Wedding Road (and Plane) Trip

Well, we're flying to Illinois again today but this time, the whole family is coming with. 

Last weekend I had the fun and privilege to travel to Illinois by plane and then Missouri by car with my sweet big boy. I absolutely cherished my special time one on one time with him. We played, read, talked, snuggled and just had a fun time together. I love the person my little boy is becoming. He is sweet, thoughtful and fun to be around. We went to the wedding of a close family friend who I baby-sat for when I was growing up. We've known Kallsy and her family for 20 years now and it was so much fun to be at her wedding.

Rowan was so excited to find the new Pete the Cat book in his suitcase.

Watching for our bag.

Pretty much what he did for the 18 hour roundtrip car ride.

Rowan and Grampy played ipad chess on the way to pick up Aunt Amanda and Jade

We stopped for lunch at Daddy's favorite spot.

The wedding venue was gorgeous and Rowan looked super handsome.

My sweet date.

We listened to Jade's Mickey Mouse cd on repeat for pretty much the entire drive. I've caught Rowan singing the songs since we've been home. :) 

So thankful for the blessing of TIME with my oldest.

Rowan's Last Day

Can't believe my big boy has finished up Kindergarten and is moving on to First Grade. He's also successfully passed and completed first grade math and will be doing the second curriculum next year. His teacher is having a movie (Frozen) and pizza party for them today. Rowan got to bring a blanket and stuffed animal to snuggle with while watching which was very exciting! Proud of you Rowy! 

Cruz's Last Day

We are headed to Chicago for our  annual trip on Friday. We are going a little bit earlier this year due to some conflicts with scheduling for other family members. It will be interesting not to have the trip to break up the summer like we usually do!!! I hope I don't go crazy. :) Anyway, we are leaving Friday morning so the boys are missing their last day of school. I threw Cruz's class their end of the year party today. 

First day of school on the left, last day of school on the right. 

So proud of you sweet Cruzy Bear! 

Park Day!

We enjoyed one last "park day" before a long summer of "pool days." I just stood back and watched them play. They are happy, free best little buddies at the park. I just love it.

End of School Open House

I can't believe another school year is almost over!  The hardest thing for me is that Rowan will be going to first grade. FIRST GRADE. I need time to slow down just a little bit. It was so much fun visiting the boys classrooms tonight. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am SO thankful for their school. 

So, poor Rowan only has navy uniform shorts left because he tore holes in the bum on all of his khaki pairs. I have no idea how. He has a ton of navy blue polo shirts since they don't show stains as much as the light blue ones so he's been rocking a solid navy look this week. 

We love Mrs. Davis. She is the sweetest, kindest woman you'll ever meet and she loves Jesus with all of her heart. Some of Rowan's favorite things about her are that she taught them how to do tally marks, how to read and how to be honest. I will miss chatting with her at drop off and pick up. She's become a friend and I am so thankful for her. Plus, she always comments on Cora's outfits. :)

Mrs. Brownell is so inspiring. She lost her husband in an accident last May, she has two young boys and has a faith that can move mountains. She loves her preschoolers and is always free with hugs and snuggles, which Cruz eats up. I've heard her teaching during Bible time and she is so engaging and enthusiastic. I love hearing Cruz retell the Bible stories and other stories that she's read them throughout the day. Cruz's favorite thing about Mrs. Brownell is that she lets them have the "treasure box" on Friday's and that she teaches them to pray. 

Love this sweet girl.

Mother's Day!

I had a fabulous Mother's Day with my sweet babies! We went to late church to watch a friend's children get dedicated. After that we went out for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings... we tried to come up with a place that wouldn't be too crowded! :) I do love wings though. We relaxed at home and then the boys and Roger willingly agreed to go take some pictures of Coco with me. I had a location and outfit in mind but I hate dragging them along with me. Since it was Mother's Day, they agreed with minimal complaining. ;)

Love this picture!!! Cruz is being silly, of course.

Can't resist sweet Coco and her daddy.

Hope all my mom family and friends had a great day! I am so thankful to be a mother and I am so thankful for the wonderful examples that my mom has set for me. I am thankful for the prayers and encouragement from her and also from Roger's mom. We are blessed to have them both in our lives.

Updates!

Chess:

Wow, does our sweet boy love to play chess. Its so exciting to watch him do something he enjoys. All the Kindergartener participants got a trophy, which thrilled Rowan. The NVCA Kinder team received 2nd place out of 34 Kindergarten teams. 

Grandpa and Deona:

We got to spend a lot of fun time with Grandpa and Deona last week. They came to a t-ball game and practice, they came to Rowan's chess tournament, they came to our house to play and we went out to eat but the highlight was celebrating Grandpa's birthday. Grandpa got a suite at the Diamondback's game and let the boys invite some friends to come and enjoy it with them. Thanks for a fabulous time Grandpa. 

Oh, Cruz.

Cruz Update:

Cruz had his post op appointment today and it went really well. His vision is now 20/20 in one eye and 20/25 in the other. I almost cried at how confidently he read the eye chart. His doctor (who I love and is amazing, by the way) said she couldn't detect any turning in on his eyes. As of right now, his surgery was successful! We are so thankful to God for healing our little guy. As he grows, his eyes could turn in again, so this may not be the last surgery in our little guy's future (although I pray it is). Cruz received a fun "get well box" from his Great Aunt Jill & Uncle Jim. He loved feeling special.

So fun!!!

Weekend Fun:

Cruz needed to wait for two weeks after his surgery before going in a pool. Unfortunately it was 100 degrees here this weekend and all the poor thing wanted to do was swim. Rowan had two pool birthday parties to go to on Saturday and Cruz was extremely disappointed that he couldn't go. We had a little bit left on a Chuck E Cheese gift card so I took the C's there to play while Rog took Row to the parties.

Super excited about her hand me down light up shoes.

Grammy & Grampy surprised the kids by sending new beach towels. 

Cora:

This dress was one that Roger and I picked out when we thought Rowan was a baby girl. We saved it for almost 6 years before a sweet daughter could finally wear it. Even though she was less than thrilled about the photo, she looked so sweet! 

Her pig tails are turning into actual pig tails, her babbling is turning into actual sentences. She is turning into a little girl. I'm really proud of the way she loved on Cruz when he was healing. I'm proud of the way she helps me around the house with picking up, laundry and dishes. I am so thankful that God blessed our family with her. 

Okay, well, there's my update. I'm headed to bed with a to-do list a mile long! Good night!