Kaitlyn 5th Grade Awards 2018

And, finally, onto Kaitlyn!  Kaitlyn really shined in 5th grade.  She enjoyed not being known as Kari's little sister and all of the school activities that WSSES had to offer.

We were very proud of her!  

See?  Daddy was there at all of them!

Ms. Knowls is one of Kaitlyn's favorite teachers.  She has since remarried and is named Mrs. Rogers now.

It was a big adjustment for all the kids.  Moving.  New school.  New friends.  Mom in school and not as available either.  They really flourished and did great!

Dylan 3rd Grade Awards 2018

Next up in age we have Dylan!  This would be Dylan's 3rd grade awards.

Dylan is a little bit more stoic about it all.

As you can see, the third graders did a slightly better job of maintaining the line and distance.

And he was one of the few students to wear Sunday best.  But I think he looks super handsome, so...  I'll take it!

There it is!  There is a sneak of the pride!

Dylan struggled slightly in reading comprehension that year.  And I do mean slightly.  Apparently, there is a state mandated test that they have to give, and include in their grades that is pretty difficult.  It brought down his grade by a decent amount.  When I called to speak to the teacher about it she said that it brought everyone's grade down and that Dylan was a very smart kid (though sometimes distracted).  They apparently learned from this and sent home a note to prepare the parents the second time around :p  That being said, he was on the A/B honor roll all year, and even the A honor roll for the last nine weeks!

And this was Dyl's bestie Will!  They were pretty inseparable :)

Yay 3rd grade!!!

Kelsey Kindergarten Awards 2018

Monday, May 21 was the other 3 kids end of the year awards ceremonies.  They spread them throughout the day to help ease parking and transitions between.  Lucky me!  I had 3 different children, so 3 different grades and 3 different times....  Hubby was able to come, bless him.  But at an expense.  He was supposed to be in Florida the following day.  So he stayed for the ceremonies, then left late, which got him into the hotel late.  But...  he's a good dad, and that is what good dads do!  At this point, I honestly couldn't tell you which child was first or last, so I am going youngest to oldest.  

Look!  She found us!

Hi mom!

Gosh she looks so little and tiny and cute!

Funny story...  they had all the kids line up in a row, so they could shake the principals hand and receive their awards.  They started the line pretty far back, and with plenty of personal space for the recipient.  However, as lines tend to do, and as children do even more, they grouped and moved forward so that you can see, by the time they got to the S's they were right up in there, with no space to move.

We were so proud of Kelsey!  She worked hard, but she really didn't have to.  And her kindergarten teacher could not saying nice things about her.

She was super proud of herself too!  As the youngest of four, she had to wait the "longest" to go to school and be like the big kids.

Happy girl!

One of her other kindergarten besties, Novaleigh!

Somehow, she managed to get perfect attendance for half of the year.  Which, is impressive to me because the first year of school is usually the one with the most sickness.  Their immune systems are just introduced to so many new things at the same time!  Maybe this is where being the 4th child helped her....  she'd already been introduced to so many of them.

And she got an award for good conduct!  She was "Pawsome!"

And an award for....  effort...  I guess.

Again, we really loved her teacher Mrs. M. Riley (there were two Mrs. Rileys).  Kelsey was very blessed to have such a wonderful introduction to schooling.

The school year is pretty much over after awards.  They don't really want the kids back to be honest.  But my kids are special.  And they stick it out to the bitter end.  So, while we may have checked Kelsey out after this so she could hang out with us, she surely went back for the rest of the week to keep hanging out with Mrs. Riley.

Butlers Pantry

When we were in the process of building the house, we had the option to add outlets, phone jacks and cable jacks to where ever we wanted to.  We specifically thought about the butlers pantry.  However, the realtor assured us that they put one there anyway.  And wouldn't you know it....  he was wrong :p

So, hubby being fabulous the way that he is, paid attention as they were wiring and building things and decided that we could add it ourselves for the cost of an outlet (which he has) and wire (which he also has).  In other words, practically at no cost to ourselves, instead of the $150 change order fee they were going to charge us.  So, Sunday, after church and the customary Sunday nap, we decided to tackle that particular project.  The most difficult part of the process was cutting through the tile on the wall in order to insert the box.  We had to be careful to go slowly and not use too much pressure in order to not crack the tile, and make a huge mess.  We also wanted to be careful not to make too much dust that we would be cleaning for weeks afterwards.  And hubby, being hubby, is nothing if not inventive :)

 Thankfully, hubby seemed to have the right tool for the job (doesn't he always) and and the skill too!  No cracks!  (But look at all that dust!)

 He tapped into the outlet that was literally on the other side of the wall and voila!

 It may surprise you to learn, but we don't have a butler.  I know!  It's hard to believe.  But we do have a printer.  And we thought this would be the perfect little house centralized nook for it to go!

 You can access it from the kitchen or the pool table room. 

Hi!  Me from the future again.  The whole corona pandemic sure got this printer used!  The kids didn't use it a ton, but hubby and I sure did.  I used it to print out research papers, and hubby used it to print signature pages and then scan them back.  Technology sure is grand sometimes....  but....  it makes it difficult to step away sometimes.

Kaitlyn Skillz and Thrillz 2018

2 years ago Kaitlyn was doing gymnastics.  And, apparently, only Kaitlyn was doing gymnastics...  which is weird, because at some point all of my children have done gymnastics but it either seems like a forever ago, or just recently.  2 years is right out!  At the end of the gymnastics season, the gymnasts put on a recital of sorts.  They are able to demonstrate the skills they have been learning throughout the season.  And so, that Saturday, after leveling the play set in the back yard, we get to watch Kaitlyn do her various routines and skills...

On the floor:

On the vault:

On the bars:

And on the beam"

All the while, the rest of us were able to hang out and watch the skills in style.  K, maybe not all the rest of us.  Just the younger siblings can get away with this sort of thing.

 Then, they give each child the opportunity to receive an award (participation) and certificate with their name on it.  Its just a fun way for the gymnasts to end the year and demonstrate what they have been learning.

 And sometimes they spell your name wrong...  

Oh well...  You live and you learn :)

And then, that evening, we hung out with the Hills.  Which, is something we do alot apparently :)

Student of the Month 2018

WSSES does a good job recognizing their students.  Each month they select the students of the month and then put their names on posters in front of the school for everyone to see.  

And a pencil!  Who doesn't need another pencil!

Congrats to my wonderful children!  I am so glad the world gets to take part in your shaping and gets to enjoy your wonderfulness as well!

Kelsey Kindergarten Memories

And, since we are on the subject of Kelsey and her first year of school in kindergarten, here are a few of the pictures that her teacher sent me throughout the year.  The other 3 kids all had the same kindergarten teacher while at Ladonia (Mrs. Flowers - who also happens to be a member of our ward, so the kids can still see her occasionally).  It made me sad to think that Kelsey would be the only one who wouldn't have that opportunity.  So much so that I contemplated transferring Kelsey to that school for one year and driving her every day.  I didn't.  And I am not 100% sorry, because Kelsey really lucked out with Mrs. Riley.  Besides the fact that there we programs that we never had at Ladonia, the field trips and teacher involvement was great.

During October, they went to a pumpkin patch on a field trip.

There is her bestie Zariah again!

Thankfully, hubby was able to go with her.  Once again, we learned that hubby's schedule was more flexible than mine was, and I am so grateful that our kids still had a parent to be with them and support them.

All those kute kindergartners!

Then, we move onto Thanksgiving.  Parents weren't invited this time.  There was no room in the hallways.  They literally laid the table and place mats on the floor all down the hall to make room for all 5 classes of kindergartners.

We made an Indian vest out of a pillow case.  She was sent home with a page of possible Indian art that she could decorate her dress with.

She was so happy to be able to participate in all of these fun activities.

For Valentines they got to decorate their own mailbox (shoebox) and some fun headbands.

And, finally, Kelsey was able to have a sweet student teacher named Ms. Carmichael. The kids loved her and missed her when she left.  Being a kindergarten teacher takes a special kind of person, and I appreciate all those who have taught my kids.

It was a great first year of school for Kelsey in a brand new place.  It was a ride for all of us, but Kelsey did great!

Kute Kelsey Kindergarten Work

What better way to end a school year than to enjoy some cute kindergarten work?  I love that you can see how they hear and understand words based on how they spell it.  Like, the 4th sentence.  "I was pretending to be a cat."

"The dog is barking."

"I play with my friends."

And this wonderful story about spring break with Grandpa and strawberry picking!

Because kindergartners are cute!  As is their spelling!

Kelsey's Kindergarten Water Day 2018

That week (Thursday) also happened to be Water day!  Dylan was home sick unfortunately.  But I was able to go and watch Kelsey have fun.  The day itself ended up being unseasonably cold...  which isn't great for a water day.  But, kids are impervious to cold, and Kelsey is cute regardless.

She couldn't hold still she was so excited!

This is Kelsey and her kindergarten bestie Zariah!

And this was her face after the first time down a slide!  She looks so excited and happy!

I am sure her cheeks were sore from smiling so much.  Also, please note that she still has all of her baby teeth.  At the end of kindergarten.

Each trip down the slide she got more and more wet.

For your viewing pleasure....  a few trips!

Yay Kelsey!  So glad she had so much fun at the end of her first year of school!