{Survived}

Another school year has finished. Another year of 1st Grade under my belt, E finished 3rd and K finished 6th.

It was a crazy busy year, but the time flew by. E constantly reminds me of how fast the year went by. It went by in a flash and I still can't believe it is over already.

E & K were both recognized by their teachers during their awards and seemed super happy that they year is done.

E's class

Now onto summer.....swimming, reading, playing, relaxing, and trying to figure out how to get ready for the next school year.

{soliders}

For school K and E each got to be in a Civil War Re-enactment. K was on artillery, meaning he got to launch water balloons. E was with his class and got to work with the regiment and throw water bombs at the other regiment.

It was a fun day and something they looked forward to for weeks. It was a nice break from their normal school day.

{Elections}

K decided to run for AHA 2nd Grade Representative for next school year. He figured he had a better chance at winning because next year's 2nd graders are my 1st graders so they would know him.

He wrote his speech all by himself and got a teacher recommendation.

He won after a second vote, because the first time around they tied. He is excited to be in the AHA House as the 2nd Grade Rep next year. I just hope he is ready for the extra work that it will bring.

{Ordination Weekend}

K turned 12.
12.
I can't believe it.

With turning 12, he also was ordained a deacon bringing all of our extend to Vegas for a weekend visit.

Almost all the Apos and Walkers made the trip down and we had a ton of people here. The bishopric were amazed at the amount of family support K had for the ordination (I think it ended up being about 35 people in the room).

We are so proud of him and his preparation for this big day. He is excited for all the new things he will now get to experience and participate in at church. And I'm sure all of our lives will get a bit busier with it now.

{Secret Getaway}

So this year we tried to plan a secret getaway for C's birthday. It was a secret up until the people charged my credit card for the cabin and then C figured it all out.

He hates to not know what is going on and asks lots of questions when any event is arriving that requires presents.

Since he didn't' "want anything" and we couldn't come up with something ourselves, the boys and I decided that we should go on a small weekend trip. I took off Friday from work and we told him he had to keep Friday clear. But but the time Tuesday rolled around he had it figured out.

We left after school on Thursday to drive up to to stay 2 nights in a cabin on the reservoir. But since we had never been there and misjudged the time it would take to drive there we got to the small cabin place 30 minutes after they closed. We had no way to check in and since it was the middle of nowhere, our cells didn't work to call them and tell them we would be late.
Pioche
We drove 30 minutes back to Pioche and stayed in the only motel in the town. It was a small hundred year old motel that was attached to the town bar so it all smelled of smoke. It was very cute and old. I loved it.

The boys had never been to town so small and they were so intrigued.

(the ENTIRE town)

(behind them is the only cafe in town)

(the hotel we stayed in)

They were excited the next morning to eat in a small diner across the street. Then we headed back to the reservoir.

As we walked in the bar to check in, yes the whole place revolved around the bar, the guys was calling my non-working cell phone to check on us. I was pleased he gave us back the money for the night we couldn't spend in the cabin since they were closed and we started unpacking the Jeep. It was colder there but nice.

(the red building behind E is the cabin)

We figured out there wasn't an oven, more than one pot to cook with and minimal supplies there but the boys were excited. We had packed all their fishing gear and they went off with C to fish while I figured out how to fit everything we brought into the smallest cabin ever and make lunch without a table or counter space and one pan.

The boys spent most of the afternoon outside in the fresh air and down by the water but it was cold.

We tried to have dinner and do some hiking but as E and I hiked up the mouton next to the cabin we were getting colder and colder.

(E and I are on top of that big cliff.....we are the little dots)

Luckily I had brought the laptop so we could watch a movie and be all cozy together in the cabin that night.

When we woke up Saturday morning it was snowing. Yep it was that cold. Luckily we hadn't planned on staying through Saturday and Sunday because it snowed that weekend and we would have been stuck in the small cabin the whole time.

It was fun and now we know what to bring with us next time. And that we need to leave a lot earlier and bring everything and anything we think we might need because there is NOTHING out there!

{spring break 2012}

We counted down the days for two weeks and it felt like it would never get here but it finally did!!

SPRING BREAK!!!

We spent the weekend in San Diego and had a great time. The beach was a bit chilly but the beach is the beach, no matter what the temperature. I have to say though I wore my hoodie the whole time, never done that before.....but I still got a slight sunburn on my face.

The boys weren't fazed by the temperature at all and had a great time.

E is getting better at skim boarding each time we go.

Also the waves came up and trapped E's leg in the hole they were digging...it was a very deep hole and his leg was 3/4 of the way covered up. It took a good 15 minutes for them to dig him back out.

We also stopped to see the San Diego Temple on our way into town along with a stop in La Jolla to see the seals. In all our trips down there we had never been to either one before so that was fun. We spent a good hour just watching the seals...they were so close up and really fun to watch!

Monday we took the boys to the Fleet Science Museum in Balboa Park. It was really neat....like a children's museum with only science stuff. They even had a "tinkering lab" where you could build things and make your own stuff. K loved the brain teaser stuff and E loved the Geometric climbing thing.

Getting out of town for the 3 days is really good for all four of us even though it is so short. But we look forward to it every year!

{March 24}

This week felt more "normal"...which really means slower, not as busy, but still we were getting things done. We officially nay have 9 weeks left of the school year and only a week until Spring Break.

All four of us are ready for the break and can't wait to just have some down time.

Friday night C and the boys went to the Wranglers Hockey game. At Christmas the boys gave C tickets to one game and they realized that they really love going. So this was their 3rd game and they had a great time. I got to stay at school get some work done & participate in an event at school.

The greatest part of the week for me though was getting my computer back. C got me a new computer for Christmas and somehow the hard drive crashed on Wednesday....luckily those Apple people know what they are doing and put it back together for me.

{E's past 8 weeks}

E has had a record 8 weeks.

Week 1: All school winner of the Geography bee (he beat the upper grammar and high schoolers!)

Week 6: 3rd Place winner in 3rd grade in the Science Fair

Week 8: 2nd Place Winner in the Pinewood Derby!

Way to go E! We sure are proud of you!

{In like a lion....}

Ir's march and the vegas wind has been blowing in the cold air.....it happens every year on the day we have to turn in science projects. Last year the boys ha to chase parts of their boards through the parking lot so this year we used different glue and really glued it on. Luckily no parts were lost this year.

We had a fun week at school and were surprised to find out that Grandma Walker and Grandpa Will were coming to stay with us for a few days. We have had a great visit with them and the boys have enjoyed every minute with them. Late night games and lots of conversation.

We also went bowling with our cousins on Saturday and since K bowled over 150 we got ice cream afterwards. We always love spending time with the girls!!

{3rd Place}

This must be E's year at school.

On Friday we found out he won 3rd place in the Science Fair for his grade level!!! He was so excited and happy. He was surprised again with the win, and so proud of himself. He worked really hard on this project and it was his FIRST big paper to write. He did all the research himself and I helped him do the outline and he wrote the rough draft all alone. It was wonderful. He did a great job on this project!

Way to go E!!

{Last few days of February}

Well we have spent a good amount of time on Science Projects this week....the joy of February and March (note sarcasm here.).

But we were all finished up by the time Friday night rolled around so at least I feel like our weekend should be a bit more relaxed.

It was also LEAP DAY! and the joy of teaching school is that I get to know all about leap day to share with my scholars.....but my class decided leap day isn't too much fun since there are no presents and no parties....so "booooo to leap day" as one of my scholars put it.

But we finished off the week with "Apo Family Dinner" with B & V and girls to celebrate A's birthday. It's always great to have family close by!

Now onto Science Week...and praying that we can get all the science stuff to school in one piece. (it is tradition here that each time we are to turn in science projects it gets super windy...last year we chased E's title letters through the parking lot and had to redo his board in my classroom...so this year we went rubber cement to hopefully not have that problem....we'll know on Tuesday morning!)

{a new pastime}

So for a Christmas present the boys and I got C tickets to a local hockey game.

The boys had never been to a game before and were really excited to go.

Now they have been going at least once a month and are sad to know that the season is over in March. So they are trying to go as often as they can.

{4th Week of February}

A busy week trying to get K ready for his big night on Friday for the Patriot Project, while C has been sick and K is fighting something.

We also started on Science projects and went to brunch on Saturday which is always a big treat.

Mostly we chased each other around making sure all of the homework, chores, and work got done so we could have some time for fun.

{columbus}

This year K is in Upper Grammar which has brought a whole new world of school into our lives.

One of his big projects this year was to write and perform as Christopher Columbus for the school's patriot project "Links of Liberty a Wax Museum."

So all we did as parents was supply him with books about his person and help with costume and props. He did all the research and writing of his script.

It turned out quite amazing. He looked great in his one of a kind costume made by his Grandma Walker and all his props he worked hard at making and coming up with ideas. He was the 5 person in the historical timeline that was followed and it was wonderful.

He stood there in character for 4 hours and was able to present his speech to all those who came by. We are so proud of his hard work!

{that time of year}

Science Project time that is!

We are working on science projects this weekend. Luckily we only have K who has to do an actual experiment, while E is still doing a report.

So this year we work on "Sticky Water"

 and Flight as in animal flight.

They each are about half way done so only the hardest parts to come...the actual writing and putting together the boards.

But on the positive side it always reminds me that we are close to SPRING BREAK!!

{Love Week}

Well the week started off just right with Tuesday being Valentines Day.

The boys and I went to school loaded down with Valentine's to give and came back loaded down with Valentine's received. Each boy had a small party in their class for exchanging Valentines, and we did the same in my First Grade class. It was a day of sugar sugar and more sugar!

After homework we had our annual Valentines Hunt....with their gift at the end. Each year I have had to get more creative so the clues could get harder. It's getting hard to out smart these boys. But in the end they both got iPod shuffles, which they seem to really like. As they get older it seems even their small gifts are getting more pricey....

The week ended with K having to wear his Columbus costume to school on Friday and be in character all day. It was fun to see all the scholars around school in their costumes and listen to them attempt to stay in character.

We have made some small adjustments at home one being that all homework for the next week has to be done before fun begins...this is proving difficult for K who takes his time with homework. He spent Friday afternoon and evening and Saturday morning on his homework. We hope he can learn to focus so that he can get to the fun parts of the weekend!

{Love poem}

So for all school devotional this morning, E's class was in charge of it. And since it is Valentine's Day they each shared a line of poetry that they had written last week.

It had to start: "Love is like" and they had to use personification. It was the most memorable devotional this year.

E's was:
          "Love is like food, on the table, speaking kindly words to my belly."

So So So Funny!!

{Week 2-February}

This week ended with a surprise sleepover with 2 of our favorite little girls, our nieces. All the kids had a great time and every time they come over E turns into an older brother which he loves--you know the kind, he can tell them to do things and since one is only 4 she will still listen to him, and he can have a gopher of his very own. But he also loves to play with them all day long.

I think there are still nerf darts under couches and in the bookshelf as a result of two "wars" over the past two days. Also I get to try to do their hair in the mornings which isn't my greatest skill so they get to have ponytails whenever they come over.

The cutest though was after a morning of fishing and lunch and a short nap time, A climbed up on E's lap and watched a show with him. She didn't ask. He didn't care. They sat like that for the whole show it was very cute!!

Besides our overnight guests, we stayed busy with school and work. K is almost all ready for his big debut as Columbus in the wax museum our school is doing. he wrote and memorized his script, Grandma W made the costume and he has spent some time making his props. A few more props to go and he will be ready for the big night in two fridays!

{1st Week of February}

This week has been another busy one. But that is our normal around here so we just keep on going.

A highlight for the week was that K. earned his "gold star pin" at school this week. You receive one at the end of a quarter if you have gotten straight A's. He worked hard this quarter to get to have the pin and go to lunch with the headmaster of our school and the other straight A scholars. We are always proud of him and his ability to understand concepts presented at school with out much difficulty. School seems to come very easily to him...sometimes too easily.

On Friday, C. K. and E. all went to a hockey game. They have discovered that they all enjoy going to the games after their first game over Christmas break. I think they will be trying to go to one game a month through the hockey season. They all have a great time! I on the other hand, stayed home and enjoyed the quiet.

{Another Walker Week}

We had a busy and fun week.

Friday was a day off for the boys while I went to school to do Parent Teacher Conferences and C. conference-ed with the boys' teachers. K made A honor roll and worked really hard to get there this quarter.

Thursday E surprised himself by winning first place in the 3rd Grade in the geography bee. But he was extra surprised to find out he won overall winner for the WHOLE school!! We are so proud of him and how hard he works in school.

Friday night we took the boys to see Blue Man Group. None of us had been before and it was a great time. We were 4 rows from the front in the poncho section....and yes we needed those ponchos. But even with them K ended up with mashed banana everywhere and C ended up with banana in his hair. We were lucky enough to get a few pictures with the Blue Men after the show! Both boys are wanting to go back again.

Saturday we spent a good part of the day riding bikes. K and E are just learning and E is a natural. K is working hard to get it down and we know a few more hours on the bike and he'll be just as successful.

{This Week}

It was a slower week in our household this week around.

K had mid terms for the first time...welcome to 6th Grade! Which means it was our first time as parents trying to convince him that studying early would be better than cramming. But still he crammed for his geography final (we were eating at a pizza place all learning the rivers, seas, mountains, countries and capitals of Europe) and he got 100%.  So down the tubes for trying to teach that life lesson.

E finally got his wish and had "Grandma Walker" waffles for breakfast on a school day. (we finally got the "right" kind of waffle maker)

We were surprised by a quick 30 minute visit from Grandma Walker and Grandpa Will on Thursday to drop off K's Columbus costume and boy does he love it! And it looks so good. Lucky for me we have someone who knows how to sew.

We ended the busy week with Date Night for C and N...which really means running errands without the boys in tow.

Other than that it was a regular school week around here.