Full of Hot Air....

No....this isn't a post about Jeff ;)
Look what passed behind our house last night!!! We took these pics in the backyard by the TAG towers....What a beautiful sight on a warm summer night!

Sophia's Last Day of Pre-School

Sophia had her last day of pre-school yesterday at Christ Lutheran Nursery School. It was such a bittersweet day. I feel truly blessed to have chosen this school for Sophia. I remember visiting this school 2 1/2 years ago when I was looking to enroll Sophia for preschool and after visiting about 3 other schools, I just had this feeling when I walked into Christ Lutheran that this was the place.....boy was I right! Sophia's teachers became like family to us - they not only provided a safe, creative and academic environment for Sophia, but they truly loved each and every one of those kids and it showed. They welcomed her with a hug and a smile every single day and I literally left that parking lot every morning with a smile on my face....just seeing Sophia so happy to see her friends and rushing up to hug her teachers....Sophia blossomed so much during the last 2 years at CL and she is more than ready for this next adventure - Kindergarten! It was with bitter sweet tears that we left yesterday, saying goodbye to some wonderful people and wonderful memories. Here are a couple pictures with Mrs. Ingui, her teacher this year and the Director of her school, and Mrs. Wolfe, her head teacher last year and assistant teacher this year. She's with her best buddy Isa in the pictures too - another blessing that has come out of our preschool experience at Christ Lutheran. We have all become very good friends with the Lyons family, who have a son Evan's age and they have become great friends. Diane Lyons is a one-of-a-kind mom and has become a dear friend of mine. God works in mysterious ways and I have no doubt he brought us to this school for a reason. Very proud of you Sophia!!!

Ev's off to Camp Woodhaven!

Ev had a fantastic week at Camp Woodhaven - his first full day camp experience! A sign that Ev is really growing up, he embraced the week with open arms and was truly very excited for it! It was dinosaur exploration week and he came home every day having learned something new - excavating for dinosaur bones, making erupting volcanoes, creating dinosaur eggs....He also tried his hand at archery! Best of all he had lots of outdoor fun exploring nature, and made a couple of new friends. He wishes he could go all summer and I wish I could send him for some additional weeks - it was such a good experience for him! I think we have found a fantastic summer camp for the future and hope to be able to send him for a few weeks next summer. Reminds me of the good 'ol days of Camp Marshall and Camp Aldersgate - experiences that shaped my life and memories I won't forget! Proud of you Ev! Loved seeing that smiling face hop out of the car every morning, ready for a new adventure!!

Blast Off!!

Rocket Launching!

Jeff and Evan spent a part of this afternoon putting together a cool rocket. We headed up to the middle school field to launch it - it was VERY cool and went super far! We actually lost it :( It went so high and I saw it come down pretty far away from us in what looked like someone's back yard off of Shrewsbury Street. We drove around but couldn't find it. Oh well - the kids thought it was super cool. I took a video but got scared when it went off so my camera was pointing down instead of up!

Weekend Photos

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.....The first is of Jeff and Ev at Evan's Writing Portfolio Sharing Day at school on Friday. Evan got to share all of his writings from throughout the school year with us - poetry, stories etc...his teacher came up to us afterwards and said what a fantastic writer Evan is and how he is so imaginative and has great ideas! She hopes he will continue to keep writing! He was very proud to show us his work. Evan and Jeff also had their last baseball game yesterday - here are a few pics of Ev in the field, hitting and pitching, and also getting his medal after the game by "Coach Dad". It was a fantastic season and he learned and improved so much. Best of all, he had a blast and has a true love for the game. And finally a few pics from today - we spent a relaxing Father's Day here at our house just hanging out...something we haven't done in weeks. It was a nice change of pace from the nonstop activities! Happy Father's Day Jeff - you are the best!!!

Evan Pitching...

Evan's last baseball game

Evan fights off an inside pitch..

Fish One and Fish Two!

Jumping in!

Sophia is doing an awesome job swimming this year!

Pool Fun!

Sophia learns princess moves from Elsa!

Sophia and Elsa

Sophia Meets Elsa!

Sophia and all of her little pre-school friends had the surprise of a lifetime yesterday! Elsa arrived at Charlotte's birthday party and the little girls were SO surprised and excited! It was such a fun afternoon....Elsa played games with them, sang songs with them, painted their faces, taught them how to be princesses and made fun picture frames with them. She then autographed the frames and posed for pictures with each little girl and they were printed out so that they could bring them home with them. It was so magical! And to think that people stand in line for hours on end at Disney for 30 seconds with Elsa and Anna - Sophia got to spend a whole 2 hours with Elsa with lots of one on one time....AWESOME day!!!!! Lots of pictures and videos taken....

Evan's Prayer

The kids were all asked how they know Jesus loves them and each one had to give an answer. Of course we almost cried when he said "He gave me my wonderful family"! Love that little Ev!!

"I am a C"

Sophia's Childrfen's Sunday Performance

Children's Sunday at Church

Yesterday was Children's Sunday at FCCH....the kids both had a wonderful year at Sunday School this past year. Evan became a Junior Disciple and had his First Communion, and Sophia began to feel comfortable singing in the Children's Chapel on the alter during church services. We are so proud of them both! Here is one picture, and I will also post some videos. The kids and I recently watched the blog videos all the way back to 2008 and the kids LOVED seeing themselves when they were younger. It has inspired me to keep posting so we can enjoy reminiscing some more in the years to come!!!