Sunday, June 3, 2012

More Spring Stuff

This was probably my best Mother's Day yet. Mike and the boys really stepped up to the plate to make me feel extra special and appreciated. So it was a great day!
 It started with breakfast in bed made entirely by Mitchel (at 6:00 a.m.!) He used an idea he found in the Friend magazine. He started with two Eggo waffles, a patty of sausage, scrambled eggs, and a piece of cheese. He put it all together into a sandwich and included syrup to dip it in. It was delicious!! The other boys all made me cute things at school and gave lots of hugs and kisses.
Mike REALLY came through. Last summer the diamond had fallen out of my wedding ring and was gone forever. Mike replaced my stone with an even bigger one and so I have finally been able to wear my wedding ring again. I thought that would be the end of it, but instead he also surprised me with tickets to WICKED this July! I am so excited!
 The best part of Mother's Day is being the mom of these four amazing boys. They are each so unique and bring something wonderful and joyous to my life. I love each one of them and feel so blessed to be their mom!
 Mitchel came home from school a few weeks ago with an awesome award. All the fifth graders participate in a Math Olympiad competition throughout the year. These are brain buster math questions that take a lot of reasoning and figuring out to get the answer. Mitchel got the highest score of all the fifth graders! He received a patch (which he proudly displays on his backpack), a certificate (which he had me frame) and a trophy (which is displayed front and center on his dresser)! I was so proud of him! He would bring home some of the questions during the year and I would try to figure them out. They were HARD! When I couldn't get it he would explain to me how he figured it out. Pretty amazing how is brain works!
 Mason performed in the Kindergarten end of year program and sang his heart out. He has loved his Kindergarten year, his teacher Mrs. Andrews, and all the new friends he made. He can now read like a champ and is trying to memorize his addition and subtraction facts.
 We've been REALLY busy this spring with spring sports. Each boy picked a different sport to play. Mason chose to do soccer. He has become really good at running FAST and getting in there to get the ball so he is pretty aggressive and can aim the ball where it needs to go. The rest of his team has been pretty good too, so they score a lot. They don't keep score in his league, but if they did, I think his team would have won most of their games.
 Max has been playing on not one, but two baseball teams this Spring. He plays in the Taylorsville Babe Ruth/Cal Ripkin league during the week for the Giants. He has two games a week with them and practice one night. The team isn't very good, but Max sure has turned into a star. He is one of the best hitters and he usually plays first or third base, although he has even pitched three times and done pretty well at that too.
 Then on Saturdays, Max was invited to play on the 8 year old Taylorsville "Super League Team." They play back to back games every Saturday at fields all over the valley. So this has been a 5 hour commitment for all of us and we don't get much else accomplished on a Saturday. He has absolutely flourished though and has become a leading hitter on this team as well. He mostly plays outfield for this team because he does such a good job backing up the infielders.
 Taking a snack break in between the two games.
 Could this face be any cuter?? So now Max thinks he wants to be a professional baseball player when he grows up. It's a lofty goal, but as long as he loves the game, I hope he keeps playing because I love watching!
Mitchel has also been playing Spring basketball but I have missed most of the games. Mike is the coach and so he takes Mitchel while I usually go to Mason's soccer games. I haven't even taken a picture of Mitchel in his basketball uniform, but he has one more game left and I'll get one then. His team has been pretty horrible but he has enjoyed playing and having Mike as his coach.
 The fifth graders participated in a State Fair. Mitchel and his best friend Hayden did theirs on Arizona. That was a good choice since we had just visited the Grand Canyon and Mitchel had some items to show off. Hadyen has been Mitchel's best buddy all year. They are like two peas in a pod, very smart, kind-of nerdy, and not the most social. So they get along really well!
 And I ended my Lincoln Elementary teaching career....at least for now. I've been back and forth between Lincoln and other schools for 14 years, so who knows, I might be back. I had an excellent year teaching math to my 4th and 5th graders. It was very stressful and I don't feel like I always measured up, but I loved going to school everyday and I enjoyed the challenge.

So now here it is, another summer! I am so glad it's here and I get more time to spend with these four cute faces. We have lots of fun activities planned and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it!