First Day of School 2010

School started in late July…CRAZY!! It was nice to get back to a routine, have some peace and quiet in the house…but none of us was ready to start getting up super early again. But love it or hate it, the first day of school always comes around and at least everyone looked Fabulous!

Liz (Senior!), Megan (Sophomore) & Mikayla (Freshman)...they are all attending "Early Morning Seminary" together now too.

Donovan is the last one in Elementary School! I feel old! I actually took this one at the end of the day because I forgot in all the confusion at the beginning of the day.

Donovan playing with Sophie after school...

Ashley started 6th Grade this year...her first year in Middle School! PJ is a "BIG" 7th grader this year. He's almost 6 feet tall already. I took this one at the end of the day as well...mornings are crazy.

This wasn't the first day of school...but soon after. Both PJ and Donovan picked the same shirt this year, so I had to get a picture of my "twins," and a brief moment when they were being nice to one another :-).

 

International Day at School

This year’s International Day was rained out…so it had to be held indoors…not quite the same, but still cool.  I think it is a great tradition.

The presenting of the flags.

Ms. Jeje, Donovan's teacher, and her 4th grade class (they were Nigeria).

Donovan in his Nigerian outfit.

This is Ashley with her posse.

Ashley and her friends.

Ashley and Lathan...her best bud...

Ms. Simpson, one of Donovan's teachers and Ashley's favorite teacher from last year. She always goes all out on International Day. She had England.

I don't know who this kid is...but I thought it was a cute picture.

Ms. Simpson and her "English" kids.

 

 

Donovan and his good buddy Micah...from Nigeria...

Donovan with Micah and Cameron.

Go USA....

International Day – Elementary School – May 2010  – I thought this was kind of cool.  All of a sudden all of the kids in the hallway (because it was raining outside) started chanting, “USA, USA….”  They were celebrating the significance of other countries, but showing their loyalty to the good ol’ USA!!

Field Day – Ashley & Donovan

I volunteered this year for both Ashley and Donovan’s Field Days (held on different days).  One day was morbidly HOT…we couldn’t get enough water…and the other day was perfectly beautiful…they were only a day apart…hmmmm….

Ashley

Ashley between events.

Ashley with her teacher, Ms. Hurst.

Ashley and classmates getting ready to do relays. She is at the back of that first line.

That is Donovan doing a Jumping-high-five with his buddy Micah.

Donovan and Micah doing the balloon toss.

 

Can you see the weird rainbow in the sky? It wasn't a rainy day at all...and this wasn't your typical rainbow...it was straight (or slightly curved upward). I'm sure there is a name for this phenomenon...but I don't know what it is.

Donovan is at the end of that line in the blue...they are awaiting the start of the 4-man relay race.

Donovan – Field Day – May 2010  – This is Donovan running an obstacle course with 2 classmates.

Donovan – Field Day 2 – May 2010 - This is Donovan running the obstacle course backward…pretty comical.

Ashley Field Day – Tug of War (5/2010) – Check out how Ashley lets go at the end….right before they lose .

Ashley – 5th Grade Advancement Assembly

I can’t believe Ashley is headed to Middle School next year!  Yikes!  They had an “Advancement Assembly” for the 5th graders at the end of the school year to get them ready to move on. 

 

The 5th Grade Chorus

Ashley afterward with one of her classmates.

Ashley with a few more of her buddies....she's VERY social.

And...even more...

Ashley in School Talent Show

Ashley has no fear of the limelight!  When she found out that there was a talent show coming up at school, she signed up and THEN figured out what she would do for it….Liz taught her a dance that she had learned a few years ago. 

The talent show was REALLY long…but there were tons of cute kids doing cute things….probably 50% of them were kids performing as Michael Jackson.  I got a few photos of the other kids too…

The family waiting for the Talent Show to start...we had front row seats.

Shayne and Frank waiting...

This was the cutest little boy doing Michael Jackson.

Ashley's friend...

Donovan's friend...singing Michael Jackson...

Both Liz and I were video-taping Ashley's performance...and we didn't get one photo of her performing...so, you can see her in this group photo (see the wild pants in the middle)....

Ashley the Cheerleader

We signed Ashley up for an “Upward” Cheerleading program. It is in conjunction with a local Baptist church. The plan was that Donovan would play flag football and Ashley would cheer. Donovan didn’t want anything to do with my plan. He’s way too self-conscious to do…which is a bummer. So the whole family went and supported Ashley in her very first cheerleading event this past weekend. It was a lot of fun and I think she really enjoyed it.

The day before this, the Elementary School had a Pep Rally (for the darn CRCT tests…don’t get me started)…and Ashley got to wear her cheerleading outfit and be the front person for her grade. I missed it because I found out about it too late and couldn’t get there on time because I was grocery shopping. But…I heard from many people that she did an awesome job. She did 2 cartwheels and went flat down in the splits. She loves gymnastics.

Above: Can you tell which one is Ashley ?

Above: Mom, quit taking pictures!!

Above: VIDEO ALERT!!

This is their half-time cheer. I didn’t know they would be facing the other side…and I didn’t think I had time to get over there…so it’s just the back of them .

Ashley’s 10th Birthday

Ashley’s celebrated her 10th birthday with a sleepover party and invited some friends from school and church. It was nice outside and they spent some time out there on the trampoline. It was all pretty quiet…until Frank and the boys decided to sneak around the house and scare them. But then they got a good game of “Kick the Can” going and all was forgiven.

Above: Megan made her a classic birthday cake! I guess PJ actually made the cake…Megan decorated it…and Ashley actually got to decorate the sides.

Above: The lucky ladies that got to help her celebrate: Christina, Emma, Ka and Kemji.

Above: It was a wild night!!

Above: Woohoooo!!! Pixos!!!

Above: Emma

Ashley’s Field Trip – Springs Preserve

I got to go with Ashley on her 3rd Grade field trip to the Springs Preserve here in Las Vegas. It was a lot of fun. We learned a lot about water conservation, recycling, local plants and animals, etc. There were beautiful new facilities plus tons of cool landscaping and lots of trails. I had never even heard of it.

The website for it is: http://www.springspreserve.org/html/home.html

Above: This was the group that I was in charge of. We did everything together. Chelsea, Ashley, Julissa & Kaelynn.
Above: Ashley and her friend Julissa on the bus. Above: Sitting on the lizards. Each lizard had a digital thermometer reading that told how hot it was. The black one was WAY hotter than the lighter colored one. It helped them visualize how dark colors absorb the suns rays and lighter colored objects reflect them. And it showed adults why you don’t want to buy a dark car in Las Vegas .
Above: One of the displays was a reenactment of a flash flood.

Ashley’s 9th Birthday – March 08

Ashley turned Nine this month! We had a party at home and then we headed to the Adventure Dome at Circus Circus. It was pretty fun…but after a few hours everyone was tired and ready to head home….all the good rides were shut down for the day…but it was still fun!

Above: Ashley.
Above: Ashley and her new Heeleys.
Above: Frank and Ashley.
Above: Ashley and her new Hannah Montana shirt.

Above: Ashley making the proverbial wish on the ever-so-real Costco cake.

Above: Mikayla, Liz & Ashley.

Above: Frank, PJ & Donovan getting ready to ride “The Inverter.”

Above: Ashley riding the ferris wheel.Above: Liz and Megan getting ready to ride “The Disko.”
Above: Megan, Liz & Mikayla getting ready to ride “The Disko.”Above: Megan, PJ, Donovan, Liz & Mikayla getting ready to ride “The Disko.”Above: Donovan and PJ riding “The Bus.”