On the eve of the last day of school Jon had a big accomplishment...
he beat his Bakugan game.
I believe he got this game for his birthday 1 or 2 years ago I can not remember.
He has spent a lot of time figuring it out and working with Joey and Peter to learn to play it better.
Considering that he only gets screen time if he gets a good behavior mark at school and then it is limited by extra curricular activities and practice and other such things he has not played for days on end.
Jon has a knack for video games and I have come to a point in my parenting life that I am okay to admit that I let my son play video games (ratings and content monitored of course) and feel he is developing a skill. I am not exactly sure how Bakugan will help him in his future life but I do know it has helped he and Joey to have something to work on together and that to me is worth it.
We started the summer off right by doing our homework pages first of course and then heading to the Dallas Zoo with friends.
First we rode the carousel.
Joey had that nest spinning so fast I thought for sure Arabella would throw up but she just laughed!
Lily told her horse to "Giddy up".
And Jon took control of the rhinoceros.
Lily enjoyed feeding the fish until they began to swarm and were pushing up out of the water with big open mouths easily bigger than a golf ball. Then, she was happy to let me finish feeding them.
This was the first time we were able to catch the bird show and luck was with us because Joey was called as the first volunteer.
He had to use those chopsticks to pick the fish out of the water and try to beat the ibis bird. I was so proud of him and he was so excited!!
The eagle owl was so big and the bright orange eyes gave a good creepy factor.
Such lovely kiddos.
Jon found the facts about the bald eagle the most interesting. They shared that they were nearly extinct and that conservation efforts saved them. Of course this was followed by a plea for donations. They did at least have a raven that would pluck the dollar bill out of your hand. I let Jon and Arabella do it since Joey was picked as the volunteer.
Not a great picture at all but there are 10 of the 11 kids we took to the zoo in that jeep. I did not get Lily over there fast enough.
She did think it was great to stand on the front.
I hope this is the first of many great adventures this summer.
This week I plan to let the kids finger paint, sign up for the summer reading program, and likely go to a park at some point. Summer it is good to have you here, I hope when you are done it will not seem like you flew by but that you were here long enough for us to enjoy your warm weather, slower pace, and our precious time together as a family!
I helped with Joey's third grade end of year party.
I took the mini catapult that Peter made last summer and the kids launched balls.
It is always good to see Joey in the school setting and interacting with other kids.
There are some things he does great and others he is still working on and other aspects he is oblivious to but I am thankful for that sometimes too.
Here he is playing with his friend Dayley.
Multiple attempts to get a picture of the three of them together but each time at least one of them was looking away or distracted by something: wind, itch, poky spot, something someone off to the side was doing.
I love that I can help out with my kids class activities. It does not always work out- like I missed Jon's because it was during Arabella's swimming lesson. But I love to feel like I am a part of their life at school for a time and I LOVE that they still get excited to see me! Kids are the BEST!
Arabella has been looking forward to swimming lessons for months.
She has become so much more confident in the water.
Today she did really well during her lesson and her teacher said she was glad there were several lessons left because she thought there was potential for her to be mostly swimming by herself. Yea!
Yesterday Lily insisted on wearing her swimming suit and I spent the whole time trying to keep her from getting in the pool. She kept crying, "Water! Ella Water!" Ella is what she calls Arabella.
She had a beautiful jump that I missed just barely!
Arabella called to me to come and see her and Lily. I did and this is what I found. They were very snuggly with each other that morning. Such cute girls and I hope they will always be friends.
Every time we feed the missionaries they ask if we have any neighbors they could teach.
Well, after 3 1/2 years of living in Texas I really only know about 5 people in my neighborhood.
It was time to get to know the neighbors and to do some missionary work.
Okay, so the thought is that by getting to know my neighbors it would open the door to missionary work in the future. Do you see my vision?
This was out of our comfort zone for sure. Inviting total strangers (at least some) to our house for a barbecue seemed like the best approach. We offered shaved ice of course.
We advertised it as bring your own main dish (grill available) and a side or dessert to share.
The kids were really excited and thought it was great fun to deliver the fliers.
They were big helpers in carrying stuff out to the front yard and holding things down as it ended up being a really windy evening but very pleasant temperature wise.
The girls had found Arabella's make up kit and were all dolled up for the occasion.
The start time came and went and there was nobody. We decided to go ahead and start the grill for our own dinner and as we did so a family (from the house that got our last flier) came walking down the street. A very nice couple that have two children (boy 9 and girl 2). The boys got along great and it was wonderful for Joey. Lily loved having someone her size to play with. The neighbor from 2 houses down came out with his daughter and had some shaved ice and visited. And that was the end of the guests; we passed out 40 fliers. I know it was Memorial day and there were plenty of people with plans. I had prepared myself going into this that it could be a big flop. The evening ended and I felt completely content. This couple is catholic (they brought up religion not us) but their son goes to school at the school she teaches at so he does not know any kids locally. He and Joey hit it off and I have prayed for Joey to find a friend. So, maybe this can turn into a missionary opportunity but if nothing but a friend for Joey comes from this I am more than happy and feel that Heavenly Father is fully aware of my family and our needs and efforts.
