Class of 2014

This past weekend we headed to Waco to see my cousin Zach graduate from high school!! I can't believe it was FOURTEEN years ago that I was walking across that very stage graduating from Midway too! 

2014 family graduates...one finished his first year, one finished his last year!

Of course Levi had to have his own picture!

Zach and his girlfriend Riley, both going to Texas State!

Afterwards we went back to my aunts for a party!! Lots of food, sweets, family, and friends!! 

Sharing a late night plate of lasagna!

Congrats Zach!!!

Summer Smart Charts!

Well today is the first official day of summer!! We had a great weekend in Waco celebrating my cousin Zachs' graduation from Midway!! I will post pics of that soon, but since today is kicking off our summer break I wanted to share a little something that I have in place for the boys this summer!

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Enter our Summer Smart Charts!! Every summer I try to be very intentional in keeping Lane on track for school. Being a teacher I know how very easy it is to do nothing school related for three months and regress a little skill wise, and I want to keep Lane right on track as he enters first! I usually just do things on the fly here and there, but I knew I wanted a little more structured routine this summer. I first saw this idea here on this blog and I immediately loved it! There are so many different summer ideas out there but I really liked this one.

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Based on the one I saw, I set out to make ours and this is what I came up with! Basically its a grid with lots of squares, each one containing different activities that ideally I want him to spend about 25 minutes on. Each time he completes a square he'll cover it up with a sticker and when the whole chart is complete he will receive a reward!! And since Levi is quite the copy cat, I knew that I needed to make him his very own smart chart, filled with age appropriate activities!

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I set up a tray for each boy that houses most of what they need for their charts!

I picked up two workbooks for Lane, a writing journal, a cute science activity book I threw in their last minute, and stickers. Everything else is stuff around the house (ipad, books, etc.)

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For Levi I got a "journal" to color in, flashcards from the house, and stickers. And again I already have puzzles, colors, books, legos, and everything else!

I explained it to Lane this morning and he was into the idea!! I feel like this is a super fun and easy way to include learning in our summer fun this year! 

Kinder Graduation

This morning was a very special morning...Lane graduated Kindergarten!! We couldn't let it go without a little celebration breakfast!!

My mom got Lane this plate back when he "graduated" preschool and I plan on using it at every graduation!!

  

A little photo shoot before we were off to school!

Before graduation, each class had their awards in their classroom! Lane got the "Future Engineer Award for excellence in science and math! Definitely skills he got from his daddy, ha!

 

I didn't expect to be emotional about his at all, but I did. In the classroom when Ms. Macias was talking about the year and class I teared up! She was an amazing teacher and I know she meant alot to Lane!

Before heading to the gym I caught some sweet moments with Ms. Macias!

She is somewhere in the middle of those kids!! They love her!!

Then it was finally graduation time! My handsome boy!

A little smile for mom!

Levi found a roly poly and it kept him entertained!

After every kinder walked, they all sang a few very precious songs for us! Teary eyes again!

Love Ms. Macias!! A perfect "first" teacher to have!!

I've said it many times, but we are so proud of Lane!! He did awesome things this year and we can't wait to see what the years to come bring!!

And I need to include these...daddy surprised Lane with a little gift for such an awesome year! He gave it to him Tuesday!

 Good job Lane man!! 

Monday Minutes

Friday night we spent some time with friends. Sprinklers, pizza, playing...it was good times!

Saturday night we took the boys to their first pro soccer games to watch FC Dallas! It was the perfect night for some soccer! Both boys loved it and watched it till the end! 

And Sunday we did absolutely nothing of importance, however I did get some new flip flops, which to me is important :)

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We are finally in the homestretch to summer. I can't believe FIVE days is all that stands between having a kinder and having a "firstie" on my hands!

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I am working on getting our "Summer Stay Smart" activities together and will share when it's ready!!

Field Day... aka... Water Day

Yesterday was Lane's field day...I use the word field day very loosely because in reality it was water day!! When did field day become "let's play in the water"!? I remember races, ribbons, and tug-o-war!!!

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Nonetheless, the kids had a blast and got super wet in the process!! I'll let the pics speak for themselves...

I love this shot...unstaged, unprompted,  just sheer joy on their sweet faces while getting hosed down!

Poor Ms. Macias...she got drenched at this station, but was a great sport!! The kids loved getting their teacher wet!!

Love this class!!