Laine's poetry reading

The same day that Mead had her kindergarten graduation Laine had her 2nd grade poetry reading.

She did a great job.  She partnered up with a classmate to read a duet poem, where they went back and forth with their lines.

She said a poem from memory - "Rapunzel's Locks" by M. Singer

Then Laine read aloud several poems she had written - including one about the men putting on a new roof at our house!  ("They sounded like a herd of elephants...")  Very cute!

Finally the class recited a poem together, front row and back row taking turns.

And Laine's teacher made an acrostic poem from each student's name.  It was a special afternoon, and all the kids worked really hard.  Laine is going to miss second grade, that's for sure! 

Kindergarten Graduation

Hard to believe Mead is all done with kindergarten and is moving on to First Grade.  Last week Mead got to stand up and tell the whole school what she wants to be when she grows up (a teacher).

She did a great job sharing her professional dreams, her favorite verse, and a few other things.

Once all the kids said their lines they sang and grouped up for a class picture.

Looking forward to seeing Mead in First Grade next year!

Church work day

Last weekend the church had a work day, and the kids came out to watch the action.  They were particularly interested in seeing a giant (dead) tree being cut down.

As always, the kids love riding in the Gator all over the church property.

As soon as the tree came down Cole climbed up on the stump to take a closer look.  He loves doing work with his hands, so he was super pumped to watch (and try to help) the men at work around the church.

Cole lately

Somehow the past few weeks have flown by - school is almost ending, and the days are full.  I downloaded my pictures recently and discovered I have several of Cole and his adventures.  Here they are, in no particular order...

This one is from the church - taken at a reception one Sunday evening.  Cole and Campbell are best buds.  They've known each other since birth (he's 5 weeks older than her), and they are fairly inseparable when time allows.

Cole is desperately trying to drop his nap - much to my chagrin.  The other day during nap time I went to my room to read and told Cole he could play quietly in the living room.  When I came out later this is how I found him - sound asleep on the couch, all tired out from playing!

Another great picture taken by someone at church - he was helping out with Daddy the other day during a work day, and he had the best time.  He's such a happy little guy!

Photo Shoot

I took the kids to the park the other afternoon, and we met up with some friends for a picnic dinner.  While there, I snapped a few pictures - it had been a while since I took pictures just because...

Can't even tell Mead has a cast on in this picture!

Cole specifically requested a picture with him holding a ball for his new Home Depot Workshop picture frame in his room.

I just love these kids to pieces!

Monster machines

The guys were away at a men's retreat, so another mom from church and I met up at the park to enjoy the "monster machines" exhibit.

Our kids had a great time climbing in and on all kinds of equipment.

They honked horns, pressed buttons, pushed brakes, etc.

So funny how these things are SO fascinating to kids!

Along with the Home Depot Builders Workshop, which we did before the park, this was a fun way to pass the morning until the guys got back home.

Pins out

I posted these on Facebook too, but I wanted to put them on the blog for memory-sake.

A quick (and somewhat blurry) picture of the pins, two in the front and one at the back, before the doctor came back in the room to take them out.  The whole experience was more intense than I was anticipating, but Mead recovered quickly and has been so glad to have a little more freedom without her sling these past few days.

Cool new cast, still signature free after almost a week.  The days are getting warmer, so this one might be a little more disgusting by the time she gets it off!