Patriotic Program Highlights

On May 26th, Zach's 1st grade class, as well as 2 other classes, presented a Patriotic Program for friends and family to see. After working for over 2 months on songs, actions, and speaking parts, Zach was so excited for us to come and see him perform.

Here he sitting in his spot, just patiently waiting to get started.


For their costumes, each class was in a certain color (Zach's class was obviously in red). They decided to do class shirts as a keepsake for the year. Each child drew a picture of themselves, then they put them all on the shirt.


Zach's was dead center - the perfect spot! Loved his rendition of himself - especially the ears!


Nana and Papa came down for the special event - which made Zach's day! Here they are with Hailey, patiently waiting for the program to get started.


Here's a picture of all 3 classes so you can see how neat it was to have them in red, white, and blue. Zach is on the bottom row, about half way in the red section.


A little ways into the program, they sang "It's A Grand Old Flag" and as they were singing, they moved into position, making the flag with their colors. It was really neat to see them make the flag!


They did a ton of fun things with the program including slideshows of each class, a tribute to family members serving in the military, etc.

One of the things Zach was really excited about was doing the wave - so we got it on video.



Each child had a part to say in the program. I was really impressed with how quickly Zach memorized his part and said it so well during the program.



During the program, each class had a turn to get up on the stage and perform a number. Here's Zach's class performing theirs. He's in the back row, which made it hard to video, but you can see him in the middle doing all the actions and being so cute!



We had to get a quick picture with Nana and Papa afterwards - we were so happy to have them come down and see the program with us!



And of course a quick picture of our little family. Don't pay any attention to the huge pregnant lady who looks like she's about to burst!



Zach, we had so much fun coming to watch you in your program. We are so proud of you for doing so well in 1st grade - you're getting so big and we can't believe you're going to be a 2nd grader!

WE LOVE YOU!

Soccer Pro

We have been looking forward to soccer season for a few months now. We love being outside and rooting for our favorite little soccer player - Zach. He absolutely loves playing sports, especially soccer.

I have forgotten to take the camera to more games than I'd like to admit, so these pictures and video clip are courtesy of Jeremiah who took them a week ago when I wasn't able to go. Funny how I remembered to send the camera when I wasn't going to be there!

Here's Zach protecting his goal. Technically, they don't have goalies at this age, but his coach is still teaching them to help protect the goal when the ball is down there.


Here's our little number 12 getting instructions from the assistant coach. We've been so proud to see him listen and follow the instructions that they give to him.


And here he is chasing down the ball. He really has some speed when he decides to kick it into gear.


And here's a little video clip of him in action.



He has really done well this year. It's been fun to watch him add new skills to the ones he's already learned in past years playing. He scored 4 goals his first game and at least 1 per game since then. I think he's really having a fun time playing, I know we sure are having a fun time watching and cheering for him! GO ZACH!

Our Little Dancer

These last few months, Hailey has been going to a 3-4 year old dance class at the local Community Center. And after 4 months of learning to dance and practicing their dance number, they had a dance recital last Thursday for family and friends.

She looked so cute in her little dance outfit.


And of course, we can't forget about the make-up she was wearing. Her teacher told them in one of their classes that they should wear some make-up when they did their performance. So Hailey had been WAITING (not so patiently) since she found out to wear her make-up. A little bit of eye shadow, blush, and lipstick really made her feel wonderful.


I was worried that she'd get nervous up on the stage since it's the first time she's done something like that, but it didn't faze her at all, she got right up there and wasn't afraid at all.


I was amazed at how well she remembered all of the dance steps.


They did their dance to the song "I'm a Big Big Girl." It was the perfect song for their dance and the cute little dancers.


Here she is in 1st position (or 1st pedition as Hailey calls it).


Moving side to side while waving her arms.


Shaking her arms to the sides.


I know I'm biased, but she really was the best and cutest one there. She remembered every step and was right on cue with every new move.


Here are a few video clips to see the best dancer in action:





Afterward the performance, she got flowers from her Dad. She was so excited since it was the first time she had ever gotten flowers. Daisies and a single red rose - one that stood out amongst the others, just like she did that night.


And our little family with our favorite dancer of the whole night.


I thought I had, but I guess I didn't take a picture of everyone that was there to support our little dancer. Thanks to Nana, Papa, Great Nana Bybee, Aunt Kylie (Awa), Uncle Bubby, and Aunt Afton for all coming down to be a part of her special night.

It was such a fun night to see Hailey all excited and happy. She had a permanent grin on her face all night. She did great and we all can't wait until the next performance!

Hailey, we are all so proud of you and want you to know you were the cutest dancer there!

WE LOVE YOU!

The Question Is ...

Seriously, how on earth did I end up with the cutest girl ever?


Not only is she darling, she's got a personality that rivals no one I've ever met. She can be sassy and onery one minute, then sweet and caring the next. It amazes me sometimes at how fast her mood can change. But despite all of it, or maybe even because of it, I love her so much I can't even express it with words. There's no one like my Hailey.

The Countdown

Yesterday I was talking with Zach and Hailey about our baby. We were talking about how the baby was going to be born in just over 6 weeks. I could tell from the looks on their faces that they didn't quite understand what I meant by 6 weeks. We've been saying "6 months," "4 months," "2 months," etc for the past little while and I thought switching to weeks would help them get a better grasp of how long. Unfortunately, that didn't work, so I thought for a little bit yesterday about how I could show the kids something visual about how long it would be before the baby got here.

I tried showing them on the calendar, but when I had to turn multiple pages, I could tell that wasn't helping them understand. So I had the idea of making a countdown chain for the number of days left. We've done this for various other things like Christmas, Easter, or even birthdays and it's been pretty successful. So after church and lunch yesterday, the 3 of us sat down to make a countdown chain for our baby. My first thought was to have each of them choose a color so that if we alternated them on the chain, we would always know who's turn it was to rip a link off (I always seem to forget). Zach chose a dark green and Hailey chose a dark blue - both boy colors, they informed me.

After we cut up the paper and got out the stapler, we were all ready to go. They both were so excited and insisted that they "help" me staple the links together. This took about 3 times longer than it should have, but they were so excited, I just couldn't say no. After we finished the chain, the kids loved it! I couldn't help taking a picture of them holding it - they were so proud!


Once we finished, we hung it up in the kitched where we all could see it every day to remind us how soon our baby will be here. It's a good thing I didn't do this any earlier, the chain is definitely long enough.



Even though Hailey still tells me the baby is taking forever and that our chain is really, really long, I think both her and Zach have a better visual idea of how long it will be until the baby gets here. If not anything else, it gives them something fun to do every day as we get ready for our new little baby boy. As of today, only 44 more days to go!

Let the Countdown Begin!

Run Zach Run!

Last Friday, Zach's Elementary School recently had a walk-a-thon for all the kids. It was to promote good health and give the kids something fun to do outside. They sent home a flyer telling the parents and families of the kids they were welcome to come and watch or even participate.

Unfortunately, being over 8 months pregnant, the walk across the playground was enough for me, so we planned to just watch Zach run. We told him we were coming, but I loved the big smile on his face when he walked outside with his class and saw Hailey and I there to watch him.


The first thing they did was have the kids do some stretching exercises.


After that, they got ready to run. At the last minute, I was asked to help keep track of how many times the kids ran around the course they had set up. I guess they were short on volunteers and were desperate. I agreed, so unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Zach running because I was busy making a mark on the kids' cards each time they ran around the course. But let me say that he was so cute! He would run around and when he got back to where I was standing, he would come running up with a big smile on his face. Here's a picture of him proudly displaying his card showing how many times he ran around the course. He was one of the top finishers in his class - there were only 2 or 3 other kids that made it around more times than he did.


Hailey and I just love going to watch his school activities. He just loves school and is always all smiles!


After the run was finished, each class did a Snow Springs Elementary cheer. Here's Zach's class doing their cheer:



We're so proud of you Zach - you are an excellent runner! Thanks for letting us come and watch you!

Play Time!

A little over a week ago Jeremiah made it home from work early on a Friday. The kids had been begging to go to the park and try out their new kite, so we decided to head over to the park near our house to give it a try. Jeremiah, Zach, and Hailey rode their bikes and I took the car (even a small walk tires me out now-a-days!).

Once we got there, we got the kite out and ready to go in the back of the Pilot. Unfortunately, all it took was one little gust of wind and the straps on the kite ripped and pretty much made it impossible to fly.


The kids were a little disappointed, but quickly recovered when we suggested we go play on the playground instead. I absolutely love the playground at that park. It has some really fun things for the kids to play on. These little platforms are a favorite, especially with Hailey now that she's discovered how to get from one to another without any help.


Zach was brave when he first got on the round swinging monkey bars, but after about a second, he begged for Jeremiah to come over and help him.


Another favorite is the little telephone type thing they have set up. The kids can talk into one end ...


and someone can hear them on the other end at the other side of the playground. They spent a lot of time talking back and forth to each other - most of the time they made absolutely no sense, but both of them would laugh and giggle none-the-less.


One of my favorite things they have at the playground is a spider-web type thing for the kids to climb on. I was lucky to be able to snap this shot of both of them holding still for 3 seconds.


And of course, we couldn't leave out a picture of the slides - they have 3 different types at the playground and a lot of the time was spent going down them over and over again.



It was a little chilly (hence the hats and gloves on the kids), but they had a blast and were NOT happy when we told them it was time to go. We're now enjoying much nicer weather and have been back to the park a few times since these pictures were taken. Thank goodness for spring!