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!

Ram Run

Alex and Zachy's school had a run-a-thon and carnival today to raise money for a new sports field. The boys collected a few sponsors (thank you Grammy and Gma!) and set out to see how many laps they could run.

A couple of laps in and starting out strong.

Ironically, the run-a-thon was held on/around the field that is in such bad condition it needs to be replaced.

After about an hour and a half of running, the final tallies.  Zachy: 41  Alex: 61

After a brief break for lunch, it was on to carnival games. Mady was mesmerized by the dunk tank. She hit the bar, which the middle school girls deemed close enough and pushed the bar to dunk the teacher!

 Zachy and Alex joined the pie eating contest. They didn't win, but they did get messy!

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Mady and her school friends showed off their ponchos and Spanish counting skills before enjoying a yummy lunch of tacos and burritos.

After lunch it was time for an ice cream cone piñata. Mady has power, those baseball lessons are paying off!

Lego Builder

This month we were able to sign Mady up for the monthly Lego build. She did a great job of following the builder and completing her race car.

 She was very proud of herself and so excited to finally be a part of the experience.

Spirit Month

May is Spirit Month at SonRise Preschool. Everyday has a special theme, some are easy and some require a bit of creativity. Of course, sometimes the theme is deemed too crazy/weird, even for a free thinking pre-schooler. For the most part, Mady had a lot of fun dressing up for the themes. Here is a sampler of crazy theme days!

The theme for May Day was simply May Day. I remember sneaking up to friends' doors and leaving flowers on the porch, so Mady became a May Day bouquet. (Flowered skirt too!)

 Backwards clothes day.

 Silly socks!

Disney day...also known to the little girls as Princess day. She is holding her skirt up while she walks because "this is what princesses do."

 Inside out day.

Mix up your shoes.

 Super Hero day looked a lot like costume day.