Graduation Day(s)

We had two big graduations this year *wink* - Jude graduated from kindergarten and Asher graduated from preschool (or at least one year of it).

Jude got his very own cap and tassel to keep. His class worked very hard on the program. It was full of songs, with actions and dancing, as well as poems. The whole thing was SO cute!! Afterwards we took him out for lunch.

Asher's graduation was also adorable! The classroom was decorated with balloons and streamers and each child made their own cap, got a HUGE custom decorated cookie, and special graduation necklace. They also had a slide show presentation of pictures they had taken all throughout preschool. It was incredibly cute!!
Congratulations, graduates!!

Park Pride Day, 2009

Last weekend we went with our ward to a couple of local parks to help clean-up and beautify as part of the annual "Park Pride Day" extravaganza. The park district provided all the materials, but the man power was all from local citizens. It's a great way to get invested in the community and build unity in neighborhoods. Here is a run down of the kids' activities:

Conner and his friends Matthew tried a little of everything: planting flowers, weeding, mulching, picking up trash, and the never to be under-rated "air raking."

Jude stayed busy with the mulch, either spreading it or climbing the huge piles put out at each park. However, the most notable way he spent his time was by shamelessly flirting with the teenage girls there helping. They ate him up and he said "I made lots of new big girl friends." Good for you, little Romeo!

Asher spent his time throwing away trash, climbing the mulch, and (the most time consuming activity of all) trying to avoid getting his picture taken. Haha, though. My friend got one! Avery did what Avery does best: charm everyone with her smiles and waves while taking off her shoes and socks.

Cursed

For the last few months, Asher has been using "my throat hurts" to mean anything on his body hurts.  It could be he stubbed his toe, has a stomach ache, or even a poked eye.  It has NEVER meant that his actual throat hurt.  So a short while ago I said something to the effect of, "He just needs to have  a sore throat once so that he can understand what part of his body it actually is."  The problem is that I didn't really mean it, but sure enough he has come down with strep throat.

So, to test my potential gift of issuing curses, I am trying the following: "The makers of Teletubbies just need to be forced to watch their own show for a few hours so that they will understand the error of their ways."

With any luck, the show will be virtually eliminated within a few weeks.

(Disclaimer - my kids have never really watched Teletubbies, but I personally am creeped out by that baby in the sun.  It's just scary!)

Asher's Serenade

Here's a cute video of Asher singing - I bet it won't be a surprise about what the song is. Just a little background info: We have a had a small baby doll since around the time that Jude was born. All of the kids have at some time liked to play with, including Avery who enjoyed sucking on its head. Well, a few weeks ago I lost it during an outing and I replaced it with a Water Baby brand doll thinking mainly Avery would like it. However, once Asher saw it he fell in love. He loves his water baby and carries it around pretty much all the time. He's a good little mommy (he has informed me that he is NOT a daddy).

Scripture Time?

A little while ago, Asher comes to me saying that he got the scriptures and that it was time to "cuddle and read our scriptures." At the time I was busy cleaning our living room, but how could I say no? So, I stopped what I was doing and sat on the couch. Asher climbed up into my lap and handed me this:

We may be in for a surprise at the coming General Conference!

Asher's Birthday

So, it's a bit late but here are some pics from Asher's birthday. I'll give you one guess what the theme was! Of course - it's THOMAS! He had a Thomas cake (poor kid, it was pretty nasty allergen free cake - we won't be making that kind again!) and pretty much all of his gifts were Thomas themed as well. He got a bike, helmet, backpack, lunchbox, a couple of engines, and a magnetic Thomas play set. He was truly in heaven (if the Island of Sodor counts as heaven, anyway).

The whole day we had been telling Asher it was his birthday, but he didn't seem to believe us until we put him to bed and he asked if he could stay up since it was his birthday. He still does not believe that he is three. He says that he is two or four, but definitely not three. That's our little monkey!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASHER!