Summer lovin

Last week Kylie came home in tears on her last day of school. My mind rushed through a zillion different worries as to why, but I had to laugh when she was able to tell me through her sobs. "I, sob, am, sob, going, sob, to, sob, miss, sob, my, sob, teacher, sob, so, sob, much, sob!" I was worried she had gotten hurt, or left something behind or that someone said something mean- but she was just worried that she was never going to see her teacher again. She is such a tender heart.
We started our first day of summer break with a bang. Well actually the barfs. Kylie and James woke up in the night puking. Lots of fun. And of course it had to do the rounds with everyone else. Thankfully it was a quick bug and this week everyone has been just fine and having lots of fun.
The kids started swim lessons again. Their teacher reminds me of my little brother John. The kids have lots of fun with him, unless he tries to make them swim in the deep end. Kylie keeps telling him, "I'm gonna die if you make me swim over there." Love the drama!
Ty has just taken off with his reading lately, and thats been such fun. I love how excited he gets when he finishes a book. He is really looking forward to Kindergarten in a few short weeks. I am just hoping he wont have a power struggle with his teacher though. ;)
Jamesy has been a chatter box as of late, which cracks me up cuz he says the funniest things. My favorite is his new reply to knock knock jokes. Kylie and Ty love hearing James talk and for the past few months they do knock knock jokes with him. But I think he got sick of it cuz the other day when one of them started with the "knock, knock?" James got a scowl on his face and said, "I'm NOT HERE!" My other favorite thing is that he sporadically yells out, "WHAT THE HECK!" I guess I need to watch my expressions a little more closely cuz it sounds so bad coming out of his little mouth in the middle of sacrament meeting.
Bennie-boy has taken a little longer than the other kids to get feeling better, so he has just been my snuggle bug all week long. He is usually pretty snugly anyway, but even more so when he isnt feeling good. He is loving having Kylie home during the day, and when he isnt snuggling me, he snuggles with her.
Anyway the kids are loving summer vacation. We have been doing different activities to keep them busy each day. Besides their chores, workbooks, reading, and swim lessons, we have designated each day with a different activity-ie: Monday is music day, Tuesdays is library day, Wednesday is baking day, Thursday is craft day, and Fridays is Rain-o-lean day. So far so good. We are looking forward to the coming weeks, most especially the BR Hall Fam Reunion!

award ceremony

Kylie is almost done with the 1st grade. Tomorrow is her last day, and today her class put on a little play and then her teacher presented the kids with several different awards, 8 different achievements in all. Kylie got all but 2-(she didnt get perfect attendance, nor the timed math test completion award-(in those 2 groups only 2 kids got them.) Anyway I was proud of my girl. She has grown up a lot this past year. I love how she pushes herself and is so eager to learn. She is our little smarty pants. Woohoo to the moo!
Daniel wasnt able to come cuz he has a conference/class in Phoenix today, so I had the 3 boys to handle by myself. I figured since it was very low key I would manage just fine. I guess I forgot how crazy my crazies really are. Ben was up and down and up and down and screaming unless i could pop his binky in his mouth. James was exactly the same, minus the binky. and when he wasnt kicking off his shoes or trying to take Bens off, he was licking one of us. Tyler did really well, so I was proud of him. He sat quietly and stayed in his chair. He wont do that for church, so I was shocked that I wasnt having to threaten or bribe him into behaving. It wasnt a very long ordeal- (thank heavens)- but by the time we got back in the car, I was ready for a nap. I kinda wonder what life is like after the toddler/baby stages. Do people really get to go to these kind of things and not spend the whole time wrestling with a squirmy kid? I dont think I would know what to do with myself...

Recital

6 weeks ago Kylie started piano lessons. She has been so eager to learn and has been very consistent with practicing and has done really well in these few short weeks. 2 weeks ago her teacher, whom I absolutely adore, gave her the option of playing in the recital. On the drive home I asked Kylie is she wanted to participate. She said no. I told her it would be a good experience for her. She said no. I told her it would be fun. She said no. I then asked her why not. She replied, "I might get stage fright." That made me laugh. I decided not to push her on it, as she is such a timid little thing, but after her lesson the following week, I asked her again if she wanted to do it. She wasnt interested until I bribed her with her choice of treat following the recital. She thought about it for 5 seconds, then said, "OK. I'll do it." Behold the power of treats.
So last night was this blessed event. Kylie practiced and practiced to make sure her song was perfect. She had never been to a recital, and didnt know what to expect, so she was pretty nervous. We took our seats and looked at the program and Kylie was the first one up. Her eyes got really wide and she turned to me and whispered "what do I do?" I told her her teacher would get up and welcome everyone and then when it was time to start she would go up to the piano, tell everyone the name of her song, take her seat and play her song, just like she practiced. She looked at that grand piano with such intimidation that it kind of broke my heart for her, but I knew she could do it and be the better for overcoming her fears. She then whispered to me that she could not play THAT piano. I told her it was just like ours, only bigger, better and shinier, but the keys are just the same. She sat there for a few minutes just looking so worried.
Her teacher welcomed everyone, and then introduced Kylie, who got up, went to the piano, and played her song perfectly. When she sat back down next to me she still looked really nervous, so I gave her a little hug, whispered I was so proud of her, and that she did it! After a few more kids played their songs, Kylie seemed to relax and then started enjoying herself.
After the recital we walked back to the car and Kylie stated matter of factly, "that wasnt so bad, afterall." That made me laugh.
Now I had to deliver on my end of our deal. She chose DQ for her treat, and as we ate our blizzards, she told me it had been the best day of her life. That made me smile. Such a funny little thing she is.