Monday, June 20, 2016

Countdown to Summer!

The last month of school really flew by.  With all the activities, parties, etc., we kept extremely busy.

Macie's class continued to count down to the end of the year with their alphabet days.  E was exercise day.  Mom dressed Macie head to toe in her Lulu's and sent her out the door looking absolutely adorable.


That day Mom, Presley, and Nixon joined Macie's class for some exercise games.  With the help of an "antique" Sesame Street Record from the early 80's, Mom led the class in aerobic dancing!

The letter F was favorite day.  Macie picked out her favorite dress and bought in her favorite book to read.


For the letter G the theme was green.  Macie wore her favorite green dress with some green hair extensions.



That particular day was a special one for Presley.  She was going to school with us for a preschool meet and greet.  At Staton Elementary they have a program for preschool that is ideal for Mom's schedule next year.  They only accept a few kids each year, so Mom was crossing her fingers that Presley was able to turn on the charm and keep her dark side hidden for her 15 minutes alone with the teachers...

Presley was so excited for her big day, and Macie and I were thrilled to have our sister at school with us that morning.






Presley did exceptional and we were all very proud (and grateful)! She will be attending the preschool at our school in the fall.

The letter H was hat day.  Macie chose to wear a fancy hat and cape. 





To be honest with you, I think Mom enjoys the daily dress up way too much!

I can't say that I mind...


 I day was inside out day.  Macie was mortified that her tags had to be visible and tried to talk Mom into cutting them out of her clothing.  Mom distracted her by asking if she wanted to wear the new colored hair extensions we had found earlier in the week.  She quickly forgot about the tags and beamed with enthusiasm.  I was excited to wear them as well!




My friends loved them, and every now and again Mom let's us wear them if they match our outfits.  I am glad we bought every color they have; pink, purple, blue, and red.  So much fun!



K was "be kind" day, so Macie wore her be kind dress and wrote a few kind notes of appreciation to her friends and teachers.


The letter L was a day that Macie had been waiting for.  L day was lollipop day.  She couldn't have had a bigger smile (or a bigger lollipop).


M was mismatch day and Mom really went for it.  Macie mismatched all the way from her head to her feet...


Every now and again the rest of us would join in for some morning pictures.  Presley is getting much at posing...




Nixon isn't too interested in stopping for pictures,



but Presley has learned to always be camera ready with a smile...


N was NO homework day.  After school that day Macie spent the time running through the yard and playing.  She wishes that every day was NO homework day!  O was orange day and field day for the whole school.  Macie's class got orange t shirts for the day, and Mom made Macie's into a sporty dress.




Macie had a blast at field day.  She was in her element. Running, jumping, playing; she loved every minute of it.


I didn't hate it, but also wished that instead we had a reading day and could sit in the library for hours.


Presley and Nixon came with Mom to watch our field day activities, but were more interested in eating snacks and sitting in the shade.



P was pajama day.  Mom loved it; she had one less kid to dress for school!



Q day was quiet day.  Mom wasn't sure how Macie was going to survive this particular theme.  Quiet is not a word that would EVER be used to describe our little Macie.



Mom joked that she was going to send Macie to school with duct tape over her mouth to give her a chance.  Macie loved the idea, but Mom recanted when she realized that duct taping her child's mouth shut may get her an unwanted appointment with CPS.  When Dad came down stairs that morning we joked with him about the tape.  He got a good laugh out of it and that's when Mom and Dad made the executive decision to use painter's tape instead (since it is much more forgiving than duct tape).  



Apparently Mom spent the whole day waiting for someone from school to call and scold here.  Luckily no one called.  It is good to know that people can still take jokes now and again...

R was red and reading day.  Macie found as much red as she could, and then Mom tossed glitter all over her face and head.  She looked like someone puked glitter on her.  It was kind of ridiculous.  Even Mom regrets some of her decisions from time to time...



Mom was planning on coming into our classroom to read a story, but I really wanted to read to Macie's class.  I talked with both my teacher and Macie's and set everything up.  I had a great time reading a few books to the first graders and Macie was really proud that I

S was sunglasses day and Macie looked like a bonafide rock star when she strolled out the door.


That afternoon we went to the library for the annual art award night.  My still life piece was chosen for display!


When we got home from the event a big surprise awaited us; Grandma Judy!!!  Presley was SO excited that she had a whole week to spend with her favorite partner in crime.


We made sure to do lots of fun things while Grandma was here.  We went to the museum,


played all sorts of games,


and went swimming a few times!

Nixon was not thrilled to be in the water.  Grandma tried to help him, but sitting on the edge seemed to be all he was comfortable with. 




On Mother's day we took the family to the pool and on the way home we saw a beautiful rainbow stretching across the sky.



For dinner we had a nice meal at home.  The weather has been fantastic so we all ate outside together.



Back at school it was T day- another day that Macie had really been looking forward to- TWIN day!  Her and her friend Tala had been planning this day for weeks.  Macie sat down with Mom and helped her design an outfit from head to toe.  All the hard work was worth it when Mom saw how happy Macie was when she put on the creation she had designed.



Macie and Tala looked adorable together at school that day!  By far the best dressed twins in class.


U was USA Day, so Mom made a new skirt and top for Macie to wear.  Red, White, and Blue from head to toe!!!!


She got to wear both red and blue extensions- LUCKY!


V day was video day and Macie's class got to watch educational videos- I was envious.  My class had to do more testing.BLAH!

W was white day.  A day that Mom was secretly dreading.  We don't usually dress Macie in white.  She does has a reputation for getting exceedingly dirty.  Far more than most kids (she has a gift).


Mom laughs at how different the two of us are.  I could wear something all day and it would still look neat and clean by night time.


Uncle Will got a new camera so Mom was inspired to take a few pictures.  After school one day she followed us through the yard and managed to get a few pictures before we all got bored and moved on to other more exciting activities.











X day was Xtra recess day.  I was thrilled that I had Library that day and chose to wear a "library" outfit.


Macie, on the other hand, chose to wear a fun sporty dress with headbands. 


After school that day we celebrated Xtra recess day by going to pink box and getting some yummy donuts.  Mom let us choose our own; we were THRILLED...




Y was yellow day and Macie woke up with a smile as bright as the sun!



The next day was our VERY LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!  Mom surprised us that morning with special pancakes. 



As we left the house to head to school Mom couldn't believe that another year had passed.

Last day of 3rd grade:



Letter Z marked the last day of school and was "Zoom out of school day."  Mom said that wasn't exciting enough so she decided that Z would be zebra day and for that she made Macie a ruffle zebra dress.

Last day of First Grade:


At school that day Macie was recognized with some classroom awards and we were all proud of her achievements!  Mom and Dad were both beyond happy with both of our academic accolades- I was one of the few students in my grade to receive straight A's.


Mom helped set up their last day of school party, and couldn't believe how rowdy and impatient this class of kids could be.  It was obvious that EVERYONE was ready for summer.





At the end of the day we were all conflicted.  

Despite our excitement for summer and all the fun things that come with it, we knew that also meant that we wouldn't see our teachers or friends that we had spent the past year getting to know and love.




Mom found a way to cheer us up that afternoon...

Water balloons!!

 


All the neighborhood kids came to our house for some fun water games!  From balloons to the pool to soap and sprinklers on the trampoline we had a blast!



After all the fun Mom brought out popsicles for us to enjoy!


We thought our day couldn't get any better.  And then Dad informed ALL of us that he was taking us to dinner and a movie.  Can you believe or luck?  We sure couldn't!

Our WHOLE crew went over to the Red Rock food court before going to see the Angry Birds movie.  Back at the house Mom was busy turning my room into a sorority house equipped with 6 beds?!?! 


It was a fun night, but no one went to bed until almost midnight.  That morning Mom had a bunch of tired and cranky girls at the breakfast table and the white chocolate chip pancakes that she made barely helped our spirits.  By noon our house was back to just our family again, and all of us enjoyed the quiet 3 hour stretch of nap time.  

That afternoon Dad took Nixon to Lifetime for a much needed hair cut...


Thanks to an iPad playing Elmo and a tray full of snacks, Nixon sat still like a champ.



Early the next morning poor Nixon woke up with an incredibly high fever.  He didn't move much that day and Dad took every chance he could to snuggle up with his little boy (who never snuggles for more than 10 seconds).


It turned out to be a rough weekend as his temperature reached a high of 104 degrees.  Mom was grateful that the rest of us were big helpers around the house.  Macie and I read Presley bedtime stories and Mom managed to capture this sweet moment in between bathing Nixon and putting him to bed.



After a long weekend Nixon's spirits were back up and the doctor said he was on the mend.


We all breathed HUGE sighs of relief because our trip to Arizona was right around the corner.  Everyone is excited to go to VBS at Mt.View and see some good friends, but we are most looking forward to meeting our NEW COUSIN JENSEN!!!  Check back soon to see and hear all about it!