Kyle turns 8!

 We decided that this year every kid would get a friend party.  Kyle was the first up, and he picked a Big Hero 6 themed party.  We let him invite 8 friends, thinking they wouldn't all come.  One kid cancelled last minute because he got sick, but the rest of them were there.  Lesson learned....invite less kids - even Kyle agreed.

 This was an unexpected occurance - the boys decided it would be fun to pretend they were pregnant with all the balloons laying around.  They did this forever, smashing into eachother and giggling. There was also a lot of screaming and running around.  They all seemed to have a great time.

 Kyle loved every gift and the entire party.  It was just what he wanted so a birthday success on our part I guess.  We gave him Disney Infinity 2.0 the week before his birthday so he was a bit confused when he didn't get gifts from us on his actual birthday.  We were at a soccer tournament for Evan that day and wanted him to have time with his gifts.  He did go out with Grandma and Grandpa for a date on his birthday - clothes shopping and Red Robin.  Then he continued his celebrations with Happy Teriyaki for dinner the Monday after his birthday.  

 All dressed up for church for his baptism interview.

 And so excited to finally get to join cub scouts.  He was so excited he spent all day Sunday memorizing and doing everything he needed to to earn his Bobcat.  Finished the whole thing in one day and hasn't slowed down on passing things off since.

Hard to believe he is 8 already, but we love this kid and who he is becoming.  It was a big year for him.  He really figured out reading and started to love it.  It is pretty common now to find him up past his bedtime trying to read by the light of the moon.  He never really liked reading before or was very fluid with it so its hard to be mad when we find him up at 10 excited about a book.  He also came out of his shell in huge ways.  In his teacher's words "he came out of his shell, then smashed it and threw it out."  He is a social kid now, has lots of friends at school he plays with, and he speaks up in class and is willing to talk to the adults he interacts with.  Kyle is a sweet, happy kid and we are so glad he is ours.

Mom's bday and Mother's Day

 My birthday was a bit of a bust with soccer, tutoring, kids home sick from school, and other things going on, but we managed to squeeze in some fun.  Brandon made my traditional rice krispie cake and we got to go out to dinner with my parents to tea leaf which was delicious. 

We followed it up closely with Mother's Day and the kids really tried to make me feel special.  They made cute things at church and said happy mother's day lots of times.  I tried to take a nap after church and Grace woke me up five times or so to ask if I needed anything - a snack, a drink, anything.  Very thoughtful kids - especially it turns out, while I'm trying to nap :)  Gotta love these three crazies that made me a mother.

Spring Soccer

 This spring we had all three kids in soccer.  It was hectic, we had at least one kid at practice Monday-Thursday, then 3 games every Saturday.  The kids had fun, got lots of exercise, and we all of got a lot of fresh air so the hectic was worth it.

 Grace was improved over last year, but still isn't super aggressive.  She came really close to scoring a goal a few times but it never quite happened.  Maybe next season.

 Here is typical Grace, strolling down the field with the ball, no hurry at all.  Usually the coach was encouraging her from behind to kick it, or run, or something along those lines.  We love her coach.  so patient with these little kids while they try to figure it all out.

 Kyle had a great season.  He is really figuring out how to be a defender.  He gets where to stand to cut off the angle to the goal, kicking it to the outside and then upfield, etc.  They started having him do most of the throw ins too since there are only two other players on the field at his age, and he was doing pretty well with that too.  It is fun to see how aggressive he is on the field and watch him figure it all out.

Evan had a fun season too.  He scored a goal in on game which was shocking since he prefers defense and never really shoots on offense, but he was in the right position and connected with the ball just right.  It was cute because the other parents were super excited for him and kept congratulating Brandon and I too.  His feet grew from a size 6 in mens in November to a 9 in mens in April, and he grew an inch or two during the season too.  That made things tricky for him but he is getting the hang of his big feet and things look good for the summer season.

 

We had a gorgeous spring and didn't get rained on at many games which is always nice.  Even had a few games so hot we used sunscreen and spray bottles. Feels like we lived soccer for a few months, and that continues with the kids playing summer and fall with their teams, but we will stick with it as long as everybody is having fun.

Arrow of Light

 Evan worked hard in Webelos and managed to complete every badge just before he earned his Arrow of Light award - the highest award in Cub Scouts and one you get to wear on your Boy Scout uniform.  He did it all in about 6 months which was extra impressive.  

 They didn't have the normal person for the awards, and I guess they got word out late that he would be receiving his award, but they put together a presentation he loved.  He was also awarded the super scouter award that night for finishing it all so fast.

After his Arrow of Light ceremony they did his crossing over into Boy Scouts, which surprised us. He was only 10.5 and not supposed to start the next phase til he was 11.  Turns out he met the qualifications for some exceptions and he has now joined 11 year old scouts as a 10 year old.  Hopefully his enthusiasm keeps up and he meets his goal of his eagle at age 14.

Easter

 Annual egg coloring at Grammie and Gramps' house.  The kids were pumped that Graham, Claire, and Gwen joined us for the event.  I'm sure the six crazy kids were exhausting to the great-grandparents, but they had a blast.

 We spilled a lot of dye but in the end they got it all done.

 New Easter outfits.  The boys went easy on us and just wanted new ties.  

 We did an easter hunt with Graham, Claire, and Gwen the week before.  Very fun to have an outside hunt with so many places to look for eggs.

 Random picture of Finn in the place he sits all day every day waiting for his kids to come home from school.  Poor dog misses them all day long I think.

 Easter morning, waiting to run downstairs.

They got way more candy than was necessary and loved every minute of it.  We did a night hunt with the neighbors too but I guess I forgot to take pictures. 

Second Grade Performance

Kyle made some huge growth this year.  With the help of an amazing teacher, he came out of his shell and tried a lot of new things.

 For the second grade program he actually auditioned for a solo part.  Not like him at all.  He was so excited leading up to it and kept reminding us that day to look for his blue shirt since we may not recognize him with his costume on.  

 When the time came for his big moment he was great.  He grinned, danced, played some instruments, and had a great time.  I think I may have teared up a little seeing him so out of his normal element.  Everyone was shocked that shy Kyle was putting on such a show.

 I'm sure it helped that his buddy Aaron was his partner, but he did great.  So great that I went back the next day for the daytime performance to take more pictures. 

St Patrick's Day

 We like to keep holidays fairly low-key, but still fun.  This year for St Patricks day we all wore green, and then had green waffles for dinner.  The kids thought it was awesome!

Evan was our chef that night and did a good job figuring out the waffle maker.