Last Week of School!!!

Just a little warning before you start to read this...a lot of the pictures are from my phone. Long story, but I am camera less right now (never thought those words would come out of my mouth:)) Tad, my mom and my mother in law gave me a new one for my birthday, but it isn't here yet...so for the time being all pics come through the iPhone. That would be great, if there hadn't been a small incident with my phone going into the toilet a month or so ago. Thank heavens for a bag of rice, the phone still works until I am eligible for my upgrade, but the camera is not really working so wonderfully...so, the pics...not great, just to warn ya!

Onto our last week of school! This is one of my FAVORITE weeks! I really should stop saying that because in all honesty, I have a lot of favorite weeks! But who doesn't love the last week of school? Cleaning out the desks, the anticipation of summer right around the corner, class parties, autographs and exchanging numbers...so many things to love! 

We planned a fun trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in Cincinnati a couple of months ago! We left on Monday morning! It was perfect because it was only an hour and half from where we live and even though our room wasn't ready when we arrived, we were able to go right into the water park! It is all indoor and the three older kids could go on every slide in the park! They had a little kid area with slides  and shallow pools perfect for Ainslee and Audrey! They also had a wave pool and a lazy river and a few other pools with activities in them! Everyone had a blast! We played ALL day! At 4, Tad realized that we hadn't even stopped for lunch! There are restaurants right in the lodge so we just dried off and put clothes on and ran into the grill upstairs to have dinner! The three older kids chowed down excited to get back to the park. The younger two slowly ate their food until Audrey suddenly fell asleep mid mac'n cheese bite! Tad went back to the park with the older kids and I went to the room with the younger two! 

It was six and she was OUT! She was even snoring!!!

 Ainslee had a blast being the only kid in our room and loved exploring everything there was to see! We were chilly from being in the water all day so we turned on the fireplace, enjoyed the view of the outdoor pool from our balcony and of course had a blast in the kids cabin!

 She also enjoyed a very relaxing bath all by herself...that never happens!!!

 We eventually woke Audrey up and got jammies on! It was time for the lodge story time! The girls thought this was fun...until this wolf came out...then Audrey was ready to get the heck out of there!

 I swam with the little girls for a couple hours Tuesday morning, but then we took off for Ikea up the road while Tad and the other kids played at the park! We had to head home early in the afternoon to make it back for soccer tryouts...but it was time. The second we got in the car they all fell asleep!

 Wednesday was designated for laundry, until I saw Tonya Crisers call out to friends to go to this fun splash pad in Circleville! It was a bit of a drive, but the girls had a blast!

Ainslee had a blast! 

 Audrey wasn't too sure at first and she was just enjoying the goodies and snuggling with mom! But by the end,  I couldn't get her out of the water!

 This last month almost every weeknight has left Tad and I going in different directions! Sometimes even three different directions (yes it is possible!)! This Wednesday night wasn't any different! Aurianna had an end of season soccer party with her team! It was at her friend Gina's house and it was a blast...literally! They had pizza, a gigantic soccer game, good company and lots of candy! The hit of the night was the Stuckey's gigantic candy shooter! Tad and Livia were at her soccer game. They showed up right in time for the candy! It was such a great way to end an awesome season! I am so proud of Aurianna and the girls on her team! They work so well together and they get along so well on and off the field!

 The kids had a fun week at school too! Livia's class has been celebrating for the entire month by doing something fun everyday! This week they went on a walk with a buddy, wore yellow in hopes of sunny summer days, and exceptional student awards! Livia won the Super Hero award for always being so helpful! We feel so blessed that each one of the kids had wonderful teachers this year to make our transition that much smoother. Livia and Mrs. Palmer had an instant connection. Livia says that it is because her teachers first name is Debbie and that is the name of her grandma who is also a teacher, but whatever it is, Livia has adored her! When my mom came to visit in October the two teachers arranged for their classes to be pen pals! Livia gets excited every time they get to exchange letters! This week Livia was able to stand in front of the school at the Celebration of Success assembly and tell them all about her experience with being a pen pal! Livia has made so many great friends this year and she has really had a great year! She was on the Student Council and received an award for that. She also received an Academic Excellence award for receiving all A's for the year!

Trey also loved his teacher and class! This last week of school they had a camp week! On Thursday they had to wear T-shirts that had some sort of a phrase on it. They also went on a walk that day! They had a movie day and a proud to be an American day. I think Trey's favorite day was bring a sleeping bag day. They brought their favorite book and flashlight and had campfire stories! Trey's teacher, Mrs. VanbusKirk, told us every time we saw her and wrote on every report card what a sweet boy Trey was. He was always trying to include the other kids and helping his teacher. He has always been a little shy and not as outspoken as his big sister Livia, but this year has helped him to come out of his shell a little bit and speak up for himself!

Aurianna had a fun last couple of weeks too! She has really enjoyed her teacher, probably because Mrs. Kitsmiller loves nature, creepy crawly, flying in the sky, getting your hands dirty stuff as much as Aurianna does! Aurianna has spent the last couple weeks learning and studying all about the different birds in the area! She  had a group from Alley Park come to her class and bring Owl pellets which they got to pick apart and find the bones in it and a ton of other stuff...stuff that made me want to lose my lunch, but Aurianna looked forward to it for days before they came! She had pizza parties out her ears this week...one for Safety Patrol, one for Library helper and one for her class! She also had, well I am not sure what it is called, but they run down the hall and everyone lines the hallway and claps their hands! She has had a wonderful last year in Elementary School. I can't believe that she is moving onto Middle School already, but she is excited and that makes me happy!

This was on the last day of class at the end of the day! The little girls were excited for summer too!!!

Duck, Duck, GOOSE!

 The weather was great the other day and the girls and I were dying to get out of the house! We decided to try out Alley Park this time after hearing a few people mention it. Discovering the new parks has been one of the highlights about living here! There is always a new park to go to! It is like a mini adventure for the kids to see what is going to be new and different! Luckily one of the kids favorites is just across the street from our house, but their next favorite is in Logan (yes Logan, Ohio) which is about 20 minutes away!

 I was a little disappointed when we arrived at this park because I was hoping for a playground, but as we walked up the trail, I was surprised to find a little lake! The girls were so excited!

 And waiting to greet us on the edge of the water was a goose! I am pretty sure the girls thought that he was there just to see them! We were the only one's there, and the goose followed us wherever we went!

Audrey was doing a funny run up the trail! 

 The girls thought that the covered bridge was pretty cool. After we got inside they didn't want to come out!

 There was a big cabin on the other side. They have a nature center inside, but it was closed. The girls so badly wanted to go inside!

                                                       Our friend following us!

 We fed the goose (peanut butter granola bars). I think that I need to put together a park kit to keep in the car with leftover bread and other things! You never know what we are going to discover at the park! We fed the goose until he hissed at me...then I stopped.

 Audrey thought that it was hilarious! Oh, have I mentioned that she is our little comedian! She has the funniest faces and loves to make you laugh! This may come as a surprise to some of you because Audrey is also extremely SHY! If you try to talk to her she buries her head into my neck. But at home, she is the class clown. For those of you who knew Trey really well when he was two...same thing!

Love this girl!!!

Where is Audrey?

Here I am!!!

It was a fun day at the park! The girls didn't want to leave! As we were heading out, a lot of people were showing up to walk their dogs! The girls just sat on the front steps of this cabin (not sure what the cabin was for, it was in a picnic area) and had their own little dog show! We will be making this a picnic spot for sure this summer!

Can We Say BEHIND!!!

Yes I know...I am really, really bad at this! Livia, who is on top of everything by the way, would be mortified to find out that she was six and a half before I blogged about her baptism! But in my mind, I am like SCORE I blogged!!!! Ok, I have said it, so now it is time to move on.

Baptism! I feel like with everyone of Livia's birthday's I am saying that she was waiting all year to turn ... , but this year, she could hardly contain herself! She was so excited to get baptized! She was so excited to have her family come from out of town and she was so excited to of course finally be 8!

We love our Livia! She is the Princess of the household (although Ainslee try's to take her crown sometimes!).  She is spunky, loving, kind, opinionated, smart and so much fun! She has an infectious laugh and can pretty much take anyone down in a debate on any subject! She loves cheerleading, basketball, soccer and her friends! Oh, I guess I will add a few pics of her friend  birthday. We had this a couple weeks before her real birthday because we new that it would be crazy with everyone coming to town.

We cleared the sunroom out and got it all party ready! Ainslee and Audrey loved having the room all to themselves! The girls designed their own cars and then they had pizza and went shopping at the concession stand! I strung lights all around the room! Livia loved every second of it! 

Thanks to everyone that made it out here for Livia's special day! We missed all of the rest of our family...you were in our thoughts! Hopefully I can blog a little closer to Liv's next birthday! I have six months to get caught up on everything that has happened in the last six months!