The Great Wolf Lodge

Saturday evening Nate came home antsy to get out of town.  After a bit of research and making sure all obligations were covered, we settled to leave in the morning for Sandusky, OH and stay at the Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor water park and family friendly hotel.  Kids were stoked! We packed our bags and set out for a short, but much needed family getaway!

After 2 and a half hours we arrived and checked in to our hotel room, changed clothes and went to get wet!  It was a blast.  The two big boys got A lot of practice swimming I shallow water.  They are capable little swimmers now, dunking under water and holding their breath a long time.  They are old enough and big enough to go down bigger kids water slides now on their own.  And they loved it.  We lost count how many times they went down those slides.  Cooper was practicing swimming so much his little eyes turned bright red.  Jaxton loved when the giant bucket would dump and he would walk  as fast as he could each time he heard the warning sings before it dumped.  Kaylee's favorite was the smaller water slides that landed in 2 feet of water.  She could do those slides confidently on her own, and we lost count how many times she would go down those.  She also liked floating on the lazy river and figured out how to float around in her life jacket in deep water.  Dawson liked the kiddie slides too, but had mixed emotions of fear and joy as he came sliding down.  He loved the basketball hoops in the water and wouldn't let any other kids have his ball.  We got in the kid friendly hot tub, which was really like a regular pool heated to 90 or 95 degrees and within the first few minutes of being warm with daddy in that pool, he fell fast asleep.  He slept for a long time in daddy's arms after that.  

The next morning we decided to go check out the beaches in Sandusky and Huron, OH.  We found a nice sandy beach in amongst a residential area called Nickelback Beach.  The kids loved if.  You couldn't see the other side of the lake and the kids tried to understand the difference between a lake beach and an ocean beach.  Jaxton and Cooper had no fear of the waves and enjoyed riding them up to their chests.  Kaylee made a sand castle with me and we waited till the ride filled our moat with wAter.  She was ok with getting her toes wet by the waves, but that was as far as she'd go in. Dawson just wandered the beach, found sticks and rocks, and just enjoyed being outside.  Actually, as we walked from the car all the way down the sandy beach toward the water, he was looking down at the sand.  When he looked up and saw the beach and the water and waves, he exclaimed "Ohhh wowwww!"  He was surprised.  

After our beach trip we went back to the waterpark for a few hours and then headed home.  It is nice that Nate can use his Mondays to spend with us.  We had so much fun together as a family!!

The End of First Grade

Jaxton has finished 1st grade!!!! That, I can hardly believe! My big boy is growing up!  He has had an awesome first grade experience with a phenomenal teacher, Mr. R.  His teacher was recommended to us and so we requested him and we are sure glad we did.  I have been so impressed with him, his mannerism with his class, his organization, his fun & laid back style and his excitement for learning. A few times I caught him reading to the kids with such animation and energy, it was hard not to become engaged in the story.  I got to help him weekly with copies and box tops and the bullitan board. So it was fun getting to know him a little through my volunteer work.  I think Jaxton benefited greatly from his teaching.

Jaxtons classroom put on a play for the Shel Silverstisn book, "The Giving Tree."  I went to see it and Jaxton was one of several narrators.  He had memorized his lines and spoke loud and clear. It was a lot of fun to watch and a great opportunity for him to experience a bit of drama.

The first graders also had been working on First in Math all year, an online math program to learn skills, problem solve and earn "stickers."  In the course of the year, he earned over 4,000 stickers and won a medal for his success.  The program was done mostly at school, and Jaxton would come home with lots of outrageous questions for a first grader, like what does the dot mean with numbers before and after the dot?  And what does that line mean with numbers on top and under?  So of course his curiosity led to fun teaching moments where I tried to explain decimals and fractions with pies and pizza slices.  He is a little mathmerician!  

Congrats Jaxton on finishing 1st grade!  On to Second!

The End of Kindergarten

Cooper has graduated from Kindergarten!!  He officially is a first grader, and I can hardly believe it!!  He really has had a great kindergarten year with a great classroom of friends and a great teacher, Mrs. Kinsey.  He has learned so so much too. As I was looking at his report card it stated that at the beginning of the school year he was reading at "level B" on an alphabet scale.  Now at the end of Kindergarten he is reading at a "level J," which technically is a Second grade level. It's amazing how he has thrived academically this year.  

Cooper had a Kindergarten Music Concert.  His class, along with 5 other kindergarten classes, put on a music program for parents and families.  It was so fun watching him with his friends and singing the songs he's worked on for so long.  They even had a folk dance to perform.  He was so happy out there!  

Cooper has made some great friends.  Drew is a confident little guy that can't wait for his birthday party in July. He talks about it every time I see him. And Easton is a sweet boy who rides the bus with Cooper and the two have become great buddies.  Cameron and Jacob are other fun friends.  We hope to have some  friends over this summer a and to keep in touch with neighborhood friends even if the kids go to a different school next fall.

Happy Kindergarten Year, Cooper!!  On to first grade!!