vbs 2011 is in the books!

can i get an amen?!?!  mama was in charge of recreation this week at bible school.  outside.  it was only 135 degrees outside every single day, so i can say with certainty that i'm glad this week is over!!

despite the heat, the little people had fun!

until next year...

dirt

our sweet homebuilder neighbor friend likes to be nice to all the boys in our cul-de-sac every year and gets this pile of dirt for them!  this little person is especially grateful!

summer

now all we're waiting on is a waterproof cast so we can ditch the fountain for the pool!

#1

today, he joined the ranks of big kid"dom"!!!!

the rules have changed

we have now reached the midway point of our t-ball/pee-wee/baseball/coach pitch season.  the name is kind of elusive because the rules change half way through the season.  it started out as t-ball, but as of this week...we are in the big leagues.  or coach pitch league.  same difference, right?!?

we got there early for the game this week so all of the little people could get some field time.

and then the two littlest people parked it (at least for a few minutes) to watch the big boys play.

they are so cute!

the bad thing about coach pitch is the bat.  william can crush a wiffle ball with a plastic bat in the backyard, but that metal bat takes some serious umph to get it around by the time the ball arrives.  we have quite a few players with this problem!  :)  but even so, he still managed to get a hit his very first at bat when getting pitched to.  and he even made it all the way home.

his very first at bat in a coach pitch game...


coach pitch from laura henson on Vimeo.

and now i'm going to go find a good protein shake and a weight training regimen for skinny 5 year olds...you know, something to help our bat speed!!

pomp and circumstance...kindergarten style

i now am the mother of a kindergarten graduate.  where did this year go?!?  two nights ago, we watched as william and around 29 other little people graduated from a really fun first year of school.  they were precious in their caps and gowns, and i'm going to need to stock up on some sort of antidepressant to keep the emotions in check when we do this again in 12 years....if not for myself, then definitely to hand out to the other parents (ginger, i'm talking to you).

ready to go graduate...

posing with his fans...

and his banner...

william and allie...

all lined up and ready to go...

singing his way up to the stage...

obviously, he thought the speaker's message was very captivating.

receiving his diploma and awards...

reed had great fun clapping for each graduate as their name was called.

getting a hug from the coolest kindergarten teacher in the world, miss dennis...

being a christian school, each child is given a character award.  william received the "kindness" award.  i have seen how he acts towards his "medium sized brother" at home sometimes, so it made my heart happy to see that he doesn't act that way towards others at school!!  each class also had a "fruit of the spirit" award which he received as well.  as cool as it is to see god work in your child, it's just so humbling when others acknowledge it.  wow.

but as proud as i was of him, i was just as proud of his friends!  these two are like my own, and i'm so glad william has allie and knox.  they made it through the first of day of school together...

they made it through the learning fair together...

and they graduated together...

i can't wait to see what the coming years hold for these three!

wes kept his composure for the ceremony because he knew there were snacks waiting afterwards...

what a fun night!  way to go, william!  we are so proud you!