school’s out…

at 10:15am this morning.

my kids can’t wait for summer vacation! this will probably be the longest summer vacation they ever have – because, boston school districts don’t get out for summer vacation for a couple more weeks… then, when we usually start school here in utah around the third week of august – they are not going to be returning to school till the first or second week of september! that gives them a full three months to play! woooo-hoooooo! in my opinion, that’s how it should be!

and, in honor of the 2010-2011 school year coming to an end –
here is a long peek at a few of the activities/events my kiddos had at school & with their extra-curricular activities these past few months…

strangely, i never blogged about any of this… {p-r-o-c-r-a-s-t-i-n-a-t-i-o-n-!} my “kids/school activities photos to blog” folder on my desktop has been growing & growing & growing…till finally today!

in early march, sela’s preschool class had their class program – the theme was patriotic & miss four was darling! i love hearing these little kids sing such big songs with such big words! it’s always impressive.

also in early march, kj wrote a paper about henry ford. he loved doing the research for this paper & spent hours & hours reading all about the ford automobiles! he seriously knows his stuff! i was sick the morning kj read his report to the class, but husband was home & this is the only very blurry picture i have…

our little mister particularly likes the mustangs.

i snapped quick pictures of my girls both on their way out the door to school-sponsored sleepovers! in april, myla went to fifth grade camp at ‘clear creek,’ which is a tradition here in utah county. she loved every minute of it & came home singing campfire songs for days!  i tried to get her to sneak snacks in her pillow case,  {it was against the rules to bring extra food} but myla wouldn’t let me!  she’s such a rule-munger! i was worried about her being hungry at midnight!!!

in march, kiana attended an overnighter with her jr. high honors program at the space center – they did an all-night mission & she also loved it!

and, both these independant souls didn’t miss me one bit while they were away – they didn’t even pretend to miss me… ::sad::

in late march, kiana participated in the utah state jr. history fair which took place at byu. she chose a topic that focused on new zealand history. this was a great opportunity for her to learn a bit more about her ancestory. this was also her first “real” paper to write, and she designed a website for her project! {i am so proud!} overall, the history fair was a phenomenal educational experience.

this picture below is of her & her bestie eliza at the fair – good job girls, i’m so so proud of you!

myla’s “AAA” competition soccer team finished their season in 2nd place in their division! we are so proud of them! they played so hard & so good in the playoffs, and their coaches are awesome. it was a very cold season, but we still loved it. this might be myla’s last season of soccer, she’s really contemplating if she wants to just focus on tennis…

in early april, kj and myla had their piano recital. they both did awesome! kj was so charming – he sat down full of confidance and in the middle of his song turned his head and smiled so big at the audience, everyone loved it! he’s such a cheeser. he had his song memorized so well! my moosey gets so nervous for these kind of things & she played her song flawlessly, we’re so proud! kiana should have been in the recital too, she also took lessons this year, but she didn’t have her recital song ready due to her recent rigorous dance schedule… but she’s still playing & i love when she sits down at home to just play for fun.  especially at christmas time – that’s the best.

kiana has been taking a class in jr. high called, “cte,” and in this class they rotate through a variety of units – computer/business classes, etc etc – the last unit she finished was on preschool, then the jr. high kids invited preschool age children to school to a 90-minute preschool ran by the students.

of course, our sela had to go!
and, i had to sneak in the last 15 minutes to get some pictures –
little miss four adores her big sis, so this was an awesome morning for them.
{kiana even used the ‘bubble wrap hopscotch’ idea as one of the preschool activities!} check it out –

speaking of preschool, sela graduated from her first year of preschool! the graduation was actually held the second-to-last week of school, so they went a few more days after this…

it could not have been any cuter! complete with caps ‘n gowns + diplomas + they threw their caps in the air! their class performed a little program, then had the ceremony. we’re so proud of our little preschool-lovin’-girl! now, if i could just get her to stop writing numbers and letters all-over the walls in pencil around our home… she seems to especially like the number “5” – you can spot it on a few walls!

kj had an in-class talent show. he took his baseball card collection,
and when he presented it to his class & the parents, he said,
“i love baseball… since i can’t hit a home run here in my classroom for you…i’m going to show you my baseball card collection!”

::lol!:: our little stud –

in may, miss four had her in-class tumbling recital…
she ran around the room showing us all her tricks, meanwhile, continually looking at husband and i to make sure we were watching!

our eyes never left her –
and, she can really rock a back-bend!

big papi has had a very busy work-travel schedule this year… but, when he is home, he still takes these munchkins out to lunch during their school lunch break as often as possible! two weeks ago, they went three times in one week! when they are on their little daddy-lunch-dates i usually get a picture like this sent to me via my iphone…

sela’s {and kiana’s – but no pics of miss thirteen} dance recital! she was a beautiful fairy & she did really really well. i’m pretty sure she’s going to be our second rhodes girl dancer in the family, following in the footsteps of her big sis…

kj went rushing to her after her performance to give her flowers. she loved it!
{and, the second picture – that’s how brother stays entertained during the long recitals when he’s not watching one of his sisters dance…!}

i attended kj & myla’s walk-a-thon at their elementary school. in one hour we walked three miles! myla didn’t make much of an effort to hang-out with me – she was busy walkin’ & talkin’ with her girlfriends… but my little mister was my walking buddy with his little gang of friends the entire time! and, it was a rare-sunny-beautiful-blue-skies morning in the middle of this very wet & cloudy spring we’ve been having! i loved it – a fabulous way to start the day!

sela~bella’s hat day at preschool!

towards the end of may, kj had his second grade ‘authors tea.’ each kid wrote and created a book about an animal of their choice. kj chose ‘penguins!’ which i think is so cool! he was a very sweet big brother as we visited his classroom & he read his book to sela.

earlier this week, my kids’ elementary school had their annual dance festival. it was the most beautiful morning with blue skies. perfect weather for an outdoor festival. kj’s second grade classes did an irish jig. it was so cool & our little buddy was front & center which shocked me just a bit… it may be that he’s on the shorter side – ::lol!::

myla-moo’s fifth grade classes did the coolest medley of the macarena, YMCA, the electric slide, etc. — all dances that are really fun to know. and, she appeared on the front row – she’s still got some dance girl in her! ::winks::

kiana and one of her good friends landon, checked out of school for just a bit to come over to the elementary school and watch the dance festival. of course, she didn’t choose to sit by me and miss four – they were roaming the crowd, visiting old teachers etc etc – i had to snap a picture of the social duo. {it’s so fun having older kids!}

the finale was a re-make of neil diamond’s, “they’re coming to america!”

it was awesome. and, i got a little teary – love these kids.

yesterday, my kids had field day –
i always loved field day & they do, too!

i stopped by briefly and at that very moment – i watched my moosey play basketball for just a few minutes…

my girlie-tomboy!

congratulations to all the students in the world!
i hope you enjoy your summer vacation…
play in the sun + eat lots of popsicles!

if you are an adult-student, i hope you enjoy every minute of not having homework!
and, play in the sun!