This Week

This week marked the end of swimming lessons for the boys.  They both did a great job and improved throughout the month. They'll be ready for the pool in Arizona!

This week Chris was in Pasco from Monday through Thursday.  The new plant is getting close to being finished and they are working on putting in the saws and tables.  There is still a ton to do.

This week Colson received his progress report from school and is sure was a good one!  He has come so far in 7 months.

This week we enjoyed on day of 70+ degree weather and other day of near 70 degree weather.  It sure felt good to feel the warmth!  The kids loved being outside.

This week Colson had his 4 year old well visit at the doctor.  He did a nice job for her and is in great health.  He had to have three shots and was not happy about that.  The good news is he doesn't have to have shots again until he turns 11.

This week was a busy week for me with an early RTI meeting, a late staff meeting and a very late Pro Teach class, swimming two days, doctor visit and all without my partner in crime to help.  I am tired.
This week we had a half day on Friday for planning and preparation for conferences next week.  I LOVED having a half day to work on things around the classroom.

This week I am watching a lot of basketball.  I love 'March Madness' and the NCAA tourney.

This week the boys played well together with Legos and toys.  It's great to listen to them talk and interact together.

This week we ate left over spaghetti three times.

This week I started to lay out clothes for our trip to Arizona!  Looking forward to a vacation and to being in the warm weather!

Enjoying every moment!

Moving Dirt

The equipment has been at the property all weekend clearing and leveling the land.  It sure looks different...and much bigger...after the trees and brush have been cleared and the mounds of dirt have been taken down.

Chris took the boys out to the property in the morning and they enjoyed watching the equipment. Each of them got to ride on the bulldozer.  Colson said he didn't realize that it would be that bumpy! I picked up Colson about noon.  Cannon and Chris stayed all day long and Cannon got to run the bulldozer all by himself!  He was pretty excited.

Enjoying every moment.

Third Grade Concert

It was concert time for the third graders this week!  We shared our evening with the 4/5 choir and everyone put on a wonderful and beautiful performance.  Our concert this year was dedicated to Ava and her fight with cancer.  Ava was there, along with about 30 family members!

The students all wore their AVA STRONG FIGHT shirts...or something green (since green is Ava's favorite color and the color of kidney cancer.)

It was an exciting night for the students as they were able to showcase their recorder skills, some great singing, some body percussion and most importantly, the message to stay strong and never give up.  Our music teacher did a fabulous job preparing the students for this concert!

Amazing, amazing night.

Enjoying every moment.  

Party Time!

Colson decided where he wanted his birthday party on the day of Cannon's birthday party in October. He wanted to have it at the same place Cannon had his:  Peak Gymnastics.  I asked Colson three different times over the next few months what he would like to do for his birthday party.  And every single time he said he wanted to go to Peak Gymnastics.  So that made it easy for me.

What I love about the party at Peak is the kids get to play for an hour and I don't have to do any games or keep them entertained.  They can jump on the trampoline, go down the sides, play in the foam pit, swing on the ropes, play on the balance beams, tumble on the floor and just have fun.

Then we have a half an hour to eat cake, open gifts and play some more if time allows.

There is no clean up. It's simple and easy.  Everyone is happy and tired.

And then we go home!

Love it!

Colson had a great time and he had a lot of friends there.  Five of his classmates from preschool came, too.

Cannon on the rope swing...

The birthday boy!

Colson, Griffin and Cannon showing us "four" fingers...Colson's age!

Colson having fun, bouncing and swinging...

Cannon was an expert at flipping.  He did the flips over and over....so many that I couldn't watch because it was making me sick!  

Colson had a ton of fun playing with daddy!

Great balance...

A few cake pictures...

It was wonderful just to watch the "fun" happening!

Enjoying every moment!

Happy Birthday, Colson!

Today is Colson's birthday and we are so lucky that he is part of our lives!

He is such a cutie.
He's smart and wants to learn.
He gives us a run for our money.
He loves books.
He enjoys playing with Legos, cars and trucks.
He often fights with his brother.
He doesn't like to be wrong.
He loves to eat ham and eggs.
He is quiet and follows directions at school.
He is NOT quiet and does NOT follow directions at home.
He has a wonderful smile.
He is stubborn.
He likes to snuggle on the couch.
He enjoys playing Minecraft.
He likes to sing and dance and run around like crazy.
He always wants to be first.
He often screams and yells when he is upset.
He doesn't want to nap anymore even though he needs it some days.
He is great at brushing his teeth.
He is independent, yet loves to play with others, too.

Colson brings a lot of spunk...and exhaustion...to our life but we wouldn't have it any other way.

We love him so much!

Enjoying every moment.

Important Events...

A couple of important events happened for Colson this week.

First, he finally rode a bike without training wheels!  He has been so ready for this but has always refused.  (a bit bull headed!)  He rode a glider bike for the last two years and can balance well, but just didn't want to transition to a regular bike because it was "too hard" to pedal.

Finally, he got on the bike one evening at home after some coaxing from Chris.  He needed some help to get started but then rode pretty well on his own.  He struggled to turn the bike, but the next time he rode a couple days later, he was doing much better.  Practice!  Proud of Colson for finally accomplishing this.

(It was getting dark out and the pictures are terribly grainy and dark.)

The second big event may not seem like a big deal to us, but to Colson, it was.  Tuesday, he got the snack box from school.  This means he has to bring snack on Thursday.  (I'm trying to figure out what on earth I have on hand for 16 preschoolers.)  But we decided to fill baggies of cheerios and raisins. Colson loved using the measuring cup to scoop out just the right amount of cheerios.  He was a great helper and he couldn't wait to take the box back to school to share!

It's the little things, right!  What a good reminder.

Enjoying every moment.

Pledge and Flag Raising

Every morning at school, Mr. Byrnes does announcements and invites a student or tow (or three or four) to say the pledge.  This is a big deal for all students from first through fifth grade.  One morning last week, Mr. Byrnes announced the names of the students saying the pledge and one of them was Cannon.  I quickly made it down to the office to get a few pictures.

The students also get to help Mr. Bonn put up the flag.  Cannon has got to help Mr. Bonn do this before on his own last year but it's still a special privilege.

What a great way to start the morning for Cannon!  


Enjoying every moment!

The Weekend Lens

Creating...

The boys were up before us Saturday morning and this is what I found in the bonus room when I woke up.  I loved that they can play together and create some pretty amazing things.  








Riding...

Chris and I got away for a few hours (thank you Julie for watching the boys!) We headed up to the Harley store to pick up some items Chris purchased.  We had lunch at the store and then headed home the back way through Fall City, where we stopped for ice cream!  Great day for a ride.









Watching...

Mom, Dad, Kay and Karen are in Las Vegas for the West Coast Conference Tournament.  We found them on TV as we were watching the game.  Chris' finger is pointing at dad.  Mom, Karen and Kay are to the right.  The Zags won and move on to the next round.






Walking...

We had a long walk, exploring around our new property.  We walked down the power lines and found the track that people ride on.  The boys loved running ahead and climbing hills. They'll be tired tonight!









Playing...

Trey and Jaiden came over when we got home. They rode bikes and then ended up in the back yard, soaking each other with the water sprayers.  They were having so much fun.  It was loud!  But that's what you get with four boys!








Relaxing...

Dan, Claire and Julie came over for dinner tonight.  We enjoyed the time with friends and loved sitting on the back deck in the sunshine!  








Enjoying every moment!

Riding

Last Sunday we spent  a couple of hours at the new property riding.  Chris and Cannon rode their motorcycles and Colson rode his bike.

Cannon rode his motorcycle on a trail for the first time.  There is one trail at the end of our culd-a-sac that goes on and on and on.  Chris isn't sure where it goes and will have to go exploring when he has the time.  He and Cannon went down it for quite awhile and then turned around and came back.  Colson followed them on his glider bike and was disappointed he couldn't keep up.  We were on the trail for about 20 minutes, then Colson got tired.  It was nice to only have to walk back up the street to our property.

It was a great, sunny day.  We are looking forward to spending more time out there.

Enjoying every moment.

Swimming

We started another round of swimming this month.  Cannon is a good swimmer, however he hasn't had lessons in months.  This will be a good refresher for him.  For Colson, this will be the first set of lessons that he will be in the pool without an adult.  He was very nervous.

Cannon picked up right where he left off and was streamlining and working on his freestyle swim. He is learning how to take breaths to the side and use his arms correctly.

Colson wasn't too happy most of the two lessons this week, mostly because he was unsure.  He cried a little bit and didn't want to do some of the things he was asked to do.  But the instructor was amazing.  She gently just made Colson do everything.  Thank goodness for her!  Colson doesn't complain about swimming, except for the fact that he is cold.  So I know that it's really not as bad as he is making it out to be while in the pool.

Colson...a bit unsure...but participating. 

If you look closely, Colson is crying, but doing what he is supposed to, thanks to 

his teacher not giving  into the tears. 

There goes Cannon, swimming back to the side of the pool.  

Enjoying every moment.

Saturday

We ALWAYS look forward to the weekend.

Saturday was a great day.  We didn't do anything exciting.  And we spent a lot of time doing chores around the house.  But the sun was out!  It was exactly the kind of day we needed to do and everyone was happy.

The boys stayed in their jammies all morning.  Actually Colson stayed in his all day!  They were up before Chris and I and when I came downstairs, I found them on the couch together, playing Minecraft.

Then they spent the next couple of hours on our bed, building with Legos. Cannon brought the big tub of Legos in and all three of the 'CR's'  (Chris, Cannon and Colson) built and created and played and talked.  Colson got into my books and "read" us stories.  He's pretty created.  Cannon was still on the bed, in his jammies at lunch time!  That's what Saturday's are all about.  Relaxing and playing and not being in any kind of a rush.

Chris worked on the motorhome all day, cleaning the inside a bit and then moving the couches and chairs to the back so he could pull up the carpet.  It was pretty dirty and the roof leaked this winter, so it really needed to be pulled out.  We ended up buying some hardwood for the a very small part of the entryway and then carpet.  It is nothing fancy, but will look better than what was there.  Now comes the hard part of installing it.

I spent most of the day doing chores.  Grocery shopping, cleaning the kitchen and picking up around the house, laundry, etc.  I did get outside to play some, read a little bit, and worked on some school things.  Chris was busy with the motorhome so I did the weed eating and mowed the lawn.  I kept up on all of the basketball games going on throughout the day and was able to sit and watch the end of a couple games in the evening....both of the teams I was rooting for lost.  You can't win them all!  

The sun was out but it was breezy, so it was chilly outside. However, the boys got out to ride bikes some and play in the yard.  Cannon spent most of the afternoon outside playing and helping Chris. Colson was in and out, in and out, in and out.  Typical.  He did surprise me with a flower!

Thank goodness for the weekends!

Enjoying every moment!

Ava's Visit

A sweet, kind, wonderful third grader in my class was diagnosed with caner in early January.  It was quick and sudden.  She was at school Thursday and by Friday, she was having her kidney removed at Seattle Children's hospital.  She has a cancer called Wilms, which effects children.  Her cancer was already pretty aggressive so she she is receiving some heavy duty treatment.  Radiation and Chemo started about a week after her diagnosis.

Her family, friends, school, community and even strangers have rallied around her family to raise money, show support, and send love and prayers.  Many of us have purchased t-shirts and bracelets and wear them on Friday's, which is one of the days she has chemo.

My class has stayed in touch with her through cards and notes, pictures that we have sent, texts I have shared and information on a Facebook page that has been set up.  We've all missed her terribly.

Last Tuesday, she was feeling up for a visit and we all couldn't have been more excited!  Ava came at the end of the day, was able to say hi to the front office staff and some of the other third graders and then spent the about 20 minutes with our class just talking.  It was wonderful and much needed for everyone.

We can't wait until she comes back for another visit!

I'm proud of my class for how they are handling this situation.  They have learned a lot about cancer but also about how to be kind, caring, and compassionate.  They've learned to think of others first. They have learned to deal with a difficult situation.  They have learned that whatever happens in life, to stay strong and keep the faith.  I am proud of them.

Enjoying every moment.