Summer's in Full Swing!

We didn't waste any time with getting into the swing of our summer routine. Last Monday marked the start of a summer full of new opportunities, new friends, and new fun for the boys!

Luke started summer school through our school district and is taking a 3-week class about exploring space. Summer school is held at a neighboring campus within our district so Luke is getting to spend time at a new school with different teachers. His other big activity for June is a Lego club on Tuesday afternoons at the YMCA. Children ages 6-12 spend about 90 minutes building a variety of creations. Our little Lego fan LOVES this club!

Reid is also now at the age where he can take part in some of his own summer programs, too. First up ... Vacation Bible School! This was held at the same school where he will attend preschool in the fall, so it was a great test drive. The first day of VBS was bustling with excitement with nearly 350 kids attending. WOW! Reid handled it all in stride and loved that the theme involved pirates setting sail on the sea. His favorite things about VBS were the songs and playing games.

Reid with his VBS teacher Miss Ali

Our other big summertime activity for the week ... a garage sale! For several weeks, we priced and prepped our items to get ready for our neighborhood garage sale this past weekend. We raised nearly $175 on Friday (Saturday's sale ended up being rained out). The money will be donated to the Colon Cancer Alliance through a 5K race that Jami is doing in a few weeks.

With so much traffic on our street for the garage sale,

our neighborhood kiddos made a lemonade stand.

As the sign says, "Free Lemonade ... Yummy!"

Best deal of the day!

Rhubarb

This weekend marked the annual harvest at our local rhubarb farm in Black Forest. That's right ... RHUBARB! It's not every day you have the chance to see how rhubarb is grown, so we certainly enjoyed our morning learning all about it at the High Altitude Organic Rhubarb Farm.

"Dad, can I use these like light sabers?"

Who knew that rhubarb had such a leafy plume

at the end of that long red stalk!? We didn't!

In order to pull rhubarb, you have to get down

near the root and ... PUUUULLLLL!

Sometimes all that pulling means you end

up falling on the ground when the root gives way

... like Luke here. At least he's proud of his prize!

Farmer Scott among the rhubarb plants.

On the menu this week ... Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp!

Friday Funday

The best summer memories are made of family outings, field trips, sunny days outdoors, and more. Today we kicked off Friday Funday, a series of fun activities to help us explore our great surroundings and enjoy our wonderful "staycation" state.

Our first adventure ... the beach at Bear Creek Lake in Denver. We've visited this beach several times before, and it never disappoints. We paid just $5 for the vehicle park pass at the guard station, and we were footloose and fancy free running in the sand and splashing in the lake (with mountains in the background.) The best of both worlds!

The construction crew moved a lot of sand that afternoon!

There's no better way to beat the heat after

a day at the beach than chilling with an ice cream cone.

We zipped over to the quaint little town

of Morrison for this cool-down treat.

You say sombrero. I say umbrella.

Last night the boys got into a heated discussion. With big words.

It all started over Reid wearing a straw hat, which he has been calling a "fedora." Thanks to a VeggieTales version of Indiana Jones, he has learned what a fedora is. Anyway, while the hat is being called a fedora by one son, the other son (who is older and thinks he is wiser) insists that it is not a fedora but rather a sombrero.

Luke: "Reid, can I wear your sombrero?"

Reid: "It's not an umbrella. It's a fedora."

Luke: "No, it's a sombrero."

Reid: "It's NOT AN UMBRELLA. It's a fedora."

Luke: "I didn't say it was an umbrella. I said it's a SOMBRERO."

Reid: "But it's not an umbrella. It's a FE-DOR-A!"

You say sombrero. I say umbrella. But maybe it's a fedora. Let's call the whole thing off.

Class of 2022

This is the class of 2022.

What a good looking bunch!

Today was a special day for our young Luke. He graduated from kindergarten! Here are some highlights of the many lessons learned this past year...

• Luke learned the 3 Rs. He can now read, write sentences on his own, and do basic addition. So impressive!
• He enjoyed his special breakout classes teaching art, music, Spanish, and PE (his favorite).
• He has embraced the International Baccalaureate style of learning at his school by being a risk-taker, open-minded, and reflective.
• Luke earned perfect attendance for the year! With this honor came coupons for free kids' meals at Chick-fil-a and Texas Roadhouse.

His teachers have provided some great learning challenges for him over the past year, and he has blossomed into such a confident, well-balanced learner. He has thoroughly enjoyed his kindergarten year. We are so proud of you, Luke!

Mrs. Ray presents Luke with his

kindergarten diploma.

Dad & brother ... so proud of Luke!

Luke with his best friend from class Isaac

Teacher assistant Mrs. Seitz with Luke

Our family on Graduation Day

One of Mom's favorite parts of kindergarten...

seeing Luke's art projects each week. This one takes the cake!

He sculpted from clay this flower in a vase

and then painted it. What a special masterpiece!

Luke with his buddy Andrew outside their school.

In the background, Pikes Peak still has

some snow ... but not for long.

End of an Era

With the end of school fast approaching, the fun is ramping up ... end-of-the-year parties, kindergarten graduation, etc. The room parents have been hard at work planning some special surprises for our kindergarten class.

End-of-the-Year Gifts

Each child received a tie-dyed shirt.

On the front: "Watch Out, First Grade...

Here I Come!"

On the back of the shirts, the school mascot

of an antelope wearing a graduation cap!

The theme for the end-of-the-year party was BUGS!

Jami made fruit pizza decorated with these creepy crawlers.

Opening Day at the Pool

Today was opening day at the Leahy Pool ... our backyard kiddie pool, that is. Luke was away at a playdate this afternoon, so Reid was the first pool patron of the season. He was as happy as could be splashing around in the water!

Reid loved helping to fill up the pool.

He didn't mind that the water was c-c-c-cold!

Basking in the sun on a pool break.

Field Day

It had to be rescheduled twice due to uncooperative weather, but a very important day at Luke's school finally arrived -- Field Day! Luke and his classmates had a ball playing all the different games. Luke reported his favorite activity was tug of war. What a fun day for the kiddos ... and the spectators!

Luke gears up to throw a wiffleball.

Luke with his #1 fan ... little brother.

Tag ... you're it!

Let's just call this relay ...

Pass-a-wet-sponge-backward-over-your-head-

using-only-your-feet. It was hilarious to watch!

"Hold-hands-and-step-through-the-hula-hoop-

and-pass-it-down-the-line" Relay

Reason #217 Why We Love Living Here...

There are so many reasons why we love living in Colorado Springs, but there is one tradition every May that is always entertaining and inspiring to watch. For the Air Force Academy graduation, the Thunderbirds perform a special air show. The pilots show off their finest flying maneuvers ... and we just so happen to be in the flight path. What a perk of the neighborhood! So for several days up to the graduation, we are able to stand in our backyard and watch them practice overheard. Or if you are Luke and Reid, you jump on the trampoline and yell at the jets, "Go, Air Force!"

For the main event, the entire neighborhood stops what they are doing to pull up a lawn chair outside and watch the air show. Being that they are directly across from the Academy stadium, Scott's company sponsors a big family BBQ. We all bring our blankets, lawn chairs, and side dishes (to accompany the grilled hamburgers and hot dogs) and we have front row seats for the show. Here are some pics from this year's show. The clouds make it a bit difficult to spot the jets...

The guys eat ice cream.

The field between office buildings

is a prime spot for watching the jets.

Summer ... Summer ... Summertime.

We have finally packed away the winter coats and boots ... and the shorts are here to stay! The weather lately has been wonderful, and we've been soaking up all the sunshine we can. The boys can't get enough of the Great Outdoors. Our favorite activities lately have been riding scooters/bikes/etc. in our driveway and jumping on the trampoline.

Green shirt. Green shoes. He LOVES green!

Thanks to Old Navy for having these green shoes.

All serious ... until you see his shoes! Reid is notorious for wearing

his shoes on the wrong feet but insisting that's

the correct way to wear them. Always good for a giggle!

1, 2, 3 ... JUMP!

MOMS the Word!

A while back, Jami joined our local chapter of MOMS Club as an opportunity to meet some other mothers in our area and connect with children Reid's age. This group has provided that and so much more! Whether it's weekly playgroup outings or field trips or service projects, we really appreciate what MOMS Club has brought to our lives and the many friends we've made along the way. Not only do we see these families at club gatherings ... but also at local community events, the YMCA, even the grocery store! Being a part of this group has certainly helped to build our sense of community here.

Tonight, the MOMS Club gathered for our End-of-the-Year Banquet. What a fun evening celebrating our club and the many wonderful families involved!

Our MOMS Club all dressed up for a night on the town!

Our first Tooth Fairy visit...

It's been a long time coming, and that tooth has been a-wigglin' for a while. A lot of his kindergarten friends have been losing their pearly whites, but Luke had yet to join that "club." Until last night. After dinner at Papa's house, Luke showed us that his tooth was ... well ... let's just say it redefined "flexible." Luke was fiddling with it a bit, and the tooth just popped out. No yuckiness about it either. He thought it was pretty cool to lose his first tooth. And this morning, he thought it was even better that the Tooth Fairy brought him 4 quarters!

Happy Luke with his Tooth Fairy pillow

Spring Projects

Now that the weather is warming a bit and it finally feels like spring (thanks to the green grass and blooming flowers), we have been all about doing some spring cleaning projects. Here's a sampling of our to-do list from the weekend...

In preparation for a garage sale in June,

we cleaned and organized the toys

in our basement playroom. Luke helped

to make the signage!

Our tulips finally bloomed this week ...

and the rain finally stopped long enough

to stain the wooden playset in the backyard.

Scott was hard at work with his paintbrush in hand!

Mother's Day Memories

Mother's Day brunch on Friday with Reid's class.

Since it was a "fun day," the kiddos

got to dress in their pajamas.

With our friends Melissa & Jack

The boys treated Mom to brunch at the Broadmoor.

Oooh-la-la! Quite the royal treatment for Mama!

OJ, a pancake & a donut ... Reid was all set!

Luke's favorite part of brunch was

the chocolate fountain. What's not to like?!

Desserts galore ... goodies from the chocolate fountain,

bananas foster, a pear cupcake, and cashew brittle!

The beautiful brunch!

Our family in front of the Broadmoor.

Gorgeous weather + 2 lil' helpers = a clean car for Mom!

Our Mother's Day finale was playing badminton

in the backyard and enjoying the nice evening!

We enjoy teaching the boys to play new sports.

This was Luke's first time playing badminton,

and he loved it! We may have the net up and the

racquets & birdies out a lot this summer!

:::::::::::::::

"The art of mothering is to teach

the art of living to children." -- Elain Heffner

Still Snowing

Happy May! It is still snowing here.

In fact, our latest snow was graupel (snow pellets).

Oh, our funny spring weather in Colorado!

Luke checks out the spring snow.

Monday morning view from our kitchen window.

A snowy Pikes Peak is far off in the distance

in the center of the photo.