Leonard's Grant Fun Run

 Saturday of Memorial Weekend was a fun weekend in the neighborhood.  A couple gals organized a fun run for the kids to run around "the green" in the middle of the neighborhood.  The kids could choose to run once or twice around.  They all got a medal for finishing :)

 Harrison in action! Totally concentrating! :)  He can't even look at the camera :)

 Aedan enjoying his leisurely run around the green.  He took time to smile at the camera :) The Mayor of Leonardtown even came to start the kids off!  (below).  We also had a 5k run through the neighborhood after the kids fun run.  Below is a picture of a few friends from church that came out that day to run the race.  It was such a fun time!  The 5k costed $15 and the money went to our local fire department.  They came out to the neighborhood with their truck and let kids come in.  They raised their ladder too.  I had no idea how big that ladder gets!  I got dizzy looking at how high it went!  Keean loved it!  

 And, of course, the day would not be complete without our first swim of the season!  Bring on the summer fun!

preschool graduation

 Our Little Graduate!  (and Liz's little graduate in the background! :)

 Part of the graduation program was showing us all of their signs they learned.  This sign in the picture is "spider".  They always were doing songs and other poems with signs  This was one of Irelalnd's favorite parts of preschool.

The "little seedlings" grew over the school year into beautiful flowers!.  What a cute cake!

water day at little seedlings preschool

 The teachers got the kids involved in washing all the toys they use in the classroom!  They didn't even know they were doing chores.  They had so much fun washing and rinsing the dishes!

Ireland in action at the slip-n-slide!

Field Trips

Well today was very busy because both Harrison and Keean had a field trip and they each wanted us to go with them.  Keean's class took the bus up to the National Zoo up in Washington D.C. The zoo is free, but it does cost money to park.  Me and a friend drove up with Ireland and her little boy and met the kids at the zoo.  Keean was sooo excited for this day to come.  He loved it, but didn't get to see one of his favorite animals...the otters :(  I guess we are going to have to go up as a family to see what we didn't get to see the first time.  Harrison's class has been learning about cultures so his class went to a Japanese steak house for lunch to taste what other cultures eat.  Jamie met Harrison there at the restaurant and was able to eat with him.  They gave the kids chopsticks to attempt to eat with them.  Harrison, again, loves food, so this was a great field trip for him!  Well, I think he loves everything...:)  except chores :)  i know he does not like chores! :)

Fathers and sons campout

All the boys (and the girls :)) look forward to this weekend all year.  The kids love getting together to play games and roast marshmallows.  As you can see from Harrison's plate Harrison also loves eating!  He had a huge stack of pancakes, sausage and, well, i don't know what else!  Jamie made him eat everything on his plate :)  Needless to say Harrison did not eat for quite some time after he came home from camping :)  Mom took Ireland and one of her friends to McDonald's for dinner and a late night play date.

Piano Recital time again!

The kids are now getting used to doing their piano recitals and don't seem to be quite as nervous doing their songs.  We did is at a baptist church just up the street and it turned out really well!  The kids were very tempted to play all the other instruments they had on the stage like the guitar and drums but we told them it was only a piano recital :)  maybe next time ey?  I did the recital with a friend of mine from church, Johnna Nelson.  She has about 20 students and i have oh, about....8 :)  We had a really great time.  It was a fun recital, one of the many events that happens towards the end of the school year :)  I'm proud of my boys and their musical talent.  It won't be long before Ireland will be joining them on stage!

Backyard Makeover

Last fall we did makeovers for the kids' bedrooms. This Spring our backyard is getting work done. We decided to take up over 440 square feet of grass so we could extend our patio, add a pathway to the basement stairs, and add a fire pit for the kids! :) It has been a lot of work and we hope to complete the project by the time we leave for Utah.



The boys trying to help get up the dirt! Their energy last about 30 minutes or when the sun came out.


Here is a view with all the grass removed. To be continued.....




My plans of what it will look like when I am finished! Except I plan to add a Pergola as well.



With all the extra dirt we had to remove, we added a raised garden in the backyard. We are attempting it for the first time with kids. Let's hope we get something from it: Either vegetables or a good work ethic! Ireland loves the idea of watering it each day!