School's Out for Summer!!!!

Summer is here and we are very excited! We have already done lots of fun things as a family, and are looking forward to many more. It is so nice to all be off at the same time!

The school year ended quickly and we were very busy. Chad had a great last day of kindergarten filled with awards, playing on the BIG KID playground, face painting, and lots of junk food at their celebration party. He is growing up way too fast....and turning into such a handsome young man. We are very proud of all of his Kindergarten accomplishments including reader of the month, student of the month, mastering all of the kindergarten standards and sight words the first trimester, and much more. He is a friend to everyone and a great example. I know he is greatly looking forward to first grade and having Mr. Dalilis for a teacher just like his big sister!

Kylie, unfortunately did not have such a great end to her year in 2nd grade. She was sick for the last day of school with acute tonsilitis. We have had issues in the past with her tonsils, not enough to take them out apparently, but on this particular day she had 104 fever and everything. She could barely eat and talk, and needless to say, was very upset that she missed her awards ceremony and last fun day of school. We are very proud of all of her accomplishments this year too! She was reader of the month, the very first student of the week in her class, reads around 160 words in a minute, has mastered almost all of her multiplication facts, and earned a principal's award for being a standards master all three trimesters of the school year. She works very hard and loves school. She is a good example to those around her and has made lots of new friends this year. I know she is looking forward to being in third grade (the other grade that Mommy taught!). So sad....no awards and last day of school pictures this year!

2nd Grade Field Trip to San Bernardino Wildlife Museum

Kylie's class went on a fun field trip at the end of the year too. (Thank you Mom and Dad for babysitting Cameron so that I could go on this one too!) I'm not sure if Kylie even wanted me there, but I had a good time tagging along. I took a small group of kids around a tour of the museum and we learned lots of fun information about plants, animals, birds, and California history. Kylie has some great friends and some really good kids that she surrounds herself with. I am very thankful for that. Here are some pics of the fun day we had!

Cameron's Turn!!!

Kylie and Chad's activities keep us very busy. I thought it was time for Cameron to have his own activity and I signed us up for a Mommy and Me Gymnastics class. We had lots of fun over the 8 weeks, and it was the PERFECT class for Cameron. He loves to jump, kick, climb, hang, etc, etc, This kid never stops moving and he loved every second of it. He constantly asked if it was Tuesday during the week so that he could go to his gymnastics class. He cried almost every time that the class ended, and only felt better when I told him we would be coming again next Tuesday. On the last week of class he told his teacher that she was the best teacher he ever had (so cute) and didn't cry when we were leaving because Kylie, Chad, and Daddy were there to watch. (They finished school the week before). Check out the slideshow of Cameron's first little activity/class. Looking forward to the next one!

Senor Ferguson Can Dance!

Seriously.......love this. Need to post a video when I can, but here are some pictures from a Mother's Day/Cinco de Mayo celebration at David's school. He was asked by the English Language Advisory Committee moms to participate in a traditional Ballet Folklorico, along with the other male administration at the school. Needless to say, we were there with the camera and video camera and it was a fun night. I was really proud of David - he kept up very well for being a white boy. I was very proud and the kids had a great time watching their Dad get down. Chad did wonder why his Dad was dancing with another woman that was not his mom - it was pretty funny how it bothered him just a little bit.

Kindergarten Field Trip to Irvine Park

Chad finally had his chance to ride a school bus and he was so excited....more excited for the bus than for the field trip itself actually! I got to go along (thank you mom and dad for babysitting) and it was fun to watch him interact with his friends. He checked in with me every now and then and held my hand while we walked around the zoo a little bit, but most of the time he was off doing his thing. It was very cute. Here are some pictures from the day.

Getting on the bus!

Irvine Park Railroad

Mrs. Gilbert's Class - Kindergarten

Feeding the Goats

Hanging out with Friends!

I Want to See Jesus

I so wish that I would have had a blog when Kylie and Chad were younger as a way to quickly write down cute things that they said and fun conversations that we had. I just posted yesterday about Cameron's prayers and how he is always asking about Jesus. This morning while I was getting ready, we had another random, yet cute, conversation that I wanted to write down before I forget!

Cameron: (while playing with toys while I was doing my hair)
"Mom, I want to see Jesus. When can I see Jesus?"

Mom: "Someday Cameron, you will be in Heaven with Jesus and Heavenly Father,
and you will see them again."

Cameron: "Yep, I have to die though." (Not sure where he learned this whole word
and concept...we have yet to talk about that one!)

Mom: (Trying to avoid the die word) "Yes. You were with Heavenly Father and Jesus
before you were born and came to mommy and daddy. Someday you will live with
them again."

Cameron: "Yep, when I die. When I am oooooold. I love Jesus."

His words are so simple and pure. I swear he remembers more than I can, and understands much more than I give him credit for. These little conversations are the reasons why I chose to be poor and stay home with my kids! :)

A Child's Prayer

It has been fun to listen to our children pray ever since they were tiny. But, there is something about when Cameron prays. He is definitely the most eager to pray at two years old - more than Kylie and Chad were. He started out imitating each of us when we said dinner or family prayer about six months ago and that was really cute. Then he wanted to say the prayer and we would help him and he would repeat the things that we said. It got to the point where he knew the end all on his own, and then he got so good that he didn't want ANY help anymore. He has started to say his own prayers and it is so sweet.

Tonight he said his own prayer with just him and I in the room. He knew exactly where in the room he wanted to kneel, and he didn't even want me next to him. He wanted to do it ALL by himself. It went something like this...."Heavenly Father, thank you for my family. Thank you for my friends. Thank you for my food. Thank you for this day. Okay Mom, you can help me now!!!!" I helped him finish the words to his prayer and he knew just how to close it...in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. He had the biggest smile on his face. He is so proud of himself. I know he thinks about Jesus a lot and he is constantly mentioning him when we are out and about. I can already tell that he loves Jesus and wants to be like him. I hope he remembers this throughout his life. He is such a cute boy....we are lucky to have him. I know he is only 2 years and 4 months old, but I have a feeling he will be a great example to others throughout his life.