Moody Gardens

One of our first family activities of the summer was a trip to Moody Gardens in Galveston. Our annual membership pass was expiring soon, so we wanted to make use of it one last time. Grammy and Papa attended with us. 

We spent the first part of our visit at the aquarium pyramid.

The kids especially enjoyed all of the touch tanks.

The Discovery Pyramid had a Dora the Explorer exhibit. The hands-on activities were geared a little more towards Adley's age level than Jaden and Cody's, but all three of them found something they enjoyed.

We attended a 3D movie called "Australia's Great Wild North" which showcased a wide variety of unique animals.

The rest of our visit was spent at Palm Beach, enjoying the wave pool, lazy river, and water slides. We didn't get any pictures of this portion since we didn't want our camera getting wet or stolen while we were enjoying the water activities. Palm Beach is always the kids' favorite part! We always love our days at Moody Gardens-- and an extra bonus to spend time with Grammy and Papa, too!

Closing out 1st Grade

Cody and Jaden's 1st grade year ended with a variety of special events in the spring:

Muffins with Mom

One Friday morning, all the 1st grade moms were invited into the classroom for a brief breakfast of muffins and juice. Both boys traveled with me as we visited each of their classrooms.

In addition to the food, they had each created a large muffin picture and written a kind note of appreciation for me. It was so sweet to have this time with my boys!

Donuts with Dad

Shortly afterwards, Jason got to visit the boys' classroom and enjoy a donut treat. Jaden and Cody had also written kind messages to their daddy.

Star Reader

This spring, Cody officially completed the ENTIRE Magic Tree House series AND the slightly longer Merlin Mission series. These two series combined add up to 57 books! Amazing! Both Cody and his brother were so motivated to read these books and take the accompanying Adventure Club online quizzes when done.

Pool Party

One weekend, Jaden and Cody attended a birthday party for another set of twins in their 1st grade class. The party was packed with kids! The boys had a great time.

1st grade mommas

Running Award

At the last chapel service of the year, Jaden was recognized for running the most miles in his 1st grade class. During the year, all of the grades have a "running class" in addition to their regular PE classes. Students are supposed to keep moving, either running or walking, during the entire class period. The teachers count the number of laps students complete each week and keep a total for the year. Jaden has said that he runs nearly the entire time with several of his buddies. His hard work paid off!

Jaden was the class champion with a total of 61 miles-- wow!

1st Grade Friends

During the last week of school, both 1st grade classes had a water party. I was one of the four moms who worked to organize the details. The kids had a pizza lunch and then took part in various water game stations. This class photo of Jaden's class was taken right before the kids changed into their swimming gear.

This photo was from the last day of school as Jaden and Cody said good-bye to a few of their friends who are planning to attend a different school in the fall.

All in all, the boys had a great 1st grade experience. They loved their caring teachers and grew so much as readers and writers. Most of all, though, they were thrilled that summer had finally arrived!

Skeeters Game

At the end of Cody and Jaden's baseball season, their coach organized a unique opportunity for the team. He planned for us to attend a Skeeters baseball game in Sugarland, TX. This team is part of the ALPB (the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Players), so many of the players were older, former major league baseball players. Our team came dressed in their Little League jerseys, and each of the boys got in free.

At the start of the game, our Braves team and a few other Little League teams from the area were recognized on the field.

All of these boys got to stand on the field during the National Anthem. 

I'm pretty sure the best part for all these boys was sprinting across this large baseball field!

Adley's highlight was meeting the Skeeter's mascot, Swatson.

The stadium isn't all that big, so we could see the field quite well from our seats. 

The boys were very attentive (during the first few innings at least!) and asked some great questions about the game.

We invited Papa and Grammy to join our family for this special game as well.

The end of the game got a little cool, so Grammy helped to warm up Jaden!

After several innings, the boys joined their teammates in exploring some other amenities of the stadium, including a large playground area and a basketball court. They even have a splashpad, but the cooler breeze discouraged us from trying that out. We were impressed with the fun, family-friendly stadium! Unfortunately, the Skeeters didn't win their game that night, but our kids seemed to think the evening was a hit!