First Week of Summer in the Books

And what a great week it was!  We drove home from the beach in rain in order to make it to swimming lessons that morning.  The rain caused them to be canceled...and we were pleased!  These two immediately pulled out the chess board and played until I forced them to tackle their room with two garbage bags...goodwill and trash!!

 

We took a trip to the Exploreum and I had to pull these guys out of there.  I imagine we will be back several times this summer.  They loved the bubbles and Legos (go figure!)!

 

 

We took a couple of walks around the block.  Many I do not go on anymore because most of the boys are big enough to do this on their own, but I did accompany them on this particular trip.  We saw two turtles!

We made it to the pool one day and tried to practice all that William and John are learning at swimming lessons!  First trip of summer calls for popsicles!

And summer has wiped this one out!  I didn't realize how much our carpool naps reenergize this guy.  I worked hard to get him to nap one day, but nap he did...for 2.5 hours!

The Beachy

The boys and I headed straight from St. Paul's to the beach.  Chris picked up John and the boat and met us down there. 

While waiting in traffic, this guy writes on his white board..."I love Kindergarten.  I don't want to leave."  Sweet boy.  I promise 1st grade is tons of fun!

 

We had the best time just being together...no schedule, no to-do lists, no homework, no time sheets, and on and on.  The boys headed to the beach immediately while I did a little grocery shopping.

And when Mom got home, a little watermelon snack!

Mostly just pictures to share....maybe an explanation or funny story to go with it...

This kid lost a tooth on the trip.  Pulled it himself.  His catch phrase of the week was OMG.  Said it a hundred times.

Philip and Daniel still read a ton.  Both of their summer reading requirements were done before the first week of summer.  Love their love of reading.

 

Publix had a B1G1 sale on Klondike bars.  Not a usual Gill grocery item, but hey we were at the beach.  So we asked several times, "What would you do for a Klondike bar?"

Philip could tube all day long.  It used to be that I had to tube with him to keep the tube weighted down.  After tubing for a bit this day and feeling my age, I suggested he try alone.  He was willing and thankfully able!!

Island hopping by boat is always a favorite for us...

This hair....I love it!!!

Pool is always a hit.  Philip loved to dive for items when he and Daniel weren't having a jumping contest or races.  William didn't remember that he really can swim until the last day, and John wasn't super brave, but boy did he love floating on his Daddy's feet.  That water is ice cold.  Somehow Chris and I avoided getting in the pool!

Saturday brought great swimming waves in the Gulf.  The weather turned very windy and thus the gulf got rough on Sunday and Monday.  I'm glad the boys had this opportunity to swim a little.  Daniel especially loved riding the waves!

 

When the Gulf got too rough, the sand did the trick.  The boys did a ton of coming up with fortresses, drainage tunnels, etc.  When all else fails, Dad is always willing to bury a boy!

When the weather got iffy, we headed out and did a little shopping!  These guys are sporting their new swim shirts.

 

 

The last night we headed to Cobalt for dinner as a family.  These guys have grown up so much.  We don't eat out much, but I did realize that dinner out is relatively easy...just really expensive!

 

 

 

We were sad to leave on Tuesday morning but the coming rain did make things a little easier.  Can't wait to get back down there later this summer!

Last Day!!

And just like that another school year has come to a close.  Another graduate of the Lower School.  As Jimmy Buffett sang, "years grow shorter not longer."  These guys were ready for the last day!

After dropping everyone off, John and I came home to get cleaned up and ready to go back for the closing chapel.  GranGran graciously offered to keep John so I could hop from party to party efficiently. 

first row...far right...in red shorts

Daniel sang on the red steps for the last time as a lower school student.  In typical fashion, Mom got a little teary.  He did great, though!

He had an ice cream party and reception immediately following the program.  By the time Chris and I made it to the fellowship hall, he already had his ice cream in hand and chocolate syrup down his shirt.  Thankfully, he has a few more years before we have to send him out into the world with manners!

Daniel made some sweet friends this year.  His class was a special one...

 

 

His teacher was some kind of awesome!  We were so blessed to have her.  Daniel did so much growing up this year.  His intellect has always been there, but I truly saw him mature during this school year.  I think Mrs. Webb had a lot to do with that transformation.

 

With one party under our belt, we headed over to William's class to celebrate the last day with him.

they both have candy in their mouth!!

William, too, had a great year.  He loved school and made tons of new friends.  Of course, I could go on and on about his fabulous teacher.  Mrs. Gross has taught three of our boys now and she is incredible.  As I told Chris over the weekend, I simply can not think of one situation in three years where I thought to myself "she could have handled that better."  She is tops and we are praying for one more year with her!!

Mrs. Gross with her Kindergarteners and 2nd grade siblings that she taught!

 

 

Lower school closed out...and we headed to the main campus for Philip's party.  His day consisted of Field Day and I was so glad that he was able to go without the brace and participate in the activities.  He had a blast, but unfortunately gotten a little big for pictures.  I only have one to share....

 

 

 

With three parties under our belt, we headed straight to the beach for a long weekend away!!  More on that later...yea for summer!!

John is Four and Out of School!!

We celebrated John's birthday with all the family Monday night.  So hard to believe that John is four!!

He was thrilled to receive lots of Paw Patrol gifts...Ryder and his ATV, Chase and his truck, and best of all his very own Pup Pad that repeats each pup's catch phrase over and over (and just when you get tired of it, he plays it in French!!!).

 





Friday brought his Spring Sing and last day of school.  He wasn't too thrilled to be going and was a little shy about singing in front of the crowd.  Despite my flashbacks to Daniel, I stayed calm and told him he could do it.  A quick hug from Mrs. Maria and he was ready to go!!

A successful performance calls for cake...even if it is 9:45 in the morning!!

We quickly left Westminster and headed to the Eastern Shore Centre to play in the fountains with Campbell.  It was quite crazy there, but these two had fun coming up with their own adventures.

The day ended with a sleep over at Dee's for four boys and me getting to enjoy the company of this good friend!