Macie and I were thrilled when we found out that our school hosts a Daddy Daughter Dance. We've had so much fun in the past and couldn't wait to spend an evening of fun tearing up the dance floor with Dad.
Mom and I had great time picking out my dress and all the accessories to go along with it. Instead of choosing only one piece of flair we went for it all; ruffles, feathers, sequin, bows, heels, and hat!
It only took Macie 2 minutes to choose a simple floor length dress. Despite her many declarations that "she is not fancy" she sure enjoyed putting on her dress and jewelry.
We had a phenomenal time at the dance. The facility was amazing and more than exceeded our expectations.
We arrived back home that night just after 9 pm. After rushing to change into our pajamas Macie, Mom and I hoped in the car and took off for quick weekend trip to Arizona to visit the Ketcham's and celebrate Graham's 9th birthday.
Around 1:30 am Mom stopped to get gas at our favorite spot in Gila Bend (Mom loves the dinosaurs). Macie woke up while we were stopped and in true Macie spirit got out of the car and did a hot lap in the parking lot.
We arrived in Arizona shortly after 3 am and Mom prayed we would get a little bit of sleep before our fun weekend ahead. Unfortunately for her Macie was up and ready to go with the sun at 6 am. She spent the next hour before anyone else woke up running around the yard with their dog Winnie (whom Mom has decided is her true spirit animal). They were both like pin balls zig zagging back and forth across the grass, in and out of trees.
When everyone woke up the fun began with sprinklers and the trampoline!
That afternoon after a fun game of indoor mini golf at glow putt the whole crew went down to Mesa to ride the Flowrider.
Everyone had a fantastic time riding the waves!
We rode the waves right up until sun down and didn't want to stop.
It was well worth driving through the desert all night to spend the day with this awesome family!
That next day we went to the local pool to ride some water slides and wade in the lazy river. As she does every trip, Miss Andrea politely asked Mom to take a picture with her. As usual, Mom had to be a little extra...
At night Miss Andrea was looking at pictures from our day when she came across this fantastic picture of Mom. We can all agree that it perfectly captures her "signature" look. We laughed about it for hours.
The rest of our trip was spent playing, laughing, swimming, and enjoying each others company.
We had an incredible 3 days with their family and can't wait until or next adventure.
That weekend Presley's preschool celebrated the class of 2031 (can you believe that?!?) at a preschool graduation ceremony. Her class performed some songs on stage before the commencement.
After the performance her class went back to their rooms to get their graduation certificates.
After that it was time to celebrate and PARTY!!!
Our last week of school at school was pure fun for everyone.
The fifth graders dressed as Indians and early settlers while the third graders dressed as pioneers traveling the Oregon Trail.
We had an end of the year assembly where I earned an award for Citizenship,
and had our final music performances where I played the ukulele and sang a few songs with my class. Macie and her class performed a few songs while playing our favorite instrument, the recorder.
We also had our school's annual spelling bee and I won first place for the fifth grade!
Despite having her graduation ceremony the previous weekend Presley finished her last day of preschool at the end of the week. She was so proud of herself. We were proud that she was proud (not that she graduated from a grade where eating both glue and boogers is considered acceptable).
Macie and I both had reservations about the last day of school. We were excited that summer was finally here, but sad to leave our teachers and friends behind.
All things considered we ended up fitting right in at Murdock Elementary School and look forward to next year when Presley will join us as a Kindergartner.
To celebrate the end of the school year our family drove to Vegas to visit Uncle Will and Cari. It was a nice relaxing trip with the whole family. We spent time playing indoors and watched a few movies to beat the 107 degree heat.
We swam with the Whetten Family at the Vistas pool and Presley LOVED the water slide.
To beat the heat at the "best park in the world" we would go early in the morning or evening. It was well worth the sweat to get to play on the net climbers, zip lines, and swings.
You can't really find a more amazing place to be.
Before leaving town Dad took Macie, Cari, and I to the Vegas Golden Knights arena. We spent a few hours touring the facility and shopping in the stores.
It was great being in Vegas and spending time with Uncle Will and Cari. What an awesome way to start our summer break from school!
Back at home we kicked off summer with a trip to Sea World with our new best friends. Long story short, and I mean long, Mom ran into a friend from her childhood whose family she spent lots of time with growing up. They made plans for all of us to get together and right away we knew it was a great match! Since May we have become inseparable.
Nixon, Hayden, and Presley are the 3 Musketeers. The world better watch out for this trio.
Presley wanted to impress all the big kids and decided to ride the Journey to Atlantis for the first time. She was a champ on the ride but decided her first ride was also going to be her last ride for a while.
She also road the river rafting ride. Thanks to Mom and her trash-bag chic look she loved every minute of it and stayed dry unlike the rest of us that were too cool to try Mom's avant-garde fashion.
The lazy days of summer are upon us and we are taking full advantage.
Some days I sleep in until 9:30 am! Unfortunately for Mom the little ones are both up by 6:30. On days when we aren't at Sea World, Aquatica, the beach, or a park, we are in the pool!
It turns out that we didn't end up missing much about school. Mom made sure we got to see lots of our favorite friends.
With only one month left of Summer we are making sure to enjoy every moment.
