Summertime.....

We are on day 3 of summer in our house. And we have lots planned this summer.

Here are the kiddos on their first day of 1st and 4th grades.....


and on their last day of 1st and 4th grades (Rylie was chilly and mad at me so I only got a half smile)

I'm so proud of these kids, Owen has struggled a little but he has worked really hard and we are going to continue to work on some stuff over the summer so he is really ready for 2nd grade. He is reading so well and he is awesome with his math....really really proud of my son.

Getting his award for completing 1st grade, he also received a reading award......

Let me tell you.....4th grade is a BIG deal around here....why????
It is the last year of elementary school, CRAZY, I know!
Rylie will be a big middle schooler this fall, they are still in a traditional classroom and have their own wing of the school so they're not just being thrown to the wolves but still......CRAZY!

I am also soooo proud of my girl. What a long way she has come from the shy quiet, wouldn't hardly talk to anyone, 1st grader when we moved here.

Here she is with her AMAZING teacher Mrs. K......she has said how far Rylie has come socially....at the beginning of the year she wouldn't hardly talk to her and by the end of the year she would come up on her own to talk to her.

Getting her awards, which included......talent show, student council, remarkable reading, all 4 quarters of AR goals, KU reading program, singing missiles and type 2 learn.
Way to go Rylie!!!!

Just a shout out to Nike, what an amazing school full of amazing teachers. Rylie has really been so lucky.....she really has had 2 of the best teachers for 3 of her 4 years at Nike (she had one teacher for 2 different grades) and Owen had an absolutely amazing teacher this year also! I have been so impressed with this school especially after coming from a district with the big kids and Ry for kdg. that was very disappointing in many ways!

So now I have a 2nd grader, 5th grader and keeping my fingers crossed that Katelin gets drawn for the preschool at Nike......but now it is SUMMER!!!!!

We kicked it off with an art project.....

the kids had fun......

Evan was really into it.....

maybe a little too much!

and our finished project.....

So what are they????
well we also decorated clothes pins and I will write chores on them and when they complete that chore they will flip over their clothes pin and 4 special clothes pins that represent 3 strikes and an out for discipline.

I have great kids but along with fun stuff, such as....evening at the zoo, weekend in Branson, many afternoons at the pool, legoland, the aquarium and who knows what else, they will be learning a bit more responsibility this summer and more respect for one another.

Were adding one more kid to the chaos and my kiddos have a habit of making messes and leaving it for Mama to clean up and a habit of picking on each other....to the point of being downright mean sometimes. With our big household, I just can't keep up with it all and there is no reason that they shouldn't be pitching in so they will be learning that this year.

So far, the 3 days of summer we've had, they've been doing awesome. Rylie and Owen unloaded the dishwasher all by themselves, they helped get littles in and out while running errands, carried in groceries and have been cleaning up after themselves......lets just hope it continues. Rylie just needs to learn that it's okay to get her hands dirty, one of her jobs is to sweep the kitchen floor because she didn't want to have wiping down counters because it's gross to wipe crumbs into her hand......can we say....DIVA!!!!!