All good things must come to an end!

With the end of school comes the end of many other activities that the kids are involved in. Here are some of the fun things that we have said goodbye to for now:

SOCCER:

The boys LOVE soccer and always hate to see it end. They are already eagerly waiting for the fall for soccer to begin again. They played on the same team for the last two years and only lost two games. They are an awesome team!!



CHOIR:

Cassidy was able to participate in the school choir this year. She had to get up early twice a week and get to school early for choir practice. She never complained and loved it! They had their spring concert to end the year. Before the performance began the principal gave an introduction and commented on how great they were and how she had never heard an elementary school choir sound so good. In my mind I was thinking that of course she is going to say that, she's the principal. But I have to say they were OUTSTANDING!! My sister was there with us and she couldn't believe how good they were. They sang some really hard pieces and did great!



SCHOOL:

Here are the kids after they got home from their last day of school. I told them to cheer since they were done with school. Cass and Spencer were happy to do so, but notice Kaden's expression!! He didn't want to do a cheer because he was not happy that school was over. He came home so sad from school because he was sad about missing his friends and teacher! Let's hope that doesn't wear off before school starts again!



A few days before school was over Cassidy's class hosted a poetry cafe for the parents. They each performed some of their favorite poems that they had memorized. Cassidy performed one by herself and one with her friend.




I also need to give a shout out to all my kids for working so hard this year. They did a great job at school and had outstanding grades. I need to give an extra cheer for Cassidy. She was accepted into the A.L.L program next year. That is our schools version of the gifted program. She had to take a 4 hour test on a Saturday, get a good teacher recommendation, and Andy and I had to fill out all this paperwork on her. She was so excited to get her acceptance letter. I am so proud of her for being such a good student and working so hard for so many years in school.

Summer is here, let the fun begin!!

Vegas Vacation

In my continuing effort to catch up I am finally getting around to posting about our Spring Break. This year we decided to get out of the cold and head south. Thank goodness we did because the weather here at home was less than desirable.
We left Monday and drove to Vegas. We stayed in a great hotel just off the strip. We were lucky that two different families that we know were headed to Vegas too. We all decided to stay at the same hotel which was so fun. The boys had a bunch of their friends to play with. I don't think they will ever want to travel without friends again. We decided to hit the pool after being in the car for the drive down. The pool area was beautiful but unfortunately the heater in the pool was broken so it was too cold to get in. Luckily the kids didn't mind swimming in the hot tubs instead! That evening we headed out to Henderson to my dad's house. We had a great time having dinner and hanging out!

Kaden made sure to bring his football on the trip just so he could play with my dad. They could have played all night!



Ethan having fun with grandpa's toys--it doesn't get better than a remote control truck!

Ethan having some fun grandpa time. We don't see my dad a lot, but Ethan warmed right up to him. He loved all the attention he got!


Cassidy playing the piano for grandpa and grandpa trying to teach her a duet.


Tuesday we braved the pool again only to have the kids make their way to the hot tubs. Water gun fights are just as fun in a hot tub! Later that day we enjoyed the M&M factory, Coke store, and ESPN sports zone(not Cassie's fav). That night we went to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe with our friends. After a great meal we headed off to see the volcano erupt at the Mirage. We also walked through the gardens in the Bellagio--so beautiful!











Wednesday we headed off to the Mandalay Bay hotel where we went to the Shark Reef. The kids loved it! Wednesday night I got to go on a "date", but it wasn't with my hubby. My dad took me to dinner and then to see the show "O". It was an amazing show. The things they can do are so unbelievable. It was so nice to be able to spend some time with my dad. Thanks to Andy who didn't mind me being gone on our last night in Vegas, and for taking all the kids out to dinner with our friends.





The hotel we stayed in had this beautiful atrium inside. It included a pond where there were two swans. This was definitely Ethan's favorite part. He was always asking to see the ducks(I didn't correct him!) The staff at the hotel was really nice and let all the kids feed the swans a couple times.

Thursday we packed up and headed for home. No one wanted to leave, we knew there was snow waiting for us at home! Luckily it had all melted before we got home that night. Andy wasn't thrilled with the idea of having to shovel snow when we got home!!

Our Eggciting Easter

I have been so busy lately and have neglected my blog. I am so behind but figure better late than never!
We had a great Easter weekend. On Saturday we braved the cold yucky weather and took the kids to our city's annual Easter egg hunt. This was Ethan's first hunt and it was so much fun because he totally understood what to do. He was so anxious to get going he could hardly wait until it was time!



Right after that hunt was over we headed up to Morgan to my in-laws for yet another egg hunt and Easter celebration. My mother-in-law had a great egg hunt for the grandkids. Once they had found all their eggs they were able to go get their Easter present from grandma and grandpa. The twins got Pokemon cards(I don't understand the fascination with these but they are obsessed!). Cassidy got another webkinz(Seriously, how many webkinz can you really want?!?). Ethan got a bunch of cars and trucks with trailers that he can hook on and off. He is such a boy and LOVES any type of car toy. He seriously plays with them all day long!! The kids also got to decorate their own cupcakes. I guess they hadn't had enough sugar yet!! Thanks to my mother-in-law and father-in-law for a great day!













Easter Sunday was such a busy day! We were up and going early because we have church at 9am. We didn't have time to find our baskets before church so we did it after. Thank goodness the Easter bunny hid them really well so we didn't accidentally stumble upon them. Every year the Easter bunny leaves each child a rhyming clue as to where their basket is hidden. The kids love searching for them and did really well this year at finding them. That evening my sister Laura and her husband Jon, Jon's brother Rob, and my brother Chris(the rest of his family was out of town) came over for Easter dinner. I did not cook a traditional Easter dinner because I was also busy trying to pack us up to leave town the next day. We had a good time together! Then we were off to go celebrate a birthday at our neighbors house. It was Ethan's friend Kennady's birthday. They are so cute together--I love the picture of Kennady giving Ethan a big hug!!! Trish had a fun Easter egg hunt for the kids. We just love spending time with family and friends!











HAPPY EASTER!!