Babylon

Our VBS this year was pretty awesome.  The kids were transported to Bible times, living in the city of Babylon.  I was asked to take pictures again this year so I got to see our oldest three in just about every activity and event even though they were in three separate tribes.  It was a great time for them all and a learning experience.  Emma's favorite part was their visit with Daniel each day... yep, the guy who was thrown into a den of lions... 

They all enjoyed the marketplace where they could do crafts, get a snack, and hang out with their friends.  Nathan was a helper in one of the tribes, so that was a new experience for him.  Samuel missed the first few days due to an ear infection, but once he was well enough to go, he loved every bit of it... especially the animals (goats, kittens, and baby ducks)!

This video was shown at church the Sunday after VBS.  It will give you a good feel for the week.  

A few of my favorite pictures that I didn't include in the slide show:

Emma picking flowers for me (the bouquet seen HERE) 

 Nathan in a marshmallow flinging game

 Samuel "blowing hugs" to me 

 Emma getting a drink from the community well

 Nathan's tribe

 Emma's tribe

 Samuel's tribe

Hello

Daisy pin

Another event that occurred during Emma's busy birthday week was that she received her one year pin for Daisy Scouts.  They had a picnic at the park and a bridging ceremony.  Since Dad was out of town and Lucas was sick, only Emma and I were able to attend.

Professional picture and video

Emma's professional pictures in her dance costume and with her class:

A video from her actual performance (Emma is fourth from the right)!

braces (again)

Nathan wasn't too excited about getting braces again but he is dealing with them just fine.

 Sore

 He picked orange and blue rubber bands

Gecko Park

Nathan recently made a little "geoko park" for Clyde to hang out in when they spend time together.  

 Clyde seems to like it!

Father's Day

For Father's Day this year Brian wanted to recreate the same picture we did last year 
(with a few adjustments):  

The kids each drew a picture of something they like doing with Dad:

We had a great day honoring our favorite guy!

Lincoln logs

While Daddy and Emma were at the dance, the boys and I had our own fun.  We played outside, built with Lincoln logs, and had a special snack.  

Daddy-Daughter Dance

The evening before Father's Day Emma and Brian got to go to their first ever Daddy-Daughter Dance!  They both had a wonderful time!

They both came home glowing!
Emma LOVED the dancing (even though Daddy MADE her do the Chicken Dance!  They also got to ride around the parking lot in a limo!  They got their picture taken, made a picture frame, had dessert, and hung out with Emma's BFF Madison and her sister Gabby!  

Sick

 Poor Lucas caught the cold Emma had the week of her dance camp.  Instead of her two days of fever he had five and ended up with Pneumonia.  It was odd to see him lying on the floor during the day rather than running around getting into things.  We were glad we took him to the doctor when we did; we were told that if we hadn't he would've required hospitalization.  

He didn't like the taste of his medicine (couldn't have penicillin based due to allergy), but drank it like a little trooper.  He got better rather quickly but we've kept him home a lot to avoid germs until he's fully recovered.

Summertime

25:25 Summertime=

bouquets of flowers from my sweeties

Saying Goodbye

The end of Emma's kindergarten year brought mixed feelings for our family...  
We were so proud of her and how well she did... we were blessed to have her in such an excellent school the last three years... we were thankful for all the special relationships with classmates, staff... We had been looking forward to enrolling Samuel there for pre-K this fall, but as it turned out, Emma's last day of kindergarten was the last day her school would ever be open.
We sat through her graduation and watched all the children who have been a part of her life these last few years.  Preschoolers through 5th graders she's gotten to know.  In such a small school all the children know each other and have a chance to form relationships. 
We watched the teachers and the principle who have loved on not just Emma, but all of our children as we have participated in school functions.  
This is a loss to our whole family.
The principle said these very words:

So true.

We had a celebration picnic the day after Emma's birthday, where former students and staff could get together and just enjoy each other.  Some of us got together to give tokens of our appreciation to all the staff.  We gave the principle a special plaque for her many years of service.

A group picture of some former students from various years

Some of the amazing staff

Emma has handled everything very well.  She was sad at first but we reassured her that God would show us what to do, and whatever happened would be the right thing for her.  Now she is very excited about our decision to do home school for 1st grade.  On the last day of school after watching other people she said, "I'm not sad about my school closing because a new Christian school is opening right here (our home)!"

Her actual birthday

Daddy got back in town just in time to take Emma for her birthday balloon on her actual birthday!  She choose a Lalaloopsy balloon!

Then we were off to Grandma's for playtime, dinner and a special treat!

We forgot to put a candle in her little piece of leftover cake until it was almost gone!

Emma told me no less than a dozen times that she wanted to put a certain "stuffie" on her birthday list so she could give it to Samuel.  Of course we couldn't resist...

Mom & Dad LOVE our girl!

For several years we have had this tradition that if we have one of the children's birthday parties early, then on their actual birthday we take the kids outs for clown cones at Baskin Robbins.  This is the only time they get this special treat and it is always a cause for great excitement!

clown cone= clown kid

Emma and Grandma doing a little whistling

Our 7-year-old!

ABCDEFG...

Lucas has known his ABC's for a long time but has been reluctant to perform for the camera...

Dance Camp

Emma participated in a week long dance camp again this year. It was a few hours each morning the week of her birthday.  On her birthday they had a small, informal recital to show us what they had learned.  Her teacher said this was one of her most enjoyable classes every and she was able to stretch them beyond what she normally does during this camp because they were all so focused.  

Emma isn't crazy about recital (unless they are on a big stage with hundreds of people watching... people she CAN'T see)... she's not too excited about an audience being so close (hence the lack of smiles) but she did the best she could considering the circumstances.

They performed a modern dance to Dog days are over, a tap routine to Singing in the rain, a jazz number to We've got the beat, and classical ballet to various instrumental music.  It was impressive!  One thing I love about the director and her studio is that the music/moves/dress are never inappropriate.  She understands that these are children and never tries to make them look like teens or little adults.

A glimpse of the tap routine