May Misc.

 Here are some of our family's events from May:

MOTHER'S DAY

What a blessing it is to be called "mom" by my three gifts from God! Cody, Jaden, and Adley were all so proud to give me gifts they had made at school. Cody decorated a wooden spoon, Jaden made a diamond art keychain...

... and Adley made this butterfly canvas with her hand and footprints. So cute!

All three kids also gifted me with a Ticket of Time coupon, as they did for me last year as well. In the coming weeks, I get to see a movie with Adley, play tennis with Jaden, and go bowling with Cody. I love this special gift of individual time with my kiddos.

Later that day, the extended family met at our house for dinner. This was a way we could also celebrate my wonderful mom and mother-in-law. Each of the dads had declared that none of us moms could step foot in the kitchen! These hard-working guys worked together to prepare a delicious meal of grilled kebabs, potatoes, fruit salad, rolls, and ice cream sundaes. Sooo tasty, and such a treat to have everything prepared for us! 

PLAYDATE POOL PARTY

For our last playgroup event of the school year, Adley's friend Tank and his family invited everyone over for a swim party. Tank's family has a perfect yard to play and relax in. The kids especially enjoyed the pool and the trampoline.

Adley has definitely made some sweet friends this year! We had a great morning together!

RYAN'S BIRTHDAY

When Jaden and Cody's cousin Ryan turned 10 this month, his request was to ride go-karts and have a sleepover with Jaden and Cody. Our boys were so honored to spend this special time with Ryan and his family. The boys seemed to have a very active sleepover-- playing foosball,

riding go-karts,

 

and playing various arcade games. What a treat! Happy birthday, Ryan!

SEISMIQUE

My friend Andrea also celebrated a birthday in May, and she invited me to attend this immersive art museum with her one weekend. It was such a unique place!

Many of the exhibits were hands-on. We enjoyed this one that made various sounds.

This particular room was so impressive! The wall was painted with three different murals, but each one only showed up under a certain type of lighting. We loved sitting and watching the designs change along with the lighting. It was so amazing thinking of the artistry and planning that was behind this exhibit!

TWEENS EVENT

This month, Cody and Jaden were invited to their first "Tweens" event at church. The Tweens group is designed for 5th and 6th graders, and they do regular social events and service projects throughout the year. This event involved meal packing with the Kids Against Hunger organization. Our whole family actually volunteered for this service project after church. The kids worked hard in an assembly line to package rice, spices, and dehydrated vegetables. Even Adley helped scoop protein powder into the packages. These kids worked hard and packed quite a few meals! Following their time of service, the Tweens group went to see a movie together. Cody and Jaden loved being inducted into this group.

NEW BIKES

As an early birthday gift, Jason and I purchased new bikes for Cody and Jaden. Their old bikes were getting quite small for them, as their knees nearly touched the handlebars! Grammy and Papa graciously volunteered to help me assemble the bikes during one of the boys' school days. I definitely needed their assistance, as the assembly turned out to be more difficult than we expected. Once the bikes were finally together, Grammy came up with the great idea to design a scavenger hunt for the boys to help them find their bikes after school. Grammy and Adley worked together on most of the clues, and we hid the bikes in the laundry room. The boys enjoyed the special way to find their birthday gifts, and they were particularly pleased to get new bikes--their first bikes with gears!

END OF SCHOOL

As Jaden and Cody's 4th grade school year drew to a close, they started bringing home supplies and projects from their classrooms. Both boys brought home the animal book posters they had designed earlier in the spring. This animal project was quite a large one. The boys had to read a chapter book starring an animal, write a two page book report, design a poster, AND write and give a speech about the book. Whew! The boys were most proud of their posters (below). I had neglected to take a photo of their projects earlier, and all of the class posters had been on the display in the library since the spring. It was nice to finally get their posters back and take a photo of the boys' hard work!

Here are the boys with their 4th grade teachers-- Cody with Mrs. Braunersreuther (Mrs. B) and Jaden with Mrs. Smithers. We appreciate these intelligent, hard-working teachers and the godly role models they provided for Jaden and Cody this year.

KINDERGARTEN SIGNING

At the end of Adley's school year, she was invited to attend a special kindergarten signing event, committing herself to being a Salem kindergartener. The event was short but cute! Our school principal talked with Adley and invited her to sign her name on the school certificate.

Adley took the task very seriously!

This event made Adley even more excited to start her experience as a kindergartner next year. It's hard to believe that she is nearly a full-time school-aged kiddo!

And that's it for our May happenings!