I Should Have Known

The day after school ended, the kids cleaned out their binders/backpacks.  Caleb tossed several of his papers, including some poetry he'd written, in the bathroom garbage can.  Though partially buried under some wet paper towels, I noticed this gem and rescued it from the wastebasket.  I love it.

10 Things I Should've Known Poem

By: Caleb Hatch

I should have known to not shove food down my mouth all at once

I should have known to be more kind to my sisters

I should have known how to cook some more food

I should have known some more dance moves

I should have known to end my bad sportsmanship

I should have known to keep cool with mom when we fight

I should have known not to eat so many snacks

I should have known to keep an open mind

I should have known to try new stuff, such as food

I should have known how to do the dishes or laundry

I should have known all my nagging would come out in his writing.  (Though I don't think I've ever gotten after him to learn more dance moves.)

I'm Only Half Crazy

It was time to Rock and Roll again.

I enjoy the challenge and the process of getting in better shape through the necessary training, so I decided to do the Seattle Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon for the fourth year in a row.

This year's race had a new course that started and ended at the Seattle Center.  I really liked the new course though I do think it is harder--more hilly.  I wasn't any faster this year but I felt stronger throughout the race so I'm happy with the outcome.

Official finishing time: 1:53:28

I love seeing my family at the finish line.  They're great cheerleaders.

Mom came this year, too.  She may have cheered the loudest. :)

I bought myself a new magnet:

The Graduates

First Alyssa graduated from elementary school.

The students sang a farewell song:
The sun goes down 
The stars come out 
And all that counts is here and now. 
Lakeland Hills will never be the same 
We're glad you came, We're glad you came.

Alyssa had the same teacher that Caleb had for fifth grade.  She retired this year.

Lys was part of the first graduating class of our elementary school, meaning they are the first students to complete kindergarten through fifth grade at Lakeland Hills.  It's been such a great school.  I hate that she's old enough to leave.

Next, Caleb graduated from middle school.  On to high school?  No way, say it ain't so.  I just can't believe it!

His choir sang the opening and closing songs of the graduation ceremony.  They started with "Goodnight My Someone" and ended with "Bohemian Rhapsody."  Choir's been a really great experience for Caleb.

Each graduate had their name read and a certificate was presented.

This is probably his favorite middle school teacher:

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the principal said, "...by the power vested in me by the Auburn School District, I now pronounce you...FRESHMEN!"

It wasn't necessarily a milestone year for Natty but she was very successful in first grade and had a wonderful teacher that she gets to keep again for second grade.  We're so excited!

HAGS! 

(Totally didn't know that acronym until I read the signed yearbooks and my kids explained it to me. :))

Jumbotron Magnet

Another Mariner's game.  


Another bobblehead. 


Another loss. 


Three more times on the jumbotron! Once his grooving was spotted, the cameras kept coming back for more. His dancing was featured three separate times throughout the game.  Funny boy.


 Jon made another video. Be sure to watch the jumbotron at about the 35 second mark.




The surrounding fans were giving high fives. Others were thanking us for providing the entertainment.  


As we were walking out of the stadium we passed a man who exclaimed, "Hey! There's that kid!"  He's even getting recognized.


Win or lose, Caleb's moves make any Mariner's game fun. 


(Though a win wouldn't hurt. Come on, M's!)

Father's Field Day

It seems a tall order to ask dads to take an entire day off of work to spend it at the school with their first graders, but nearly every student did have a father (or like substitute) to enjoy Father's Field Day with.  It was a special treat that had Natty giddy with excitement.

Love these two.  They get to be in the same class next year!

First the Reptile Man presented a show.

Nat was pretty brave getting up close and personal with the slimy and scaly members of the animal kingdom.  I think I would pass, thank you.

Then came the games.

I heard Natalie was a pretty fierce jouster.  It brought out a side her teacher had never previously seen.  She wanted to know from which parent Nat had inherited her fight.  Jon evidently gave me the credit for that.  Yeah, he's right.  It's me.  Atta girl, Nat!

The day ended with a most adorable musical performance.  I know it was adorable because I came to watch that portion.  I cried just a teensy bit.  It was just too cute.  

Here's one of their songs:

When Natty sings "you're the grandest dad and you really are rad," I know she really means it.  And he loved spending the day with her. 

CEO

Did you hear that Best Buy has a new CEO?

She gave a speech at the opening town meeting of BizTown.

She runs a profitable business, too.

I had to go through a two hour training just to be able to volunteer with the fifth graders of Alyssa's school at Junior Achievement's BizTown.  What a great experience it was!  The kids learn how businesses and economies run by becoming citizens and employees of BizTown.  There is everything from doctors to lawyers to meter readers.  Alyssa got to be the CEO of Best Buy.

Chase bank is by far the busiest place in BizTown.

I think the Mariners Team Store was the most popular retailer.  The citizens get to spend BizTown dollars that they have earned from their various jobs.  The kids get to keep all of the merchandise they buy.  Lys picked up a poster for Caleb.

Parent volunteers don't get to spend their day in same businesses as their kids.  (I guess we parents tend to hover too much.) But I was right next door to Best Buy in the restaurant working with my Papa John's crew.

They were a great bunch of kids and our business was profitable, too.

Plus, as an employee perk, they got an extra slice of pizza.  And I got to take an entire pizza home to Caleb.

What a fun day and fantastic learning experience!

Two Zoos

On Memorial Day, we took a family trip to the zoo.  It was a great day.  Seeing wild animals is fun but seeing them with friends is more fun.

We saw this monkey...

...then we found these monkeys.  Have you ever seen any cuter?

Caleb napped while Hunter was getting attacked!

And then there's these two...not as much into the dramatics.  Just into looking cute.  And grown up.

Feeding the birds sure was fun.

This one perched on Jon's hand even without a seed stick.

The bear was beautiful.  Amazing creature.

The lion: Caleb's definitive favorite zoo dweller.

The elephants are my favorite but I do really love the African Savanna.

Did you know flamingoes are pink because of the shrimp they eat?

Just three days later, I accompanied Natalie's class on a field trip to the other zoo in our area.  They have totally different animals making it impossible to favor one zoo over the other.

The baby clouded leopard was adorable playing with his stuffed animals.

Natalie wanted to feed the birds again since it had been so much fun at the other zoo.

Look!  We found Nemo!

And sharks, too.

Nat's favorites were the walruses.  They are ginormous and rather ugly, in my opinion, but they are pretty entertaining when they show off their swimming as they slide their blubber across the glass.

View from the top:

This guy was into showing off as well:

Any day with this girl is a good day for me!

What's your favorite zoo animal?