Good Pals

Here is Kayden and his buddies from one of his playgroups.  He went to nursery and Sunbeams with these boys.  They have always been good pals.  The picture below captures their personalities to the tee:

Silly Boys! (Josh, Tanner and Kayden)

Nice Do!

Once again it was time for haircuts. Jeremy always cuts the boys' hair and this time he decided to be silly. See below for the evidence:

Doesn't his haircut have a resemblance to a Yamaka?  Josh was a good sport and thought it was pretty funny. 

1st Grade Program

Josh and the rest of the first grade put on a program for their parents. I loved it. Josh is so animated and we cracked up several times just watching him.

Here is Josh before the program started.  He was on the top row on the end.  Easy to spot.

Having fun singing songs.

At the end of the program they sang a song called, "I Like Being Me".  They had to put their arm around the person next to them as they sang.  Let's just say Josh was less than thrilled to put his arm around a girl.  Click on the picture if you must to really see the look on his face.

Josh and his teacher Mrs. Bull.

It has been a great year for Josh.  He has made a lot of friends and has come a long way in all of his studies.  He likes math best and is good at it, he loves playing basketball at recess, and I would say he has caught more than one girl's eye at school this year.  He is ready for second grade!

Webelos Award

Jaxon received his Webelos Badge in pack meeting last week. We worked really hard to get everything accomplished in time for pack meeting.  As I was walking up to the front to receive the mother's pin, they asked Jaxon if his mom helped him a lot with earning his badge.  He said, "No, my dad helped me.  My mom didn't do anything."  Huh?  Dad did what?  To set the record straight here, I am the one who helped him memorize the scout law and oath and talk about their meanings.  It is MY initials that are in his scout book.  I earned that mother's pin and I will wear it proudly!  (In Jaxon's defense, his dad did help him with a scout science experiment earlier in the week.  Perhaps he was confused.)

Jaxon has great Webelos leaders: Brother McEwan and Brother Evenson.  They have helped Jaxon stay excited about scouts and they have done a lot of fun things with their troop.  I am thankful for them.

Grandparent's Day

Grandma and Grandpa Haacke were able to come and spend some time at the boys' school before leaving on their mission for Grandparent's Day.  Josh had activities in his class room, and Jaxon's class had a program all about Utah.  Here is how the day unfolded:

First they went to Josh's class and filled out a paper all about them with Josh.  It had what their favorite foods were and what they liked to do when they were Josh's age.  (Grandma liked to play stick horses and Grandpa like to play baseball.  They both said their favorite food was sauerkraut.)

It wouldn't be Josh unless he pulled some kind of face.  I am pretty sure this one says, "Mom, can't you see I am busy here hanging out with my grandparents?  I don't have time for a picture!"

Next they went to go and see Jaxon and his program.  Jaxon dressed up as a mountain man for his program.  He was a friend and fellow trapper of Jim Bridger.

Here is the mountain man before the program started.  (He looks thrilled that I am taking his picture--he and Josh are definitely related.)

See that boy with the brown hat (and the hat is all you can see of him) in the middle of the picture?  That is Jaxon saying his part in the program.  The microphone was too low for him and he had to bend down to use it.  Therefore the only thing we saw of him was the top of his head.  The program was great and a lot of fun to watch.  I loved all the music they had about the great state of Utah.

Grandma and Grandpa asked about McKay and his class, but I hadn't heard of anything that they were doing for Grandparents day.  I thought that maybe the sixth grade was above that.  Sadly, McKay said that grandparents showed up and he missed out.  I felt bad.  Other than that it was a fun day and the boys enjoyed having grandma and grandpa come to their school.  They left on their mission to Martin's Cove a couple of days later.  The boys were lucky to be able to spend some extra time with them before they left.

Blue Belts!

McKay and Jaxon tested and received their blue belts this last month. It was a long time coming!  They both worked hard and did great!

Here is McKay at the belt test.  He was doing self defense and one-steps with a partner.  (I tried to get action shots, but needless to say I would like a new camera for my birthday.)

Jaxon (and McKay in the back) doing their forms.  They have to memorize several forms and moves in order and then perform them.

The belt ceremony.  Jaxon receiving his his new belt from his instructor.

He then received his old belt by it being placed on his head.

McKay receiving his new belt.

McKay giving me the thumbs up after his belt ceremony.

These boys had worked hard to make sure they would get to the belt test this month and we are proud of them.  They had both taken their time while green belts and we made a big push at the end to get it all done.  Our schedules have gotten busier and they have only been able to go to karate once a week as apposed to twice a week.  (We are now taking a break from karate.  It is all about choosing between good, better and best.)

Going To The Zoo

It has become a tradition to go to the zoo with our friends and Grandma (when she is available) every spring break. Here are all the boys ready to go for a ride on the train at the beginning of the day:

Everyone is equipped with their maps and all smiles.

Kaden and Josh (good buddies) checking out and imitating the wild life.

McKay measures up quite well (as he never stops eating). As for the rest of them, they have a bit more growing to go!

All day long Kayden kept asking me to take his picture. This was at lunch time and just as he asked me to take his picture, a Rhino walked up behind him. (It is on the other side of the fence behind the bush.)

Here is a monkey looking at the monkeys.

Josh checking out the wild life.

I took the stroller for my friend's little boy, but half way through the day Kayden decided to hop in with him.

Messing around on the play ground. Kayden was being silly while hatching from an egg.

Playing on the spider's web....

....while the bigger boys were doing some relaxing on the spider's web.

It was a fun day with good friends--and Grandma too!