Birthday Party!

Avery turned 9 on June 27th. Wil's 6th birthday is July 2, so we had a joint party at Pump It Up. The kids (and a few adults!) had a great time jumping and sliding. Since it was Avery's actual birthday, she got to choose where we ate all day long. After the party, we headed to Wendy's for lunch and then to Target and Wal-Mart for the kids to spend the small fortune that was gifted to them. It is so funny to me that Avery had planned to spend any birthday money to help pay for a camp that she wanted to attend, UNTIL she saw the money! All of the sudden, she didn't want to go that badly! After the shopping trip, we came home for a few hours to open toys and eat a piece of leftover cake and then headed to Mazzio's for dinner. A wonderful day. Wil gets to pick where we eat tomorrow since it is his day. Needless to say, I have gained back the three pounds that I had managed to lose!!!

My Summer So Far - By Avery

So far this summer I got my hair cut the shortest it has ever been. It is right above my shoulder blade. I 've started guitar lessons at Back Beat. I got an acoustic Hannah Montana guitar. Sunday night my friend Mary Beth called. She said she wanted to have a sleep over. I was so exited. We went on her trampoline , played Nintendo and all sorts of stuff. Her older sister and her friends ran in the kitchen doing a race to get on the computer. In the morning We made play-doe. Once on the Trampoline, Mary Beth was on her club house that was a stack of bricks and I was on the trampoline, I tried to throw my shoes on the clubhouse. The first try it landed on the grass and her Golden Retriever hid it in the bushes and Mary Beth Had to crawl through and get it. In her basement ,on her radio we were singing and dancing to Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus CDs. We took very funny pictures on her camera. I am looking forward to the rest of summer.

Wil Goes For A Swim

Wil took swimming lessons for the first time this summer. We decided he would do best with private lessons. He took lessons at the YMCA with Ms. Katie. I wish I could say that the lessons were a huge success and we will be headed to the Olympics one day, but I am afraid that is not the case! He did really well the first couple of days and then we had a weekend break. When we returned on Monday, fear had set in. The last three lessons were mostly spent trying to talk him into doing things! Even though it wasn't the huge success I was hoping for, it did get us up and out early (his lessons were at 8:45 a.m.!) and gave him a little experience!

Last week of school

The last week of school was quite busy for the youngest Barnetts. Wil enjoyed several days of playing at Pre-K. One day was outdoor fun and it actually looked like they had brought Pump It Up to the Pre-K Center! Avery's last week was a flurry of activity. On Tuesday, they had an awards ceremony for P.E. Olympics, Mrs. Waddell's class won the Tug Of War award and they were the 3rd grade over all winners. Wednesday and Thursday, Mrs. Waddell let everyone bring board games. Avery was excited to take Mystery Date to enjoy with her friends. Thursday was also the Academic Awards. Avery got an award for the "A Team" for the Spring Semester (All A's) and a certificate for being on the A and B honor roll all year long. Friday was Fun Day at VPA. All students took a snack lunch and got to play outside, learn a dance or two, see a talent show put on by the teachers and listen to the Blue's Lady in concert. Avery was quite sad for 3rd grade to end. She had a wonderful year. We were very blessed for both our children to have the greatest teachers this year! Included in this post are a couple of pictures from the awards ceremony of Avery and her friends, Mary Beth and Mackenzie.

Thankful Thursday on Wednesday

These days I never know what I will be doing. I have time to record my thankfulness today, so here goes:
1. I am thankful for the new bunk beds for the kids. They love them!
2. I am thankful that the new bunk beds are forcing me to clean and rearrange the upstairs. It needed to be done.
3. I am thankful the plumber was able to come today and fix the sink. Note to all reading this: Drano can eat through pipes!
4. I am thankful we are eating out tonight, because there are no clean dishes. (See #3)
5. I am thankful for Clorox wipes. They really are my cleaning tool of choice!
6. I am thankful Avery is old enough to help around the house and she normally does it with little complaining.
7. I am thankful for the wonderful school year both children have had. We have been truly blessed.
8. I am thankful for the school year I have had (for the most part!) and for getting to co-teach with my sweet friend, Ronda, for two years. I am so happy she is getting to be our counselor next year!
9. I am thankful for the chance to go to church tonight.
10. This is a given, I am SO THANKFUL that we have only 2 days of school left!

Pre-K Graduation

Wil graduated from Pre-K yesterday! What an event! It took place in the cafeteria at the Kindergarten Center with 100 graduates. They marched in, through the crowd, to "Pomp and Circumstance" and Wil waved the whole way. Once on the stage, he did very well. He appeared to be a little sleepy. He would sing for a while, then yawn for a while. After a few songs, we went back to the classroom where Mrs. Christi handed out certificates and we enjoyed cookies. It has been a wonderful year. We are so happy with our decision to keep him in Pre-K another year, it has made a huge difference and I know he is excited for next year.

Mother's Day at Six Flags

For Mother's Day, Blake and the kids took me to St. Louis to visit Six Flags and one of our favorite hotels. We had a great time! Some of MY favorites from the trip were stopping at Dairy Queen on the way down Friday night for dinner and ice cream, riding Avery's favorite ride (the Colossus, a giant ferris wheel) , eating funnel cake, and Wil seeing his favorite character, Hawk Girl. Wil thought she would remember him from our last trip and he went up and said, "It's me, Wil Barnett, do you remember me?"!!! It was precious! We had a great weekend with great weather. It couldn't have been more perfect (unless you could remove the horrible allergy attack I had on Saturday!).