T turns NINE

A HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to this cute boy! 

My baby is NINE! How did this happen?

T was born with a smile and nine years later still greets me each morning with that same smile and a hug.  T sees the world through positive lenses and considers any dream to be within the realm of possibility.  He is a kind, loyal friend and his peers are attracted to him (as are cute little girls).  He loves sports and has no problem keeping up with his older brothers with his speed, agility and grit.  His imagination is at the heart of his love of writing and drawing.  His giggle is infectious and he is quite possibly the best snuggler ever!  I love you T!

We celebrated T's birthday with his buddies by taking them all to a local BMX park and letting them ride the afternoon away.  Thank goodness none of the parents had anywhere to be because these boys did not tire out!  They rode and rode and rode.  I heard a lot of declarations of "best party ever" as the afternoon went on and I kind of have to agree!

Last Day of School

I kind of didn't think the last day of school was ever going to come...June 20th you guys!!! That is a lot of June!!!  That is also what happens when you have school cancelled EIGHT times because of snow. But we finally made it!

J is officially done with 4th grade...which means that next year he will be in 5th grade and will "rule the school".  

J had Ms. C for 4th grade

J's favorite field trip was Biztown 

His favorite unit was the Revolutionary War unit

His favorite subject is Social Studies

When he grows up he wants to be a Doctor

T completed 2nd grade and was able to "walk the bridge" to the "older" side of the school as he will be a 3rd grader in the fall.

T had Ms. Fitz for 2nd grade

T's favorite field trip was the zoo

His favorite unit was studying Habitats

His favorite subject is Science

When he grows up he wants to be an Engineer

Just for the record...T LOVED his teacher (and she kind of loved him too).  Up until the last day of school he kept asking her to come to 3rd grade with him, which I thought was adorable.  This note about sums it up!

K completed her Sophomore year and we celebrated by going to grab sushi for lunch with her friend, Macy.  Didn't even think to grab a picture of those two cute girls.

And C was able to laugh at all his siblings because online school doesn't take snow days so by June 20th he had already been done with school for a couple of weeks.

Welcome Summer!!!

Can You Beat the Daddy? returns

Our Father's Day "Can You Beat the Daddy" tradition made a return (after a year off last year) but we simplified it so that each child challenged their dad in just one game.  K was the one and only child to beat the daddy but all four kids had fun in their attempts.

Rich vs. K...The Nutstacker (stack nuts using only one hand and a chopstick)

Rich vs. C...Bottom's Up (find Rich's picture on bottom of cup by choosing cup and drinking contents)

Rich vs. J...Jello Dive (get the jewel from the bottom of the jello-filled bowl, using no hands)

Rich vs. T...Scoop It Up (transfer ping pong balls from one bowl to another using a spoon and no hands)

Lunch Dates

This past school year looked very different for me than previous years.  In the past I've been the mom that is in the classroom every week and on every field trip and is just "present".  Seeing that I was still going through chemotherapy when this school year began, and that then I had surgery and then I had radiation, I was just not that mom.

Instead of being the classroom mom, I became the "date" mom and made Thursday's my lunch date days.  I rotated each of the kids so that they each had one date a month with me.  I love that they were willing to give up their lunch recess to spend time with their mama!

I didn't always remember to take pictures but here are a few that I did get...if nothing else it documents that we had a lot of pizza and that T likes to rotate three shirts through his wardrobe.  

 

 

 

 

 

{T} The Royals...Wilsonville Farm League Champs

 T's baseball team had a great season and went into the season-ending tournament heavily favored to win.  They swept every game during the tournament leading up to the championship game.  It truly was so fun to watch.  That last game was an absolute nail biter, as the other team had multiple opportunities to take it, but in the end the Royal's pulled out the win and our team went home with the trophies.

Portland City Walks...Lake Oswego

Rich has a book of walking explorations to do around the Portland area.  He has done a couple on his own but I wanted to join him on one. 
We chose to do the one in Lake Oswego, planning to do it for his birthday, but it didn't happen on his birthday.  So we planned to do it over Memorial Day, but it didn't happen on Memorial Day.  So we rescheduled it again for a random Friday, only to arrive and have the clouds open up and just DUMP rain!  Luckily we were able to take cover and after the initial downpour, the rest of the morning rain was managed with our umbrella.  We even saw a few breaks in the clouds as the day went on.  It was a fun morning, a great walk, beautiful homes, interesting history and a fun chance to do something together.

{T} second grade book club

T has the nicest group of friends and I adore the families that they each come from.  What a great "village" for raising my son!
This year we decided to have our boys (and one twin sister) do a Book Club together - reading one book a month and then meeting to discuss it (and play).  We each took a turn hosting and it turned out great!

The books we read were...
Frindle by Andrew Clements

Skateboard Party by Karen English

Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies
Alvin Ho: Allergice to Girls, School and Other Scary Things by  Lenore Look
My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen

Coloring Your World

 K gave the boys a huge coloring map for Christmas...they worked on it a lot during the snow days we had this winter but it has been set aside for a while.  A couple of weeks ago we pulled it back out and I love all the progress they've made on it.  

I love that they will sit and work on it for hours - sometimes they are deep in conversation, sometimes they will listen to a talk or a podcast while doing it, and sometimes they just work in silence.

Best gift from the best sister!

{T} Royal's Baseball

T hasn't played baseball since he played t-ball three years ago.  Truthfully, I am always pretty burned out on sports after basketball season ends so I let baseball kind of fly under the radar.  But T has some AWESOME friends, whose dads all coach together and I knew I needed these three to play together before they begin minor's next year and get separated through the draft process.

T was a little unsure after the first couple of practices - the game moves slow and the weather was not cooperating.  But T quickly improved and with that his enjoyment of the game increased.  Winning aside (which they dominated) we really do have the best team - great kids, great coaches, great families.  We hit the jackpot and I think that T has a new favorite sport!

Favorite memory of the season is actually at the first day kick-off of the season.  It was a league wide event and all the teams were able to play a couple of games on the high school fields.  When the schedule came out I saw that our two games were in the morning and that team pictures were in the afternoon - as in AFTER two games.  Right then and there I informed the coach that T WOULD be dirty for pictures.  He reassured me the games were short and that there isn't really any sliding going on and that all would be fine.  Sure enough, T was 1st baseman and had to step off the base to catch the ball that was thrown to him so he DIVED to tag the base with the ball to get that approaching runner out...then he did the exact same play a couple of innings later.  The coach may not be encouraging the runners to slide but he didn't take into account my son as a defensive first baseman.  T has never met ground too hard to dive into.

And yes, he was dirty for pictures!

T rotated between first baseman and short stop, with generally one inning in outfield.  He liked playing infield and being a part of the action.

They had a pitching machine for the first five innings of each game - then it went to kid pitch for the last couple innings of each game.  T had to learn to hit off the machine but became very good at being able to get a hit each time he was at bat.

T was asked to pitch during a couple of games and he did pretty good, considering that was not one of the skills they worked heavily on.  He was throwing strikes out there which was not the case for a lot of the kid pitching.

 

The season ended this week but we will play next week in tournament play.  T's team is going into the post-league play seeded #1.  I can honestly say that I'm sorry to see the season come to an end but glad that T enjoyed it so much!