Just a little of what we have been up to lately...

"WOW!" is one of my most used expressions, and I used it today when I looked at pictures of everything we have done since I last posted around Mother's Day. It is amazing how much has been going on the past few weeks! The end of the school year is always busy, and this year was no exception. Not only was I cramming to complete report cards, special memory books that I make for the kids, and those dreaded cumulative folders ,(if you don't have a clue what those are...be glad!) :) but we've had a lot of fun activities going on as well. So here is one of my infamous "ridiculously long posts." Grab a cup of coffee (or more up my alley, a Dr. Pepper!) and enjoy...and I'm not done yet! I still need to post cousin Katie's baby shower, our trip to the circus, Holden's first swim lessons, and he and Natalie finally meeting baby Corinne! Stay tuned!

I had some great helpers at the end of the school year. At least, Jay was a great helper. Holden tried...here he is coloring with chalk, but not on the chalkboard! Thanks for all of the extra hours you spent with Holden, either at home or chasing him around the school building, Jay! And thanks for your expert "tearing down" and "taping" skills in my classroom. :)

I said goodbye to my fifth first grade class. The years seem to go by faster and faster! I am thrilled to be home with Holden for the summer, but will miss these kiddos. This class was honestly one of the best I've had, if not the best. They were just such a sweet, fun group of children. Here they are getting ready for the little end of the year program that I have them put on for their parents. It is all about how they have grown, thus the flowers. (And a bee and ladybug! Can you spot them?) I think they are adorable even though the boys always protest!

One unseasonably chilly May evening, we went to Heyworth Heydays. It is a small carnival with rides and the usual yummy, unhealthy fair food and booths. Our cousins live in Heyworth, and Tami was watching Chelsey for the weekend. Even though it was pretty cold, the kids had a blast and so did some of the adults, as you will see. :)

Holden LOVED the rides this year! I am realizing what a big boy he is becoming. He was able to ride a lot of them all by himself, but of course loved having a companion, too! He adores Chelsey, and she gamely agreed to ride on this little car ride with him. The second shot shows how embarrassed she was to be seen on such a "baby" ride! :) Especially when Holden started yelling, "Vroom! Vroom!" Which is why she is "shushing" him in the last picture.

Jay and his dad, Paul, decided to show they were still young at heart by going on this NOT so babyish ride! My stomach hurts just looking at it. Jay basically dared Paul to do it. I think the scariest part was the fact that Paul's door was literally held together with duct tape, and looked like it could fall apart at any second. They walked off intact, and managed to keep their fair food down...better them than me!!!!

Some shots from our evening. I can remember when Eric and I were kids and we'd always wonder why Mom had so much fun at the fair when she didn't ride anything. She told us that she loved watching us enjoying everything, and we didn't get it. Now I do. :)

Love this little smirk on my big boy! This is at my school. We took a break from working on things and I let him play in the butterfly garden. He is really into "melling" the flowers right now, which translates into "smelling." His version of this is hilarious; he gets not only his nose right on the flowers, but his mouth as well, often coming up with pollen covering his face! Too cute.

It's the simple things that make him happy.

Natalie Marie is growing like a weed! It is so fun now that she and Holden are both toddlers together. We met up with her and her parents at a park one recent weekend. It was really hot that day and there wasn't much shade, so we didn't hang out too long. But I managed to snap a few adorable shots before we left! Bridget and I are so excited to get our "babies" together for play dates this summer!

What a cutie pie! I love her signature "nose scrunch;" as long as I have known Bridget, she does the same thing when she is really happy or laughing. :)

"Hi pal!"

"CHEESE!" (Gotta love Holden's white trash "I shopped at Walmart" sticker! Ha!)

The same day that we saw Natalie, Holden was very bummed that we couldn't play at the park long. So I pulled his wagon into the backyard and got the hose out. He gave it a good cleaning and had a lot of fun splashing in the lid and cleaning his Scooby shoes! I stripped him down to his diaper after he sat in the water fully clothed. He actually attempted to pull his diaper off, too...guess he thought it was bath time! I told him he had to keep it on. :)

Nothin' like a little boy drinking out of the hose! He caught onto this at a very young age last summer, and his skills apparently did not get rusty over the winter!

We took Holden to his first movie the other night!!! I have been looking forward to this for SO long, being a big movie fan myself. Our town just converted one of its older theaters into a dollar theater, which we are going to love taking advantage of! Jay, Tami, Aunt Allie and I took him to see "Hotel for Dogs." He lasted an hour, which we thought was pretty good for his first time. The first half hour alone he was just enthralled with the popcorn and pop. :) He was so cute in his little booster seat. A rather large woman and her daughter came in at the last second and plopped right down in front of him (WHY does that always happen??) so he ended up rotating laps and also standing in front of us, hanging onto the empty seats. When the lights went out, he yelled, "IT'S DARK!!!" which made us laugh. He also saw some kids leaving the theater and started yelling, "WHERE DEY GO??" over and over until I finally bribed him to be quiet with my drink! :) He really enjoyed the dogs in the movie, commenting on things they were doing and watching with wide eyes. Now I just need to rent the movie to find out what happened in the second half. :)

Memorial Day was wet and humid, raining on and off all day. Bridget joined my parents, Jay and I in taking Natalie and Holden to their first parade! We got these pictures before it started pouring...but we pulled out umbrellas and the parade went on. Holden has the funniest expressions in these pictures, but he was impatiently waiting for the firetrucks to come, and getting annoyed that they weren't there yet. :) He loved the parade, esp. the fire trucks with sirens blaring, all of the cool cars, and the dogs of all sizes that walked for some organization. Oh, and the big, loud drums in the marching bands! Natalie did great, too! We thought some of the loud noises might scare her, but she laughed and clapped from her stroller the whole time, waving at various people and vehicles. She is such a happy baby. When the parade was over, Holden actually cried because we had to go home and there were no more "free trucks." (Fire trucks)

The annual "Fun Run" started up again last Friday. What a difference a year makes! Holden was so excited to get his t-shirt and stood very still, saying, "Mommy put the paper on Holden's back." :) Natalie is joining us this year! Can you tell from the pictures that she enjoyed herself? Colin and Cade were also there, as well as Brady. Holden was thrilled to see all of his friends, and gave me quite a few "cheeses" for the camera. I noticed in reviewing these that I never actually got a shot of Cade's face, although a few of his back end! He is just too quick for me. :) When it came time to run, Holden held onto Jay's and my hands and ran about a quarter of the way. Then he got freaked out by the mob of people (the first week has a huge turnout!) and wanted me to carry him and run. Daddy was a little bummed about that, but I reminded him he's only 2. He's got plenty of time for marathons! :)

Speaking of marathons, whew! That's all for now, folks! Hope you enjoyed this marathon of a blog post.

*Add-on: I just noticed that this cute picture of Colin and Holden totally cut off Colin's head in the collage! Oops! They are both cheesing it and I think it's hilarious, so here's the full version. :)