Today is Summer

"Today is Summer" were the first words out of M's mouth this morning. They were followed by, "we can go swimming in the pools and whatever." That we live in the Northwest has no bearing on her comments. She's out of school therefore it's summer and when it's summer, you swim.

Yesterday was her last day of school....and if you've been around a while, you know that means that there was a picture on the front porch.

There was an ice creams social at school and some posing with her buddies.

Both kids were blessed with great teachers this year.

M learned so much and J continues to thrive!

As soon as the preschool functions were complete, we headed over to Burfort Park for J's end of year picnic. Mr. H does an amazing job of putting together certificates for each kid with an adjective that describes them. His wife said this is something that starts at the beginning of the year because he really wants to make sure that he gets it right. 

J's adjective was earnest:

Resulting from or showing intense conviction

Today was J's last day of school

Actually, it was a half day, so by noon when they got off the bus, the neighborhood moms had a whole spread of junk food laid out, a bunch of water balloons, water guns, sidewalk chalk, and music.

Our neighborhood rocks.

Summer doesn't officially start for another week or so. We have an ABC's of Summer list to put together, a chore chart to be tended to, read-a-thon materials to look over, but today was a little taste of what's to come.

M had a point -- Today is Summer!

Who's Those Kids' Mother?

There's a mom that belongs to one of J's baseball teammates that any time her son does something spectacular on the field, will get up off her bottom, stand up in the bleachers, put her hands up in the air, and ask, "Who's that boy's mother?" I love it. Makes me laugh every time. She is one proud momma!

It's been a while since I've posted, but it's not for lack of having anything to say. On the contrary...we've been swamped. These last couple of months have been kept us on our toes. It seems like every night there is something. It's hectic, but it's been fun.

In mid-March J made his acting debut in Mr. Halvorson's class play, Doonots on the Amazon. I hope to write more about it in a later post. for now, here are some of the deets:

J was cast as the Prime Minister of England...as shown here with the Prime Minister of India:

And as an anteater..as shown here with his homemade costume:

They've been working on this production since January. It was a fun show and J did a great job learning his lines. 

Right around the same time, J made another debut...this time on the baseball field. No tee this time! It started out kind of shaky, but he's worked hard and has come a long way.

They made the playoffs, beat an undefeated team on the first day, another team last night; but unfortunately, they lost today. By one. Just two games away from playing in the championship. It was a good season for the Wildcats.

M continues to do ballet. She could be the cutest ballerina ever:

Her recital is coming up in a couple of weeks, but her dress is here now. And at the end of the day, that's all that really matters anyway, right?

She's also picked up a new hobby: Soccer.

It turns out little Ms. M has some futbol skills. We don't keep score or anything, or for that matter tabs, but if we did, the stats would show that the Ninjas are 4-1, and that M has contributed five goals thus far ☺. And, not to brag, but I have heard the words M and good used in the same sentence several times. 

I wonder who that girl's mother could be?

To add to an already-chaotic Saturday, J had a musicianship exam one morning. And this is what a perfect score on the whole darn thing looks like:

THE. WHOLE. DARN. THING. 

Out of 115 students that took it, only 15 had the honor.

While we're on the subject of music, his teacher mentioned in passing to him the other day when she was being hard on him that he is one of the best elementary-aged kids she has.

Does anybody know who that boy's mother is?

Yes, that happened. 

Somewhere in between all the madness, M figured out how to ride a bike. 

This was over a month ago. Just the other day she rode about two miles. She's amazing!

It's been a busy few months around here, but M played her last soccer game of the season this morning, and in the next two weeks we'll go to two recitals...one for each of them. After that things slow down for summer.

But before signing off, I must ask:

WHO'S THOSE KIDS' MOTHER?

Grinin' from Ear to Ear

About a month ago, J was the G.R.I.N Critter in his class.

It's something that I equate to being the student of the week or month or however long goes in between G.R.I.N. assemblies.

His previous two teachers didn't participate, so this was his first time in his almost-four years at Hansen.

The class compiled a list about ways in which they noticed J was special.

 And then Mr. Halvorson condensed it into the official document to be read by his two buddies, Alec and Reese, at the school-wide assembly.

"Jacob has a wonderful positive attitude. His cheerful smile and thoughtful friendliness are like a rainbow of goodness in our classroom. Jacob is a marvelous mathematician. Jacob, you rock!"

A JK(ind) of Weekend

Last weekend was all about J.

Friday he was awarded a bronze medal at Kumon for working six months or more above grade level. He barely missed getting it the last time around, but not anymore.....

The next day, he had his first piano recital, which I wrote about in my previous post. Four months after starting lessons, he was ready for the world to hear him, and he did a great job. Just like a pro.

By Sunday he'd hung up the suit and the medal and he was ready to party.We gathered seven of his best buddies and off to laser tag they went.

It was one of the easiest parties I've thrown and it was obvious that all the boys had a great time.

It was a good weekend for J. And a well-deserved one too.

Music to My Ears

Even as a little boy, J had a knack for music. I remember one time while at a friends house, he sat on their piano and started playing with the keys. He looked like a pro. This was back before the days of iPhones, so I wasn't able to take a picture, but I did think to myself that I wish I had a camera to one day, when he was a famous concert pianist, show him his very first time "playing."

Over the years we've discussed piano lessons. He was really excited at a younger age, and then when he was old enough to take them, the interest waned. 

M has a little Fisher Price piano that plays music by itself if prompted. One day last summer, I heard the familiar sound of one of the lullabies. And then I heard another. D came in and said, "How sad is it that he's playing the plastic piano? We gotta get that kid some lessons." My response: "I thought it was the piano playing itself." He sounded that good. I'm well aware that doesn't make him a music prodigy, but it really was flawless.

Needless to say, in August the horse trailer pulled up with a special delivery.

This time I did have a camera, and, yes, as I took this picture I said, "One day, when he's a famous concert pianist, we can show the world the picture of when he got his first piano." (And somewhere, the poor guy that delivers these things for a living, rolls his eyes as he hears another starry-eyed mother brag about what the future holds for her genius kid.)

The lessons started on his first day of school back in September. His teacher is very impressed by his hard work and, as I suspected, his musical talent :). And while I won't make too much out of it, the S word has been thrown around. One day, many years from now, we'll see how that actually pans out. 

Yesterday was his first recital...he woke up not feeling too well, but when the time came, he brought it:

He's come a long way in four months.

Those first couple of days I was sure we made a mistake. Our home sounded like a haunted house.

No more. That right there was music to my ears.