Last Day of 4K

Another year of preschool come and gone.  Sigh.  Ava has really enjoyed her time in 4K and is excited to begin "big kid" school.  I'm sure she will handle it much better than I will.  Ava's preschool was celebrating their last day with a musical program, handing out of certificates, and refreshments for the families.  That meant anyone in our family who was not working (and some that should have been) would be there.  And we wouldn't have it any other way. :)  The night before the program, Ava worked very hard to write thank you notes to both of her teachers.  She told me what she wanted to say, I wrote it down for her, and then she copied it herself.

We also wrapped up the gifts we got for her teachers.  For summer break, I like to give a gift that can be enjoyed over vacation so we picked up some cute summery dishes at Target.  Hopefully, they can enjoy their new dishes during a relaxing backyard cookout.

When we got to school the next day, Ava's teachers gave us a scrapbook that they made of her year. It was full of pictures they had taken of Ava doing different things throughout the year, work that she had done, and special poems and stories about raising children.  It is a very special keepsake.

We met up with our family and went to get seated in the chapel for the program.  Ava has never been shy about performing and she got up there and sang her heart out.  

She received her graduation certificate and we are so proud of our big girl!

We went to the gym to enjoy the refreshments and let Ava play with her friends one last time.  

Ava and her best friend at school, Scarlett

And with her teachers, Mrs. Levesque and Mrs. Grimm

As we were leaving, we stopped to take some family pictures.  Poor Ava didn't have her sunglasses but she tried as hard as she could not to squint.

Ava with both her grandmothers and her great-grandparents

Our little family (Kevin and I are all squinty too--I see where she gets it!)

Kevin and I wanted to take everyone out to lunch to celebrate Ava's graduation.  Since it was her day, we let her decide where to eat.  She chose Swanky's and we had a nice meal together.  It was a great day to wrap up the school year.  Kindergarten, here we come!

Carnival Day @ School

Ava's school had a carnival day the last week of classes.  Last year, they had it outside but due to the heat this year they moved it into the gym.  Kevin took a quick break from work and we went to check it out.  They had different stations set up and the kids rotated between them.  Ava had fun running from station to station with her best friend from her class, Scarlett.  

Tossing game

Bowling game 

Hmm, not quite sure what is going on here.  Robot station? 

Limbo station 

 Dancing station--I think she is doing the dreaded (at least to me) Tooty Ta 

Building/construction station 

The kids enjoyed running around and playing together and it was a fun way to end the school year!

Easter 2012

I've gotten a little behind here on our blog so some events are going to be out of order until I get caught up.  Here are a few pictures from this past Easter:

Celebrating Easter with a party at school

Ava had an egg hunt at her sitter's house

Then we dyed eggs here at home

and had another egg hunt.  I thought I did a great job of hiding the eggs in some pretty remote places but Ava managed to find them all within about a minute.  Apparently, I'm not as sneaky as I thought.

Look, the Easter Bunny hopped by our house!

Posing for a picture after church

It was a great weekend of family meals and celebrating the resurrection of our Lord!

Father's Day 2012 (aka All About Kevin Day)

We had such a fun weekend.  Friday night, our nieces came over to spend the night with Ava.  Kevin and I took them to Jerry's for sno cones but they all ended up getting ice cream.  Kevin and I enjoyed our sno cones though!

Afterward, we took the girls to Putt-Putt.  They had a blast on the bumper boats.  Kevin rode with them the first time and they all got soaked so he decided he had had enough of those for the evening.  Ava made the comment, "I am as soaked as possible!" though chattering teeth.  

They also rode the go-karts and Ava drove one by herself for the first time.   Of course, it didn't go very fast but Kevin and I were really impressed by how well she drove.  She steered so well and stayed right in the middle of the track the whole time.

We finished up the evening with a round of miniature golf.  Not surprisingly, Kevin was the winner but our ten-year old niece, Leah, made 4 hole in ones (holes in one??)!  We got the girls home and in bed around midnight and they were still up bright and early the next morning.  Kevin got up and baked them cinnamon rolls and let me sleep a little longer--so thoughtful of him.  They played outside for the morning until my sister-in-law picked them up. 

That afternoon, Ava had a birthday party to attend for her friend, Avery.  The party was at River City gymnastics.  Ava's favorite part was swinging on the rope and dropping into the foam pit.  Here she is climbing out as Avery swings by.

I tried to take more pictures but the girls were so busy running all over the place I didn't get many opportunities.  Ava had a great time and is excited to go to River City for gymnastics camp next month.

After the party, we met all of my family at my aunt and uncle's house for swimming and a Father's Day cookout.  Ava practiced her swimming skills that she learned from her lessons the past few weeks.  She likes swimming underwater best and swam across the pool twice by herself.  She also jumped off the diving board twice by herself--no vest, floaties, nothing!  She was diving to the bottom of the pool to retrieve toys and we were all amazed at how well she is doing.  She absolutely loves the water.  We had a great meal and enjoyed our family time together.  

Father's Day morning, we woke up and gave Kevin his gifts before we left for church.  Ava and I let him pick the restaurant for lunch so, of course, we ended up at Swanky's.  As we were leaving the restaurant, Kevin commented that we should go to the mattress store at the mall to look at the Temperpedic mattresses.  I was not thrilled at this idea because I usually try to avoid the mall on weekends.  Ava quickly piped up with, "Mom, we have to do whatever Daddy wants to do today because today is Father's Day."  Kevin snickered at that but we ended up compromising and going to the freestanding mattress store.  Guess who ended up with a fancy new mattress and adjustable bed for Father's Day?  Yep, Kevin.  Well, I can't complain because that works in my favor too.  :)

And Ava enjoyed the bed as well.  She got a quick nap as we were testing out the different mattresses and making our purchase.

Sunday evening, we celebrated Father's Day with Kevin's family which is always fun.  We are so blessed to have spent this weekend with our fathers and the rest of our family.  I think that most women want to marry a man that they feel will make a great father.  I know I did but I have to say that Kevin has even exceeded my expectations.  He is an absolutely amazing

I thank God and count my blessings every day for him.  I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures of Daddy and his girl from this past year to celebrate the day.

Last 4th of July

Worn out on vacation

 Last summer in Orange Beach

Driving through TN Safari Park

Before cousin Brent's wedding

 Dancing at the reception

Fun day at the zoo

Breakfast to celebrate the return of Ferrell, our Elf

Playing at a Pump It Up birthday party

Toy Story ride at Disney World

 On the Jungle Cruise in Disney World

 Daddy's Disney princess

Waiting for swimming lessons to start

It just warms my heart to see the love these two have for each other.

Planning our Summer Fun

I set to work a few months ago compiling a list of fun things for us to do over the summer.  I wanted our list to include a good mix of camps, places to go (both outdoors and indoors to escape rain and heat), and activities for us to do at home.  I thought I would share what I came up with in case any of you would like some ideas.  I've also including links to websites for easy access to information for you.

Camps:

-Gymnastics Camp @ River City (http://www.rivercitygymnastics.com/Summer_Camps.php)

-Dance Camp @ Joy McDaniel (http://joymcdanieldance.net/)

-Art Camp (this is with the art teacher that I worked with at Arlington Elementary--let me know if you would like her contact info--she also does private art lessons!)

-Zoo Camp (http://memphiszoo.org/camps)

-Vacation Bible School (Ava went to Bartlett Baptist but there are several other churches that will be having one--http://eastmemphismoms.blogspot.com/2012/03/2012-vacation-bible-school.html)

Quick Day Trips:

-Tennessee Safari Park in Alamo, TN (http://www.tennesseesafaripark.com/index.htm).  Such a fun little getaway.  Check out one of my blog posts from our last visit:  http://thedanielsarealright.blogspot.com/2011/07/tennessee-safari-park.html

-Wild River Country Water Park in Little Rock, AR (http://www.wildrivercountry.com/)

Places to Go:

Indoors (in the event of rain or extreme heat):

-Children's Museum of Memphis (http://cmom.com/)

-Cordova Roller Skating Rink (sign up at this link for FREE skating for your child this summer:  http://kidsskatefree.com/cordovaskate)

-Wolfchase Mall (Ava does the Spider Jump bungee, we ride the carousel, and then grab a cookie from the Great American Cookie)

-Library (our local library has storytime and days when your child can read to a therapy dog!--http://memphislibrary.org/mplic-home)

-Pink Palace Museum (next spring/early summer look for registration for FREE summer memberships--http://www.memphismuseums.org/)

-Fire Museum of Memphis (http://www.firemuseum.com/)

-Pump It Up (pop-in playtime offered Monday, Wednesday, & Friday from 2:00-3:30--http://www.pumpitupparty.com/tn/bartlett/home-p1q52.htm)

-Bowling Alley (sign up for FREE bowling here:  http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/)

-Paint-A-Piece (http://www.paintapiece.com/)

-Swimming (our gym, Bartlett Recreation Center, has an indoor pool--http://cityofbartlett.org/index.aspx?NID=152)

-Movies (Malco Kids Summer Film Fest:  http://www.malco.com/subpage.php?page_id=121 & there are a few family movies playing at the Orpheum's Summer Movie Series:  http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/events/2012-summer-movie-series)

Outdoors:

-Memphis Zoo (http://memphiszoo.org/)

-Golf & Games (miniature golf, go-karts, bumper bumps, arcade, laser tag, etc.--http://www.golfandgamesmemphis.com/)

-My Big Backyard @ Memphis Botanic Gardens (http://www.memphisbotanicgarden.com/mybigbackyard.  Check out one of my blog posts from a visit:  http://thedanielsarealright.blogspot.com/2011/06/girls-weekend.html)

-Sprinkler Park (W.C. Johnson Park in Collierville--http://www.colliervilleparks.org/parks/facilities-and-rental-information/wc-johnson-park)

-Shelby Farms (Woodland Discovery Playground, horseback riding, paddle boats, fishing, bike trails, picnicking, etc.--http://www.shelbyfarmspark.org/)

-Jerry's Sno Cones (a summer tradition if you live in Memphis--yum!--http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/50/1453363/restaurant/East-Memphis/Jerrys-Sno-Cone-Memphis)

-Fruit picking at Jones Orchard (It's peach season and I'm so excited to go out and pick some yummy peaches!--http://www.jonesorchard.com/)

-Downtown Field Trip (ride the trolley, watch the Peabody Ducks walk, Mud Island River Park, eat at a great local restaurant--http://www.peabodymemphis.com/peabody-ducks/, http://mudisland.com/default.aspx)

Activities to do at Home:

-Set up water slides, sprinklers, etc. outside for water play

-Get a butterfly kit and learn about the life cycle of a butterfly (This is the one we have:  http://www.amazon.com/Insect-Lore-Live-Butterfly-Garden/dp/B00000ISC5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339624418&sr=8-1)

-Go on a nature walk (wrap a piece of duct tape sticky-side out around your wrists and collect items like rocks, leaves, etc. as you walk to make a nature bracelet)

-Go on an alphabet walk (take a camera and as you walk search for items that begin with each letter of the alphabet and take pics to make a scrapbook)

-Make a homemade bird feeder

-Spend in a rainy day in PJ's eating snacks and watching movies

-Have a water balloon fight

-Dye pasta/rice and make jewelry or pictures

-Fill an ice cube tray with water and food color or liquid watercolors, freeze, and then "ice cube paint" outside on the sidewalk

-Have a Family Game Night

-Go on a treasure hunt

-Craft Day (Check Pinterest for tons of fun ideas)

-Celebrate a crazy holiday (get ideas from http://familycrafts.about.com/od/holidays/tp/specialdays.htm)

-Create a scavenger hunt to use at the zoo, park, etc.--this can also be used to make the grocery store much more fun!

-Pull a mattress off one of your beds and place it in the middle of the living room one night.  We build a "fort", eat s'mores or fondue, watch movies, then snuggle up together and sleep in our fort.

I hope this helped give you some ideas!  Feel free to share any of your ideas as well!

Disney World 2012--Day Seven (Pop Century Resort/Trip Favorites)

The Magical Express was picking us up at Pop Century about 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning so we decided not to even attempt going to a park.  We went to the food court at the resort to get some breakfast and spent some time in the gift shop and the arcade.  Then we decided to walk around Pop Century and take some pictures.  As I said in a previous post, Pop Century is so fun for kids.  Everything is BIG and colorful.  Mom, Kevin, and I also really enjoyed seeing all of the memorabilia from the last several decades and reminiscing about items that we had had when we were younger.  There was a lot of, "Hey, I remember those!" and "I used to love that!".  Here is a look around Pop Century:

Ava and Kevin posed by everything to give you an idea of the scale

Ava with a vintage Corvette

 Posing with Beach Bum Goofy

 Remember these?!  A giant Mickey Mouse phone!

 And a huuuuuge Big Wheel!

 Giant Foosball setup

 Mom, Kevin, and Ava with Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head

 Rubik's Cube

 8-track

 This is the view across the lake to the new resort opening next month, Art of Animation.  The back of it that you can see here is painted in a Cars theme.  

 Ava and Kevin posing like Roger Rabbit.  This was right in front of our building.

 The Walkman across from our building and you can also see part of the keyboard to the computer pool. That pool was right outside our building and is where Kevin and Ava swam each night.  Ava loved to run around the keyboard spelling out words by jumping on the letters.

 Laptop by the computer pool

 All of the buildings have popular catchphrases from that decade on their exteriors.

 This was our building.  They were repainting "RADICAL" when we left.  Our room was right behind the blue PacMan ghost.

Pretty cool, huh?  Again, I would highly recommend this resort.  

I polled everyone on our way home to find out their favorites from the trip.  Here are the results:

Favorite Park:

Mom:  Magic Kingdom

Kevin:  Hollywood Studios

Stefanie:  Hollywood Studios

Ava:  Hollywood Studios

Favorite Ride:

Mom:  Soarin'/Expedition Everest (E, AK)

Kevin:  Expedition Everest (AK)

Stefanie:  Toy Story Midway Mania (HS)

Ava:  Soarin' (E)

Favorite Show:

Mom:  Festival of the Lion King (AK)

Kevin:  Finding Nemo (AK)

Stefanie:  Festival of the Lion King (AK)

Ava:  Beauty and the Beast (HS)

Favorite Nighttime Show:

Mom:  The Magic, the Memories, & You/Wishes (MK)

Kevin:  Fantasmic! (HS)

Stefanie:  The Magic, the Memories, & You/Wishes (MK)

Ava:  Wishes (MK)

Favorite Table-Service Restaurant:

Mom:  Coral Reef (E)

Kevin:  Akershus (E)--I think it's hilarious that the princess breakfast was Kevin's favorite!

Stefanie:  Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge)

Ava:  Boma/1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian)

Favorite Quick-Service Restaurant:

Mom:  Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe (MK)

Kevin:  Columbia Harbour House (MK)

Stefanie:  Starring Rolls (HS)

Ava:  Couldn't decide

We had SUCH an AMAZING week!  The stars aligned and everything worked out perfectly.  We did 95% of everything that we wanted to do which was great.  We had delicious food everywhere we went, saw world-class shows, watched Ava light up as she met all the characters, rode fun rides, laughed, cried (well, I cried) and enjoyed being together as a family.  I will never forgot what it felt like to experience everything for the first time with both my mom and Ava.  We will cherish these photos and memories forever.  Disney World is truly the most magical place on Earth and a place where dreams come true.  I guess I haven't lost all my pixie dust. :)