Last days of preschool!

Last week was the last week of preschool for our kids. Isaac actually graduated from the transitional kindergarten class! Elise's class had parties in Tuesday and Wednesday, so I joined them for lunch on Tuesday. We had a picnic on the playground. It was lots of fun. Elise was so glad to see me there and have me meet her friends and spend time with her at preschool.

The next day, Isaac's class had their graduation ceremony. Although Isaac had participated in the practices for the ceremony, he was not quite confident enough to participate on the actual day. So he walked in with his class to the sanctuary and then ended up sitting with us. We all enjoyed watching his friends sing and dance! Then we had a picnic lunch outside. My dad was able to join us and so was Steven! It was a gorgeous day for a picnic.

We are so proud of the progress Isaac has made in the past year in his transitional kindergarten class! Lots of fun and great memories... I can't believe he is now officially a kindergartener!

Both he and Elise will participate in a summer camp at the preschool and then we will "officially" begin homeschooling in September. (Although I would argue that we've been homeschooling since each baby's birth!)

Here are some pictures from the kids' last couple days of preschool that I caught on my phone:

Last day with Kati

Yesterday was our final day with Kati on this visit. We had lunch after church at my parents with my grandparents, aunt Sylvia and uncle Leon, Ray's mom Paulette, Kati and Ray.

After a delicious lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers, we spent time chatting outside while the kids rode bikes and made sidewalk chalk drawings.

Later, Steven took the kids home for baths and dinner while Kati and I took a long walk. That gave us the chance to have some quality sister time (thanks babe!!).

Then we hugged and said our goodbyes. Sniff. Sniff... But we can't wait to see them again when they come in town for the week of July 4th!

Pawpaw's 85th Birthday!

My Pawpaw's 85th birthday is coming up tomorrow! To celebrate, we were in invited to a family dinner at Showmars on Saturday night. Granny and Pawpaw didn't know Kati and Ray had come in town, so their appearance was a great birthday surprise! We had so much fun visiting, laughing, eating and celebrating the life of such a wonderful man!

Shopping day with Kati!

On Saturday, my mom and Kati came over to go shopping with my girls and me. We first went to see Ray's mom's new house and visited with her and Ray for a while. Then we went to The String Bean in Belmont for lunch. It was so pleasant! We sat outside and enjoyed our meal and fellowship on the patio. After lunch, we went to Kohl's and Walmart to shop. It was lots of fun! (Steven took Isaac fishing!)

Here are a couple of pictures of Kati and my girls:

Crossing the bridge and feeding the ducks...

After our trip to the Nature Museum...

Nature Museum with Kati!

Kati and Ray came down from Indiana this past weekend for a short visit! We were thrilled to see them and spend some quality time together. On their first day here, the kids, my parents and I took Kati to the Nature Museum while Ray spent some time with his mom. Kati loves animals, so this was a perfect family venture! We had a wonderful time showing her all the fun exhibits! The butterfly pavilion is my favorite park, and I had the great opportunity of a butterfly landing on me! Afterwards, we walked over to Freedom Park to feed the ducks (photos to come.). Kati had lots of fun and we all were SO glad to have her there with us!

Here are some pictures I snapped on my phone (which is how I take most of my photos these days) during our trip:

Booster seat time!

In preparation for an upcoming venture out with my parents and Kati, I needed all three kids to sit in the third row seat in our van. (Grace usually sits in the middle row and the big kids sit in the back.). This meant I needed to switch Isaac's big Britax Marathon carseat out with a slimmer booster seat. I purchased one at Walmart and installed it last Thursday. All three kids then fit great in the back row! Isaac loves his new really big boy seat! (I have since moved Grace back to the middle for ease of getting her in and out, but Isaac has asked that he be able to stay in his booster!)

Mother Daughter Banquet!

Last Saturday, my girls, my Mom and my Aunt Sylvia piled in our van and headed to Fort Mill, SC for a mother/daughter banquet at my cousin Lee's church. There, we met up with my Aunt Donna, Lee, and several members of Lee's family.

We had a great time getting ready and experiencing the whole event! Elise and I both wore dresses, and Elise wore some of my eye shadow and lip gloss for the first time! She was thrilled to get to dress up and put on makeup like Mommy!

At the banquet, Elise and Gracie were both precious angels! We ate delicious food, had great fellowship, and enjoyed listening to some sweet songs by a vocalist. We met some super sweet people, including a missionary from Brazil who was a sister of one of the church members.

What a great memory!

Planting Tomatoes with Ba!

It's gardening season again! This year, Steven built us two new raised beds (since our others had to go when we built our new deck).

We also have our cherry tomato garden in the middle of the backyard, as we have had for the past several years. This garden was built over the stump of a
tree we had removed when we first moved into our house, eight years ago.

We are excited to watch the garden grow and yield fruit this summer! Isaac does a great job watering it!

Here are some pictures of my Dad and the big kids planting in the tree stump garden...

Precious!

Gracie at 11 weeks old and WAY too sweet:

Cuteness spottings...