Rain puddles bring the great joy!

This afternoon, between rain showers Kody and I walked down to the pond/lake that is at the entrance to our neighborhood.  We did this mainly to get out of the house for a bit and to give Peter-Leo some space as the sibling rivalry was at an all time high!

At the pond/lake.

This is dollar weed, which is horrible, normally it isn't under water,
but it has rained so much that it is raised the level of the pond to cover a large patch of it! YAY!

And what is one to do with all this rain water?! SPLASH!

Kody was actually checking to see if I was still there taking photos.

Honestly, just let gravity do all the work in emptying out your water filled rain boots!

Walking home after playing in the pond.

It was a fun 40 minutes down at the water, she had fun and it reminded me of the old days when I used to splash and play in the rain.. oh wait.. that was just last week! hee-hee! You are never too old to have fun in rain.

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Michelle

Salt and Ice

So, after Tropical Storm Beryl came through we woke up Monday morning to more rain and wind which made going outside not fun.  Instead of doing our salt and ice project outside we did it inside. Very carefully. VERY. CAREFULLY.

Sunday afternoon we filled several balloons with water and froze them to make ice balls.  Today we pulled them out of the freezer, cut and peeled the balloons off and sprinkled with salt. Why you ask? Because the friction between the salt and ice create depressions or deteriorate the ice. And when you add food coloring to the ice ball it looks cool! And who doesn't love COOL!!

Kody and Peter-Leo getting started, by peeling the balloon off the ice.

This is one of Kody's after she added some color!

Kody did more pouring of color than of salt. I think she just liked using the pipet.

Peter-Leo checking out the hole.

For Peter-Leo, simply sprinkling salt and some food coloring wasn't enough.. he actually used the salt and water to "drill" a hole through the ice ball!

See! All the way through!!

 And honestly, that wasn't enough either... so he had to split the ice ball in half too!!

Part of the ridge that was created to split the ice ball in half!

 Here is a shot of the ice ball before it cracked in half, with to food coloring inside to show how it was formed...

...and... BAM!  Peter-Leo has cracked the ice ball in half..

All in all a fun hour long science project! And the kids learned that salt heat up the ice rather it lowers the temperature of it's freezing point of water! FUN STUFF!


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Michelle

LEGOS!

We are very grateful to have a library system that puts together awesome and fun activities during the summer via their Summer Reading Program.  So, today both Peter-Leo and Kody were able to take part in a Lego Building Competition.  Kody's age group was first at 1030am and Peter-Leo followed at 130pm.  We are super happy to report that Kody won!  She was so excited! Peter-Leo did well, but did not win. He however did get to build with four of his friends that we didn't know were even coming!! Both of the kids had a blast building! We had a great day at the library! Enjoy the photos!

Kody begins to build!

Kody with her finished project!

Kody is announced the winner and given her prize!

Kody with the lego judge and her prize a LEGO book!

So, after Kody's session ended at noon, we went home had lunch and went back to the library for Peter-Leo's age group to start. 

Peter-Leo building his creation!

This was taken at the very start, the kid on the left is Peter-Leo's buddy, Zack. 
He lives down the street and along with his siblings come play at our house alot.
We love their family!

His finished creation!

At the end of the day, the kids were happy. While Kody is thrilled to have won, she is also nice enough to let her brother look at the book.  All in all, another great day for us!  Tomorrow is probably the most thrilling day of the summer, as we will be heading to Jax MOSH to attend the members' preview of "A T-Rex Named Sue." Check back Saturday for photos!

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Michelle

Peter-Leo's 4th Grade Awards

Again, and always, we are so proud of Peter-Leo's accomplishments for the 2011-2012 school year! Fourth grade has been great!  Today, parents were invited to their grade level award ceremony. 
While, he was upset that he did not make the A Honor Roll, because of one B, we were thrilled that he made the A/B Honor Roll! 

He also recieved the award for Highest Math Grade in his class, which was super cool!

Accepting his award from Dr. Goble, principal.

Enough photos mom, enough. That is what that look means, lol.

It was a good year for him.  He did well in everything, school, behavior, and soccer!  We are super proud! I can not believe he starts the fifth grade in August!!


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Michelle

And the last day of pre-k came...

and momma cried. Bittersweet tears flowed from both the adults and most of the children as Ms. Karen  gathered the kids for the last time! It is the last day of pre-k!  
The children enjoyed pizza and salad and cupcakes and played!  I must admit tomorrow morning will be strange not having to get Kody up and drive her to school.  I remember having a tearful time when Peter-Leo finished pre-k, too.  Although, I have a tearful time everytime my kids move up a grade! Just imagine what I will be like when they graduate from high school and college! Move over Penny Ranisate, my tears are going to overflow yours!!  Here are a few photos from their pizza party!

cupcake frosting face was a very popular thing to do!

Kody being silly!

 Before viewing the next two photos, in pre-k it is a very popular thing to pick up a friend while hugging them. It is called a "pick up hug."  With that information continue viewing the photos..

This is Kody and her friend Emma doing a pick up hug!

This is what happens, during a pick up hug,
when one person loses their balance! hee-hee!

OH! One of my favorite photos of the day! Kody saying good bye to her teacher Ms. Karen!

What a great school year we had! I have always said that we have been blessed with the right teachers at the right time for both of our children, and Ms. Karen was the right teacher at the right time for Kody! Thank you Ms. Karen!!

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Michelle

Kody's Pre-Kindergarten Recognition Ceremony

Last night we attended Kody's school hosted a "Pre-K Recognition Ceremony" for all the children that are moving up to Kindergarten in August.  It was a great little show, each of the four classes were able to put together a short (15-20 minute) presentation before receiving their Certificates.  It was very long, but cute.  I took video of Kody's class presentation on my iPad, but have yet to figure out how to upload it to my computer. So, all you get are the photographs I took... for now!

Our Cowgirl!

Doing their Country to Hip Hop Dance

She loves to sing and dance as you can see.

Here they are "hip hop" and ready to "Tooty Ta"

"Tongues Out" and yes that is part of the song.

After all the classes did their presentations they all sang and waved good bye to Pre-k!



Kody attends her certificate from her teacher, Ms. Karen.

This shot was actually before we left, but wow look at how she has grown!

Despite the big ceremony, she still has a four more days of pre-k next week, although most of it will be nothing but fun and goods times... oh wait, they been doing that while learning all year!!  

Onward to kindergarten, and yes I will cry that day too! 

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Michelle

Peter-Leo's Last U10 Spring Season Soccer Game!

It is so hard to believe that we are finished with our 3rd soccer season!  For the spring 2012 soccer season we were blessed to have two fanastic coaches! Coach Ed and Coach Tim.  This morning he played his last game of this season and in U10.  In the fall he moves up to U12, a bigger field, more complex rules and did I mention a bigger field!  Thankfully, I will deal with U12 when August/September arrives until then.. enjoy a few photos from today's game!

Coach Ed, Peter-Leo, and Coach Tim



Moving the ball!

Peter-Leo (5) and Mitchell, plus that blue player all trying to get the ball!



Peter-Leo getting ready to pass that defender!

All in all, what a great season, I am sure they would have liked to win more than two games, but all mostly played really well.  I am very proud of Peter-Leo! 

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Michelle