Indiana Jones Doesn't Have a Home

Parker was drawing pictures in church today and Grandma leaned over and told him to draw of picture of Indiana Jones' house. Parker replied "Indiana Jones doesn't have a home, he just goes from one adventure to another.".... of course, why didn't we think of that?

Fancy Madi

Madi's cousin, Lillian, turned 4 today and had a Fancy Nancy birthday party. Fancy Nancy is one of Madi's favorite books and so she was all about dressing up fancy. She even kept referring to her books to get the look just right. I asked her if she wanted to put on lipstick and she said "Just a minute let me check." She went right to her book to look and came back and said "No, Fancy Nancy doesn't wear lipstick!" What a girl! The birthday party was a lot of fun, thanks Aunt Candace and Lillian. The girls all decorated Fancy Nance Purses, danced, broke a pinata, opened presents and had cupcakes. By the end, my Fancy Nancy was all tuckered out.

Just a random picture of Madi in the tub. Gotta love the pink goggles!

Last Day of Kindergarten

Well we made it!! Our first year of kindergarten is over. I can't believe I'm going to have a first grader. Being new to the whole schooling thing with children, I would have to say the first year went really well. Parker had a lot of fun, made some good friends, and had a great teacher. He can now read fluently and excelled on all his testing. Way to go Parker! On the last day all the kindergarten classes just played games out on the grass and they signed yearbooks (how funny is that?). I was there helping with the games so below are a couple of the pictures I took.

Kindergarten Program

Today was Parker's Kindergarten Program. All three Kindergarten classes at the school put on a performance for their parents. They sang songs, had a slide show presentation and each child had a part. Parker's part was "My favorite part about kindergarten was learning a letter a day." He did a great job and it was fun seeing him once again with all his friends from class.

Parker with his class buddies: Parker, Alex, Joshua, and Damien

Parker with his teacher Ms. Flanary

Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend consisted of a few BBQ's and spending time with Lynn's family. We also took a ride out to Newton to put flowers on Nathan's (my younger brother) headstone. Last year we did this and the kids really asked some interesting questions about death and where we go after we die. It was a great learning experience. This year didn't provoke as many questions, but it was still nice to go. I love seeing all the pretty flowers on the headstones this time of year and I'm so grateful for all of the men and women that have fought and died for our country.

Joys of Spring

I love it when we finally get some nice days in Spring. We've been spending a lot of time at different parks, BBQ's with friends, swimming and running through sprinklers in the yard, Parker has been busy with soccer, going on lots of walks/bike rides and we even went to see Peter Pan at The Old Barn Theatre. The kids thoroughly enjoyed seeing Peter Pan. I don't think either one of them moved through the whole performance. Very cute. Below are some pictures of the kids running through sprinkler's at the Schmelter's house. They had a BBQ for Jude's birthday and everyone had lots of fun.

Kindergarten Sprint

Today was the Woodruff Wildcat Run. Every kid at Parker's Elementary has been training for the mile run for about a month. This year was the first year that the Kindergartner's got to participate. Luckily they didn't have to run the whole mile, their run was more like running around the block. It is quite the event, the radio station was there, police to block off streets, tons of kids and tons of parents. As pathetic as this may sound, for some reason it even made me get a little teary eyed. Maybe just the thought of how old Parker is getting already, maybe it's the pregnancy...who knows. It was a lot of fun to watch and I was so proud of Parker. Apparently he even fell once during the race, but got right back up and continued running. I was so proud!

Willow Park Field Trips

Madi and Parker both had field trips with their classes to the Willow Park Zoo and it happened to work out that I was able to go to both of them as a helper. So lucky me, I got some pictures. Madi's favorite animals were the monkeys and Parker's were the Bald Eagle and the Monkeys.

Madi and Annie. Madi's favorite thing to do at the park is swing, in fact that is the only thing she does at the park. I really need to get her to learn how to pump.

The Willow Park instructor. She talked to the groups for a while about some of the animals, birds and snakes.

Parker and one of his kindergarten buddies, Joshua Higgenbothem.

Parker's kindergarten class. His teacher is Ms. Flanery, the one on the right side of the back row in the dark blue shirt.

Luckiest Mom in the World,

That's me! I really am the luckiest mom in the world. I've got 2 wonderful kids and 1 on the way and a great husband as well. I am truly blessed. I'm also grateful for my mom and what a great example she has been to me throughout my life and for Lynn's mom who raised such a great son. The Thursday and Friday before Mother's Day, my parents had come down to visit. They came to Parker's soccer game on Thursday night and then we just did some shopping errands and things on Friday. That afternoon, Kevin, Lynn and my Dad went golfing and Candace came over to teach me how to make a frame necklace. Then they all stayed for dinner. It was great to have the visit and the kids were sad to see them go. Lynn gave me a new lens for my camera and we had the chance to go golfing with Val and Lannis the night before Mother's Day. On Mother's Day, Lynn and the kids made me breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast. It was delicious. In fact, Parker loved his dad's eggs so much that he won't eat mine anymore, they have to be made by dad. I guess I need to get Lynn in the kitchen more often. The kids each made me a gift in school. Parker painted a flower pot/can that was filled with sand and cookie flowers. Madi made me a cute caterpillar picture frame with her school picture in it. I love my family very much and am so glad to have these great kids in my life. They are truly a blessing.

Then to top everything off, Parker had a talk in Primary. Lynn helped him prepare it so I had no idea what it was about. He read the whole talk all by himself and by the end I was crying because I was such a proud mom. Below is what he said:

Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. He was baptized in the river Jordan. A lot of people came. After he was baptized a dove came down out of the air. The dove represented the Holy Ghost. A voice from heaven was also heard. It said, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him".

John though Jesus did not need to be baptized because he never sinned, but Jesus said he needed to follow all of God's commandments.

We are baptized so we can be a member of the church and so that we can be with Jesus again and also so we can become clean from our sins. We are baptized when we are 8 years old.

I am excited to be baptized when I am eight years old. I want my dad to baptize me. I want Mom, Madi, and my new brother or sister to be there. I also want my grandma's and grandpa's to be there and my friends.

I also want to say to mom on this mother's day that I love my mom! Thanks for being such a good mom. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.