Kindergarten Graduation!

So the school year has come to an end. Last day of Kindergarten was today. As I was leaving work, I told a co-worker that I was leaving early to attend Caden's Kindergarten Graduation. She asked if I was going to cry. I said no with emphasis--this was a happy occasion. Why would I cry?

And then I saw Caden walk in with his class. I watched my brave, tall, well spoken 5 year old boy lead the classes and audience in the Christian Pledge.  I teared up.

I saw Caden's medal--which means he completed all of the tasks for the Kindergarten Olympics--he can recognize shapes, he can read, write, count by 1s, 2s, and 5s. He can recite the Pledge of Allegiance, the Christian Pledge, the Bible Pledge, the Kindness Pledge, the Lord's Prayer. He can tie his shoes-well, almost. Seeing the medal and how much he has grown in the last year made me tear up.

 Hearing Mrs. Kempf, Caden's teacher, tell me that Caden was an amazing kid, a born leader, and  truly one of the most special students she has ever had made me tear up. (Even though I am well aware that she probably says that to all of the parents!)  Hearing that Caden's favorite part of Kindergarten was the Mother's Day Tea warmed my heart and made the tears well up again.  Seeing Caden with his friends made me tear up.

So, I technically did not cry during Caden's kindergarten graduation. But the pride and love I have for Caden made some tears of joy appear. Congrats Caden on your first amazing academic milestone!  So proud of you!

Run, Walk, Honor

Saturday morning started waaayyy to early for my liking. We were up by 4:00am and out the door by 4:45am.  We were on our way to the 8th Pat Tillman Race.  Jim and Dad were going to run and my mom and I were going to walk the course with the boys in the stroller.  We wanted to get there early as we were going to be in good company with an estimated 35,000 people.  Parking was luckily no problem and we made it to the Tempe Stadium in plenty of time.

We had to split up as my Mom and I headed to the last "corral" where anyone with strollers had to start. The race started... and we waited and waited and waited. It took so long to for the groups to start that Mom and I were still waiting to start as Jim and Dad finished.   It took us about 1:20 to walk the 4.2 miles but our clock time was over 2.5 hours!  That was the biggest struggle we had.   Caden and Zane did great. Zane  loved to get out of the stroller and run with everyone else. He kept checking his Walgreens pedometer. So cute! 

 Not sure why Jim has a halo?

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Eat more Chicken!  Caden was thrilled to have his picture taken with the cows!

Zane won't be left out...

Everytime Caden shows off his new decorations, Zane insists that you see his room, too. Although we haven't done much to it, the train table is a relative new addition. So, here is Zane's Monkey room....

My Little Monkey in his bed!

Lego Room

Caden moved into an "airplane" room when he graduated from a crib. Pastel blues and greens were perfect for my toddler. But, as you know, Caden is far from being a toddler anymore. It was time for an update to his room. Caden's obsession with Legos started a while ago and hasn't slowed down. So, it seemed obvious that Lego themed room was necessary. That being said, we were not looking for a room full of primary colors that would need to be changed again in a year or two. So, after some searching online, we got some ideas and created Caden's Lego Room. He looks pretty happy, right?


Yes, that is Caden peeking around the corner...



Jim (and I!) built this board for Caden's wall. On the left is lego boards--so you can build right on the wall! On the right is cork board to hang up all the important things...

Can you see the "Lego wall"? Kind of looks like a Lego, right?