Bubble Run

To celebrate the start of summer vacation, we woke up extra early and headed down to San Jose to run through the bubbles.

 There were 4 or 5 bubble bogs of different colors, but the pink one was the most dominant.

After the race the kids had lots of fun with the bubble cannons.

Everyone's arms and legs looked like they failed with the self tanner.

Little Graduate

Madelyn is a pre-school graduate! Tonight we celebrated the end of our run as a pre-school family. Believe it or not, we've been with these caring, knowledgable teachers for 8 years.

 This was part of the song she was singing, but it is also such a Madelyn gesture.

 Crossing over the bridge to kindergarten.

 While she appears to be super tall, it is important to mention that she is standing one step up.

 After eating a cupcake she found these glasses in her graduation bag.

A little authoritarian, don't you think?

 First year of pre-school vs. last year of pre-school. What a difference!

Waiting in line for graduation pictures with one of her best friends. There was a sticker bush behind them which I warned them not to touch. Of course they had to touch it and then compare the spots where they were poked. Crazy kids.

Madelyn, we are so proud of you. You have grown up so much, especially this past year. We are excited to see what you do in kindergarten. We love you!

End of the Year

It is the last day of another school year. Zachy's class has been celebrating for weeks, but today was Alex's turn to celebrate. The fourth grade spent the afternoon playing water games and having fun.

First up, tossing a water balloon into the air and clapping 3 times before catching it.

 Partner water balloon toss.

 Water gun gauntlet. Mady was invited to participate and she was definitely ready to rumble!

After this, it was all out battle with water guns and water balloons. A very fun way to end the school year!

Seahorse

Mady passed the first level of swimming classes! She has worked so hard and is very proud of herself. We're proud of you too Mady!

County Fair Day

Zachy's 3rd grade class has been reading Charlotte's Web. At the end of the unit, they celebrate by have County Fair Day. There are carnival games and snacks and during lunch they watch the movie.

And since it is a special day, no uniforms!

The parents scattered candies all over the play structure and grounds. Then the kids made a mad scramble to collect as much as they could.

 Cotton candy, snow cones, popcorn, fun with friends.

Another part of the lesson is researching different types of farms. Zachy's group worked on fish farms. They wrote a report, drew a diorama, and gave a presentation.

Field Trip

Today Mady and I headed out to the Oakland Zoo for a field trip with her school. We toured around the zoo, played, and rode the train and had lunch together.

After lunch, Mady and I had some extra time before we had to pick up the boys, so we returned to the animals. The big cats are just like little cats, sticking their paws on everything.

Gma pictures

Gma's porch picture was missing a boy this time.

But everyone got together to show off their new knit hats from Gma.

Usually, Mady doesn't like to have her hair braided. The curls stick together and create tangles that make it hard to separate into the required pieces. But Gma managed to get it done, and it looked super cute, a grown up.

Mady's 5th

Happy 5th Birthday Madelyn!!

Our little girl isn't so little anymore. Madelyn is 5.

 For breakfast we had apple and blueberry turnovers covered in cream cheese frosting.

On the way to school, Mady asked me, "If I am already 5, why do I still go to pre-school and not kindergarten?" It took a bit on convincing that 5 year olds could still go to pre-school for a couple of extra months.

Mady's choice for dinner was Lunchables. So, I had a great chance to use the divided lunch containers, and we made our own delicious Lunchables.

 Who is a lucky girl with lots of people who love her? That's right, it is you Mady!

 More flowers.

Mady was happy to celebrate her birthday with us and Gma and Grandpa too.

Flower Party

Today we celebrated Mady's 5th birthday with her friends. Mady chose a flower theme.

Purple sprinkles and spring flowers on chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes. So yummy!

 Party favors, some flowers and some garden bugs.

 And pretty flower leis.

Light snacks and fresh strawberry lemonade. Mady told me "I don't think my friends like that." They definitely liked it, silly girl.

 Sidewalk chalk courtesy of Alex.

 We set up a jumpy house and bubble machine in the backyard and tried our best to tire the kids out!

 Thank you to the friends who came to celebrate with Mady!