May Happenings

Pool season is finally here, and Paige had to be the first one to jump in the pool. The water was COLD that day, but she didn't care. 

Pool days are the best days, especially when the pool is functioning properly. Lol! 

 Every spring we usually have a family of ducks or geese over on the golf course. This year it was ducks, and they were so cute. This mama duck has a huge responsibility taking care of these babies and keeping them safe. It amazes me how well animals take care of their babies. 

Paige finally got to go on her first field trip with her kindergarten class. They went to Audubon Park. She said it was kind of fun and kind of boring... lol! Due to COVID, Paige (and a lot of classmates) had never been on a field trip or even rode on a school bus. I'm so glad they can get back to some of these normal activities.

Instead of a party this year, Paige chose a fun day with her friend Tinley. Tinley and Paige met in Pre-K. They exchanged phone numbers toward the end of the year and stayed connected by facetime phone calls all last summer. They started tennis lessons and gymnastics together at the beginning on kindergarten. Even though they don't go to school together, they still manage to stay friends. They have the cutest friendship.

First up on our fun day, they had a nail appointment to get their nails and toe nails painted. This was a first for Paige, and she really enjoyed it. 

 

Looking good and onto our next stop....

Next up, Paige wanted to go to Claire's. They both did a little shopping, and then we headed to lunch. 

Paige loves MOD pizza so that's where we went for lunch. Tinley had never been and loved it. 

Our last stop was the zoo. I was so excited to go and see the new penguin exhibit. It was unfortunately closed due to bird flu. UGH! It's always something these days. 

Tinley is such a character. I get the biggest kick out of her. Unbeknownst to her mom, she stashed red lipstick in her purse. I looked over and she was reapplying it as we were looking at the rhino. 

Paige had to get in on the action as well. Red lipstick at the zoo is a necessity. 

The more they applied the lipstick... the more they started resembling clowns. 

The went on the carousel multiple times. They enjoyed riding in this seat together. I think they applied lipstick the entire time. 

We celebrated Easton's 9th birthday at Skyzone. Paige had never been there so she was really excited to go. That place is a little too chaotic for me, but Paige had a lot of fun. The best part was eating a piece of his awesome birthday cake! 

I worked my very last lunch duty a couple weeks before school ended. I loved seeing Paige during lunch, and she loved having me there. I have a love/hate relationship with lunch duty, but it's good to get a glimpse into her school day. 

End of the school year

The school year has come and gone, and I can't believe it's over. At the beginning of the school year I'm always nervous for the new year and what it will bring, and then by the end I'm sad it's over. Last summer we went back and forth about where to send Paige to school. She was registered at two schools, one of which is right across the street from our house. I have no regrets in sending her to ECS. Although I get frustrated sometimes, I think ECS was the best option for her. She definitely found her place! 

We  had our fair share of ups and downs this past school year. Overall, I think kindergarten and seventh grade were a success. 

Paige tutored with another kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Taylor, every Monday after school. Paige really enjoyed her time with her and learned a lot in the process. 

 

Ella drew a t-shirt design for an art contest and ended up winning. Her drawing is going to be put on the t-shirts for the fine arts camp this summer. They digitized her drawing, and I think it turned out perfect! What a great way to wrap up the school year!

The kindergarten classes had a kindergarten celebration a few days before school ended. Paige woke up crying that morning since she had so much anxiety about it. They practiced at school that day, and she decided it wasn't so bad. 

Paige is always ready to strike a pose for me. She picked out her dress for the evening and looked so pretty. 

Paige learned a lot about friendships this year. What to do and what NOT to do. I'm just hoping she carries over some of these lessons for first grade. ;) 

She got to know so many kids this year. She is very social and loved the social aspect of school. 

I am beyond proud of how well she did in kindergarten. From the very first day she walked right in and acted like she had been there forever. It was so much easier for me to send her off each day knowing that she was happy to be there. 

Each year the school year flies by faster than the year before. I'm not even sure where this year went. It FLEW by. 

Ella missed the last couple of days of school since she was under the weather. I think she just wanted to start her summer early. ;) She had a great seventh grade year though. I have no idea how she will be in eighth grade next school year. I don't feel old enough for that! 

From nervous and scared to confident and ready to tackle her last day!

Bring on summer "break"!! 

April Happenings

April leads to nice weather and my birthday. This April was an exciting month, because I turned 40. I'm not sure how that even happened but here we are.

Warm weather leads to more golf cart rides. It was so dirty so Paige wanted to wash it. I'm not sure it was a good idea to let this kid loose with a power washer, but it sure was entertaining. 

 

We were finally able to go back to Disney on Ice. It had been three years since we had been due to Covid. Needless to say, we were very excited...even the adults!

Paige wore her cutest Minnie Mouse dress.

We had the best seats which made the show that much better. Paige is still at a great age for this kind of stuff. These years fly by so fast so I am definitely living it up while I can. 

Mammy was happy to join us for the fun. 

It was such a great show. It was probably the best Disney on Ice we have been to. 

Sitting so close to the stage allows us to get a great view of the characters. 

The weekend before Easter we joined Paige's friend, Tinley, and her sister for the West Side Nut Club easter egg hunt. Paige and Tinley have so much fun together. Add in Tinley's sister, Eliza, and it's a party! 

 I have never seen so many easter eggs at an egg hunt. These eggs were gone in seconds. I have never seen anything like it. It was a fun event, and I'm glad we went. 

Alison and I went out to celebrate our 40th birthdays. We went to Pangea to eat and have a couple of drinks. We had the best time. We don't get out often together so it was fun to get together and catch up. It definitely won't be our last time. We decided we need to do that more often. 

Once I got home from dinner, it was back to reality. Paige hit rock bottom that night and did not feel good. She ended up having a double ear infection and was feeling pretty rough. 

I had grand plans for my birthday. I just wanted to spend the day doing what I wanted to do. I was not even surprised when Paige was home almost the entire week, because she was not feeling good. #momlife

Isn't this a beautiful cake?! I ordered it for myself... lol! 

Paige made me this nice birthday card since she was home with me on my birthday. I can't believe how far she has come this school year. She was able to spell most of those words herself, which is unreal.

Rylee came over to play one afternoon. They had a lot of fun playing outside and taking a golf cart ride. They always have fun no matter what they are doing. Paige is such a good big cousin to Rylee. Paige is a little mother hen. 

Easter was also this month. It was such a cold Easter. You would have thought it was Christmas, because Paige was up at the crack of dawn. 

It used to be Ella that was up early and now she sleeps so long we have to wake her up. She may be getting older, but she's not too old for an Easter basket. You really have to think outside of the box with her when buying her goodies. 

Paige had her shoes and coat on and was out the door before 7am. She could not wait to hunt eggs. 

This year the Easter bunny put candy, squishies, erasers, and money in her eggs. Speaking of the easter bunny, Paige figured out that we are the easter bunny. She thinks and analyzes everything and finally put two and two together. She still had fun even though she knows the easter bunny is not real. 

After the festivities at our house, we headed to Mammy and Peep's house for an egg hunt, baskets, and lunch. 

There were lots and lots of goodies in their baskets!

I walked Paige to her classroom almost everyday with the exception of days she would see a friend in the morning. On this day her friend, Alex, spotter her and waited to walk with her. Paige is such a social butterfly and greatly enjoyed getting to know kids at school. 

After weeks and weeks of not touching her front tooth, it finally came out. I'm not sure what it was about that tooth, but she did not want it to come out. I finally had to make a dentist appointment to have it pulled as incentive for her to get it out. It obviously worked!

Paige got in trouble one day, and I later found she left me a little note on the fridge. She makes me laugh often. "I don't like you mom." Ha!