Happy Birthday!

For my birthday this year, we were lucky enough to see all of the family. On Sunday, my mom had us over as well as another birthday girl, my Grandma Jean. June 12th is a lucky day :) My Uncle Fred and Aunt Nancy were also there to celebrate. It was a wonderful dinner..... Thanks, Mom and Dad!

After dinner, it was time to go to the lake and play with the remote control boats

Or just time to pose

Or time to play hide and side.

I found you!

Feeding the fish

Then on my actual birthday, the Willetts came over so Jason and I could grab some food. We love Vietnamese food and since our kids would refuse to eat that, we have to go without the wee ones. A big thank you to Stan and Bettye for coming over and sitting with the kids :)

It was a great birthday and thanks to everyone that made it so special!

You can actually use Pinterest?

Two posts inspired by pinterest..in the same week nonetheless?

While Willow was over playing with Laney, I searched through Pinterest and came across this "My Place in the World" craft. The girls and I found pictures of Ohio, North America, Earth, etc and it lead to great discussions about our house, the Earth, our village, etc.

Laney's house, city, state, country, continent, planet

What a fun craft where they actually learned something...imagine that :)

Ella's last day of 1st grade

Wednesday, June 6th was Ella's last day of first grade.


How can that be? And really, that means I now have a second grader and a kindergartner...ahhhh!

Ella has become such a confident young lady. I have had such a fun time watching her reading, writing and speech blossom. Her teachers all rave about what a great student she is and how well she listens. Although she is very quiet whenever I see her at school, her teachers say that she participates in class, wants to read out loud and enjoys being with her friends. Her gym teacher (who was my gym teacher when I went to TPE) said Ella always tries her best, her music teacher says that Ella loves to clap along to the beat and is learning music quickly and her art teacher (who was my art teacher as well) said she is quiet and likes to concentrate on her art work. No shocker as she has always loved crafts :) Her reading teacher commented on how well her reading has come along and her speech teacher is uber impressed with her work! Ella's teacher, Miss Bim, has been very good at communicating Ella's progress with me and all of us are confident that she will do great in second grade.

Ella has not missed one day of school the whole year. Can you believe that? I am still so impressed with this!!!

I was able to join Ella's class for her end of the year party but unfortunately I got in one picture before my camera died. Boo! And that picture is not even worth posting. But we had a great time and the kids each got a t-shirt with their class picture on it and signed everybody's shirt. It was a wonderful way to end the school year.

Ella's class at the zoo

Now let the summer fun begin! YAY!!!!

An experiment

I am always looking for things Matthew can do that don't destroy my house or cause him to play "bad guy." I came across this craft on Pinterest, and I knew this was perfect for him.

Usually I "Pin" things on pinterest but unless they are recipes, I don't do many of them. There are tons of great decorating ideas and cute crafts but it all takes planning. This took no prep, and I had everything on hand so I was ready to go.

My little scientist loved putting the vinegar (colored with a drop of food coloring) into the baking soda and watching it fizz.

Jason loved watching his booming scientist.

What pretty colors!

And the real bonus? Matthew didn't take the dropper and squirt the walls (which was my biggest concern).

This kept Matthew entertained for over 30 minutes and then Ella joined him for more fun.

We ran out of baking soda, but I did load up for next time I need something for him to do :)

What a happy morning!

Happy Memorial Day!

Although the annual Memorial Day parade was HOT, we were excited because this was the first parade Ella got to participate in as a Daisy. She wanted to walk with her friends only (as opposed to me joining her), but given there were 15 girls and only 2 moms, another mom and I were quick to offer to help them herd the cats.

Ella and her troop

With her candy in hand to throw to the crowd, she was ready to go!

Here we come!

Ella was ready to throw her candy to the crowd.

While I was herding the stragglers.

It was quite a job :)

And this is the cute face we were throwing candy at.

And this one....

And of course to these cute people :)

Thank you to Nana, Pappy and Gigi for joining us on this hot, hot day!

Ella loved being in the parade and was excited her family was there to cheer her on.

After the parade, there was a lovely ceremony at the green remembering all of the soldiers. It was beautiful!

Ella's Art Fair

After Ella's game, we headed across the street to the school for her art fair. The Willetts and Popes were able to join us for the art fair....Ella loved showing them her room and her art work :)

Proud to show off her writings

Ella had been working on her clouded leopard project for months.

they had to research their animal, draw them, write up information and then when they went to the zoo, find the animal. They could pick their animal and after somebody else took Ella's first choice, she was happy with the Leopard.

While we were there, we saw Ella's recent book report hanging up. 

Her book was No Fair (coincidentally Matthew's favorite phrase), and had 3 major points that she made into a mobile. Jason noticed that it wasn't hanging right so he quickly fixed that :)

Ella at the zoo with Reagan...off to find the Clouded Leopard :)

Batter Up

Ella has really had a great time playing baseball. Since there were only about 6 girls that wanted to play, the split them up on 2 different baseball teams. On Ella's team was Emma and Sophie (2 of her favorite girls). It has worked out great! Jason helped Jack Gatlin coach.

Ella usually plays right field but says it is too boring for her. During this particular game she played 3 different positions (catcher, right field and 3rd base).

She has asked to play catcher for weeks so was happy when Mr. Gatlin chose her.

Another day, another band-aid

Her first at bat

She hit the ball and just looked at it.

Then off to first she went :)

Plus this hit brought Emma home.

Go Terrace Park!

Matthew played the "drums" a la Capri Suns as his cheer.

Next inning Ella played right field

The kids are always happy to smile when a Gatlin is around.

Madeline is such a cutie!

Thank goodness for grandparents at these games!

Matthew and grandpa Mike threw the ball much of the time.

The Willetts are great and bring snacks for the kids and help me a TON!

If it wasn't for the grandparents we wouldn't be able to stay the whole game.

Next at bat

And another hit...yay Ella!

The parents were even commenting how well Ella was playing.

She was hustling to her position, hit the ball, ran hard, etc.

this is a huge improvement for her and it was great the other parents were so supportive!

Tonight was definitely Ella's best baseball game yet. 

She hit the ball WITHOUT the tee (which they bring out if you have missed about 6 or 7 pitches)

and she made it home 2 times!

I will tell you our secret to this game in just a bit....

Made it to 3rd where her favorite coach was :)

Not sure I can love a picture more :)

And she scores!

Mr. Morgan helping Ella with her stance.

I love how supportive all of the dads are. Jason and Jack are the main coaches and then there are about 4 other guys who coach. They have done a great job at helping all of the kids no matter what level they are at.

She hits again....yay!!!

Now there is the Ella I know and love :)

Ella came home and was in bed by 8:30...well past her bedtime. We heard her around 9:30 still chit chatting (as she calls it). I got up to clean the kitchen and when I washed her water bottle realized there was Spark in there! Ella usually drinks some for lunch as it helps her focus in the afternoon, but we wouldn't give it once she gets home.  I think with this game we proved it helps with mental focus but I think we also proved not to have her grab it before a 6 pm game. 

Mr. Gatlin says that Ella is going to play 2nd base next game. AHHH!!!! Yes, she will have her Spark trick again :)