Restaurants & Recitals & Christenings, oh my!

Acting Class

This year the boys are taking over the blog for the summer. I'm handing over weekly writing prompts from our week, and they are sharing their favorite events.
 

O’Sushi                 Red Robin                           On The Border                  Juan Colorado’s                                BJ’s                        John’s Incredible Pizza                 Park Lanes Bowling                         Bowling Class                     Swimming                           Epic                        Dance Recital                     Family Dinner                    Feed the ducks                 Acting Class                        Dentist                 Orthodontist                      Clara’s Baptism                 Natalie’s Birthday party                 Grammo & Pop Pop visit

 

Hayden ::

Epic

The first week of summer was awesome. Some think I liked were O'Sushi, Grace's dance recital, and Grammo & Pop Pop's visit.

Underwater

At O'Sushi me and Mom ate a lot of sushi. And if you know Bayley, he doesn't like sushi, but he tried some. And he liked most of the sushi.

We went to Grace's dance recital. All of the dancers were really good. Grace's dance was awesome until she stuck out her tongue.

Feeding the ducks

We ate at a lot of restaurants because we were so busy.

 Grammo & Pop Pop came to see Grace dance, and to see me and Bayley. And also for Natalie's party. And Clara's.

P.S. I hope we can go to Six Flags because they have eighteen roller coasters. I also want to go to John's Incredible again.

Bayley :

I had a lot of fun in the first week of summer. I went to O'Sushi, John's Incredible and had bowling lessons. I hop I get to go to all three places more this summer.

This week we tried a new sushi place called O'Sushi. It was really cool. It had all of the little sushis on a moving conveyor belt. My favorite were the sesame balls with chocolate inside. Afterwards, we all got mochi.

This week we also went to John's Incredible for my report card dinner. I played almost every game. My favorite one is the block stacker game. With a bit more practice I might be able to win a laptop! (If it doesn't glitch out like it did for Hayden.)

We are also taking bowling lessons at Four Seasons. I got the highest scores I've ever had. After the lesson was over, the instructor was really nice and taught me how to throw a ball with a hook. I still have some work to do, but I'm getting better.

I hope to go to all of these places again this summer, and also go to the beach!

Another Year, Another Bonfire



6th Grade Planners

Last year the boys started the last day of school tradition of torching all the papers that come home at the end of the year.

Bayley upped the game and invited his friends over for a ceremonial end to elementary school. I sifted through his papers, snagging out a few assignments I wanted (like his "I Am" poem and such) and then let him have at it.



Math workbooks? All in!

Yes, it is surely more environmentally friendly to have them recycle everything. But it's much more fun to see a half-dozen boys toss their math workbooks at the flames and say "Begone, ye math!"

Seriously, these boys are more entertaining than most. And organized. They liked when each boy lit up the same thing at once.

And then, of course, there were marshmallows and s'mores. You can't waste a good bonfire.

Sixth Grade Graduation

Breakfast

Bayley did it. He conquered elementary school and moved on to battle junior high. Yes, I am indeed freaking out about this new stage much more than I should.

license plate wall

I've seen graduation ceremonies for Bayley before - preschool, kindergarten, Webelos crossover to Boy Scouts. This wasn't such a formal event. No singing, no graduation hats, not even a Native American guide to lead them through.

breakfast

This was a party. A celebration of who this class of kids are as a group. Maybe it's the Lake Woebegone effect, but this is a great bunch.

Not sure about these sideways pictures

The clever road trip theme earned the kiddos their own 'license' in lieu of diplomas, and a license plate with their name on it. The tables were covered in maps (outdated freebies from AAA, so smart) and the cafeteria walls transformed with road sign posters. The breakfast had all the kids favorites - the towers of bagels and strawberries adorned with checkered flags.

I loved the slideshow the most. The kids did some great things this year (toothpick bridges, outdoor school) and I loved seeing them happy and confident.

After the graduation party, the 6th grade parades through the school, all the other students lining the halls to clap them out. The younger kids really get into applauding as the 'big kids' go by, reaching out to high-five their mentor, reading buddy, or neighbor. I think the 5th grade thinks thoughts of "One more year."

Service Project - School Clean Up

In Boy Scouts, the boys must earn a certain number of service hours for each rank advancement. As they move up, they're expected to take the lead on some of these service projects. Bayley decided to put together a landscaping clean up at the elementary school. In an attempt to save budget dollars, things had become quite overgrown. Lucky for Bayley, a parent was also organizing a clean-up, so they pooled their efforts.

Bayley struggled a little bit in terms of telling the volunteers what they should be doing. He didn't like the idea of telling the older boys (or even parents) what to do. He had to be coached through that, but once everyone knew the goal, they went to work.

And it was work! Thing were tedious, but the weeds got pulled and the hedges got trimmed. Maybe he can organize another event in the fall for bark and plantings.

Talent Show

Hayden and his friend decided to do a jump rope routine for the talent show. They didn't put in much practice time outside of recess, so I was pleasantly surprised at how well it came out!

Summer is for Sprinklers

At the first sign of sun, the sprinkler comes out! Unfortunately for Bayley, he's decided to be too old for sprinklers. I don't think this will last. Summer is long!

1st Lost Tooth

She lost a tooth! She was so proud of herself. She wiggled it out, walked into our bedroom and woke us up with the news.

Yellow to Orange

Hayden has decided taekwondo isn't his thing, but Bayley still wants to stick with it. He tested up another level, going from a yellow belt to an orange belt.

Because we haven't been consistent about lessons, he isn't progressing as quickly as he would like. But even though there are younger kids levels ahead of him, he sticks with it. I'm really proud of him for not getting discouraged.

As a parent, taekwondo gets scarier as they level up. Each level they have to be able to break a board a different way. I have no idea how they do this without breaking themselves. But they're always so excited to have done it, no one complains.