picnic lunch and of course, Cole found a big stick to drag around.

I grabbed a quick picture with Ashton...with babe in arms...one day I won't have little ones to drag to these events.  It will be a sad and happy day.

Ashton's class had "theme days" for the rest of the week including sports day, costume day (she was a hippie) and nerd day.

I LOVE that this girls is so creative and fun.  We loved attending recognition night with her and seeing all the ways in which she has excelled.  It's nice to receive awards and be smart in school, but I think her greatest achievement is her kind heart.

Congrats, 5th Grade Graduate!!!