First School Year in NOVA done.

Well, another school year has ended.  It went by pretty quick to me, but every year does.  On the last day, I surprised the kids with a treat (peanut butter, chocolate bars) and got them each a small gift (pool toys, flip flops).  We also made out summer schedule and our summer bucket list to get them excited for summer and to make sure we fit in some fun activities besides just sitting around.

Then yesterday we got their report cards…it was another outstanding one for both of them.  Colin got straight A's and Evan got all O's (outstanding).  Both are reading above grade level too.  And Colin got his first SOL scores back. He scored a perfect score (600) on BOTH reading and social studies!!!  We are so proud of him. He also got a 547on Math, another excellent score (above 500 is considered pass advanced, you need above 400 to pass).

Other than that, we have been to the pool, signed up for summer reading program at the library and have been to a bunch of doctors appointments for me.  Today I have a CT scan and we are really hoping this helps us come up with a plan for my kidney pain.

Logan has also been doing swimming lessons this week.  I would love for him to be swimming without a device by the end of summer.  I absolutely love the swimming school we found, so I am real happy about that.  He is making good progress already with floating front and back.  If only lessons weren't so expensive!  I really want Colin and Evan to take them too, so they can get stronger (they can swim but need lessons on stroke form).  But, like everything with raising 4 kids in NOVA, especially on 1 salary, we have to consider the cost…

Oh, the boys are also doing VBS (vacation bible school) and church this week, aka church camp.  They have had a lot of fun doing crafts, learning songs, do physical activities, etc.  Today is the last day and we have mass in the morning and then an end of week celebration after camp this afternoon.  It is has been a great week.

End of Year Festivities

Can't believe we are already at the end of this school year!

Wednesday, Logan had his last day of preschool.  They did a short and sweet ceremony where the kids sang a couple songs and then they got a pin for their cap.  I was surprised to see Logan actually sing and do the movements since he is so shy and serious at school.  This has been a great year.  I love the preschool and wish I could send Leah there next year, but their 2 year old program isn't long enough for me to work.  Luckily, Logan will be going there for Kindergarten Enrichment next year.

Thursday, after school, I took the kids to the pool for the first time this season.  They had a blast.  Leah really loved it too and I wasn't prepared with floaties for her so I need to make a trip to Target soon.  She is pretty adventurous in the pool. We only had a little over an hour to swim and then had to rush home for showers/baths so I could get Colin to a birthday party.

Friday, my Dad babysat a couple hours so I could help at Colin's class party.  I had a lot of fun watching the kids and helping them play games and serve food/ice cream.  I always love watching my kids interact with their classmates.  Colin's teacher told me Colin has had a great year.  He was the only one to get his "black belt in recorder", whatever that means and he talked about how determined Colin is.  He also whispered that Colin got 2 perfect scores on his SOL tests….  We don't get the official results till school gets out, but I am so proud of him!!!

Tonight we have the boys end of school Carnival at their school and then a busy weekend of a birthday party, wedding reception, and a playdate.  And then Monday is Evan's class party so lots to look forward to!

3rd Quarter Grades.

3rd quarter report cards have been just as good as the first 2 quarters, even better actually.  Both boys got great comments from their teachers too!  Colin got straight A's and Evan got all Outstanding's…I couldn't ask for a better first year in this school as far as grades and behavior have been, so I am really grateful and proud of that.

Evan also got his scores for the ability test he took (the CogAt's).  He did fantastic.  We knew he was bright, but he has a lot of anxiety with test taking.  I think he went to the nurse 3x that week for headaches and stomachaches, so I wasn't sure what to expect for scores on the test.  I knew he would get in the 80's or 90's, but didn't expect him to do as well as he did in all 3 areas.  Seems like most kids have one weaker area…  Anyway, he got a 95% for both the verbal and non verbal and a 99% on the quantitative section.  His cumulative percentage was a 99% (this is again because it is unlikely to do that well on all 3 sections)!!!

In other news…We have begun spring sports season.  Colin has had 2 soccer games thus far and is doing great.  His team won both games which is always nice, but more importantly, I love seeing the confidence he has playing soccer.  While he loved football too, he was much more intimidated by it, I think, and wasn't as aggressive as we are used to seeing him.  Now, he is back in his element, and it is fun to watch.

Evan is doing baseball.  He is doing rookie level and is on the Lugnuts.  He seems to be having fun and will have his first game tomorrow.

Logan is trying Tball out for the first time.  His team is the Thunder.  He has his first game on Thursday, but will miss it due to a performance at school.  So instead, we won't get to see him play his first game until Saturday.

This past weekend the little league had a really fun parade and then had food and some entertainment after an opening day ceremony.  We got to see both Evan and Logan walk with their teams.  Logan's team won the prize for best team banner for his division.

Spring is turning out to be as crazy as we assumed it would be with all 3 in sports.  May especially is going to be very busy.  But, it is a lot of fun too!

Braces for Evan!

So, Dennis gets back today from Europe.  This past week has gone pretty smoothly.  Tuesday night was another game for Evan.  Grandma (Dennis' Mom) was able to help out by going to Evan's game so I could leave and pick up Colin from soccer practice towards the end.  I was also in charge of snacks so I wanted someone there in case the game ended early.  They won a hard game that was tied up at the end so that is always fun too.

Wednesday I took Logan and Leah to a free magic show in the morning and then we went to Logan's school for muffins with Mom.  It is always fun to go to the kids classrooms and see them in their element.  Logan's teachers and his school in general are one of my favorite things about Ashburn.  We really lucked out finding such a fantastic preschool and I am happy we decided to keep him there for Kindergarten Enrichment next year (Kinder is only 1/2 day here so after morning Kinder, he will get picked up and brought to his preschool for lunch/recess and additional learning until I pick him up at 2:30).    Anyway, I got to watch his class sing a couple songs (Logan was pretty shy doing this) and then we did a few crafts together and had a small snack.

Friday, we had muffins with Mom at the big boys school.  I thought I was going to have to miss it because Dennis was out of town and couldn't stay home with the little ones, but I emailed the person in charge just to ask if siblings can come and she said sure, so I went ahead and went with all 4.  We had a quick muffin together before the boys had to start their school day.

Then that evening they wanted to go to Parents Night Out.

Mother's Day 2015

Dennis and his Dad left for Europe on Friday.  His Dad took him on an all expenses paid trip to England, Paris and Nice/Monocco for 10-11 days or so.  In the meantime, I am holding down the fort here in VA.

Saturday, was a busy day.  All 3 boys ended up having team pictures this weekend.  So, we left the house at 7:45 am and got home at 4:30pm.  We had each of their pictures, Colin's game and Evan's game.  My Dad came to Evan's game so that I could leave early to get Logan to his pictures.  Then I treated him to lunch out at Red Robin.  Other than that I was on my own with all the kiddos.  It went fairly smoothly considering how long we were out and Leah not getting any rest time.  Both boys won their games and were excited about that.  Luckily, Logan didn't have a game this Saturday!  That night we ordered pizza and had a movie night, before all kids were in bed fairly early.

Sunday, Mother's Day, I was awoken to the boys bringing me their homemade gifts from school and the Colin told me that he had been up off and on since 2am not feeling well. Sure enough he had a fever.  So, I had to cancel our plans to go to Carol's house for crabs and stay home with Colin.  My Mom called and offered to take the healthy kids so I took her up on taking Evan and Logan.  I left Leah with me because I didn't want her to be babysitting on Mother's day and I figured the boys were easy and would entertain themselves with their cousins.

Actually, my brother in law, Phil, also offered to come over and watch Colin because he felt bad that I was stuck at home on Mother's Day, but I didn't think that was fair to Julie to take her husband away from her on her special day too.  I am so blessed to have such an awesome family though!

Anyway, it was good I didn't take Phil up on that because Colin's fever went up and he threw up a couple times.  He then took a 3-4 hour nap.  Leah and I just hung out and overall, it was a quiet Mother's Day.

My kids are hardly ever sick.  They all have perfect school attendance and have never had a sick visit to the pediatrician here in VA, so I couldn't believe that out of all the days of the year he was sick for Mother's Day.  But, that is life with kids.

Anyway, I enjoyed all my gifts and even enjoyed the fairly quiet day as well.

Triple Header Weekend. First Tball game for Logan.

This weekend we had our first weekend of the year of all three boys having games.  Colin's soccer team fought a tough game and lost 2-0.  Evan's team won their second game.  He got to play first base a couple innings and got 3 outs which he was excited about.  I offered to hold the assistant coaches 7 month old baby during the game, so he could have his hands free to coach.  He was there on his own, without his wife.  I loved every second of it, he was such a good baby.  I have said it before, but if I lived in a different time where kids didn't have to go to college or be in school activities, I would probably have at least 6 kids.  I absolutely love the 0-4 ages.  I am sure I missed my calling and should have been an OB or labor and delivery nurse, I would have absolutely loved my job.

Anyway, last was Logan's first Tball game.  He was very cute to watch.  Of course there was some playing with dirt, because at this age only the "pitcher" and the first baseman get any action.  He did great when he was pitcher though.  He also did well hitting but always paused after the hit forgetting to drop the bat quickly and run, it was so cute!

Saturday my Mom called out of the blue asking if we wanted to go out on a date night and that she could come over and babysit that evening.  That was a great surprise.  It had been almost 3 months since our last date night so we enjoyed going to the movies and having dinner there.  I have many friends that go out weekly as a couple and while we would love to be able to do that, babysitters are expensive and we feel bad asking family to babysit, because we feel like everyone is already busy watching other kids.  So, our time alone together is few and far between.  As a result, we do not hesitate to say yes if someone offers!

The rest of the weekend was spent with Dennis having many trips to Home Depot and getting the garden ready to plant some vegetables.  I have always wanted a veggie garden and when we moved into this house there was already an abandoned garden bed.  So, all week I spent pulling weeds, rocks and roots and tilling the soil to get it ready.  Dennis then spent the weekend putting up a new fence (we are making the garden smaller than the original bed) and trying to make it bunny proof.  He also bought a ton of soil to mix in with the old stuff.  So, hopefully this week I will plant the seedlings and we will see how it goes.  I am sure the first couple years will be some trial and error to see what works.  But, we are very excited to give it a go.

Easter 2015

Easter this year was a bit different.  We are used to it just being us and being away from family for Easter.  It is always a pretty quiet holiday for us.  But, this year being in town it was much busier.  The kids searched for their Easter baskets, which is always a highlight for them.  Then we had a yummy breakfast and got ready for church.  Leah at church was not good.  She kept talking really loud and then had a temper tantrum so Dennis spent most the time outside with her.

After church we headed to Grammy and Grandpa Pritchard's.  All my extended family was there so there was probably 50ish people there.  We did an egg hunt for the kids and had a huge lunch.  The kids also did various crafts and games.

Then we headed to Grandma McLaughlin and Roberts house.  We had a great dinner and the kids played outside.  It was much more quiet since it was just us there, but that was a nice welcome change from the busier morning.

Overall, it was a great day and was nice to get to visit with so much family.  Leah by the way LOVED getting to dress up.  She was so excited about the "princess" dress, the dress shoes, the hair bow and especially the necklace the Easter bunny brought her!