Preschool and Kindergarten 2019

This was a big year for us as Clara started Kindergarten and Emmett started preschool. They were both super excited about school and there were no tears on the first day. Emmett went through a stage (it only lasted a couple weeks) where he cried every time I dropped him off and had to be pried off me. He followed it up with running through the gate to the classroom and me having to ask him to come back and give me a hug. His teachers said he was super quiet at first and then came out of his shell and would not stop talking. They said that they had to ask him to be quiet on numerous occasions and they were excited about this. Emmett had awesome teachers and it was so special that he and Bailey got to be in the same class. I got to help out with numerous celebrations and it was fun to watch the two of them in class! He went into preschool barely knowing how to spell his name and recognize most letters and came out (marginally) writing his name, knowing all his letters, and he can count forever! It was definitely a year of growth! He also made several friends, and unlike Clara, isn't too shy to talk to them when we see them in the community. Although Emmett says he only plays with Bailey at school, he teachers and Bailey told me differently. 

First Day of Preschool

Last day of Preschool

First Day

Last Day and just as silly

He ended the year with a Mother's and Father's Day event where the class sang and presented their parents with gifts. Dada wasn't able to make it, but I was able to rearrange a trip so I could be there. It was super cute and luckily Cam and Bri sat up front and sent me some cute pictures! He also had an open house that I had to miss, but Dada attended. I made Tia send me lots of pictures and his teachers showed me around the room that morning before I had to head out of town.

Clarita is my little lover of learning and grew by leaps and bounds this year! She was consistently in the highest group in her class, but her reading really took off by the end of the year. She tested out at a level seven which I attribute to both her teacher and Aba who reads with her all the time. Clarita absolutely loves school and had the best teacher. It was Miss Resendez's first year and she did amazing! She had so much energy and really made learning fun. Clara didn't cry going to school, but she definitely cried at the end of the year because she wanted Miss Resendez to be her teacher forever. I volunteered every week and I had such a great time getting to know her teacher and all the other kids. It was really the best first year of school we could have asked for!

First Day of Kindergarten

Last day of Kindergarten

Clara had a lot of events at the end of the year. She had an open house where she showed us around her classroom, showed us her projects, and showed Bailey around since she will be in TK next year. The kids had a great time! Clarita also had a Parent's Day performance where they sang a million songs (I was really impressed that they learned so many) and gave us all a present. 

I also finally got to go on a field trip! We rode the train to Hanford to get ice cream. It was really hot and the train was over an hour late. AT one point while we were waiting in the sun, Clara said that it was the worst field trip ever and I had to agree. Luckily it improved from there and we had a blast riding the carousal a million times, taking a ride through town in an old fire truck, and eating ice cream. It was most of the kids' first time riding a train and they were very excited. I had a blast!

The last couple weeks of school were fun filled. There was a week of field trips to different areas around town. I got to go to the high school with the kids where we went to the FFH class and learned how to make butter. We also went to the library where the theater kids did some improv for us led by Olive's mom! I missed the library, but was able to go to the fire station and police station. We got a tour of both and it was interesting to learn about them and see inside. The kids had fun but were exhausted by the time we got back to school. 

Best Friends

All in all, it was a great year and I am so thankful for great teachers who loved my kids and helped them grow so much!

May Fun 2019

Looking back at my pictures made me realize that May was another super busy month and made me feel a little better about being so behind in blog posts. It was a really sad month because Grandpa Bill died unexpectedly two days before he was supposed to come for a visit. We tried to keep things as normal as possible and I was overwhelmed with all the support, kind words, flowers, and love we received. Knowing how great of a support system we have made it a little easier. I also got a terrible sinus infection at the same time so May seems like a blur to me. If it wasn't for the pictures, I don't think I would remember what happened. 

We started the month off by celebrating Evy's fourth birthday with a Doc McStuffins themed party. The kids had a blast and Emmett actually hit the pinata hard for the first time! 

The kids rode bikes and scooters to the farmer's market and we even made it into the newspaper! We had fun with the photo booth, and of course eating lots of fresh produce!

We celebrated Mother's Day at Tio Robert's and Tia Erika's. We had delicious food and wonderful company. Apparently I didn't get a picture of Eleanora and Erika or her mom, probably because they were cooking.

Clara had a Making Memories with Mom event at school where we made pots and got to plant some seeds. Afterward Dada and Emmett joined us and Macy and her mom for frozen yogurt at Yum Yum Yogurt.

Lyla and Cooper turned seven and we celebrated them with a taco and swim party. We all had a great time and it was good to catch up with Natalie and her family!

The kids begged to wash our cars so Dada obliged them. We didn't really have any of the needed materials (I'm way too lazy to wash my car and prefer to pay the car wash to do a good job) but they made do. You would have thought it was Christmas over here they were so excited!

Emmett got to celebrate summer birthday VIP at preschool and he was so excited. He choose to bring doughnuts so we made sure to leave early so Clara could join us before we dropped her off at school!

Of course there was lots of cousin fun. Bailey even got to play in Olive and Winnie's tree house with the kids!

Who doesn't bring ALL of their babies to church?

Clara got a soap making kit for Christmas. I really dislike doing crafts with kids because I have no patience. Luckily Dada has more patience than me and did it with them one night while I had a meeting!

We celebrated Grandma Donna's birthday at family dinner followed by Tristan's band concert.

I had to go to San Bernardino for work. I was bummed because I missed Emmett's preschool open house, but I got to hang out with my friends Lisa and Erika who I hadn't seen in ages. We all lived together freshman year in the dorms  and it was great to catch up!

My cousin Nils was playing a show in Fresno. We weren't able to make it to the show, but he was able to come over for dinner to catch up!

We went to a local olive oil factory for their annual celebration. Clara had a great time tasting all the different oils and vinegar and Emmett had fun playing cornhole!

Both kids had to make dioramas for school. Clara had to choose a zoo animal and write a report too. Of course she choose a cheetah and is now an expert on them. She wanted absolutely zero help with her diorama and ignored any ideas I had. Emmett was supposed to do something under the sea. Apparently I didn't pay much attention to the "under" part and let him choose Noah's Ark (his teachers didn't seem to mind). Clara helped him a little, but he did most of it himself!

We went to the annual Swedish Festival and started the day out with the Dala Trot. Clara ran with Dada this year and did such a great job! She ran it in 19:37, a 10:03 minute pace! She was definitely tired at the end, but did such a great job! Emmett ran with Aba who pushed Elise. I ran back and finished with Clara and Kevin and then ran with Emmett. He definitely ran faster with me and also did a great job! Bailey ran with Tio and killed it! Tia ran the 10K, making it her longest run ever! It wasn't as competitive this year for the 2 mile so I was able to get another Dala Horse without having to kill myself. Tons of our friends and their kids also ran and that made it extra fun! We hit up the Swedish pancake breakfast after the run and then came back for the parade. The kids had a great time watching the parade with their friends. I love that the street has a hole in it for the Maypole! Unfortunately, I had to work the soccer booth so I didn't get to see too much of the festival, but the kids and Dada had fun!

Later that night we went to Elijah's and Sina's baby shower. They just moved back to the US from Cambodia and she had never had a baby shower before. It was fun and the kids had a great time playing with Elijah's older kids and of course, Sophie and Gracie! I had a great time catching up with friends from high school that I rarely get to see.

We went to Burris Park with the Engstroms and I can't believe we had never been there before! It is a giant park with trails, play structures, BBQs, picnic areas, and even a museum! We had a picnic lunch, the kids rode bikes and scooters, and we enjoyed a lovely morning! We will definitely be back.

Clara has been taking violin lessons and the year culminated in a Handel party. Each year the kids learn about a different composer and have a party complete with trivia, coloring contests, and cake to celebrate what the have learned. Clara started a month before the year ended so she had to learn really fast! The best part was the Handel cake!

We celebrated Tio Robert's birthday with the longest evening ever that involved driving on a completely flooded freeway and going to two different DiCicco's. The kids were troopers through it all!

As always, we took lots of bike/scooter tris to the high school. The kids love to run up and down the bleachers. They have no idea that it's work for adults!

We went bowling with some friends and realized that bowling is great for little kids. We set them up with a lane and they entertained themselves by running around and playing. I have a feeling we'll do it again!