The Good Knight Ethan

Happy Birthday Ethan!!!!

Today we celebrated your special day. Ethan was born June 8, 1999. He is 10 years old (tomorrow). But today we celebrated! This year he wanted DRAGONS to be the theme. I was very impressed that Grandma Margaret rose to the challenge of making a Dragon Cake. It was absolutely perfect! Speaking of perfect the weather was just right as well. It was overcast so Doug didn't have to cook over the grill in the blazing sun. Doug remade a HUGE grill that was given to us by our neighbor just in time to have the greatest family BBQ ever. Ethan is a burger lover (who isn't?). So the meal was just what he ordered. He had his great grandparents from both sides as well as his grandparents there. Aunt Elisha and Uncle Brandon were there and it was pretty lively (thanks to the balloons) and everyone got a little silly, too. He got lots of nice gifts including several of the toys he had specifically requested. Kimberly got "sister of the year" spoiling him with some great presents she purchased herself. It is safe to say he had the best time. Being a decade old is pretty great for a dragon slaying knight like our Ethan.

Fishing or Family DRIVE?

Yesterday we decided that we wanted to take the family fishing. So we packed up what we thought would be the perfect lunch (since we had had a lot of hotdogs lately) and headed for "the hills." Unfortunately our first site choice after 2 and a half hour drive turned out to be closed. No fear we felt we just went 20 minutes the other direction to another favorite spot "Silver Creek." Here we did picnic which ended up being an experience in kid food vs adult food ending in Doug and I having a lovely lunch and Saddie enjoying lots of "people food" while the kids loaded up more on the giant Cheetos (oh well?). Then after investigating the HIGH water and speedy current we loaded up again and headed to Sage Hen Reservoir. After another movie length drive (THANK GOODNESS FOR PORTABLE DVD PLAYERS) we finally put our poles in the water. I enjoyed a small hike with the boys to the dock. It was truly beautiful. Ethan and Saddie scared a snake and Ethan saw his first, out of the zoo, Bald Eagle. I loved this Geese family swimming on the water and took too many pictures of them. Kimberly and Doug the die hard fishers DIED HARD. They didn't catch anything except a glimpse of a frog but as reported by all three kids it was a fun day. Of course we did ask the question at home while eating pizza, but I think they really did have a good day. Here's to Summer!

End of Year Assembly

Last Wednesday I was able to attend the older kid's assembly. It was so much fun to see how many kids are enjoying school at Wilson. Ethan had two exciting awards. He got "The Great Author Award" for his story about his pet hamster at his mom's house. His inspiration was the Disney movie "Bolt." He also got the "Good Citizen Award" for being such a sweet heart!!! Kimberly also received three awards, "The Presidential Academic Excellence Award," "Honor Roll" (for her straight A report card (and yes I am bragging!)), and "Perfect Attendance for the Year." Needless to say we were very proud. Grandma Lauretta was able to come to the assembly and see them shine and Grandma Margaret took them (and me too) to McDonalds for dinner to celebrate! All in all it was a great way to highlight the end of the year.

CJ STRIKE

We had so much fun Sunday! We went on a picnic and fishing trip with Sam, Robin and their family. It was the perfect day. Despite being crowded we found a great fishing spot. Then thanks to Sam's ingenuity we had delicious hotdogs for lunch. Sam and Robin and Doug and I brought our dogs, who did very well despite all the people and excitement. Thought Doug did blame Saddie for two fish that "got away." Jayden caught, count them four FISH!!! His friend Wade was very excited for him. Adrian was determined to do just as well only it was not in her cards that day. We did throw one back but we did come home with three of "his" fish. Doug also caught three of his own and we kept two. It was so nice to see the look of contentment on Doug's face knowing that we finally had a successful fishing trip. However, our friends informed us that we had too much luck on our side. We all turned out to be typically unlucky at catching fish so we were not too prepared to have so many treasures. Thank goodness for us my dad was willing to have us bring them to him to clean and prepare for a big fish fry we hope to have some time SOON!

Ethan is an Artist

Ethan had the opportunity at school to learn from an expert in the art field. Mrs. White's class had a curator from the Boise Art Museum come and share some art tips. They did a watercolor landscape and a oil chalks picture on fabric. Both of which she told Ethan he did very well. We are very proud! Maybe he takes after Dad and will be an artist?

On To PreKindergarten

Jayden has had a very busy week. Okay we have all had a VERY busy week. Monday was Kimberly's game, Tuesday was Jayden's 1st game, then Kimberly had another game, then tonight was Jayden's again. Jayden's big events this week are however not game related. He had two "Preschool Celebrations." He and Miss Rachel who is the assistant in both his classes had a busy two days. Wednesday was Jayden's last day in Miss Kim's class. They had a wonderful program. Miss Kim had them sing about shapes (Jayden was a rectangle). Then she made us all cry by sharing a sweet country song about "Letting Them Stay Little." If the song was not bad enough she had the kids hand out roses to their moms. Let me tell you Jayden handed the rose to me and I did okay but when he turned back to hug me and I lost it. SO SWEET! Then today at Miss Karalee's Celebration Jayden got to be a monkey complete with a tail (he wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a picture). They did 5 Little Monkeys. This was very special to me because since Jayden was born he has been my "little monkey." His favorite stuffties are all monkeys too. It is really weird to know he is ready to be a PreKinder KID! What happen to my baby?

Our Little Monkey

T-Ball

I could say volumes about how FUN it is to watch our "class clown" play t-ball but I will just let the pictures do the talking. This was his first game last Tuesday night. He is on AMES Electric with his buddy Tucker. LOVE IT!The Boys

You're Going THE WRONG WAY!

You put your mitt on your hand not your head!