2011 summer vacation–week 1

We took off for Idaho late Friday night (or early Saturday morning, depending on how you look at it). We left around 1am or so, the idea being to get the first chunk of the drive out of the way while the kids slept. Never. again. The kids were actually fine, but the cats. Oh, the cats! Actually, just Zelda. She’s the high-strung one. Thankfully Isis just goes with the flow. Anyway, Zelda just cried the entire first few hours. Then once I finally dug out the anxiety drops I’d bought (note to self: keep them much more handy on the trip home!), she’d just calmed down when she puked! All I can say is thank goodness the cats were both crated because otherwise our brand new van would have been christened with cat vomit. We pulled over, and I got her out on her leash to clean her off while Derk cleaned out the cage. Not even a half hour later, she pooped all over her cage. Let’s just say we very nearly left her on the side of the road at that point (okay, not really, but I can’t deny it crossed my mind…). After that I probably overdosed her on the anxiety drops (not really, they’re homeopathic, but I did give her more than the bottle says, I’m sure), and she was quiet the rest of the drive to St. George. Once we got to Grandma Dean’s house we all took showers first thing. Then we took Grandma out to lunch at the Mexican restaurant Derk’s uncle owns. Then it was back on the road to Salt Lake where we were going to spend a couple of days.

Monday morning we headed out of Salt Lake and stopped in Pocatello to attend Anoni’s first birthday party. It was so fun to finally meet Anoni and to have a little break from the car. We had a good visit, and their girlies really enjoyed playing with the cats (and I’m sure they really enjoyed getting a break from the crates!). Isn’t her little tutu just precious?!

We arrived in Coeur d’Alene around 1am Tuesday morning. On Wednesday all of the cousins from my side went to the park and had a blast together. It was so fun to have them all together.

Thursday we went on a hike around Tubb’s Hill with Jessica and her boyfriend Mike and their dog Clyde. I got so many gorgeous scenery shots! How I miss living in the Northwest. The day was cool and overcast, but it was perfect hiking weather. I also had no idea how much attention Great Danes get! Almost everyone who passed us on the trail wanted to stop and talk to Jess about Clyde.

Sunday we went to my Mom’s house and celebrated Logan’s 5th birthday. I tried to get a shot of these 3 cuties sitting on a bench together, but you can see how productive that venture was…

The cousins had a lot of fun jumping on the trampoline, running amuck through Nana’s house, and eating cake.

We had a really great first week!

Last day of school

Well, we made it! The school year is officially over. Very had to believe we’ll now have a 4th grader and a 1st grader! Here’s a cute look at these kiddos on their first day of school compared to how they looked today on their last day. Asher especially has grown up a lot (even in height, believe it or not! ).

Kindergarten graduation!

Today was Asher’s kindergarten graduation.  Very hard to believe the school year is almost over (tomorrow)!  We are SO ready for summer, but it’s very hard to think about not having his wonderful teacher next year.  Mrs. V was truly amazing and will always hold a special place in my heart for the wonderful way she loved our boy!

Here’s the cute banner they made and had hanging at the front of the stage.     We have no clue which one is Asher’s (although we could pick out some that we could most definitely rule out), but we had fun trying to guess. 

 

Here’s Asher walking into the ceremony with his classmates (he’s in the jeans and striped shirt, if you couldn’t tell). 

Here’s Asher taking his place on the stage.  I love how he’s looking for us. 

 

Then they sang a few songs.  Asher kept rocking out through the whole performance, and we even had people comment to us afterward about how funny he was.  He even started doing an air guitar at one point, although I didn’t have the camera rolling to catch it.  I did manage to catch a few funny poses, though.  Sorry the video quality isn’t the best.  My camera doesn’t like to be clear when I zoom…

 

 
After that it was time for their “diplomas.”  Here’s Asher’s teacher calling him over.  The other lady standing next to Mrs. V. is their principal.

After that, they did a cute slideshow of all the kids throughout the year.  Here are a couple (pictures of pictures) of Asher having fun in class!

Then it was back to the classrooms to pick up a few things, like his final report card and some other school papers.  While there, one of Asher’s friends was desperate to give him a hug.  The pictures will tell you how he felt about that…

And of course we had to get a picture of him with his teacher!  I seriously cried after this.  She is just the most amazing lady, and I know Asher wouldn’t have had nearly as good of a year if she hadn’t been his teacher.  She mentioned that she wanted to teach an older grade next year, so we hope she’ll be teaching first grade and get Asher in her class again. 

We’re so proud of you, Asher, and all you accomplished this year!   

Curling Cambria’s hair

Today Cambria asked me if I’d curl her hair. I’ve never done it before and was hesitant, but it turned out SO cute!! Her hair is so thin that it only took about 10 minutes total, and I just love how much volume it added. She looked way too sweet, so I had to get some pictures. This girl loves the camera, and after I took a few she started directing me to taking pictures all over the place (with her teddy bear, with Zelda, etc.). We got a few really cute ones!

I love this little sweetie!!

Angelina Ballerina

Due to Cambria’s recent obsession with ballet, she had discovered a love for this show!  After watching an episode this morning, she had to put on a show for me.  Doesn’t her outfit rock?!  After summer vacation, she’s going to start ballet.  She is SOOOO excited!!

Spirit Week!

The kids had spirit week at school this week and had tons of fun dressing up! Their favorite days were pajama day and crazy day! They are getting so excited that the school year is almost over, and this was a really fun way to celebrate the great year they’ve had. I especially love how into it Kyrie got on crazy day. She went all out, and the pictures of her outfit definitely don’t do it justice. I just love how spunky this girl is! Asher had a great time, too, and kept running to the mirror and saying, “I just look SO crazy, Mom! I’m so hilarious!” The only part they weren’t happy about was that Derk was out of town all week and missed their crazy clothes. So to help himself feel better on pajama day, Asher wore one of Daddy’s shirts. It was so sweet. He said, “I miss my daddy, so I’m going to wear one of his shirts today as my pajamas for school!” I loved how he wanted to take a piece of his daddy with him.

An afternoon at the park

With Derk gone this whole week on business, the kids and I have tried to keep busy.  Today we went to the park and had a good time.  It’s already too hot to stay outside for long, but we got in a good hour or so before we couldn’t take it any longer.

The kids played…

 

….while Mom go to kick back in the sun and read a book!  So relaxing.