No More Pencils! No More Books!

Today was Derek's last day of school. I can't believe how fast this year went by. It seems like yesterday that I was crying as I watched him run into his classroom. It just goes to show that things are never as bad as we think they'll be and that we can get used to the changes around us. And we survived 8:00 AM Kindergarten, which I never thought we could!

Derek really grew these last nine months. He made several friends, is great at addition, he's getting better at reading, and he has great handwriting. (I've got to figure out a good system to help him keep it up over the summer.) His teacher wrote a note on his report card that said: "Derek, you are such a happy guy! Your imagination is awesome. Your responses in class are g.r.r.eat! Thanks for being my friend. Love, Mrs. Paulsen". I was disappointed that they didn't have a Kindergarten graduation. I thought it would have been cute.

Here's the picture taken on the first day of school.

And here he is on the last day.

He's growing too fast! I'm sure going to miss my cute little Kindergarten Derek. First Grade here we come!

Doin' the Kinder-polka

Derek's school held their dance festival today. He's been telling me for weeks that he didn't want to dance because "it was too girly". When it was their turn to go out and dance, Derek sat for a while. I wondered if he was going to go out there, but he did get himself up. All the Kindergartners did the "Kinder-Polka". It was very cute. Later, his teacher told me that none of the boys wanted to dance with the girls. And she said sarcastically, "Derek sure loved this". I told her that it's funny that he'll dance at home with his brother, but this was just totally different I guess.

Here's a shot of the cute audience members.

McKenna's New Toy

Is this "blog worthy"? I don't know, but I'm posting it anyway. My sister has me all self-conscious about the things I post.

I went yard saling a couple Saturdays ago looking for an exersaucer for McKenna. I found a nice tall bookcase for only $15 and a huge rolling scrapbook bag for $7. And look what I found at my last yard sale!
It wasn't marked with a price, so I asked the lady what she was asking for it. She said "Fifteen dollars. Is that too much?" Rookie mistake. Never ask "is that too much". It opened the door for negotiation. So I said "how about $10?" She, of course, took the offer. Did I take advantage of her?...maybe. But I'm still thrilled to have received such a deal! The exersaucer is in almost perfect condition. McKenna loves it! However, she's still too small to play with the toys. She usually sucks on the fabric seat (which I think is gross and I pull her away when I see it). I think she likes the view and can be up with her family. Anyway, I just had to brag about my deal. I wonder if I could have gotten it for $7? Hmmm....

We Can't Get Enough of McKenna

You wouldn't guess by the look on Derek's face, but the boys love it when I put McKenna in bed with them at night. They love their sister way too much. (I just realized that Derek is sleeping on a pink flowered pillowcase in this picture. I'm surprised that he allowed it and didn't whine that it was "too girly".)

Derek's Field Trip

Derek went on a field trip today. His Kindergarten class visited a nearby farm. I went along to help the teacher and well, let's be honest...to watch my cute little boy having fun.

He told me that the bus ride was his favorite part. I was shocked since the ride home took 1 hour instead of 20 minutes. There was a crash on the freeway and traffic was at a dead stop. Imagine 30 bored kindergarteners stuck on a bus for an hour...yeah, lots of fun.

We took a "hay ride" around the grounds. The driver reminded me of my older brother in his younger years. He was swerving, peeling out, and pretending to run into sheds, etc. The kids loved it, but he made the adults a little nervous.
He actually pet this bunny. Anyone that knows Derek, knows that he has a fear of most animals. So this was huge that he actually touched it. Although, as you can see, he didn't enjoy it much. I'm going to miss my little Kindergarten Derek. It's amazing how fast this year went by. Only 3 days of school left.

Spring or Summer?

Yesterday, it got up to around 95 degrees. It seems too early in the year to get so hot! The kids were all running around with red faces, so we got out the sprinkler to cool them down. You should have seen how excited they were when we told them to go get their suits on.



One of the perks of living in an apartment is having a lot of friends close by to play with.

It's Contagious

You just can't help it. When McKenna laughs, you just have to smile.

(Sorry it's such a long clip.)

Something to think about...

Derek asked me today, "Mom, when everything was black and white...who made color? Who invented colors?" I of course then explained that the world has always been in color, but that cameras couldn't show it back then. He's cute though...good thinking skills.

McKenna is Mobile

I finished changing McKenna's blowout diaper and went to wash my hands and her clothes. I asked Derek to watch her while I was gone, I came back and found Derek playing on the floor with Taylor and McKenna like this... Thank heavens for guardrails!! My baby is rolling over!!! McKenna is mobile. She was so cute to watch. She'd start on her back, give a big smile (as if to say "watch me, watch me"), and then quickly roll onto her belly. I will definitely not be leaving her alone on the changing table from now on.
She's 3 1/2 months old now and on the move. Look out!

Here she is in action, if you are interested. :)

You Are Hereby Called

Derek and Taylor had a Primary activity today. The theme was missionary work and each child received a "mission call" in the mail. Both of my boys were called to the Berlin Germany Mission. Taylor's eyes lit up when they put the name tag on him. It was adorable.
They divided the kids up by the mission that they were called to. Then they rotated through several different activities. Derek's favorite was the relay race where they had to dress into a suit and pull their luggage to one end of the room and then put the suit back in the suitcase and run back with it to where they started. He was giggling and laughing hysterically, especially when he tried walking in the huge shoes. I wish I'd had my camera.

We'll be interested to see where they are actually called on their missions. Dave had a similar activity when he was in Primary and they called him to the exact mission that he would later serve in for real. Amazing! So, are my boys destined for Germany??

I Am a Mother!

This was a wonderful Mother's Day. I woke up and found this set-up in the kitchen. Dave woke up at 3:30 in the morning and spent 3 hours making it. He handcrafted the flowers out of a pages from a notepad complete with spaghetti noodle stems, and placed in empty plastic juice bottles. That is ingenuity (or recycling) at it's best! I loved them better than real flowers, because these took time and thought. (However, Dave, you can't get away with this every year. :) ) He also bought my favorite vanilla sandwich cookies and yummy donuts a week in advance. Apparently they were hiding all week with our pots and pans. He's lucky that I didn't need our large pot for any dinners this week. The Propel water is meant to replace my other water bottle that I've been using since June of last year. How thoughtful! He also tucked a wonderful love note under my placemat. He is so so sweet. I am so so blessed to have him!!
Derek and Taylor made cards and flowers in Primary. The "flower" was a fudge striped cookie held onto a bendy straw with gumdrops. Apparently Taylor ate his at church. It was cute how he described what happened to it. I tried to recreate his description in this video....

Anyway, their cards were cute. The teacher wrote "Mother I Love You..." and Derek told her to write "because she lets me go to my cousins' house." Hmm...Does he love me or his cousins' house better??? :) Taylor's said "because she gets my church clothes out for me." What a thoughtful 3 year old!! Our bishopric gave all the women a long-stemed red rose. Got to love that!

After church we went to my parents' house for a bbq. I love spending time up there with my family. It was a fun end to a great day. Really though, every day feels like Mother's Day around here...well, most days anyway. :)

Happy Birthday, Laurel!

Happy Birthday!!! You are a wonderful sister!

I love you!

D-Man's School Carnival

Derek's PTA hosted a school carnival on Friday. It was small and simple but we had a fun time. The boys are still young enough that they are very easy to please. It's fun watching them get so excited about little things.
This is a picture of the boys talking with one of Derek's friends from school. We'd say that he has a crush on her, but we don't believe in encouraging that sort of thing at such a young age. So we'll just say that they are friends. :)
How cute is a man wearing a Snugli with a PINK blanket?!
Here's another ride with Abby. Derek was very brave for her. :)
After riding a couple rides and playing a few games the boys were done, and just wanted to play on the playground.

Yes, McKenna is under that blanket....she will be a very adventurous girl!

The Many Faces of McKenna

A couple Sundays ago I tried getting a cute picture of McKenna to frame. It took quite a bit of persistance to get a good shot and here are the many faces/moods I captured along the way.

Happy
Bored
Silly
Hungry
Annoyed

Scared
Mad
And... Loving...

the way she is the majority of her waking hours.

Bargain Shopping is My Addiction

I know, I know...this is a lame thing to post. But I'll tell you, I got a total adrenaline rush! Yesterday I saw the Albertson's ad in the paper and it had a 10 for $10 sale. Yes!! I seriously had a hard time getting to sleep last night. I couldn't stop thinking about what I was going to buy and stressing that it would all be gone by the time I got there. I'm surprised that I didn't dream about it. I got Derek off to school this morning and we were out the door at 8:05 AM. My heart started racing when I saw people coming out of the store. I peeked at their bags to see what they had (no one had the sale items... crazies). Needless to say, there was plenty of everything on hand. So, here's what I bought this morning.


17 Boxes of Cereal (the only kind the kids will eat)

9 Boxes of Sweet and Salty Granola Bars (the best ever!)

7 Boxes of Fruit Roll-ups

4 Boxes of Fruit by the Foot

2 Boxes of Fruit Snacks

1 Bag of Chex Mix

Guess what my total came to after tax and coupons????

...... Only $30.45

That averages to 76 cents a box. I could have done better if I was one of those women that get multiple copies of the paper, but oh well. So who needs the rush of sky diving when there is a sweet sale to be had??!!! :) The sad thing is...I want to go back and get more. Hee hee hee.