Amused.

School out, now we play!!  Woohoo!

We took the kids to Castles 'n Coasters tonight using our PogoPasses.  I've driven past the place a bunch of times, way up there on the I-17, but have never actually been.  There are amusement park rides, roller coasters, go karts, miniature golf and arcade games.  It was kinda like a ghetto Disneyland on a much smaller scale, haha!

Preston had a little bit of anxiety about riding the roller coasters, even the smaller one, the Patriot.  I promised him it would be so fun if he just tried it.  He laaaaaauuuuughed and laughed, all while holding tight to my hand!

Squishy face!!  On the splash down ride.  She's a thrill seeking child, just like her big sister!

Ready to tackle the BIG coaster!!  Preston thought about being brave and trying it but ended up running back to safety with dad.  This roller coaster had two upside down loops!  The big kids loved it, of course!

There was so much that we didn't even get to do!  We'll have to make it a full day deal next time we go, not just a couple hours.  We all had a great time, thanks to our PogoPasses!

LAST day of SCHOOL!!

We've FINALLY arrived, the most WONDERFUL time of the YEAR!!!!  Not Christmas, SUMMER!!  No more early mornings, no more fighting to get homework done, no more book reports, no more packing lunches.  I'm not sure who's more excited, the kids or me!!

I helped out with Preston's class party, the room mom really went above and beyond!!  They had watermelon triangles on sticks, goldfish crackers, gorgeous cupcakes and Capri Suns!

Every student signed their name on each t-shirt that they got to take home as their "souvenir" from kindergarten.

Lucky girl Hayden got her own plate of goodies too!

With Mrs. Sommer

Brooklyn with her teacher, Ms. Braxton.  Her teacher loved Brooklyn and was constantly telling me she wished she could clone a bunch of Brooklyn's for her class!

Blake's teacher, Mrs. Griffiths, had a baby at the very beginning of April so Mrs. Davis (pictured) was the substitute teacher for the rest of the school year.  I was actually kinda sad that Mrs. Griffiths wasn't there through the end of the year!  She was the perfect teacher for Blake, very patient with him, reminding him to stay on task and great at communicating with us.

Gavin loved his teacher, Mrs. Lesko, this year.  They just really meshed well and of course she absolutely loved Gavin!

LET'S COMPARE ---

Beginning of school year,

End of school year!

A little bit older, a little bit wiser.  

Gavin seemed to make some gains on his older siblings!

Bring on SUMMER!  We're so ready!

Preston's kindergarten graduation~

I'm kinda "eh" on the fact that our school does a formal graduation ceremony for KINDERGARTEN, but once you see your child in that miniature cap and gown, all that ambivalence just kinda flies right out the window!

Everyone there to support Preston on his big day (just missing Grandpa, who snuck in later).  It was nice they let us grab big sibs from their classrooms for the occasion.

I love the look of excitement on his face here! 

There he is, on the left side

Getting his "diploma" from the principal, Mrs. Wilson 

Grandpa & Grandma

She adores him ♡

It'll be fun to do a then & now when these two graduate high school in 12 years!
Ashton & Preston

Luckily aunt Britt was in town!

Proud mama

Thank you to his most awesome teacher, Mrs. Sommer, for making Preston's first school experience a positive one!  I loved helping in the classroom this year and watching her genius interactions with the kids and all the cute things she'd say like, "Give your brain a kiss!"

Preston, you've taken your first steps down the path.  You've learned a LOT this year!  You are an excellent reader, you're quick on your math facts and you say you're definitely the smartest one in your class.  I hope you keep this confidence with you as the lessons get more complex and you learn new concepts in the coming years.  We're so proud of you for doing such an excellent job in school this year.  Love you!

Hayden's first dance recital

Hayden has absolutely LOVED being in her little ballet class!  She has been asking if it's "recital day yet" for weeks!  When I got her recital costume, I had to hide it immediately otherwise i'm sure she would've worn it to death!

Once again, I didn't realize that the focus was set to manual, UNTIL we got inside, after I had taken a bunch of pictures of Hayden in her costume.  Pictures mean SO much to me so of course I was upset.  At least I figured that out before the performance!

Hayden is such a girly girl.  I put sparkly eye shadow on her and of course we had to have lip gloss.  She was so concerned that her "makeup" would get messed up!  Ahhhhh, can't handle the cuteness!!

There really is nothing more adorable than a bunch of tiny ballerinas, running around on stage!!  She is the youngest in the group but she did SO good!

It's a tradition that they have a parent dance, sometimes it's with the dads, this time it was with the moms.  We did a little dance with our sweet girls up on stage.

Then, their last dance- Hakuna Matata/I Just Can't Wait to Be King from The Lion King.  Hayden really let her sassiness shine here!!

You know when there's that one kid that's just doing their own thing and EVERYone is laughing?  Yep, that was Hayden.  And it was the cutest thing EVER!!

She was like, "OH!  See my pretty tutu???  Watch me shake it."

After the finale dance with all the dancers, Hayden blew kisses to all her adoring fans!

She was so excited that she got pretty flowers and treats from her fans!

{Hayden & cousin Sophie}