Brady turns 3!

Poor Brady didn't even get a mention in the last post. He was a trooper and attended all of Audrey and Carter's events with me. June was his birthday so he finally had a day all about him.

He has never been one to seek after attention - on the contrary. Even as a baby he would always snuggle into a corner away from sounds or the spotlight. At Christmas he didn't even want to open his gifts because everyone was focused on him. A day or two later he finally opened them with only Dave or I in the room. On his last birthday the only thing he really enjoyed was blowing out his candles over and over again.

This year he seemed to enjoy the attention a little more. He was still a bit reserved and as you can tell from the pictures, very serious. But he had a good time and even opened a few gifts while others watched.

On his actual birthday we opened a few gifts and had cake

Darth Vader his favorite

very serious as we sing Happy Birthday to him

That weekend we invited family and our neighbor Travis, Brady's little buddy, to the water park to celebrate

Brady loves it!

Riley and Callie

Neighbor Jason with son Travis

Dahl runs through the water

Ty

Kailyn checking out the scene

Trouble!

Riley loved the water gun

Boys standing under the "red bucket"

The big boys even got in on the action - Mike and Cory

After we enjoyed some cake and ice cream

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRADY BOY! WE LOVE YOU!

School Days

I know it's already mid-summer but I need to blog about all the fun end of the year activities we enjoyed. Audrey and Carter worked really hard this year in school. They were able to display their hard work in projects and performances.

STUDENT OF THE MONTH - this is an award that is given to one student in each class each month for showing good citizenship. Carter received the honor in May.

KINDERGARTEN MUSIC CONCERT - Every Friday Carter had music with Mr. Healy. It was one of the highlights of his week. He was often heard throughout the weekend singing his music songs. At the end of the year the kids performed many of the songs they had learned. Carter even had all the choreography memorized. It was fun to watch!

GOLD DUST OR BUST PLAY - Audrey's class practiced throughout the last semester learning about California's history. They were able to put what they had learned to music and even some choreography to perform a play for the parents. Audrey's part was a miner's child during the gold rush.

Grandma Heyman was in town and came to see the play

singing on stage

4TH GRADE STREET HOCKEY TEAM - Audrey was the alternate for the team and was able to practice for a few months and then attend the tournament at the Honda Center. It was a fun event and the school ended up winning 2nd place overall. Audrey didn't end up playing during the tournament but she was an amazing team member!

COACH PITCH BASEBALL - Carter played baseball again this year. He had a fun time and we saw a lot of improvement in his skills over the season.

VIOLIN CONCERT - Audrey learned to play the violin this year in school. She enjoyed being a part of the orchestra. For their end of the year concert all the 4th graders from 5 of the schools in the area played together. Carter's description was that it sounded like a swarm of bees :)

TOWN - In Social Studies Audrey's class studied about how cities are run. The class was given the assignment of creating a classroom town. They voted on the name of their town and their town's currency. "Golden Ghost Town" was born and the money that Audrey designed was selected as the class currency. They had to get in groups and create businesses. Each group had to write up a business plan and purchase a business license. Then each Friday for the last month of school they transformed their classroom into town and invited 3rd grade classes and class parents to come to town to participate with the businesses. There were games, treats, instructional classes and even a puppet show (put on by Audrey and her "business partners"). The kids learned a lot and had so much fun. It was a busy, happy place to visit. It was fun to see the children's creativity in their businesses.

Sign for Audrey's business

Her puppet show

Audrey and her partners

Golden Ghost Town in action

WAX MUSEUM - Another Social Studies project was learning about famous Californians. The students had to pick a famous Californian and learn about their life. Then they wrote and memorized a brief summary which they performed as a wax statue of the person. The kids dressed up and performed for parents when we would push their "activation button". Audrey chose to be Biddy Mason - the first African American women to own land in California. Pulling off her shackles acted as her activation button.

Mrs. Mason

STAR OF THE WEEK - A poster the kids fill out to tell the class a little bit about themselves

READING OLYMPICS - Over the year the PTA promotes daily reading by holding the reading Olympics. The kids are required to read a certain amount of minutes each day to qualify for a bronze, silver or gold medal at the end of the year. Audrey just missed the gold medal last year so she was determined to earn it this year.

Audrey proudly displays her gold medal

Carter accepting his bronze medal

KINDERGARTEN CARNIVAL - To celebrate the last day of school the Kindergarteners were treated to games and fun. The kids had a blast playing with the new friends they made in their first year of school!

GOLD RUSH DAY - To celebrate the last day of school the 4th graders enjoyed games out on the field which included panning for gold and water races. It was the perfect way to end a good school year.

Audrey and her friends eat lunch on the last day

END OF THE YEAR BLOCK CELEBRATION - All the parents on the street got together to reward the kids on the block for all their hard work this year. The best part was that it was a surprise. We ordered a blow up water slide and had it set up while the kids were at school on the last day. They were so so excited when they came home and found out the water slide was for them. The kids had a blast sliding down the slide, playing games with water, eating and even throwing shaving cream filled balloons. It was the perfect reward and great kick off to summer!

Ultimate slide

Kids on the street enjoying the celebration

(Carter is 2nd on the left, top row; Audrey 6th on the left, top row)

April Recap

April was filled with so much and I was actually fairly good at documenting it with my camera phone. Unfortunately I didn't think to download the pictures before Dave and I switched phones and they were lost in the transition. So, I had a few on my camera that I will share.

SPRING BREAK

The Getty with the Salmons

FAMILY AMAZING RACE

We had an Amazing Race around Balboa Island - so much fun I think it deserves it's own post - stay tuned!!

TRIP TO UTAH TO CELEBRATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

We got to be at the finish line when Aaron and Stacey completed the Salt Lake City Half Marathon. This was Stacey's first race and she finished like a champ!!

The kids wanted to play in the snow so badly…. and their wish came true!

Sledding
We were able to spend a day at Temple Square with both Grandparents - it was a real treat!
cousinsVisit with the Heningers

Audrey and Reese built a fort - girl's only! I love the BBQ sauce bottles they used as a "trap". If the boys tried to get in the bottles fell on their heads. It worked - just ask Carter.

Kids enjoying a show at the "Heninger Theater"

more fun in the snow

The big event on the trip was Matthew and cousin Hillary's graduations from BYU. We are so proud of their hard work!

trouble

(Hillary took some really great photos. Check them out here)

EASTER

OCMCO CONCERT

warm up

Audrey participated in her first OCMCO concert at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. She loves this organization and I was so impressed with their performance. She is already looking forward to their Christmas concert in December. You can check out their website here and you can see an Adult choir performance here.

On to May