Summer Camp Co-Op

This summer I started a summer camp co-op with some other families that have kids the same age as mine. We are meeting once a week and having a planned activity. Each family is in charge of one week during the summer. Its great b/c we have 11 weeks of fun activities planned but I only have to plan one of those weeks. The first summer camp was on Wednesday. The kids made instruments then had little parade playing their instruments and waving flags. They made tambourines (or drums according to the boys) out of paper plates and beans and a bell instrument. Everyone had a great time and we are looking forward to 10 more weeks of fun. On the agenda we have:
The Great Garbage Game taught by Resource Oregon
Peterson Rock Gardens
Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery
Fire safety and Firetruck tour
Paint your own tiles
Nature walk scavenger hunt
Bike decorating and parade & relay games
All about Bugs
and a couple more that haven't been fully planned.

Its going to be a great summer!

Big boy beds!

We upgraded the boys room to bunkbeds. It happened a lot sooner than I was planning. Back in May, Max started running into his room every night right after family prayer and got in Caden's toddler bed. It was cute at first but then Caden started getting upset and Max didn't want to go into his crib. I told Ryan we needed to hold out til school was over then we would take the side of Max's crib and convert it to a toddler bed that he could get in and out of. So the first week of June I converted the crib. The crib as a toddler bed was actually a bit higher than Caden's toddler bed so Max moved over to the small bed and Caden moved over to the higher bed.

I was expecting spending the summer teaching Max to stay in his bed and him basically giving up naps. But he was GREAT! He loved the bed so much that he only got out when Caden got out of his bed. He has had no problems napping and I am just amazed at how well he has stayed in his bed. Even in the morning he waits til someone else is awake before he gets out.

After about a week, I realized Caden was really not fitting in the crib - toddler bed and that he needs a big boy bed. I started looking for bunkbeds and found a great one on craigslist. We brought it home and planned on just setting up the bottom bunk and keeping Max in the toddler bed. Then Ryan didn't want to store the top bunk in our already overflowing garage so we decided we would put it up but not use it. Right after we got it up Max got onto the bottom bunk and said "my bed". There was no going back to the toddler bed for him. That night we actually ended up moving ellie's mattress to top bunk and had ellie and caden sleep up there so Max could sleep in "his bed". Again he did great so the next day I went and got sheets and mattress so the boys could be in the bunkbed and I put the toddler bed up on craigslist to sell. And while I was at it I also sold the high chair, crib, and a couple other baby things we had around the house.

I can't believe how big my kids are getting. I love it and we have so much fun together but it is just crazy how fast time flies now.

Caden's 4th Birthday

Caden turned 4 on June 16th. We had a big birthday bash for him this year. We celebrated at Ryan's softball game. They had a little park next to the ball field so it was perfect. Caden helped with most of the party planning. We made a baseball pinata, baseball cookies and cupcakes, a baseball bean bag toss, and we even made Tomlinson baseball league shirts for our family. The party was a huge sucess. We served hotdogs and Cracker Jacks, then did a little spring training warm up. The kids divided into groups and went to different stations. One was the beanbag toss, a make a pennant craft, a baseball toss, and a running bases game. Then we hit the pinata (which held up very well), had cake and cookies and opened presents. It was great fun and Caden loved every minute of it.

Caden also got a bunkbed for his birthday. We got it a couple days before then decorated it then night of his birthday. He loves sleeping on the top bunk and is such a big boy now.

Marathon runner

Congratulations to Ellie for running a half marathon and earning her giant foot and tshirt. The kindergarteners have only been running 2x a week this spring so they only had to run a half marathon to earn the reward. Next year running club begins in fall, breaks for winter then starts up again in spring so she will need to run all 26 miles to earn her shirt. Way to go Ellie!!! Note: the half marathon is consecutive. Generally she ran a mile each running club day.

Ellie also earned her 4th AR diploma for the year and got a gift card to Subway. Thats a total of 87 books read, 91% correct on her reading comprehension tests, and all at a average of a 3rd grade reading level. What a great year Ellie!

Camping Trip

We took our first camping trip of the summer the last weekend in May. We stayed in a cabin in the Malheur national forest about 40 miles outside Burns. His friend owns the cabin and offered it to us. It worked out great since Ryan had to speak in Burns that sunday (Burns is a 2 hour drive from Bend). We left Friday afternoon and got to the cabin just before dinner. We started a fire and roasted hotdogs and smores the first night. Yummy. Saturday we did some hiking around the cabin and tried fishing at the nearby lake. We didn't catch anything but we also didn't go during prime fishing time or have the best spot. The kids had fun though and maxwell just loves to through rocks into the water. Saturday night I made my first dutch oven dinner, Chuck Wagon Casseroll. It turned out really well and was pretty easy. It was a nice weekend and was great to be outdoors and getaway. We are looking forward to some more camping this summer and will probably try out our tent since our kids did so well.

Softball

Ryan has been playing on a softball team with a bunch of guys from the ward. They have weekly games and the kids and I have enjoyed going to watch. Well, mostly the kids run around and play with all their friends and I sit and chat with the other wives but we do watch a bit. Here are some pics from the last game. Caden has become very excited about softball and wants a baseball party for his birthday. It just so happens that one of the games is on his bday so we are going to celebrate there with all the kids. It should be fun.

Caden's last day of school

Caden finished up his first year of preschool at the end of May. They had a pizza party to celebrate. Miss Mindy presented all of them with a star award and starbursts. Caden was given the Most Friendly. He had a great year of school and was really sad it came to an end. Miss Mindy gave each of the kids a binder with all their favorite artwork from the year. She also made them a very special DVD with tons of photos of the class throughout the year. She really is the best preschool teacher ever and Caden can't wait to go back next year. You can view his preschool blog for more info and photos at http://www.shiningstarsclass.blogspot.com/