Project 365, Week 25

Happy Birthday to my baby Girl...sweet Avery is SEVEN today!

You'll notice there are a few more than seven photos here...I'm taking some artistic liberties...is that the saying?...and inserting just a couple more.  I'm also postponing the last day of the week because its inconvenient right now for me to get those photos included.

Hope you have a fantastic week!

June 17

Father's Day.  We went to the Airshow for Aiden and to get in some family time.

Later the kids were excited to give Daddy his cards and gift.  They will know more and more as they age what an incredible dad they have been blessed with.

Shaun and Avery went golfing so I took the others to the river...it ended being a fully-clothed swim.

June 18
We said goodbye to Nana and Grandpa John and then we got to spend some time celebrating my dad.

He has an all-seasons hill that is good for all sorts of activities...this night it was racing down in a wagon.  :)

June 19
Avery asked if I would bring in cupcakes to school to celebrate her birthday....for some reason it made me feel old, but it really blessed her so I was happy to do it.

That day, the day before the last day of school and also a half day, Avery came home with a summer packet from her teacher.  Two, in fact.  One for her and one for Amanda, her teacher's up and coming student.  Avery wanted to get to work on it immediately and Amanda was curious enough to stick with it for a while....

....after she changed her clothes and hair to match Avery's, of course.

They also got a surpise, spur of the moment bike ride with Pop.

June 20
Avery's last day of school!!  In between social worker appointments, we celebrated with lunch and ice cream.  YAY for summer!!

June 21
I had dreamed of spending the first morning of no school quietly soaking up the early morning sun on the porch, getting an extra long time with my Bible and coffee instead of nudging the kids along to hurry up or we're going to be late.  Instead I was out of the house at 6:15 AM to meet a couple for an engagement shoot.

They were running late so I fooled around with the remote for a couple minutes while I waited.  What an incredible rose garden!

It was so hot, I took the kids to the river for a swim.  I promise I won't keep putting river pictures in, though I have a feeling we'll be there a lot this summer.  Its a two minute drive from our house and if we time it right we can get a free, already prepared, no mess to clean up lunch.  What a deal!

Aiden was content to just play in the shade.

There is also a fun little splash park, though it was mobbed because of the heat.

A 9 Am quick dip, mostly to get the dog tired out and ready to go stay with another family for a couple days.

June 22
After a couple days of really hot weather (yay for me!!) a "cold front came through.  It caused a formidable storm, including hail!

More to come.....

First Grade Wrap-Up

We had a few reservation as we sent this little six-year old off to school last year, but she did famously in every way.

First day of school....

Last day of school 

Here is a sampling of her work, the first from September, the second from June....a marked improvement!

It reads:

There was a pig named Wilbur.  He was born and a little girl named Fern found him and her dad wanted to kill him because he was very little.  But her dad let her keep it and she was so excited and she brout it into the house.  And she showed her mother what she found.  The next day Mr. Arble brought Wilbur to the barn for him to stay in forever.  Sometimes Fern and Avery viseted Wilbur at the barn.

The next morning he had heard a voice calling his name.  It was a spider named Charlott.  She was hanging from her web.  Wilbur said who are you.  And she said I am a spider.  Then after a while she was staying with Charlott.  Then one day she went out of the barn and ran away and Lurvy the duck was trying to find him.  Then he was found and the next morning Charlott said they are going to kill you.

They actually read this book out loud as a class and Avery alternated with the teacher every third chapter.  So funny to see her sitting in front reading to a audience of her peers in rapt attention.

Top 8 Things I Will NOT Miss About School:

1. Having Avery gone
2. Saying "let's go" no less than 15 times each morning
3. Early school nights
4. Saying "time to go...we're going to be late!" more than once each morning
5. Missing Avery
6. Saying "did you brush your hair?  It doesn't look like you brushed your hair" exactly twice each day
7. Papers.  A never-ending stream of papers.
8. Wishing Avery was with us.

All in all it really was a good year.  We are in love with the school and have a new appreciation for it after our experience with the public school from Z.  

Whenever it comes up that our kids go to private school, the first response is usually, Oh, we could never afford that!  After a glimpse into our public schools, we think we can't afford NOT to send our kids there.  Our priority list is: charity (including tithe). mortgage, food and school tuition.  For us, its just that simple.

Avery thrived in school, both academically and socially.  The kids didn't really branch off much together, it was more the seven boys played together and the seven girls played together.

Mrs. Morell was her sweet teacher who was easy to work with and who made a special track for Avery to follow, complete with her own reading group and a separate spelling test each week.  So grateful for teachers who care!

First Field Trip

I thought it would be important to record Avery's first-ever field trip.  We started at the school and walked approx 1.5 miles to DQ and then the neighboring park.  

I was able to bring Aiden and Amanda with me and the weather was delightful!

 All the girls in Avery's class were swooning over Aiden (and who can really blame them??) and he was eating up the attention.

 This one jumped right in with everyone and was getting a glimpse into life next year.

 Daddy cheated and drove to the park.

Avery's class, in all their first-grader glory.  :)  

Airpanes!

Last year we went to an air show and Aiden who was not quite two just loved it and has talked about in at least weekly for the past year.  When it came around again this year, we knew we had to go.  It was a perfect day to be out spending time together.

Aiden has already played back this day with amazing detail and accuracy....whocket caws, yowd airpanes, wed folk (red smoke)...

 He and Uncle Tony were the most enthralled with it all....so sweet.

 The "pair of shoots"...