Independence Day Fun

 After a hard day of trimming (and being put up in) trees ...

    

we headed to the Lake Zurich fireworks.  We were a little nervous after last year when Megan tried to watch, but also cover her ears and hide her head because she doesn't like loud noises.  This year she enjoyed them, so maybe we can start to get a little closer now.

Moving on to Pre-K

Megan transitions to Pre-K this week!  We're going to miss Ms. Eula and Ms. Tiffany ... Lucas and Megan both did awesome in their class and came home knowing things we never thought they would know.  Seriously, what 3-year-old sings about condensation and evaporation?

Happy 6th Birthday Alicia!

We got to celebrate Alicia's 6th birthday today!  Ignoring the small amount of rain, it was a beautiful day for a birthday celebration at a park.  In addition to a tasty grill-out and an awesome Snow White cake by Heather, the kids all got to enjoy the petting zoo, playgrounds and a pony ride.  I think the pony ride was a hit.  :)

Go Gray Swords

Lucas loves playing soccer. Based on the statistician on his team that kept score (even though there wasn't supposed to be any score keeping), the Gray Swords won most if not all of their games. Lucas' favorite part was scoring lots of goals (his best was 3 in one game!).

Bye-Bye to Abby

Megan's friend Abby is moving to San Diego, so we wanted to get one last play date in before she left.  What better place to hang out than the zoo?  We got some great up-close views of many of the animals and had a great time with Abby and her family.

Kindergarten Graduation

Lucas graduated from Bright Horizons Kindergarten today!  Their ceremony was very impressive.  After a precession, they recited their morning poem, including "Mistakes are good, they help us grow, they teach us we need to know."

(sorry for the bad conversion ... working on a better one)

Each graduate took their turn on the bridge to share the two favorite things they learned over the last year.  Lucas was happy to have learned about the ocean and dinosaurs.  They also sang a couple of songs with Ms. Lily, their Chinese teacher, and she gave them each a red dragon and a page with their name in Chinese.  After that, it was graduation time!  As they went through their class, Ms. Lisa and Ms. Sarah handed out their diplomas.  I think a lot of kids were timid in front of the large group of proud parents and family, but they did great!

We're very proud of our Superdude!

Car Wash Service

The kids seem to have an appreciation for cleaning, at least on their terms. Back in February (and several times since), they really wanted to clean the bathroom. Now that it's nice outside, time to put them to work on Mommy's car. :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Hannah!

We got to celebrate Hannah's 2nd birthday today! The goldfish cupcakes were a big hit!