McKinley's 9th birthday

McKinley's birthday celebrations tends to last a long time!  We start with bringing treats in to school...and that's usually a few days early because school gets out before her actual birthday.  Then this year we celebrated presents a few days early because she and I were going to see Grandma Libby in Washington and wouldn't be home on her actual birthday.  She also had a little cheerleading camp for her birthday party with a few other girls, which was a blast!  (Thanks Whitney!)  And then, she got cake and a giant balloon at Grandma's on her actual birthday.  Nana brought over a present a few days after we came home, the Primary at church gave her a card and a treat, and just yesterday her Sunday school teachers brought over a card and treats too!  Wow...she really celebrated! 

Of course we celebrated McKinley's birthday....she is an adorable little girl.  She is so witty and funny, she is super smart, and very kind.  She is a thoughtful, gentle soul, with a very good heart.  We are so lucky to have our (not so) little girl in this family.  We love you McKinley!

End of Elementary!!

There were a LOT of activities this last week of school for both my elementary age kiddos.  I made them each pick their top two and I attended those!  Of course, one of the activities was Evan's graduation from 6th grade, and from Elementary school!  The other one was his group play that they had worked on for quite some time.  Evan was the MC of a game show called Nail the Tale.  It was all about books and authors.  He did a great job!

 Graduation was a talent show and memory telling event as well as the traditional walking across the stage.  There were some great performances and some neat essays about elementary school and moving on.  The theme was Dr. Seuss "Oh, The Places You'll Go!".

 Evan enjoyed his time across the stage and singing the school song one more time before releasing his balloon outside, grabbing some treats, and walking out the door "for the last time!".

 He also snapped a picture with his science teacher, Mrs. V...his "favorite" teacher.  All in all it was a great year and we are looking forward to Middle School and the learning, growing, challenges, and FUN that are ahead!  Congratulations Evan, well done!

Academy Award Winner!

And the winner of the Super Student award is....McKinley Smith.  She was presented with the award as an example of a great student in all areas...Kindness, Academics, Helpfulness, Encouraging, Inclusive, Obedient, Hard Working, and Respect.  WOW!  That is an award to be proud of!!

 Receiving her award from her teacher, Mrs. Flores!

Graduating third grade as champions!  They sang their own version of We Are The Champions!

Ready to throw off the hats and enjoy summer.

McKinley's "star" on the walk of fame!

McKinley has had a great third grade year.  She has loved her teacher and her classmates and has learned a ton.  She's excelled in math (of course) and really learned to love reading this year.  She's an all around great student and we couldn't be more proud of her!

Visiting David Pearson's grave

Today we went and visited Grandpa Pearson's grave.  He died when Ethan was about 9 months old and Austin was barely 2, so they don't have memories of him.  It was good to share a few stories and talk about the kind of person he was.  It was nice to pay our respects and remember part of what the day is supposed to be about.

Memorial Day breakfast

 Each year we go up Little Cottonwood Canyon for a family breakfast for Memorial Day.  This year we had a lot of the family and it was another huge success.  It is always so beautiful up the canyon this time of year and food always tastes better when it's cooked outside!  The kids enjoy exploring and visiting and so do the rest of us.  It's a great way to kick off the day and to be with those we love!

Junior Prom for Austin

 

Austin was very excited about Prom this year.  He asked Marlee Madsen to go to Prom with him and they had a really great time!  They started off with breakfast at Kneaders and 3 hours at Boondocks for some laser tag, arcade, go karts, etc.  Then they got ready and had a delicious dinner downtown SLC and then enjoyed the dance with great friends.  They ended the night with ice cream sundaes at a friends house and great memories!  They looked so nice and had an even better time.  Junior Prom 2013 was great!

Blessing

We got up at 5 am to head over to Neola for Keaton James Davenport's blessing.  The whole Smith family had gathered for this special celebration!  It was fun to visit with all the aunt's, uncles, and cousins.  Dave and I even got a chance to hold Keaton and he was so sweet.  Why do babies smell so good?  Happy times...now off for a nap!