End of Summer

As usual, the end of summer came too fast and before we knew it, we were buying school supplies and attending open houses for the upcoming school year.  Here is a glimpse of some of the activities which kept the kids (and us) busy throughout the summer:

A trip to the zoo with Grandma, Grandpa and cousins...

Hanging out in the flamingos exhibit

Attending friend's birthday parties...

Brady's Gymnastic Lessons...

On Brady's last day, he had a little performance to show off all that he had learned!

Celebrating with his best friend, Chase

Painting Ferryboat Grandma's Fence...

Every year, Abi and Brady paint on a section of Ferryboat Grandma's fence.  Here is this year's masterpiece:

Abi's Pony Camp...

Abi and her pony, Symphony

Abi's favorite part of riding Symphony was trotting.

Little brothers "trying" to patiently wait for camp to end!

Little Kickers Soccer Lessons...

At the end of each lesson, the kids got to practice making goals - a definite highlight for Brady!

Abi's Tap and Ballet Lessons...

Practicing her ballet obstacle course

Butterfly Release...

For Abi and Brady's birthday, they received gift certificates for live butterfly cultures. When the summer weather arrived, we order the caterpillars and had fun watching them transform into butterflies. Here are some pictures of the butterfly release:

Sadie couldn't figure out what was going on in those butterfly tents!

"There it goes!"

Family Pictures

This summer we spent an afternoon at the Edmonds Beach with a friend of Ferryboat Grandma's, Stephanie Rashel. Stephanie is working on getting her photography business up and running and we were happy to help her build her portfolio. She captured some great family moments. Here is just a small snapshot of some of the great pictures:

Fireworks!

This year we enjoyed a low-key 4th of July. We had dinner with Arizona Grandma and Grandpa and then lit off a few fireworks in the neighborhood. 

The pop-its and sparklers were big hits with the kids!

They were not too sure about the louder ones!

Goodbye Kindergarten!

Abi's first year at Rosa Parks was a great success - not only did she have an awesome teacher who made school fun, but she got to experience a host of new and exciting things.  She also seemed to learn a thing or two along the way!

Last Day of Kindergarten - June 2012

First Day of School - September 2011

Goodbye Kindergarten, Hello First Grade!

Father's Day!

We celebrated Father's Day by having a family dinner at Arizona Grandma and Grandpa's house.  As in past years, we took the full advantage of the opportunity and got some updated family photos!

The Dads

The Moms

The Kids

End of the Year Fun!

June proved to be a busy month as Abi had many end of the school year activities with Kindergarten coming to an end.

We took a class field trip to the zoo...

Abi performed in a class play called "Worms & Fishes", which was written by her Kindergarten class. She played a fish.  After the performance, unbeknownst to me, she was given the task of fielding questions from the audience (which was comprised of parents, and a few other Kindergarten and 1st grade classes). Unfortunately, I turned the video camera off a bit too quick so I didn't get this part recorded but she did a great job! 

 (It is hard to get a good video with the lights on the stage so in case you can't tell, Abi is the second one in on the right, with the orange skirt.  And just in case you were wondering, it was Pajama Day on the day of the play, hence the robes and SpongeBob PJs!)

We also attended an End of the Year Celebration...

The week before the party, Abi worked hard to make each of her Kindergarten friends a little departing gift!

Thanks to some very creative class Moms, the kids had a blast competing in several fun games!

Abi's Teacher, Mrs. Sattler, rooting her on!

Then it was time for ice cream sundaes...did I mention that it was 9:30 in the morning? :)