Toothless

Tracen has had a "wiggly" tooth since March, when we were in Disney World, but he would never let anyone pull it out...he barely let us touch it....he said he just wanted it to fall out all by itself...(even his teeth are independent...ha!)  Well today, I noticed that his new tooth is trying to come in and it looks rather painful.  After telling Chris about it, he told Tracen that we were going to pull out his tooth.  He was so upset...he wouldn't let anyone near him...pushing away Chris with all of his strength.  Finally, Chris had the brilliant idea to tell Tracen to try and do it himself.  After 4 attempts it popped right out.  He was so surprised that it didn't hurt and so proud that he pulled his first tooth.  He couldn't stop looking in the mirror at his new hole...and after a couple minutes of vanity he said, "Can I go to bed now?"  He was so excited to go to bed so he could put his tooth under his pillow.  Yay!  What a fun first for our family!  

Poor Logan will be sad he missed it...he was out @ 5:30 tonight.

 Our big toothless 6 year old!

 The TOOTH!

putting the tooth under his pillow...it was dark in his room since Logan was already asleep and the flash kept bugging his eyes...ohwell :)   Hopefully the tooth fairy will come tonight buddy!

A Weekend Getaway

This weekend we piled in the car and headed to Connecticut for a little family getaway. On our ride over...the GPS took us the WORST WAY POSSIBLE...straight over the George Washington Bridge into New York...not only did it cost us $12, but it also took over an hour just to go 3 miles. Chris says he now can check New York off the bucket list, but I beg to differ! So after 8 hours in the car we made it to our destination...PS...it was only supposed to be a 5 hour drive...ha! Of course we hit up our very favorite restaurant...Cheesecake Factory. I told Chris that when we move and settle somewhere...it needs to have Cheesecake factory so we can eat there more than once every six months or so. Ha!

Our cute family inf front of Cheesecake factory!  

I might be biased...but those might possibly be the cutest brothers ever!

On Saturday we packed up and headed to the beach for the day!  The boys were so excited they could hardly stand it!  We haven't been to the beach since we went to Hawaii last summer.  We played and played all day long in the hot sun.  Tracen couldn't get enough of the water and Logan and Chris dug multiple "holes" as the tide continuously rose and destroyed them :)  Chris kept saying...this is the last one...but that rarely worked out for him.

Overall it was a super fun weekend...it was nice to getaway and spend time with just us...but not be too far from home.  I really wanted to have a last getaway before Chris starts Second year...can you believe it?  Second year?  While it technically doesn't start until July, I feel like June will be our worst month ever so Second year in my mind is just going to be 13 months long...boo!!!!

Anyway...We plan to go back to Connecticut sometime and actually sight see, since that is where Chris served his mission...but we will save that trip for when we have more time.

One of the greatest parts of living here has been the cool places that we have been able to and will be able to go to...and to be so close.  It is really fun to explore the East Coast a bit while we are out here.  We still have a lot of sight-seeing to do...but we definitely have made a good start.

Pre-K Graduation

I think I have posted about this before...but last year with Tracen turning 5 and at the age to go to kindergarten, I was torn on what to do with him.  While Tracen can memorize, talk and has a lot of skills, his fine motor skills were lacking, mostly in the dept of writing because let's face it, anyone who knows Tray, knows he is a ball of energy that would much rather dribble a basketball.  When we got to PA, I had his tested and the guidance counselor said he would be fine going to kindergarten, but he noticed that I was hesitant and told me, "If you have any reservation, then I would hold him back.  You will never regret giving a kid, especially an athletic boy, a chance to mature."  Then they recommended Grace Christian Preschool and luck so had it that they started a 5 year old, Pre-K class AND there was one opening...answer to my prayers!  All the kids were 5 by September and were all just like Tracen....easily could have gone to kindergarten...but another year would be their best bet!  I will never regret our decision to place Tracen here.  He is much more confident and had a really smooth transition to a new place with so much change!  I am so grateful we found this school!

Last Thursday was their graduation.  It was fun to see how proud he was and to see him play and interact with his friends.  With such a small class, they are all buddies!  It is really fun!

 Here are the graduates before the ceremony

Tracen...you handsome devil :)  Walking down the aisle

 During the graduation ceremony, Mrs. Hoover had each child come up and she talked about each one individually for a few minutes...here is what she said about Tracen:

(She begins by talking about his basketball skillz)

(Sorry...you will have to listen since it is sideways)

 Here is his class with his two teachers, Mrs. Madison and Mrs. Hoover

back row:  Andy, Abby, Tracen, Alexia

front row:  Landon, Kate, Emily

not pictured:  Nelida, Savannah

 After the little ceremony the teachers gave the kids each their own bucket of goodies as a special treat from them.  Tracen loved this!  He thought it was the best thing ever!

Our two best brothers!

 Ha Ha!  Check out Logan's eyes!

 Congratulations Tracen!  You are so ready for Kindergarten!  We love you!!!

Favorite Things

Back in APRIL...the 26th to be exact, my friend Jana and I through the most awesome party (not to toot our own horns or anything)! It was a Favorite Things party and it was so fun! Our turn-out was amazing and it was fun to see what people brought for 5 bucks! I took a ton of pictures...but I desperately need a new camera...so the quality isn't so great...Everyone brought 5 of one of their favorite things and a favorite appetizer or dessert!  We had tons of food and tons of fun!  It was a great night of favorites!

Our invitation...it's hard to see here...this is a scanned copy and definitely doesn't give it justice...they were pretty cute.   Behind the details of the party were the lyrics from the song...

"Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens, 

Bright Copper Kettles and Warm Woolen Mittens..."  

You get he idea.

We had two tables for "Favorite Things" and it still was crowded...I wish I would have gotten a picture of the completed tables...but heh...it's what I got.  We also made everyone bags to put their goodies in.

For my favorite thing, I brought the ingredients and recipe for Pina Coladas...one of mine and Chris' favorite summer drinks (but watch out for the calories).  $5 is hard to work with...so this worked, I actually went a bit over because I wanted to include a festive glass too...they turned out pretty cute.

Me and my friend Jana before the party started :)  She was the hostess...since my house couldn't hold the number of ladies that attended.

Lots and lots of food!  Delish!

Some of our favorite things.  I made everyone take a picture as they presented their favorite :)

Finally the people...

The tall ladies 5'7 and above (I think most are above)

The pregnant ladies :)

Our awesome group of Ladies!  Such a fun night!