Last day of school, last day of school....

I'm pretty sure I'm more excited about it than she is!!!

Last full day of school...

Today was her last full day of first grade. She's ready for the summer and then some! Loved having Mrs. O'Brien as her teacher this year and looking forward to having her again in second grade!

Open house at Jackson...

Mrs. O'Brien

Charlie's non-fiction book all about penguins.

Agenda for Charlie's Open House.

Awesome artwork the class made.

Charlie's submission this year for the year book.

Ten on Tuesday...

The I'm still so far behind that I don't care edition....

Charlie, Claire and Marilyn after Claire's musical on 4/26.

Unbelievable weather this past week!

Charlie and I went to the zoo on 4/28 and I finally got to meet baby Lilly!

Charlie and I at Winterhawks game on 5/3.

Matthew and Charlie and Winterhawks game on 5/3 - we had rink side seats!

4th birthday for little Charlie in Charlie's CrossFit class!

Stopped by to support MDA day at Dutch Bros on the way to work 5/3.

Yummy GREEN food all week, with a touch of orange!

Matthew being a goofball after we got locked out of their house.

Teacher appreciation week May 6-10th.  Crocheted apple for Charlie's teacher Mrs. O'Brien!

Bonus photo...Charlie and Darth Vadar before Winterhawks game!

100th day of first grade...

Mrs. O'Brien's first graders on their 100th day of school.

Charlotte connecting 50 red and 50 blue dots.

She's a 'grader', first grader now...

Charlie holding up her "Kinder" first day photo....I'm gonna do this every first day of school.

Her back-pack is a little heavy with supplies (ream of paper) today...

She picked out a turtle to give to her teacher Mrs. O'Brien

Kinda corny, but it's the best I could come-up with...

First grade letter to Charlotte...

Dear Charlotte:

Tomorrow you are officially a “grader”, as in FIRST grader!  Wowza, time is flying by too quick!

We started writing you a letter every new school year to help capture the NOW of what is happening in our lives.   We are so blessed to have you as our daughter!

The summer of 2012 has been a great one!  You were still in day school on the days that both daddy & mommy worked and you love it there!  You have lots of your little friends and Teacher April is the best!  We never know what types of art projects you are going to come home with and we knew (when you wanted to spend last Wednesday at school vs. staying home with daddy on his day off) that you truly love going to school there in the summer…we are grateful it’s so close by our home and that you’ve made some amazing friends!

On the weekends this summer we were busy with Relays, traveling around Oregon and of course lots of hanging out…Zoo, OMSI, Out Of This World Pizza and the neighborhood parks are just a few places you love to go to.

In early July you had your first big away from home adventure—6 days with the Rohr Family in Gig Harbor.  You got to hang out with your friends Amy, Karla and little Megan…go to their dance class and have lots of FUN!  We are so proud that you just go with it and love to have new adventures and that you don’t miss home too much!  You also got to have a sleep over at Cousin Marilyn’s home.

You continue to take gymnastics at Flight School  with Teacher Kacey and love it.  We started you at Faber swim school and you are have started to swim on your own.   Indoor soccer was also added in August and so far so good!

You test us daily with your questions and your stubbornness and then you SMILE and LAUGH and it just fills our hearts with LOVE!!! There is nothing so wonderful as one your hugs. It warms our hearts watching you experiencing life and learning to like all that the world has to offer. We can only hope that we can help shape you into a person that loves life like your dad and I do.

We are both SO PROUD and honored to be your parents and our hearts BURST with LOVE knowing that this is just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to your AWESOMENESS!!!

We only hope we can do you right as parents and continue to teach you that if you keep your heart OPEN, amazing things will come to you and all those around you.

We love you more than life itself! THANK YOU for being the best gift two parents could every dream of. We love watching you grow, learn and become the awesome person that you continue to blossom into!


Hugs,
~ Mommy & Daddy
September 4, 2012 (they day before First Grade)…

School starts on Wednesday...

We went to Charlotte's ice cream social tonight at school. We got to meet her first grade teacher, Ms. O'Brien. Quite a few of her buddies from Kindergarten are also in her class. So excited and can't quite believe we have a 'grader'...summer is almost over...2012, it's been a very, VERY good year! So thankful!