Goodbye Kindergarten!!!

I can't believe how fast Ashton's first school year went.  And it's amazing to think how much the kid progressed from the start of the year. Looking back Ashton and I were both sooooo emotional.  Drop off was the worst. One of us was in tears for the first two months.  Part of the problem was that school here is full day. I mean, the kid has hardly been away from me so this was a big jump for us. I even let him earn days off from school for not crying for an entire week at drop off. But we adjusted by November. Of course I had to be involved as a could volunteering as the class mom, going on field trips and helping out with kinder art. It was wonderful to see him make friends, learn new skills and see his love for learning grow. We were especially fond of his teacher Mrs. Magnusson. I am sad that she retired this year and won't be there when Isaac starts! But in any case, we lucked out having her at all. Here is Ashton with some of his best friends, Nathan and Everett on their last day. The came home with loads of class projects!

And here he is Mrs Magnusson. Redland Oaks, you are a great school!

The Zoo!!!

We have had unusually amazing weather this week so we spent several hours at the zoo yesterday. Not only did we have great weather but there were several teaching/game booths that the kids loved. We were there for three hours and sure didn't get to far!

 The kids at the "mingos" as Ezra would say.

 Ezra loved all the hands on activities. He was especially fond the statues!

 Sporting a stamp for completing the bear chase. (The kids had to pick of all of the liter and climb into the tent before the bear (teenager) caught them.

 Checking out the bear paws, skulls and fur.

 Fishing activities outside the aquarium.

 Ezra was especially protective of the kamodoo dragon

 Nature bracelet!

 We finished up at the reptile house. The kids were too cute! Isaac had to take his time at each exhibit and tell me whether they were venomous or not and what kind of diet they had. Ezra loved hissing at ALL the snakes.

What a great time! So glad that we were able to have a heat free summer day at the zoo!

I want candy!

Ezra is our little sweet tooth. He LOVES any kind of sugar and is REALLY good at finding it. In fact in the mornings when I go to get him out of his crib the first thing he says reaching out his hand is "want candy, hold it". I don't have lots of candy in the house, but I do have a drawer always stocked with gum and occasionally some airheads.  He frequents this drawer to see if there is candy and if not he'll snatch some gum. This week he went to the drawer asking for candy, and I was soooo sick of him begging for candy I took out the candy and airheads and moved them to the top of the fridge. He was so upset I couldn't help take a couple of pictures.