School Daze

Jonathan and Aaron attend one of the best schools in our state and are learning lots. Their teachers keep them engaged in fun, yet educational, learning activities, and provide an environment where parents are strongly encouraged to be a significant part of students' experiences. Though the school is not a Christian school, Christian values and morals provide the background for the leadership and faculty. We feel very blessed for our kiddos to go to this school, and we even enjoy supporting and participating in many of its activities.

The following pictures are from Jonathan's Valentine's/Grandparents' Program. We also took video, but I'm trying to figure out how to shorten to just the highlights of the production.

Earlier this year, Aaron's class took a field trip to the Children's Museum of Memphis; and Jeff captured some of the fun on camera.

And today, Aaron's class had another field trip to the Memphis Zoo; so Jeff and I tagged along with Levi and Caleb in tow. After the first hour, the bottom fell out of the sky; and down came the rain. Before the flood, we saw lots of the zoo and had a great time with Aaron's friends we were assigned to chaperon, Jerryun and Adam.

Guitar Heroes and Rock Stars

We pray for our boys' future success everyday, and hope they always have high aspirations and set huge goals for themselves. We express our expectations to them all the time, and try to motivate them along their life's journeys, wherever that may lead. With all that being said, Jonathan and Aaron may have found their calling recently as rock stars.

Jonathan was introduced to Guitar Hero on the Wii a few weekends ago, and was hooked from the start. He stayed up late, refusing to put it down until he "rocked" the song "Slow Ride." He finally succeeded and is ready for us to buy him the game so he can rock it out on the other songs. In the picture, you can see him playing lead; and Aaron is helping out with his own guitar.

Aaron, with the help of long-distance friends, Priscilla and Cameron Grace, put on a rock concert for all of us. He was the lead singer and Priscilla played the guitar. We must also give credit to Priscilla for designing the costume and writing the song that Aaron wasn't quite able to read and perform. However, the concert was a complete success. We recorded it, but it's taking a while to figure out how to get it just right to upload. So these are just a sampling of how rockin' it was.

The boys make us proud everyday with all they accomplish, and we know there's much more for them to attain. Whether or not they are guitar heroes or rock stars, we hope they know we will always be beside them (or in the crowd) cheering them on!

Growing Grass, Growing Jonathan

So it's finally Spring, which brings warm weather and tall grass. Jeff went out to mow last weekend, and Jonathan thought he would give it a try too! Here's our big guy mowing the lawn. . . we can't believe he's even close to old enough!

Kickin' Parties

Soccer season has ended for all 3 boys, and they all had their parties at Cici's Pizza. They had fun saying bye to their soccer buddies by eating pizza, playing arcade games, and receiving their very own trophies. Here are the pics!

Jonathan and one of our goalies, Matthew, with Aaron trying to sneak in the picture.

These are the girls who were on our team, minus one.

Here's Jonathan showing off his trophy.

Coach Daddy, Austin, and the whole Royal Blue team.

Aaron, Caleb, and their friend, David.

The Maroon Team is "patiently" waiting to receive their trophies.

Caleb autographs the coach's shirt.

Aaron and his prized trophy.

Caleb was so proud of his new trophy and he couldn't stop playing with it. Do you think it made it out of Cici's in one piece? (Answer: No way! Thank goodness for super glue!)

Coach David, Coach Jeff, and the Maroon Mustangs

Back to School Update

Jeff, Caleb, and I visited Jonathan and Aaron for lunch at school the last two Friday's. We've decided to try and make this a regular thing. I took a couple of pictures of the cuties eating and thought this would be an excellent opportunity to brag about them a little.

Aaron is absolutely loving Kindergarten. He has told us he's made 4 friends. One of his best buddies is Lucas, who is sitting beside him in the picture. His class has been learning how to write the letters "C" and "S," and I must say, Aaron has beautiful handwriting. His teacher always writes "Nice Work" on his papers, and he is excited to make her so proud. He has learned several new songs, which he enjoys singing to us at home. He's even teaching Caleb! Aaron's also reading a few words already. He takes much pride in the work he does, and wants to keep everything; so I guess it's time to stock up on scotch tape and make room on the walls to hang up his brilliant masterpieces!

Jonathan feels grown up in Second Grade, but is learning that it's not quite all it's cracked up to be. He was excited at first about bringing school books home and doing homework. After a week of the full experience, he's decided that "homework just wastes his time when he could be playing." As much as he's despising homework, he's amazing us with his genius brain. Last year, he was referred to the "intellectually gifted" program at school by his teacher. After several preliminary tests throughout the year, we were just informed last week that he was accepted. He far surpassed the necessary score to be eligible. His score actually falls within the range of scores designated as SUPERIOR and exceeds the performance of 97% of kids his age. WOW! Jonathan is looking forward to starting the SPOTLIGHT program in a few weeks, and we are so proud of him!

This next week holds a lot in store for Caleb. He'll be starting Preschool at a little church, and attending only half a day everyday. We think this will be a great opportunity for him to make his own friends. He's been moping around a little since both of his brothers started school. We'll post later about his first week. In the meantime, be praying for him, us, and his teacher (and her sanity!), as we enter this new stage in his life.

I could go on and on about these guys, but mostly anyone who knows them understands how special they are. So enjoy the few pictures and stay tuned for more stories, because our lives are about to get even busier.

1st Day of School

Last Friday, we visited Jonathan and Aaron's school for Back to School Nite. We looked at their classrooms and met both of their teachers. The boys were excited to start Monday morning, while Caleb and I were left feeling a little empty inside! They have had a really fantastic week and are both enjoying meeting new friends and learning new things. We are so extremely proud to have such brilliant little guys!

Back to School Nite

First Day of Kindergarten and 2nd Grade!

Notice, they are sporting their Louisiana pride!

Pool Party

Jonathan's end of the season party was last month also. To celebrate and beat the heat, we had a pool party. The kids were able to swim for only a short time before it started storming. We had a great time anyway visiting while chowing down on pizza, receiving trophies, and eating cake and ice cream. Here are the pics!