Kindergarten Roundup at Cook Elementary

Wow - time really flies! It seems like just yesterday that Michael was born - and now he is ready to start kindergarten! Thursday night was the Kindergarten Round-up at Cook Elementary where I teach! Michael will be attending there in the fall, so I got to help take him around to all the early literacy activities. (Matt Kelley did the hard work of getting together all the shot records, birth certificates etc to get him registered) It was fun to see him dive into each activity with gusto. He was especially excited each time he spotted someone he knows from preschool! He introduced himself to all the teachers and enjoyed trying out some kindergarten activities.


He decided that kindergarten will be fun! In fact, he wanted to start the next day!

The Obstacle Course

Michael had a blast trying out the obstacle course. He followed directions very well and loved doing it!

Aislinn's Turn on the Obstacle Course

Since the night was for those starting Kindergarten, Aislinn mostly had to watch all the fun, but she took the chance to try out part of the obstacle course!




She couldn't quite figure out why dad, grandma, and all the other adults were paying so much attention to Michael and NOT her!

If You Feed a Pig a Pancake

The night was all about early literacy activities, so each station had an activity that was tied into a book. This was the station for "If You Feed a Pig a Pancake".
Michael told his name to a teacher, and she made his initial out of a pancake!
In his hand he is holding his passport to kindergarten. He got it stamped at every station.

It looked pretty yummy, and there was syrup and butter to put on it, but he decided he didn't want to eat his M!He had such a good time that the only disappointment was that he didn't get to go back again the next day to start Kindergarten! Fall seems like a long time away now, but it will be here soon enough!

Chinese New Year 2010

My class Chinese New Year parade this year was a family affair!

Here is Matt helping get things ready.

Michael and Aislinn came to join in the fun!

They looked so cute in their authentic Chinese outfits!

Matt and Melia came even though it was Melia's last day before going back to Iraq.

Matt took the day off to be with Melia, and then spent part of it carrying Aislinn in the parade! What a great guy!

Aislinn was a big hit...all the girls in the school were oohing and aahing over how cute she looked!

This will be a fun memory to look back on now that Melia is on her way back to Iraq!

Apres bath

Matt and Melia had a weekend getaway,
so I got to play with grandkids.
Look at Aislinn's curly hair after her bath!
Soooo cute!

Aquarium Trip

With Matt and Melia off on their getaway, I decided to take Michael and Aislinn to the Living Planet Aquarium.
We had a great time!

I'm not sure what plan Michael had up his sleeve,
but he sure looks mischievous

!

Michael was awfully brave about petting the rays.

He got soaking wet, but loved it!

He enjoyed touching all kinds of strange sea-creatures!

Aislinn loved getting out of her stroller to crawl around on the coral.

Michael was the star of a show where he became a predator fish with a glow stick. He had a blast hiding then chasing the other fish.

Aislinn really loved the tunnels and windows in the coral garden.

Here's Aislinn cooling it at the end of the day.
We all slept well that night!

Melia Home From Iraq

Need I say more?

New Year's Day

On New Year's Day we had a big bash to welcome in 2010!

Joining us in our celebration were: The Rains family (Marla, Brian, Brandon, & Kevin), the California cousins ( Joanna & Justin), some of the Lane Lance crew (Jeff, Joe, & Courtenay), the new Utah transplants ( Jarom & Stephanie), Danielle visiting Lance from CA, and of course....Gary & Indy.
(Not all shown above)

We had Navajo tacos and fruit with fruit dip.
We also had lots of fun!

Sorry about the multiple pics....I couldn't find one with everyone smiling, but everyone is smiling in at least one of the pics!
Happy New Year!