"Mom It's HUGE!!"

So it was a nice Saturday.......the Saturday the prophet was coming to The Gila Valley actually.........and the kids asked if they could walk down to the pond to fish. Away they went in the putt-putt with snacks, water, fishing poles and ENERGY!!! Oh and their phone....

I got a phone call and this is what I heard......"MOM"

"yes" I replied

"Mom I caught a fish..........IT IS HUGE! Please come take a picture of it!"

It was Kiersten on the phone and you would have thought she'd just won a million dollars..........she was thrilled. So I hurried down to the pond in the rail buggy to see the HUGE fish!

And here it is.......

Kiersten of course didn't want to touch the fish, but it was the first fish she has ever caught and she was so excited. Kiersten caught a nice size Sun Fish! I love how Hunter is wearing his Citizenship Pin in this picture.........he really did wear it for a week or more after being Awarded with it.

Kiersten and Logan sitting by the banks of the pond. My kids just have no idea how blessed they are. They live in a wonderful place! No it's not a fun place to shop, but for a kid being able to walk down to a pond to fish is very cool!

Hunter was catching minnows. They earn chore money and always want to go buy worms to fish with. It gets expensive cause they don't earn a ton of money or anything.........so sometimes they have to catch minnows to use as bait.

"Yep...........this is how we roll" Kiersten said.

What a sight it is to see the kids heading to the pond in the putt-putts! They had a wonderful time!

Awards Time...

Mrs. Lines handing out the end of the year awards. Hunter was so cute..........the night before Hunter said he wanted to wear something really nice so this is what he picked out. Shirt and tie and everything! Oh how we LOVE Mrs. Lines! Hunter did a wonderful job in 1st grade. I feel good about having him move on to 2nd grade even though he's only 6! We are going to do a little tutor time over the summer to make sure he is ready for 2nd Grade. Hunter got many awards for his grades and behavior!

He was so excited to get awards.......he remembered how many awards Kiersten got last year and was hoping to get a lot just like she did. It's funny how kids have such clear memories and how certain things really stand out in their minds. For Hunter this Awards Ceremony was serious business!

I was so proud of Hunter for wanting to excel at school, just like Kiersten.

Looks like a little Man! Hunter is one smart kid!

He ended 1st grade at a 2.9 reading level.........yes that means he tested reading at a end of 2nd grade level. WOW! He should just be beginning 1st grade, but will be starting 2nd grade in the fall. He is so excited to move on even though he won't have Sweet Mrs. Lines any more. And we got a bum deal by only having her for half a year! But we loved every minute of it!

This is Hunter getting an award from Mrs. Delane for being a star student in the choir and Spanish class. He also got an award for being an Elf in the Christmas play.

Hunter's Most Favorite Award was the Citizenship Award. He was recognized for showing exemplary behavior and valuable service. Only two students received this award. Hunter was most excited that you got a pin with it! He is a very helpful guy (when he wants to be)! I love his adorable brown eyes in this picture!

Hunter was sitting on Steph's lap.

Mrs. Lines gave Hunter an award for having a "Heavenly Heart" She said he was her little lover boy! He definitely has a HUGE crush on her, so the award is fitting! He got Super Spelling Award with 98%, Wonderful Writing Award (which only 3 kids in his class got), Marvelous Math Award with a 97%, Reading Award, Academic Excellence Award with a cumulative GPA of 97%.

It was excited to see that not only did Hunter move up to first grade a year early but he EXCELLED in every subject. He tries his best and hates when he misses a question regardless of what subject it is! GREAT JOB HUNTER!

Hunter told everyone for days that he got the Citizenship Award and wore this pin for about a week. Then I talked him into putting it up in a special place so it wouldn't get lost!

Kiersten has just LOVED 3rd grade. She adores Mrs. Moore...........it does help that we are great friends with their family so Kiersten is like the daughter she never had. So yeah she was spoiled this year!

This would be Kiersten clapping for herself. She was so excited to get awards!

You can tell how happy Kiersten is in this picture! It's nice that so far our kids LOVE school and learning!

Kiersten got several awards from Mrs. Delane, the Music and Spanish teacher. She received an award for Outstanding participation in Music with a 100% and an Outstanding Participation in Spanish with a 100%. There were only a couple of kids that received 100% in both classes so we are so proud of Kiersten and her dedication. Kiersten is self motivated when it comes to school work and really sets a great example for her younger brothers!

Kiersten had a great year...............once she found out that when boys in 3rd grade tease you...........that really means the LIKE you! It was a little rough those first two weeks but after receiving this little knowledge she was in HEAVEN!!! There were a lot of boys that liked her and she had her first crush on the Jarvis twins. It would change from twin to twin depending on the week.

Kiersten and Mrs. Moore..........we LOVE her!

Hunter and Mrs. Lines...........I think Hunter will have a crash on her forever! We just adore Mrs. Lines. Besides being a wonderful teacher she has become a great friend!

She is just a hoot! It's easy to see why Hunter Loves her so!

Ahhhhh............he really was excited even though he fought this kiss!

Kiersten got an award for being on the "A" Honor Roll having straight "A's" for every semester, Award for Computers, Homework Hero Award with 100% homework turned in, Super Reader Award with her level at a beginning 5th grade level, Independent Reader Award, Special Achievement Award for her President Report in Computers. She also received an award for being a Narrator in the Christmas play and an award for her performance in the Star Spangled Singing at the fair. Mrs. Moore had each kid give themselves an award and Kiersten gave herself The BEST Hula Hooper Award! Mrs. Moore is so creative and gave each kid a candy bar award.......Kiersten received the Starburst Award for Being the STAR of the Show!

It really has been a great year of learning!

Seriously!!

So the last week of school Logan decides to have an allergic reaction to who knows what! This is what he woke up looking like Tuesday morning. Poor guy had these hives/blisters all over! He then got hives over his entire body along with these blisters.

He was miserable.......but the dr said he wasn't contagious so I let him go to school for the water play day. I had kept him home for 2 days and he was so ready to have some play time. He was so itchy. It took about a week for them to go away.

New Sea Life Aquarium in Tempe

Kiersten's 3rd Grade class in front of the New Sea Life Aquarium at the Mill's Mall in Tempe. I was a driver/chaperon for this all school field trip. I was bummed that they wouldn't allow us to bring any of our younger children........Logan would have loved it. Thanks to Gloria and my Mom for keeping Logan and Mr. Grant for me. Rachel, Katelynn, Hunter, Kiersten and Alison.

Hunter was so happy Kendall was in our car. I was so happy Stacy or Mrs. Moore was in our car as well. We had a fun time visiting even though I was getting over strep throat. I went to the First Care on Saturday to find out I indeed had strep. I was a bit tired before the trip ever began but it was worth it.

The kids got to feel star fishes. Being at the aquarium made me want to go scuba diving. I love being under the water!

These are little shrimp that would crawl all over your hand. It kind of tickled!

The kids had a wonderful time!

Kiersten enjoyed the tickle shrimp! Nice hot pink finger nails!

Hunter loved feeling all the sea creatures! I can't wait til my kids are old enough to take scuba diving........they'll love it!

Hunter could have stayed there for hours feeling the shrimp crawl on his hand.

Kendall and Hunter being silly in the glass dome! These are pretty cool cause it makes you feel like you are right in the tank with the fish!

Kiersten, Katelynn and Alison

This was the kids favorite fish.............a parrot fish!

I have no idea what was going on in this picture but I love the boys expressions.........hilarious!

I was trying to get a picture of Kiersten behind this tank but these silly fish kept swimming in front of her face. It looks like these two fish are kissing each other and Kiersten!

We had a fun time! I was so worn out I asked Stacy to drive on the way home. Glad the kids school was able to take them on this field trip. We just LOVE D.P.A.

Our Dancing Girl

Kiersten has been in dance for 3 years now and still Loves it! This year she took jazz, tap and clogging classes. I totally spaced putting makeup on Kiersten...........thank goodness for Wendy............she saved the day! Thank You Wendy! Doesn't Kiersten look GORGEOUS!!!

Kiersten danced to Walk Like an Egyptian..........I loved that song back in the day!

Kiersten has learned a lot this year in dance. What I love is that she is no longer scared to get up in front of the crowd to dance. She use to almost be in tears before a performance, now it's no big deal and we are working on smiling while she dances!

This is Kiersten clogging. I love to watch her clog! She does a great job!

Great Dancin' Kiersten! Hunter and Logan were off rolling down the grass hill.........it's their favorite part of the dance performance. They so look forward to getting to roll down the grass hill at EAC once the show is over. Who are they kidding......they like to watch those girls dance too!