Wordless Wednesday: Edition Coleman's Friends

Mother's Day

 Mother's Day was a lot of fun this year.  Brent took the boys on a secret errand earlier that week, so at breakfast I had some fun surprises.  Andrew and Coleman picked out this really pretty red begonia for me, and made me a sweet card.  Andrew, who is not our craft lover, worked for a long time and very meticulously on some sweet artwork inside.  Brent gave me a massage at a local spa, which I enjoyed very much!

 Here we are just before church.

 It was really rainy Mother's Day, so after church we grabbed Zaxby's and brought it home so we didn't have to get wet.  That night our church had a Night of Worship which was an awesome way to end Mother's Day.  Sadly, that was not the finale I had hoped for to Mother's Day.  Coleman came down with a stomach virus that night around ten o'clock.  We had planned our annual Yahoo Mother's Day lunch for Tuesday, but decided to postpone it so we didn't give any unintentional gifts to our grandmothers!  We rescheduled for yesterday and were glad to pull it off, even if it was a little late.

 After a yummy lunch, the boys gave their grandmothers their gifts.  And helped them open them. 

 Then we went out on the deck for our pictures.

And here's a funny, sweet memory I want to keep from this Mother's Day.  Part of our gifts to the grandmothers was a bottle of sunflower lotion from Bath and Body Works.  When I went to get them originally, they only had two bottles.  The next week, I went back to get the third bottle.  Andrew went with me.

 As we were walking into the mall, he was asking me what we needed to get.  I told him our list, and explained about the lotion we still needed.  He was walking behind me and said, "Hey Mommy?  I think you ought to get an extra lotion.  Because you know how Jonathan is.  He sometimes carries stuff off and loses it, and if you get an extra one, then it will be okay if he does that.  Because you never know what might happen in the future."  So smiling to myself, I agreed that that was a good idea.  We ran our other errands and then on the way into Bath and Body Works, he reminded me again about the extra lotion.  I got the lotions and we headed to pick up his brothers at preschool.

Saturday night, as he was going to bed, he asked, "So Mommy.  Where did you put that extra lotion you got?"  I told him and he smiled and told me goodnight.  The next morning it was right next to my plate, along with a beaming six year old.

The End of Preschool 2012

 Jonathan and Coleman's classes each had several special days leading up to the end of the year.  Coleman's class had a luau day, a picnic day, and an ice cream social.  Jonathan's class had a bike day.  Here are a couple of pictures of that fun event!

 For Coleman's end of the year party, I was a party mom.  The other mom and I planned an ocean themed party.  The kids blew bubbles and got insect keepers for their favors.

 Corrie, in the purple shirt below, planned the food and favors.  She did a great job.  I picked up pizzas and brought goldfish crackers.  She did the table decorations, fruit skewers and a dirt cake dessert that looked like sand.  They had blue kool-aid to drink.  I think they all loved it.  I know Coleman did!

 Here's Coleman with our sweet Ms. Sharon.  I told her she's 2/3 done with the Archers now!

I was in charge of the "craftivity" for Coleman's party.  Thanks to Pinterest I found these handprint crabs for them to make on canvases.  Coleman loves his, and all the other moms were excited to take theirs home too.

  

So then it was off to Jonathan's party.  When I arrived, they had already had lunch and cupcakes and were just playing together.  I told Jonathan to go stand by Ms. Darlene and this is what he did.  Silly boy!

 

Then she stood up and we got a better picture.

 

I think they were all pretty tired because they started asking for the pillows and laid down in the floor together.  It was too cute.  Vivien even had her blankie and was sucking her thumb!

 

 

Here they are with their memory books from this year.  Jonathan is especially proud of his.  He calls it JonJon's book, and loves to see the pumpkin page inside it.

 

 And this was a surprise!  In the entry to the preschool, they display photos of different children throughout the year.  Coleman's picture from water day made the display, and then we got to keep it at the end of the year.  Everyone who saw it commented on how intense he looks!  Of course, if you know Coleman, that comes as no surprise!

We are thankful for another great year at the best preschool ever!

May Science Club

 Our last science club for the year was held at a different part of the nature preserve.  We were told to bring binoculars and wear shoes that could get wet.  We spent the afternoon birdwatching near a pond.  They started off making a bird craft.  This was the only craft all year long that Andrew wanted to do.  He's become quite interested in birds and animals this spring, so he really enjoyed the afternoon.

 When everyone finished their craft, we headed out to look for some birds.  Ms. Angela gave some quick instructions on using binoculars and then we scanned the trees and shore for birds.  It was really hot that afternoon, so we didn't see very many birds at all.  They were probably in the trees watching us wondering why we were standing in the hot sun.

We got right up to the shore of the lake and tried to see different birds, but all they could see were tadpoles and a turtle.

Then they headed back to the pavilion and Ms. Angela did a talk on different birds in Georgia.

It was a good end to an activity we have really enjoyed this year.  This was our first "last of. . ." event this year.  We were both ready to begin crossing things off our list and head into summer!

And THEN. . .

 After we finished our game on Opening Day, we headed home to get Jonathan and load up for our next event.  This spring, Brent and I realized our family has entered the Busy Years.  We had multiple Saturdays with multiple events going on, some at the very same time.  Fortunately, our game was early enough that we didn't miss the rest of the day's fun. 

Our Sunday School class gathered at a family homplace over in Clarksville for a fun evening.  We enjoyed touring the house, which was built in the early 1930s.  The kids had an egg hunt and a scavenger hunt.  We somehow coraled all the kids and got a good photo with the house in the background.  

But the biggest deal of the day was that Andrew and Coleman got to shoot real guns for the first time ever.  Several couples in our class enjoy shooting and so they had brought their guns and ammunition and ear protection, and shared with everyone.  We knew the dads would be shooting, and had told Andrew and Coleman that, but we had no idea they would actually get to shoot too!  I am sure I do not need to tell you how excited they were.  Here's Coleman taking his turn.  He walked up, pulled the trigger, and was done. 

 Andrew however, would still be there shooting if we'd let him.  He loved it.  He can tell you exactly what kinds of guns he shot and how many times he shot them.  Brent was right there with each of them helping them be safe. 

 Brent and the other dads shot skeet for a while.  Brent, who doesn't shoot regularly at all, hit every clay pigeon.  At the end of the day, they pulled out the target in the picture below to practice hitting.  Andrew hit one!  So maybe we have some sharpshooters among us?

  

The property also has a pond, so while the hot dogs and hamburgers cooked, the kids fished.  A few kids pulled up small ones and were very excited.

But then Coleman caught this whopper all by himself!

The reel had broken on his rod, so it was basically a cane pole he was using.  Brent said they dropped it down right off the dock and all of a sudden the bobber sank.  Coleman jerked it up and the fish flopped around on the dock.  The hook came out of its mouth, so Brent had to hurry up and grab it so we could get a picture before it flopped back into the pond.  Brent later said if he'd had to fall on that fish he would have, but we were getting a picture!  I don't know what I love most about the picture above.  Coleman's smile, or Brent's.

Then we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.  It was an awesome day with our friends.

Opening Day 2012

 Gainesville is a baseball kind of town.  Our parks and rec department really does Opening Day right.  Last year it was cancelled due to a big rainstorm and muddy fields, but this year we got to enjoy a beautiful day with our teammates.  We all met at the fields that morning early for the parade.  Coach Joe had our jerseys and new caps for us, along with a great team banner.  Andrew and Lily carried the banner during the parade.

 Coleman has been watching very carefully this spring because he'll be taking the field next year!

 The teams lined up at the bigger field up the street for the parade.  We climbed the hill to watch the festivities.  Mr. Cutie Patootie wore his baseball shirt too. 

 And here come The Clippers!

 Andrew is number 6 this year.

 After the teams were introduced, they lined up around the infield and waited for the other leagues to get in place.

 Once all the teams were assembled, there was a prayer, the National Anthem, and the throwing out of the first pitches.  All the honoraries were grandparents of current players.  It was so sweet to see them take the field together.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love smaller town life?

 Then they released balloons, and dismissed for the games to begin. 

 We picked up our chicken-que boxes and headed home since our game was that afternoon.  Our sitter came to stay with Jonathan so he could take his nap.  Andrew started the first inning at pitcher.

 Coleman's very favorite part of t-ball is the concession stand.  He loves getting to pick out his treat each game.

 Up to bat for the first time this year.

 I love how when he's on base, he stands ready to run.

 Cheering on his favorite player.

 Getting ready to smash that ball!

I have some video from that day.  I think I'll do a movie day one day this week and just post all the videos I keep mentioning but don't ever show.  Stay tuned!