Summer is here!!

The kids had their last day of school on Wednesday, June 12th and now summer vacation is finally here!! I had a few summer treats on the island to greet the kids with when they arrived home from school that afternoon. After a quick stop at the orthodontist for Abby, we headed over to Northwood where we had a fun afternoon of swimming and playing sports with a bunch of friends from school. It was packed and loud but a fun way to begin our summer break!

The next day was rainy and cool so we decided to spend it at the Discovery Station. Landon spent most of his time there working on a LEGO robot creation! 

Friday was sunnier but still on the cool side so we decided to skip the pool and headed to a park instead. Hudson really likes these dual swings they have set up at many of the local parks around here... 

Maylie and Nolan showed me all their balancing skills... 

Go figure that Landon spent some time working on this movable puzzle contraption! 

It was fun to just "hang around" together for  while! 

We came home for a quick lunch before heading up to Pennsylvania for a free magic show. I am trying to keep us as busy as possible as it seems there is a lot less fighting and arguing when we have things going on than when we just stay around the house. This is our first summer with 5 kids at home...wish us luck!!

Skating Party

On the evening after the 5th grade celebration, they rented out Starland Skating Rink for the 5th graders to come and skate together!

Landon had a great time skating with his friends and was quite the sweaty mess when I came to pick him up!

Good job 5th grade class of 2019!!

5th Grade Recognition

Landon had his 5th grade recognition on Monday, June 10th. He has had such a great experience at Paramount Elementary and he is a little sad about leaving it behind soon (and so am I!) But we had a great opportunity to celebrate all the 5th graders and all they have accomplished so far!

Landon got to sing the solo for their opening number and did a fantastic job!

He also got awards for top 4 in the 24 club, Geography Bee finalist, Exemplary Attendance, and the WCPS Award for Academic Excellence!

Here he is graduating with the principal Ms. Barnes and 5th grade teacher Mrs. Crane, Mrs. Leap and Mrs. Mastronardi in the background!

His poster he created all about himself that hung on the cafeteria wall...

And the class of 2019 memory wall!!

He has a great year will all of his teachers, especially his homeroom teacher Mrs. Mastronardi!

Afterwards Jason and I picked up 32 pizzas for the 5th grade celebration and I was able to stay and help with the festivities. They had a fun lunch, a DJ dance party and then had an "Amazing Race" competition around the school. They finished off the festivities with some ice cream from Misty Meadows in the cafeteria!

Party Time

On Saturday, June 8th Landon invited 3 of his friends to Family Recreation Park to celebrate his birthday. All together it was Landon, Coldon, Bennett, and Bridger who all know each other and get along well. They had a great time playing water wars with water balloons...

And riding around in go-karts...

They also enjoyed a round of miniature golf and some huge snow cones while we were there. It was a perfect group and they had such a great afternoon together. 

Closing Ceremonies

Landon had his last regular season game with team Alsatia on Friday, June 7th. He really has enjoyed playing with this team and his coaches Daryl, Mike, and Zane. 

They won the Federal League Championship this year so here they are holding up the #1!

On Saturday, June 8th we attended Federal Little League's closing ceremonies. Landon was excited to receive a trophy for the league championship this year!

We are so proud of Landon and all the work that he has put in to having a great baseball season!

Paramount Talent Show

On Thursday, June 6th both boys performed in Paramount's School Talent Show. Landon and his friend Bennett performed "Seize the Day" from Newsies. I really loved their costumes!! This was Landon's first time wanting to participate in the school talent show and he did a great job! Good thing he got in one performance before he leaves Elementary School!

Nolan also performed for the first time. He refused to let me take his picture beforehand but I did get a good video of his performance. He sang "We Will Rock You" and had everyone clapping and stomping along! It was a really fun night to see both boys try something new!

Birthday #11!

Landon turned 11 years old on Tuesday, June 4th!! He was so excited for his birthday to finally arrive, especially once everyone got home from school and work so that he could open his presents. I took him his choice of Subway at school for lunch and it was fun to hear all his classmates sing him "Happy Birthday" even if he was slightly mortified by it!

Each of his siblings bought him a nice birthday gift with their own money. We just started doing this tradition and I think it really adds something special to our family birthday celebrations!

He was excited about each and every gift and was anxious to get started on lots of different projects!

He also received many nice cards full of money from relatives which is always a treat!

The last gift was a surprise waiting for the three older kids in the garage...some new Y scooters! We found a great deal on 3 used scooters that were in excellent shape. Abby bought her own and we got each of the boys one for their June birthdays. We ended up getting all 3 scooters for about half of what a new one would cost so it was a great deal for everyone!

After dinner at Noodles & Co. we came home for candles and chocolate cake. It was a pretty delicious way to end Landon's 11th birthday!

Landon has really grown a lot this year. He has come out of his shell a bit and has enjoyed performing in front of groups for the very first time. He still loves all sports and games and while his extreme competitiveness gives him lots of motivation, we're still working on toning it down a notch in his everyday life. He got glasses this last year which makes him look pretty smart. He is incredibly intelligent and his smarts will take him far in life. We sure do love this big kid of ours! Happy Birthday Landon!!