life through my iphone

Bryce got his haircut at Kelly's last week and requested a Mohawk before she cut it!

 

 

Tuesday was my mom's birthday.  We had a yummy dinner at Bonefish.

 

After dinner we went back to their house for dessert.  My Nanny always made my mom a strawberry pie for her birthday.  I have taken over the tradition in the last few years.

 

My Nanny said her recipe is the Shoney's strawberry pie recipe. 

 

Ingredients:

 

3 T cornstarch

1 c sugar

1 c water

3 T strawberry jello

1 pie shell

1 qt sliced strawberries

 

Directions:

Line a baked pie shell with sliced strawberries.

 

Bring cornstarch, sugar, water, and jello to a boil.  Let it cool.  Pour over strawberries.  Chill.  Top with whip cream. YUM!

 

That night we headed home to start power washing our fence.  Our neighbors did theirs last year so we thought we better step up our game!  Bryce enjoyed watching.

 

 

I've never understood when people say their summer starts after Memorial Day.  However, now that I'm not working and Bryce's school finished up before Memorial Day, I see what they're talking about.  What else says summer like the pool.  Bryce went for a swim yesterday with Nana.

 

And if the pool doesn't say summer, then a sno shack surely does! 

 

Emmy loved her first sno shack.

 

She was NOT happy when she spilled it and Macy finished it up!

 

Happy Friday

summer reading

I decided to start a little summer reading with Bryce this week.  Although I taught for 7 years, I have to confess that I don't really remember how to teach kids to read.  However, when I graduated I could have, but since I taught fourth grade, my students could already read and I didn't use those skills on a daily basis.  It was my job to strengthen their accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.  So as I try to tackle some summer reading with Bryce, I may make some teachers cringe at my technique, but we'll go with it.  If it doesn't work, then I'll pull out my old books and read up!

 

 

We started with the "at" sound.  I had Bryce choose a different beginning letter each time to make a new word.  After making the word, he read the word. 

 

After reading the word, he wrote it and then read it again.

 

After making his list, I had him read me the words.

 

He did so well with "at" on the first day, we went ahead and moved to new sounds the next day.  We did go back and review the "at" sounds too.  We did the same technique with "am" words.  He made the word and read it back to me.

 

Next he wrote the "am" word and read it back to me.

 

Then he read the list to me.

 

 

We have a set of BOB books that I had purchased years ago that I decided to use.  The first book in the set practiced "at" and "am" words, thus why we started with the sounds we did.  After practicing the "at" and "am" words for two days, we gave the book a try.  Bryce did such a great job reading the book.  I had a hard time videoing and holding the book with one hand.  I really want Bryce to get in the habit of finger pointing each of the words as he reads, but we'll get there!  We'll probably practice these words/sounds for a week or two and then move on to something else.  I also have some old hooked on phonics books someone passed down to me that I might try too! 

our church foyer

The girls in my small group and another friend from church were on a committee to redecorate our church foyer.  We were given a pretty strict budget.  So for the past month or so we have been planning, shopping, and running around town like crazy people trying to get everything we needed.  This past Friday was the day to put it all together.

 

BEFORE

DURING
We were thankful that they had painters come in and do the paint, but this decal was truly a labor of love!

AFTER

Split Screen

 We were so pleased with the finished product.  We originally had a different plan for the placement of the framed prints, but our first attempt put the top picture too high so we had to go from there since we already had a hole in the wall!

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER
I didn't have a before picture of this side, but there was just a table in front of the window.

 

This is our kids check-in station.  This was painted a couple of years ago and we didn't make any changes to it.  This is next to the sofa in the above picture.

We really had a great time working on this and it helped that we had such a great team.  There were mixed emotions from the congregation about changing the décor, but we were pleased with how it turned out and we heard lots of positive comments on Sunday morning!  If you don't have a church home and you're looking for a place to worship, we would love to have you!  Email me for details!

memorial day fun

We decided at the last minute to have a cookout for Memorial Day.  We ended up having a good crowd (13 adults).  We did hot dogs and hamburgers and everyone else brought sides/desserts.

 

 

The bigger kids had lots of fun playing in and out of the pool.  We had 9 kids total.

 

Emmy and Maggie in their matching shirts.  Too bad I couldn't get Emmy to look at me, ha!

 

Taylor and Emmy always have fun playing together. 

 

The mini ice cream cones were a big hit.

 

She was still clean in this picture!

 

I'm so thankful for our friends and their kids.  We always have a great time when we get together!

memorial day

We took these pictures before church yesterday.  This is how most of the picture taking went!

 

 

Jason was able to capture a good one of Emmy, even on the run.

 

Bryce would stand there all day long and smile. 

 

Our little patriotic babies!

 

On this Memorial Day (and everyday) I'm remembering my Poppy and his dedication to our country.  I'm lucky he came home safely from war and that I was able to make so many happy memories with him. 

 

Happy Memorial Day!

bridging ceremony

Bryce's last day of school was last Thursday.  That evening his school had a bridging ceremony for the 3-4 year old classes and graduation for the 4-5 year old classes.  I had tons of pictures to choose from including some not so good quality ones (we had the zoom lens, but the flash didn't do any good) and I was just too lazy to edit them.

 

 

Bryce and Chase before the ceremony.  That evening once we got home, Bryce came crying to me because he was worried he would never see Chase again since he's going to kindergarten.  I reassured him they would see each other just as much next year. 

 

 

This picture was hanging in the gym during the ceremony.  I loved seeing Bryce's self portrait from the beginning of the year and then again at the end of the year.

 

Blurry, but you get the point!  Bryce brought home a wonderful report card and improved in the few areas where he needed work last time (ie. zipping and buttoning).  We're so proud of his behavior and academics while at school.  The kids also sang songs and I have a few videos from the other parents I may try to include later.

 

His class after "bridging over".  All the boys will be in the same M-W-F class next year and all the girls will be in the T-F class.  We are hoping he will have the same teachers again!

 

Bryce's first preschool class.

Thomas' mom made the boys these matching ties in Kitty's Kids color for the ceremony.  Aren't they handsome!

 

Bryce and his teachers.  We really enjoyed them this year!

 

 

He's official.

 

 

This little girl will be very excited to have Bryce at home everyday.  When he's gone, she walks around calling his name all day.  Cutest.Thing.Ever.

last day of school

Today was Bryce's last day of school.

 

 

Such a handsome boy! 

 

 

I love a split screen comparison.  What a difference 8 months makes!

He looks more excited on his last day than his first. There were quite a few nerves that first day

Goodbye until next year.  He'll be at the same school next year with, hopefully, the same teachers.

 

 

I had to include this picture.  I have the American flag out for Memorial Day.  As soon as he stood by the flag, he put his hand on his heart.  Precious.  I finally convinced him he could put it down for the pictures!

 

 

He has a bridging ceremony at school tonight and a picnic at school tomorrow and then it's officially summer vacation!

ice cream truck and outside fun

We finally caught the ice cream truck tonight!

 

 

Emmy did better with a popsicle than she does with a lollipop!

 

She was pretty excited about her first popsicle.

 

 

Oh these two.

 

Emmy did a great job staying clean and dry with the popsicle.  It wasn't until we ventured into the backyard and into the dirt that her clothes had to come off! 

 

"cheese"