the last graduate

from kindergarten, that is!

reed ended his year on tuesday in his cap and gown.  we had a little trouble keeping that hat on his henson head, and he didn't do so great keeping that hood in place, either.  but even though he couldn't keep his clothing in the correct spot, he managed to graduate and kick off summer!

reed and marley (his favorite girl)

with our headmaster, mr. b.

reed and mrs. todd

 reed and walker

all the boys!

they were highly interested in the speaker!

receiving his diploma

poppa and reed

celebrating the end of a fabulous year!!

hello, summer!!

learning fairs

we finished up the school projects with the last two learning fairs.  i was completely over it at this point, but thankfully william was all about doing his own project.  his little brother may have had a little help from an older brother.  yay for older brothers that have been in kindergarten before!!  :)

william had to learn all about wyoming.  he decided that duct tape would be better than paint this year.  i had to agree!!

reed learned about mississippi.  ask him anything, and he can tell you all about our state.  he's the next walt grayson!

summer, here we come!

he rocked it!

william finished up this piano year with a recital last weekend.  he has had a great year, and he really does enjoy his music.  he played a blues medley that consisted of three different pieces.  he couldn't decide which one he liked best, so he meshed them together.  and he nailed it!

with his teacher, mrs. rish

i make these two take a picture together every year.  allie hates it.  she has reached the point in life where boys are weird, and she wants to be nowhere near them.  william is oblivious.  so....they get farther apart in the pictures every year.

the little siblings don't mind each other, however!

and there were some grandparent fans in attendance...

way to go, william!  we love to hear you play!

eight

wes turned 8 today, and he's celebrated every single moment of it.  he started out with breakfast, carried it over to school, followed it up with water balloon catapulting in the afternoon, and ended it with cupcakes after a win.

i'd call that a pretty good day for an 8 year old!  daddy is working the funky shift this week, so we have to wait until this weekend for him to pick out a restaurant to celebrate.  i guess we'll just continue the celebration all week long!

our 2nd catechism champion

wes mastered all 150 questions in the catechism to earn his status as a catechism champion.  he was honored at church this past sunday with 3 others who reached this goal this semester.  it takes quite the effort, and he was very excited to put the final exclamation point on all of his hard work.  mama and daddy are pretty proud of him, too!

andrew and wes

andrew, hannah, and wes (there were four of them, but i couldn't find anna lauren after church)

2 down, 1 to go at our house.  and, these big brothers are already on reed to get his done.  he's well on his way, and he has some pretty good help to get there!!

going on a treasure hunt

reed had his end of the year play last week.  as we all know from previous theatrical experiences, reed is not all that interested in performing.  or singing.  or dancing.  or dressing up.  but he did get up there and do his part...for the most part!  it was an island themed play, and all the kids did a great job.

reed did a little surfing...

did a little yawning...

acted a little bored...

played the drums...

looked cute...

danced like a native...

and nailed his one line...

way to go, early elementary!  now that this play is over, the end of the year is officially upon us.