Last Day of 2nd Grade....

 Nathan's last day of school ended with a bang.  A very fun bang.

The families were invited to attend the 2nd grade picnic.  The school provided cupcakes and pizza for the students so Tamera and I grabbed the same thing for the rest of the siblings and added some grapes.  

We set up our blankets and watched the kids play and said goodbye to the teachers and their friends.  He and his best friend, Mikey were glued at the hip and got one last game of kickball in before it was time to leave.

Nathan has an amazing room mom that always volunteers to do face painting for the class.  Nath opted for his favorite again, a tiger.

So just like that, 2nd grade is over and summer starts.

We had to kick it off somehow and were so glad that the Eagers decided to come over for our first summer play day!

Keebler Cookie Grandma

 All good things come to an end.

For now... we are done with preschool.  And that means saying goodbye to Miss Melody.

For 4 years she has been a part of our family and while I won't be dropping my little ones off to her treasure filled basement, we will still be dropping by for an occasional visit.

She started out as a sweet teacher but has ended by etching her and Poppa T's sweet personalities and friendships into our hearts... forever.

 Kendall celebrated his last day by having a pretty intense and fun field day in Miss Melody's back yard.  I will add that all the boys were WAY into all the games and really loved a good win to the girls!

The morning ended with a bittersweet diploma and cake and punch.

After we took Kendall to Asian Chefs to celebrate.  He was so excited to eat his favorite, sesame chicken.

We can't wait to see what is in store for Kendall next....

Oh What Do You Do In the Summer Time?

Well...If you are a Hillan boy, you buzz your head of course!

Seems to be our summer kick off.

N. J. H.

 At this moment in Nathan's life, he is quite an enjoyable child.

I love that he wakes up happy and climbs into bed with me every morning and sleeps an extra hour.

He gets dressed, makes his bed, eats breakfast, and packs his lunch made of an orange, apple, cheese stick, a sandwich, and a girl scout cookie.  I slip a note or joke in his bag when he is not looking and sure enough he, at the end of the day he hands the crinkled paper to me laughing and repeating the joke.

He gets his homework done, practices his piano 6 times a week, and compliments me when I cook dinner.  He is so pleasant to hang out with and loves to hear stories of when Justin and I were growing up.

He always has time to play a game of Go Fish or Headbands with Kendall and loves a good game of catch in the backyard.

He makes us happy and is always giving us a reason to laugh.  His latest thing right now is signing all his papers, Nathan James Cardon Hillan.

"Buddies"

 These boys just want to hang out and laugh.  Lots of ball games in the back yard and tons of sand castles keep these three busy.  Sometimes they swing and once in a while there is silence when sucking down a Popsicle.

Mammy's house... where cousins turn into best "Buddies!"

BLITZ!

 For Memorial day, we celebrated Justin's Grandma, AKA: Grandma Abbott.

The very first time I met her, we played Blitz, her favorite card game.  She had a roll of quarters for the winner and I happened to win.

She also had her secret recipe, chocolate roll. Which pretty much sealed the deal that I was going to have to marry Justin just so I could get that AMAZING recipe.

 We decided that a BBQ and a Blitz tournament was in order complete with Grandma Abbott's chocolate roll.

The boys practiced ALL morning and we invited Uncle Todd, Aunt Martha, and Buddy over.

Uncle Todd won using his mad skills and took home the roll of quarters.

We added a little twist... the looser was also going to get a roll of quarters but didn't know it.  Justin and Nathan tied loosing and ended up with the second roll.

Kendall and I both got a Blitz (31) and were on a high from that.

Until next time, Grandma Abbott.......

Teeth Journey

 Nathan was born with an extremely narrow mouth. The orthodontist said in all his years of practice, that Nathan ties with another kid for having the smallest mouth he has ever seen.  I literally could not get my pinkie to fit in the roof of his mouth.  It was a pointy cone up there.

 He actually inherited his mouth from his father and they have now can bond over both experiencing the lovely world of the expander.

This little plastic piece is known as the key and I had to crank it 21 times.  He needs to wear the expander for 8 months.

After his appointment I found out that he was going to have a huge apple for part of his lunch and we decided a burrito (wink wink) would be much better while he tires to adjust to his new friend in his mouth.
 

Recital Excitement!

 Nathan loves to mess around on the piano and it seems he has been doing so from the moment he could stand and reach the keys.  His little hands would stretch high above his head and he would wiggle and tinkle his fingers to make songs.

We decided to get him into lessons as a surprise.

 He LOVES it.

He had his first recital where he learned and played Barnyard Strut.  Let me tell you...We heard that song over and over so much that when Justin and I were on our dates we would burst out the tune subconsciously.  First thing in the morning we would greet each other with the tune and I'm pretty sure Barnyard Strut was a part of all our dreams.

It was so fun to watch him play!

We got so lucky to get the best teacher in Colorado, Sister Shaw.  She is perfect for Nathan!  A lot of times they sing and play duets together.  She is a mix of fun but means business and everything is very structured.

Spring Walk

 Spring was a little late this year... It took FOREVER.

In the middle of May one day, POP!  Beautiful colors and green started finally consumed dead and brown areas all around town.

We decided to take a walk as a family one evening and find all the signs of this glorious awakening.  It was lovely and I've never been so happy to see a field of dandelions in my life!

A Day for MOM...

If there is one thing I love about life, it is the chance I got to be a mom.  For a few years I wasn't so sure it was going to happen for me.  After several miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy where I had one of my tubes removed, I received two, TWO miracles!

My heart and empty arms ached for a sweet baby.  All that time of waiting just made me never want to take these little guys for granted.

I love waking up every day knowing I get to plan it all around them.  Sometimes we stay in our jammies all day and they keep me company on the couch.  Sometimes we go on little outings to the library or park.  Sometimes we meet Justin for lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant and sometimes we play catch in the backyard while eating otter pops. 

Most of the time it's very simple.  And the joy of motherhood truly does come in moments.  But it's those glowy warm moments that keep you going and makes the hard days so very worth it.

Justin and the boys woke me up to the smell of my favorite french toast on challah bread.  Letters and drawings filled the table and for the entire meal I felt like the queen of England.  I may or may not have spoke in a British accent.

I had lost 5 pounds prior to mother's day but don't worry, I gained 7 more with all the chocolate from church and a yummy lemon cream cake I made my mom.  I think I ate the whole day and I liked it.