Morse Easter Egg Hunt

It might have been a VERY chilly morning for an Easter Egg Hunt, but that definitely didn't stop these kiddos from hunting with all their might!! I love our neighborhood and all the kids it brings!! Such a great community! It took them all of 2 minutes to fill their baskets FULL of eggs!!! They opened them up, took out the goodies, and dumped the eggs back in the bin to use again next year!! Then it was time for the very cold bike ride back home!!

Birthdays at School

 The boys got to celebrate their birthday at school before Spring Break let out! Luckily, they were scheduled for the same day, one right after the other! Perfect timing! Grant requested Fudgesicles (we have a pretty limited list of options we are allowed to bring), so it worked out I got to do his room first! He had Jalen help him pass out and while everyone munched away, he got go do the birthday dance by Koo Koo Kangaroo and then go to the front and have everyone sing to him. I love this picture I got of him getting his groove on!! I got videos but no still shots of him celebrating! Third graders don't get crowns anymore ;-(

After Grant's class, I headed down to Wyatt's class! Funny story, one of the aides that was in Grant's class was heading down to Wyatt's class and she was so confused why I was doing another birthday celebration in 1st grade. She just couldn't believe they had the same birthday!! Sometimes I forget how amazing it really is!!

Wyatt was waiting for me with his crown and big smile on his face!! He requested Starburst FaveReds and Starburst FaveRed jelly beans. All the kids were very happy with his choice!! He had Turner help him pass out of his candy and then everyone sang to him. He sat there so sheepish and giggling, but smiling ear to ear!! 

Harvest Hustlin'

The boys and I had a wonderful night playing at school at the Mother/Son Harvest Hustle! A whole bunch of games, prizes, and FUN!!!! Although this year, we didn't win any prizes, we sure had fun playing the games! A bunch of minute-to-win-it games are definitely the way to elementary boy's hearts! Add light up glasses and glow sticks and its the perfect recipe for a good time!

We started off with a crazy(and LOUD!) time at Pizza Shoppe with a ton of friends before it was time to head to school!

(picture to come)

Once we got to school, we dropped in our raffle tickets for any of the prize baskets we hoped to win! The Lego basket is always the fan favorite and where Grant dropped all 6 of his tickets in. But no such luck this time! We didn't even win a door prize this year! But thats ok! We made our way to the photos where the boys took the most adorable photo with me! (Again, picture to come!) And then it was time for GAMES!!!! So many fun games. We played and played and played!!! It was a great evening spent with my favorite fellas!!!

3rd Grade Plaza Field Trip

I am so fortunate to work with some amazing co-workers who covered for me so I could attend this special 3rd grade field trip with my favorite 3rd grader! A scavenger hunt around the Plaza looking for special landmarks. Wouldn't you know it, this day was right in the middle of an extreme heatwave!!! And we felt every bit of that! We tried our best to walk on the shaded areas and stop in as many air conditioned places we could! But I wouldn't trade one bead of sweat to be anywhere else than that field trip with my big fella!!

 This is how we all felt as we walked back to meet the bus...super hot and super tired!

Solar Eclipse 2017

The long awaited Total Solar Eclipse finally arrived! Levi was so bummed to be in Korea when the total solar eclipse was at 99.4% totality right in our own backyard!!! The weather was looking a little sketchy in the days prior, so we were praying and praying we would still be able to see it! The school had a fun day planned, so I headed on up there to sit with first grade (keeping their glasses on was a little bit of a concern). It had rained for some of the morning, but by lunchtime the clouds were clearing and we were hopeful it would say that way! It was SO gorgeous as I was walking up to school. But when we walked outside to find our spots, the clouds rolled in and they rolled in thick. We saw a few seconds here and there but most of it was a bust. With our glasses on, we could see the shape of the sun behind the clouds, but it was hard to see much. We did feel the cooler temps, the darker feel, and the crickets and cicadas started chirping. Even the school lights came on outside. So it wasn't a total bust, but still quite a bummer! Next time, we may have to road trip to totality!!!!

First Day of 1st Grade!

My little baby boy had his first day of ALL DAY SCHOOL!!! How did we get here?!?! He was so excited and I hope his enthusiasm for school never fades because his attitude is awesome!!! He jumped out of bed and was so excited to get ready! He picked out his outfit way back when and could NOT wait to put the whole ensemble together (down to the socks and underwear!). He only wished his backpack was red and black so he would totally match! We walked to school together and took Grant to his class first because I knew his drop off would last 1 minute or less, which it did. We walked down to Wyatt's pod and he confidently walked into his classroom, found his desk, looked at the instructions on the smart board and got busy putting his things away. He had some fresh playdoh on his desk and he got to playing. He seemed very quiet and nervous, but once his buddy Matthew sat down two desks over from him, he perked up and started chatting, which was my cue to leave. After school, when he saw me, I got a giant hug and I could tell he was a little relieved to be done for the day! But he said his favorite part was having 2 recesses!! We went and celebrated his first day with a celebratory Blizzard and it was well-deserved!!!

Last night, as I was tucking him in, I prayed that his teacher would know how to teach him in the way he learns best, that he will have confidence from knowing he is a child of God and remember the God and mommy and daddy love him SO much, and that his year will be filled with learning, growth, joy and fun!! I will keep on praying those words every single day this year Wyatt, so you will love 1st grade even more than you loved Kindergarten!!!

First Day of 3rd Grade!

Can't believe we have a 3rd grader!! Time sure has flown! After Sneak a Peek night Monday, while walking home, Grant said, "Ok, now I'm excited for school!" The afternoon prior he was still insistent that he was not going to school!! But, he woke up chipper and excited and had a big 3rd grade pep in his step!!!  He's still such a sweet boy, letting me hold his hand while walking to school, letting me and Wyatt walk him to his class, and give him a hug in a kiss without the slightest hint of embarrassment. He was already getting to work when I left the room and my heart ached a little bit knowing I wouldn't be seeing him for 8 hours!!! I met him in the hallway at the end of the day and he had a big smile on his face and said he loved it! Recess went awry with a kickball game that turned out "disastrous" but all in all, he gives 3rd grade two thumbs up!!! We celebrated with our dessert before dinner- Blizzards!!!

I prayed over the boys last night and asked God to help Grant follow in Jesus' footsteps and grow in wisdom, that he will be the light of Jesus to everyone around him, and that this school year will be filled with learning, growth, joy, and fun! I will continue to pray this everyday Grant, so that 3rd grade may be your best year YET!!! 

Stand by the Sign

I love the tradition of standing by the sign each year! This year we have a new sign, which is kind of a bummer since there are no cool pencils or crayons or rulers to measure against each year, but I guess the new sign will have to do! We've been able to capture the first and last day of school with these kiddos for 3 years now and I LOVE it!!  

3rd Graders

2nd Graders

1st Graders

 And now the new crew of siblings get to have their chance to "Stand by the Sign" for yearly pictures!

1st Grade

 Kindergarten

First Day of School 2017-2018

My heart wasn't quite ready for these two to be away from me for 8 hours a day, but the day arrived and seeing how excited they were made me excited for them! And hey, a free afternoon to go out to lunch and shopping with my mom and a trip to Target alone isn't as bad as it sounds ;-)

After Sneak a Peek night on Monday, we all were excited about their teachers, their classes, and knew it was going to be a great year, so that made walking out the doors alone ok with me!

Its hard walking away from a building that is holding your whole heart inside there, but I am SO confident they are going to have the best year yet!!!