my budding star...

andrew's second grade class put on a play for the parents during the last week of school.  it was a twist on the three billy goats gruff.  he was the frog who convinced the troll to share and taught him how to be a good friend.

since we had been busy with end of the year school stuff and baseball games like crazy, i didn't hear any of his lines until i saw the actual play.  when i would ask him to practice for me and he'd say, 'mom, i know them all - don't worry'.  so i didn't.  man, was i impressed.  he did an amazing job...said the lines with enough enthusiasm but not so much that it sounded forced, had the right amount of pitch in his voice.  and the role he played was so perfect for him, it was so sweet and sincere.  it was truly a joy to watch him up there.

andrew has always been interested in acting.  from the time he was young, when he would watch a movie he would really want to imitate the characters he had seen.  he would want to talk like them, dress like them, be like them.  and he has always loved to sing.

when he was 3, i took him to audition for annie.  i saw this interest in him and thought it would be fun for him.  it was my first glimpse of show biz for kids, some of the stage moms that were there, wow - talk about pressure (for their kids).  but we were in it just for fun and he did amazing - had to learn a song and dance and get up in front of the judges and say his name and age and perform in front of them - and he got a part!  he was the youngest one there (well, there was one other 3 year old).  but after a couple of rehearsals i grew concerned because he was never given a part, no lines, no specific thing to do.  they would just mix him in with the older kids learning these crazy hard dance routines.  so, i approached the director asking if there was going to be something specific he would be doing.  the answer, 'no, at that age they just kind of stand there and look cute'.  well, that wasn't going to work for andrew.  i saw the frustration and stress he was having that he didn't know the dance steps all the older kids were doing.  the other 3 year old could have cared less, he was just in his own little world dancing around, not caring at all about what was going on around him.  not andrew, he was never like that - and i didn't blame him, so we dropped out.

andrew was in the school christmas play this year.  he auditioned and got a part - i'll be posting on that this summer (hopefully).  his teacher this year was wonderful...right up his alley - always teaching the kids songs to correlate with math and english rules they were learning.  he had an amazing year in the 2nd grade and we are so proud of him.

it was wonderful to see him perform and see this special talent of his.  i am so thankful for the teacher he had this year, ms. swan, and for him to have these fun experiences.

i am so proud of my little actor...

playing catch...

last week was so beautiful here, really awesome weather, which is unusual for may in phoenix. christopher had tons of projects, tests, big 4th grade stuff during this week of amazing weather. mix in tons of baseball games and practices and our after school time was pretty jam packed. but one day after we took andrew to practice we just had to take a break and soak up some of the weather.

john is a die hard baseball player, always wanting to go outside and play catch.  with three siblings playing ball, he wants to be playing too.  i think he is the youngest of the boys to hold a glove and step and throw the right way.  also, he bats left and throws right - always has - since he was a year old.  i want to remember this stuff to tell him when he's older.

since andrew was at practice, christopher asked if john wanted to play catch - what a good big brother.

our street has tons of kids (i think we're up to about 25) - the running joke used to be if you drank the water you'd get pregnant.  we all moved in within a couple years of each other (@8-10 years ago now) each with one or two kids, and then one by one we each had one or two more.  we continue to have young amazing couples move in and continue to have new babies on the street.

if the kids go out front to play there is about a 99.9% chance that within a few minutes some of the other kids on the street will come out too.  which is exactly what happened when the boys were outside playing catch.  will, who is the same age as ella,  came out and joined them.  christopher is really great with the younger kids on the street, as is andrew.

it was a great break for christopher from all his studying...

and how lucky are we to be have this amazing weather here right now.

last day of

kindergarten was today.  for my #3 and only girl, man this year has gone by fast.  they had a lovely prayer service for this special day.

the kids went up on the alter for the last part of the service to sing some songs.  sr. christine is their music teacher.  she goes into the classroom with her guitar for music class, the kids all love her and so do we.  

they love singing the songs, especially the ones with motions...

they have amazing kindergarten teachers, aids, and principal...

it was a great year for ella.  she got the leadership award for student of the month in the fall.  she loves school and has made some great friends...

and these two are still the best of friends...(and so are their moms)

this is chris, ella's 6th grade buddy.  she is a real sweetheart...

it was a fun morning...

and how lucky am i to be going home with these three good-looking guys?

and this one too - here he is getting his stuff to get out of school early for this special day!

we are so proud of you ella and so thankful that you had such wonderful teachers...

watch out first grade, here comes ella!

family fun...

i am loving the fact right now that our family can go on bike rides together.  it is such a great activity that we can all do together.  all six of us enjoying the fresh air, getting some nice exercise and just being together having fun.

we are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful area with some great restaurants that we can bike to.  all we have to do is ride down central (the most wonderful street in phoenix!) to grab a bite to eat.  we rode down to Sam's Gyros on saturday evening for a scrumptious dinner.  it's a little dive (no frills and i mean none) with the best gyros and fries.

we had a great dinner and a wonderful bike ride home in this beautiful weather.  we are hoping sam's gyros will be able to survive this economy and want to help spread the word about their great food.  stop by and get yourself a gyro, you won't be disappointed.

***there are also 'frilly' restaurants on central and man are there a lot of them now...i'll have to post on them sometime when just chris and i go.
***bomberos is one of them - really cool wine bar with amazing scenery inside and out and great food (and of course wine).  john and i bike up there just about every tuesday for a wonderful storytime they have @ 9:30 - its been outside all year but they will move it inside once it gets too hot.  check it out, the woman who does it is awesome and you can get some scrumptious illy coffee to sip and meet a friend to catch up with.

spring band concert

christopher has been in beginning band this year.  he plays the guitar.  they had their spring concert last night.   here he is walking into the concert...

they have two concerts a year and man have they improved since the winter concert.  he did great.  i'm so proud of him and the wonderful example he is setting for his younger siblings.

he really enjoys it.  goes to band two days a week at lunch recess.  has never complained once about missing his recess.  and he's going to stick with it.  without us having to talk him into it.  on his own he has decided he will be doing band again next year.

so, next year he'll move up to intermediate band for two years then up to advanced band for junior high.  he is already looking forward to this as the advanced band kids are awesome.  they were so good that the band instructor asked them to play their last song again after they had just completed it.  the other band kids loved it and were all swaying to the music in the back where they were sitting...

some of christopher's classmates in band...

my dear friend lori's daughter, julianna, is also in band...

lori is my new walking partner, and i just can't get enough of her sweet baby ava...

her other daughter elise and ella are best friends...

the kids had a great time at the reception after the concert...

christopher and ben (above) are great friends, and kind of decided together to give this band thing a try this year (with major, major enthusiasm from both mothers).  i hope to take a picture of them together like this in 4 years after their last band concert. ben's older brothers both were in band for all five years, so he has some great role models - they are both amazing.

more reception pics...

and i can't forget the music teacher who christopher really enjoys...

the boys giving him the flowers are ben's brothers and the woman also helps with the band.  we are so fortunate to have them at our school as well as this program.  i cannot tell you how nice it is that he can have time for a musical instrument during his school day - so helpful to me that i don't have to drive him to a lessons each week.

it was a great evening, and i am so proud of my first born...

happy birthday, uncle matt

we celebrated with a delicious meal at my in-laws.

in addition to the fudgy oatmeal bars (pictured above), the kids were super excited to try the birthday cake ice cream that grandma had picked up at the store...

happy birthday, uncle matt - it was a wonderful celebration.