Preschool Graduation

We had a little preschool graduation at Kristen's house a few weeks ago. We had it in the evening so all the families could be there. First we had dinner (we all brought various dinner salads and rolls) and then we had a little program.

Emily Z. started it out like we did every time - with the Pledge of Allegience, weather of the day, days of the week and months of the year.

They wore the caps they made at Heather's house.

Then Hilary W. helped them sing a couple of songs (like If You're Happy and You Know It), and they each said what they wanted to be when they grew up. Brennan said he wanted to be a firefighter. Eric wants to be a knight.

Instead of diplomas, I handed out scrapbooks I made of their preschool year.
But I made them give them back to me because I still need to finish them. It's high up on my to-do list.
Then Heather and Kimber handed out sunflowers to each of the kids to give to their moms for teaching them all year.
Afterwards we ate cake and visited while the kids played 'till late into the night. It was such a lovely evening. We're going to miss our preschool friends.

Peter Pan

Last Friday my kids performed in the school production of Peter Pan. They've been practicing since February, and they had so much fun. They LOVE acting. I can't even tell you how much. They are sad it's over and want to be in another play right now.

Dallin was Michael and Tyler was John. They were so cute! I made their pajamas because I couldn't find any that looked old-fashioned. Then I couldn't find any good material (all we have here is Wal-Mart), so I bought some cheap flat sheets. They were perfect. Now my other boys want me to sew pajamas for them too. I got Tyler's hat and glasses at an online costume store.

Spencer was hilarious as Smee. I bought large adult clothes and sewed them to old t-shirts and shorts along the bottom seams. Then I filled them with pillow stuffing and sewed the tops shut. Dave had the idea of attaching the stuffing to his face with toothpaste, and it worked great. I bought the glasses at the same costume store.

Some of the pirates, getting into their role.

Dallin waking up in the opening scene.

Tyler pretending he can't see until he puts his glasses on. I couldn't find black glasses, so I painted them.

The opening song, "You Can Fly," was so cute and well-choreographed. They were jumping back and forth between the beds and such.

They did so well remembering all their lines. Dallin knew what to say, but he'd forget when to do them. So we practiced lots the night before, and he did great.

"I Won't Grow Up," one of my favorite songs.

Enter the pirates. Every time Spencer was on stage he made me laugh. Even when he wasn't saying anything.


My nephews Peter and Jacob were also Pirates. Don't they look cute?

Peter makes such great faces.

Peter Pan is really the perfect play for kids. There are pirates, indians, fairies - something for everyone.

The pirate ship was incredible. Nancy (my friend who directed the play) used the old sets from Bye Bye Birdie that the stake put on the week before, and she borrowed a bunch of piratey things from Ron Daniels to decorate it. Wow!

The whole cast - 53 students! Nancy is just amazing. What a great experience for all these kids. If you'd like to see all my pictures from the play, they're on Flickr.

Memorial Day

We went to the beach on Memorial Day, bracing ourselves for a huge crowd. But to our surprise, there was hardly anyone there. We parked right next to the sand and got a table with a BBQ and everything.

The weather was pleasant (probably mid-60's).

The beach is so enjoyable now that Levi is old enough to like it.

The waves were decent for boogie boarding.

Tyler skim boarding.

Then we all took a walk down the pier.

Levi liked it until he got to some cracks between the boards where he could see the water down below. That scared him.
Then we grilled ribs, garlic bread and veggie kebobs. We had the place to ourselves by this point.
After dinner we roasted marshmallows. Brennan was so cold that he spent the rest of the time in the car.
We made oreo s'mores. I made it up. I wonder if anyone's ever thought of it before? Yum!

Art Festival

Last Saturday was the annual art festival downtown. Between hockey in the morning and a birthday party in the afternoon, we could only be there for an hour and a half. It was so much fun! We'll have to make sure we can be there longer next year.

Half the park was various types of artwork on display, and the other half was free hands-on activities for kids.

In the middle was an art auction (a bunch of artists had 2 hours in the morning to complete their paintings for the auction) and these fun people walking around on stilts.

They also had a station where kids could try out different musical instruments. Dallin fell in love with the trumpet. I have always thought he was a trumpet kind of person. Since they completely took music out of the elementary school (grrr!), the kids aren't exposed to instruments to even know what they want to play. I hate school budget cuts.

The canvas painting was supposed to just be for teens, but they let us have one for the whole family.

I divided it into 4 sections, and they took turns painting. I love the picture they made! I even hung it up.