cardinal camp

Not only was today Open House day where kids find out who their teacher is, but Bryce's school has a special camp for kindergarteners to have a mini school day.  This was something I was thrilled about because we didn't offer anything like this at the school where I taught.  Thanks to Barbara, I have documentation of this day/event!  Here are the boys patiently awaiting to find out who their teacher was.  Barbara and I knew that they were going to be in the same class (we kept it a secret from the boys), but we didn't know who the teacher would be.  We were also excited to find out that Jason's cousin's daughter is also in their class.

 

 

Once we found the classroom, Bryce went right to work at his seat.

 

We took a break to make is lunch choice for Tuesday.

 

After getting the kids settled, it was time for the parents to leave.  Of course Barbara snapped a few pictures of their time at "camp".

 

Bryce told me he couldn't wait to go back to school everyday!  That sure does make thinking about the first day a lot easier on me!

 

After school, we headed to Sweet Frog to celebrate.

 

I was so excited about today and was kind of counting down the days, but now that it's over, I'm going back to putting the breaks on our summer vacation and hoping the next 4 days don't go by too quickly!

last day on the lake

We headed to the lake yesterday for our last boat ride of the season.  We took the Shipleys with us this time and we had tons of fun!

 

 

Nothing better than the wind blowing through your hair!

 

Whitlock and Shipley kids.

 

These boys had tons of fun!

 

Splash!

 

Emmy learned to love the water a lot earlier than Bryce!

 

He's gotten so brave in the water.

 

Jumping off the boat is his new favorite thing.

 

A trip to the lake isn't complete without a stop at Dairy Queen on the way home.

 

Until next year!

5 1/2

What's a half birthday without a little celebration?!?  Barbara organized a play date with last year's preschool class for one more get together before the kids started kindergarten so I decided to bring cupcakes along for a snack to help Bryce celebrate turning 5 1/2.   We even sang "Happy half birthday to you". 

 

 

Friends from both years of preschool.

 

Luckily he doesn't have to say goodbye to all of his preschool friends.  He and Thomas will have each other (hopefully in the same class).

 

Emmy always enjoys a play date with the girls and they enjoy it just as much!

 

 

We went and said goodbye to the teachers one last time.

 

To top off the fun day, Jason took Bryce frog giggin' and he got his first frog all by himself!  He was so excited to tell me all about it when he got home!

 

I'm so glad this sweet boy made me a mama five and a half years ago!

back to school celebration at the library

Our local library had a back to school celebration today.  Barbara had told me about it since she had been in previous years.  I already had something scheduled today, so Jason took the kids.  It was a fun event to help kids (especially kindergarteners) prepare for their first day of school.

 

 

Barbara had also emailed Bryce's preschool class from this past year to tell them about the event and many showed up for a fun time.

 

First ride on a real school bus!

 

How is that sweet little face already old enough to ride a school bus?!?

 

Might as well take advantage of the fire truck too!

 

Emmy wasn't a fan of the mascots and such at the event, but she did get her face painted!

 

Emmy has already told me "I miss Bryce at school".  Me too baby girl, me too. 

 

Next week is our last week of summer and you better believe I'm going to soak up every last minute with my sweet boy.  I'm sad that I worked during the first three years of Bryce's life, but I'm so thankful to have been home with him the past two years.  I'm not sure if that's going to make putting him on the bus on September 2 that much easier or harder!  Prayers please!

a boat ride with the cousins

Nana and Pap thought Chase and Taylor would enjoy a boat ride with Bryce and Emmy before summer ended so we took them to the lake with us!  They enjoyed watching the waves the boat made, but they really enjoyed riding over the waves from other boats!

 

 

Both girls were pretty brave and had a great time playing in the water.  They boys were too busy floating away and jumping off the back of the boat and I didn't get any pictures of them!

 

These two really enjoy each other's company, unless they're playing with toys, ha!

 

Emmy's got this whole napping thing down pat!  Nana definitely wasn't complaining!

We have one more boat trip planned next week before summer comes to an end.

yorktown beach 2014

We loaded up the car with the Shipley's for a fun day at Yorktown Beach this week. 

 

 

Naturally, Emmy starts with the snacks as soon as her feet hit the sand.

 

The boys enjoyed the calm water of the river and enjoyed playing in the "waves".

 

These two play pretty well together (most of the time).

 

This girl!

 

My not-so-baby boy!

 

Nap time is my favorite part of beach time!

 

Ice cream is a close second to nap time!

 

YUM!

This is such fun little beach and would be great for a date night since it's not too far from home.

 

Beach life suits her. 

 

The trip is not complete without a ride on the trolley!

 

 

Until next year!

sink or float

Bryce did a sink or float activity at school this year and it really stuck with him.  While we were cleaning the playroom this week, he went through things he thought would be fun to test.  Here were his predictions.

 

 

He had fun testing the items.

 

Here are the results.

 

It didn't take him long to test everything so he went through the house for more things and did a few more rounds of experimenting. 

just popping in

The picture on the left popped up on my time hop one day last week so I staged the kids for a "2 years later" picture. 

 

The Jeep has been a great source of entertainment for the kids.  Jason rigged up the wagon on the Jeep and Emmy loved being pulled around the yard.

 

Bryce had another successful week of chores last week.  We hit up the monster truck aisle at Walmart today for a prize!

 

Jason saw a turtle crossing the road on his way home from work today so he picked it up and brought it home to show the kids.  After checking him out, they put him in the back yard to make his escape.  They named him Digger as he tried to dig under our fence.  He was still in the yard when they last checked on him.  I bet he'll be gone in the morning.

 

Happy Monday!