Colton's a 4th Grader

Well today was Colton's last day of school. This year has definitely gone fast for us. I am glad Colton has adjusted to the Academy, and even though he HATES his uniform, he's doing very well as a student. (NO more uniforms until August 19th :))

So for the last day, they had an Awards Assembly, and since I'm done with school, I was able to go. I asked Colton's teacher about today's schedule, and she told me Colton would be receiving 2 awards. So I made sure I knew the times, and then I went to the school this morning. Colton's first award was a character trait, for having Respect. I'm not sure how he got that award, because at home that's not a trait he always displays. The second award was for being the most improved reader for the year. This was an award only given to 2 kids per grade. As the principal was talking about the award, she mentioned that the kids who won this award also received a $50 savings bond at a near by bank. When I heard that I was in shock! Way to Go Colton.

So next after the Awards Assembly, was Field Day. We decided to stay and watch Colton, but once again I didn't bring much luck to Colton. He was in a race, carrying all kinds of things, and as he was turning one of the cones, another girl turned the same direction, and her hula hoop jammed his finger. It was quite the scene. Colton in typical fashion dropped to the ground, and was crying. I had to take him to the Nurses office. We got some ice, and he decided to sit out on all the stations where you had to use your hands. I figured he would probably do better if I wasn't around, so Lauren and I decided to get started on our errands.

Austin's an 8th Grader

Well this week Austin has finals, yes in Jr. High he has finals. I love the way he studies. In a few classes he is allowed to have notecards. And in other classes he's allowed to have his entire notebooks. And after he is done with his finals today at 3:05 he will officially be an 8th Grader. Which means he only has one year left until High School. I am sure this summer and this upcoming year we will see lots of changes and growing in him.

Rome Day

Colton has been studying ancient Rome in school. So today they had a fun day with all sorts of activities. Everyone had to make a costume, and a Mt. Vesuvius volcano. Which we put off until the last minute, by which I mean midnight of last night. They had all kinds of crafts, gladiator wars, chariot races, and an authentic roman lunch, which for Colton meant only bread.

Upside Down Roller Coasters!

Well Brad, Austin, & Colton decided to make another trip out to Elitch's to ride rollercoasters today. Lauren and I had plans to go to the Rockies game with Grandpa Rick & Sonia. Jake and Emily met up with them. We were hoping that by having Cool Uncle Jake around, the boys would actually ride the rides. They all had fun. Austin rode all of the following: Minderaser, Sidewinder, Twister 2 and Rainbow. Colton rode: Twister 2, Half-Pipe, Sidewinder and Rainbow. They are saving Tower of Doom & Boomerang until our next visit.

Open House

Well, with it being the end of May, it's also Graduation season. So today we had two Open Houses to go to. First we made our way down to CR for Vinnie's Open House. It was a lot of fun. We wish Vinnie the best as he goes up to UNC next fall.


Next we head up to Aurora for Guido's Open House. It was just a small gathering. And Guido even cooked all the food. He made great hamburgers. He did tell us he was hired at Helga's. Helga's is our favorite German resteraunt in Aurora. We've had a lot of fun family dinners there. Not sure of his schedule yet.

Colton's Homerun!!!

Well, this evening we had our final graduation ceremony at school so I missed the evening's baseball game, what a game to miss!!... When I got home, I heard about how well Colton played and how he hit his first HOMERUN of the year. According to Dad and Colton, he hit the sweet spot. Not only did he cross homeplate before the ball was thrown into the infield, he also drove in two of his buddies on base. To quote Colton, "It was amazing!". I only wish I could of seen it, or taken a picture (Brad is so bad about taking pictures).

School's Out for Summer

Well, I'm not sure how many of you know this.... But this year I returned to the working world. I also went down a differernt path. Long story short, I worked at Lauren's preschool. I worked in the toddler or 2 year old room. I loved working with little ones, and loved making crafts, singing songs, dressing up for holidays. ( I was Princess Fiona for Halloween.) - Which was so cute because all my little kids called me SHREK. I also had jammie days at school.

This was a year in which I learned a lot about how hard teachers work. I definitely have a greater appreciation for all teachers. I did have a great year, but I'm glad that today was the last day of school. I'm still not sure about my plans for next year. (If I will return to working at the preschool, or H&R Block.)

Colton's Pitching

Today Colton had a game, and we had Lauren's graduation. Since we can't be in two places at the same time, we asked a friend to take Colton to the baseball game. During Lauren's graduation, we called our friend to ask if she could also drive Colton home, and we wanted to know how the boys were playing. Well Colton was pitching, and he was pitching very well. Better than Brad and I have ever seen him pitch. We were both bummed to of missed his game. But we enjoyed having him tell us all about pitching. I wonder if when Brad and I are at the games we make him nervous. But with his last few baseball performances he has definately earned his Webkin:)

Lauren is a Kindergartener Now

Well today Lauren graduated from Preschool. We had a great little ceremony, and she is ready for Kindergarten. She will go to school with the boys at the Academy. She is enrolled in all day kindergarten. So, what I will do will all my new free time : ) Once again here are our pictures.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?UV=691809871312_435439147306&mode=fromsite&collid=11680997706.507449147306.1211608602051&conn_speed=1

It's Yearbook Time

Well today, Austin came home with his yearbook. He was very excited to look through it and start getting autographs. I too was excited to look at it, since I was on yearbook staff, and I'm kinda a nerd when it comes to things like that. Unfortunately, I wasn't as impressed at all with the yearbook, and it was a little expensive, (we did agree to pay for half, and Austin paid for th other half.) There were just pictures of everything, very few stories, or sports scores, or even an index. With the kids being at a charter school, each family is required to volunteer 36 hours. And I think I've found my new volunteer job for next year. And it'll be fun to see how many autographs he gets. I think he wants to get everyone in the whole school.

I'm Proud to be an American

Well today Austin & Brad went to Lowes to buy some things... They came home with an American Flag, which is now mounted on our front porch. I guess Brad said Austin talked him into buying it. Austin has vowed to be responsible for the putting up and taking down of the flag. Just in time for Memorial Day.

Rockies Game

May 18th

Well today I went to the Rockies game, with only My Dad, Sonia and Guido. The weather has finally warmed up. On Tuesday it was cold and wet. It was a great day to watch a ball game. I did decide to take the Rockies Ride RTD bus downtown, a little advice, the last bus leaves an hour before game time...And don't miss the bus like I did.

More Baseball

Well we had a busy day.... Colton also had a game to play today. It was an away game, and the other team was really good. Colton played 1st base, and batted second. At his first at bat, he had a nice hit, and scored the first run for his team. Later on during the game he had an awesome hit, if only it had stayed fair. Colton and Tanner also had a great double play during the game... It's so cool to see the team working together and making great plays. And Colton also got his first Webkin, for playing so well.





Brad and Austin didn't make it to the game. Austin went to Boondocks with Youthgroup. He said he had a lot of fun. Although he did say the line for lazertag was really long. He mostly rode on the go karts. It was kinda sad for me for me to take Austin to Boondocks, because he just wanted me to drop him off at the door, and drive away. He is growing up so much everyday.



Well after Boondocks, Brad and Austin had to go to Austin's Band Banquet. They had a nice catered dinner from Dickey's. Austin recieved a Band Pin. For going to such a small school, Brad thought that the ceremony would be short, but it wasn't. I guess they had a few skits, and Brad was amazed at how much a band teacher could talk. Apparently, from Brad and Austin's description the banquet went on and on. Brad felt that the Band banquet was more torturous than sitting through an entire year's worth of Band concerts....

Lauren's Last Soccer Game

Well today was Lauren's last soccer game.. She has been playing well. She's had a few games where she has scored a goal. Well today her team was a little short, so she got some extra playing time. And with her extra playing time she scored 4 goals! I don't think she scored 4 goals all season. So we were very excited to witness 4 goals in one game. ( I guess she picked up some plays from watching all her brother's soccer games. ) So to celebrate we all went to lunch at Chick-fil-A. But we had Scarlett with us, so we sat outside in the grass. Lauren also got a new Webkin, for having such a good game. Check out her pictures:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?UV=683305341974_782862047306&mode=fromsite&collid=11680997706.982272047306.1211517975231&conn_speed=1

Guido Graduates

Well today was very busy. But the biggest accomplishment of the day was that Guido graduated. So for my parents that means they are getting older : ) All four of us graduated from Rangeview, and during the ceremony I felt old, hearing that it was the 24th commencement ceremony for Rangeview. And then Sonia told me that her 10 year reunion is this August. I can't believe it. Guido's ceremony was very nice, it was inside the DU Ritchie Center. The song that they sang was one I just heard and I love it. It's call "My Wish". I had to laugh at the Top 10 Students speech, they spoke about Educational TV, so each student spoke about their favorite TV show and how it inspired or changed their life. The first show was Family Guy, and others that were mentioned, were: The Bob Ross Show, Friends, and of course Star Trek. After the ceremony, we went to have dinner at Carraba's in Aurora. Guido is having his Open House on May 24th.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?UV=691809871312_435439147306&mode=fromsite&collid=11680997706.994420247306.1211604317129&conn_speed=1


Due to being in Aurora, I did miss Austin's last band concert of the year. Good thing Brad was able to take my place. I did go up to the school, but by the time I made it up there it was already the intermission, and Austin wan't playing anymore. Brad said he played well.

Today was also the Father's Day Lunch at school, for Lauren. So Brad had lunch with Lauren today. The lunch was catered by Mimi's Cafe. Brad & Lauren had fun.

Austin's Field Trip

Today Austin had his field trip. He went to the Natural & Science Museum. They went to look at everything.

Mother's Day

Today we went to chuch, and Brad got me an orchid corsage. It was very pretty. He also gave me my present earlier this week. I was spoiled with a Kohl's gift card. I am planning on maybe a new dress for graduation. Or some new summer clothes.

We went to lunch at Spaghetti Factory, we meet up with Grandma Becky, Grandpa John, Emily and Jake. We also celebrated Grandma's birthday. Grandma & Grandpa will be leaving Wednesday for Europe to celebrate their 35th Wedding Anniversary. Lauren is looking forward to dogsitting again.

Our plan was to go to Elitch Gardens, it's a Six Flags amusement park. We bought season passes, so the boys can get used to roller coasters. Austin doen't like roller coasters, and neither does Colton. Lauren would ride on anything that she is tall enough for. So we'll see how many times we go this summer.

Move In Day

Well, it has been talked about for almost a year, but today Felicia moved in with us. She is staying in the basement. She is going to school at Front Range Community College, to get her degree in Sign Language. She wants to be an interpreter. She is also working at the WalMart at 104th & I25. So that's the update on Felicia.

Mother's Day Tea

Today, was the Mother's Day Tea at school. Grandma Gail was able to drive up, and join us. We each received a cookbook, from her school with her classmates favorite recipes. The menu included, chicken salad sandwiches, chips, fruit, cheese, crackers, and mini cheesecakes. It's interesting to note that our beverage was punch. Lauren made a good observation, when she asked, "Where is the tea, if this is a tea party?" It was pretty funny.

Coors Field

Well, we had planned to go to the Rockies game tonight for Colton's Birthday, but he was sick last week with strep, and missed 2 baseball games. He really felt bad about letting his team down. So we decided that he can't miss another game. So we had an extra ticket to tonights Rockies game.. So Lauren brought her friend, who lives in the neighborhood, Bailey. We have taken many of the kids friends to their first Rockies game. And now we were able to add Bailey to that list. Lauren and Bailey were so cute, and they had a blast.

Student Council

Well Austin decided he wanted to run for Student Council for next year. He wanted to be a representative. And an advantage of a small school showed itself to us. For 8th grade there were 3 seats available. And only 2 people ran. I didn't know that until we were talking and I asked Austin about preparing his speech. He told me he wasn't really concerned about his speech because it was just a formality. I didn't understand at first. But then he explained the math, and told me he would automatically win by default. He was very proud of that,and I just hope he does a good job as an 8th grade representative.