May-Gram

May, in an Instagram nutshell.

 Miss Pink continues to get into mischief, always.  From glitter glue and fake spiders in the sink, bugs in the house, to mom's makeup.  I promise it was makeup.  She's not crying blood.  Just looks like it.

 Early in the month, Miss Pink was able to pet a furry bunny and she almost had to stay at the school because she couldn't let it go.  Our pool opened back up and she insisted on getting in the day it opened, even if it was chilly.  Face painting was a must at the picnic.  She loves helping - from helping me babysit, cleaning the back windows, mopping, you name it.  One day she sat down at the table with all of my nail polish.  When I looked at her I caught a glimpse of what she's going to look like in 10 years.  She'll be a beauty.  :)

Mr. Orange somehow stayed away from my camera this month.  One night I had put him and Miss Pink to bed.  Hours later they were still laughing and giggling in their room.  The next night I asked why they couldn't get to sleep.  Miss Pink said it was because Mr. Orange was telling her bedtime stories that were "too funny!"  He is a great storyteller.  He also helped Mr. Blue with a big project that we worked on.  He was a huge help.  I think he really just liked being in the dirt.  Mr. Orange spends a lot of time working on his silly faces.  He has an endless supply of them.

Look! Two Wheels!!

Someone decided it was time to ride without training wheels.

 (Yes, her helmet is really low.  Yes, she can see - barely.)

 She rode up and down...

 and up and down...

and up and down the street until Mr. Blue couldn't run up and down the street anymore.

Miss Pink is great riding the bike, stopping and starting need a bit of work.  :)

Gymnastics Festival

Last fall Miss Pink told me that she wanted to take gymnastics instead of dance, so I signed her up.

She has willingly gone almost every week with a smile on her face.

Today the gym had a little festival where each girl did a routine on each apparatus.

(Photo courtesy of my father-in-law)

 I was really worried that Miss Pink wouldn't participate.  

Sometimes she sees all the people and freezes.

Not this time.  We walked into the gym, found out where she needed to be and she ran off with a huge smile on her face.

(Photo courtesy of my father-in-law)

(Photo courtesy of my father-in-law)

(Photo courtesy of my father-in-law)

(Photo courtesy of my father-in-law)

 As she did each one of her routines I got a little teary-eyed.  I was so proud of her for getting out there in front of so many people and trying her best.  She was so brave!

(Photo courtesy of my father-in-law)

 After the festival she had to show us her favorite move - hanging upside down.

(Photo courtesy of my father-in-law)

She's been so lucky to have her "besty" in class with her.

Way to go Miss Pink!

Trumpet Tune - Spring Recital 2013

Mr. Orange finished his 3rd year of Let's Play Music last spring.  He started with a new piano teacher in the fall and I really wasn't satisfied with her.  Mr. Orange only wants to play the piano, and in the future the violin.  I begged some friends to tell me who their child was taking from and I was able to sneak Mr. Orange in with her in March.  I love, love, love his new teacher.  She has been fabulous.  I'll admit, it has been a bit intense (for me), but he loves taking lessons from her and he has improved a lot in the short time he has been with her.

For the past several weeks he has been working on his recital piece, Trumpet Tune.  He practiced it backwards and forwards, inside out and upside down.  Well, maybe not upside down, but just about.  :)  He was very excited when he found out that his cousin from Wisconsin would be here for the recital.

 Here they are putting on their best recital faces....

 And this is how they usually look.  ;)

 We arrived early and Mr. Orange practiced a bit (and we were able to take pictures).  I asked him if he was ready and he sort of rolled his eyes at me and said, "Yes.  Of course I am."  Duh!  Why would I think any different?

He did so well and I am so proud of him.  

I am so grateful for our family members who were able to be there to support him.  It meant a lot to him.

I love this little guy (who is growing up way, way, way too quickly!!!!).

One Tooth Down

Miss Pink woke up Wednesday morning and just knew that her tooth needed to come out.

As soon as breakfast was over Mr. Orange talked her into tying her tooth to the door and he would slam it shut.

 It took awhile for Mr. Blue to get the string tied to Miss Pink's tooth.

When it was on tight, Mr. Blue asked Miss Pink if she was ready for him to tie the string to the door.

Her response?

"Um, no Dad."

 Needless to say, the tooth did not come out after breakfast.

Miss Pink spent most of the day in front of the mirror trying to get it to come out.

By Thursday, it was hanging on by a thread.

I wanted to reach in her mouth and "pop" it out.

I refrained.

 We went to dinner with her Uncle and cousin and while we were sitting and talking she looked up at me and guess what?

Her tooth was in her hand and she had a window in her mouth!

She was so excited to put her first tooth under her pillow.

The Tooth Fairy made it and gave that animal-loving girl a pretty cool elephant and butterfly.

I can't believe how grown up she is!

Toothpicks and Dolls

Miss Pink found the toothpicks.

 I think she has a pretty bright future in either acupuncture

or voodoo.

Either option could come in handy, I am sure.

Sleeping

Since Mr. Orange has been out of school, Miss Pink thinks they need to have a sleepover every night.

I wonder how long this will last.

Looks a little squishy to me!

Venus

Nana gave us some special glasses a few days ago with some specific instructions:

You need to watch Venus move across the sun.

Miss Pink didn't make it to the viewing party.

She was being a bit crabby and fell asleep too early.

 Mr. Orange, on the other hand, put those glasses on and watched, and watched, and watched, and, well, you get the idea.

 He was fascinated.

So was I.

Ensign Peak

Since it was Mr. Orange's last day of school we decided to jam-pack it with fun.

When school let out we ran down to Thanksgiving Point to have lunch with Gramma.

Then we went to Wal-Mart to buy a backyard pool.

The kids played in the pool until Mr. Blue got home from work.

We ate dinner then headed up to Salt Lake to hike Ensign Peak.

 I love this hike.

The views are incredible.

 And it's perfect for kids too.

Miss Pink and I ran the whole way down.

When the boys finally caught up to us, we talked them into some ice cream on the way home.

Let summer begin!

Last Day of School - First Grade

Wow.

It finally came.

The last day of school.

Mr. Orange was so excited to get to school that he absolutely, could not, hold still long enough for me to take a picture of him.

 "We're going to have a lot of fun this summer.  Right, Mom?  Right???"

 Mr. Orange with his Chinese teacher - W. Lao Shi.  She was an incredible teacher.  I cannot believe the patience that she had with these kids (mine in particular).  It was amazing to see Mr. Orange's progress this year.  Once he decided to pay attention in class (insert bribes by the parents and creative teaching by the teacher) he decided that he really did like Chinese.  I'm so excited to see how he does next year.

I would have taken a picture of his English teacher, but he had several.  Mrs. B. had a baby right after Christmas.  Then they had a long-term substitute.  Mrs. B. decided not to come back and to stay home with her baby.  Enter Mrs. J. - also pregnant.  She had her baby 9 days early and missed the last 2, or so weeks of school.  Enter long-term substitute number 2.  That is 4 teachers for his English class alone!  Incredible.  Let's hope he has post-menopausal teachers next year.  :)  I'm only half kidding about that.

Since I never got around to posting Mr. Orange's last day of Kindergarten picture, I figured I'd stick it in here.  Mrs. Y. was a great teacher and friend.  I loved, loved, loved volunteering in her classroom.  Mr. Orange loved her too.