Last week of school

I missed a lot here at home last week.  Mike did an awesome job of holding down the fort, just as I expected he would.  It was a pretty busy week for the boys, being the last week of school, and so Mike had a lot of extras to do.  He did say, "When I go back to work on Friday I'm going to be so happy."  And Eli said, "Dad, I like when Mom is home.  She doesn't make me cry as much as you."  Mostly, I think it went really well.  As for me, I was busy in Tennessee looking at houses.  I had hoped that Jessie and I would have some time left over each day to do something fun but honestly, our days were packed.  We looked at over 40 houses in two and a half days.  Mike was pressuring me to make a decision and put an offer on a house before I flew home.  When I told him I wasn't ready to make a decision he started to get frustrated with me and I finally just told him to back off.  My mind was jumbled and unfocused from seeing so many houses and I needed time to process it and figure out what I thought was the best choice.  He was much more patient with me after that and now that he has seen the pictures and notes, I think he understands a little better why the decision wasn't a clear choice.  We did finally decide on a house and put in an offer tonight.  We will hear on Thursday morning if it was accepted.  

While I was gone Eli graduated from kindergarten.  I was sad I missed his little program.  His class practiced their little program for a few days and Eli told me that he had an important part and that he got to say, "E for Integrity!"  He was so enthusiastic and proud of his little part.  Mike and I looked at each other and tried not to giggle.  I didn't have the heart to tell Eli that Integrity didn't start with E.  Instead, we just suggested that he make sure and review his part with his teacher so he could make sure he had his part right.  Mike reported after the graduation that it was actually, "E for Education!"  and that Eli had gotten his part right.  

But I keep laughing about it every time I think of it.  "E for Integrity!"   

Eli had Mrs. Bartges for kindergarten this year.  She was Isaac's kindergarten teacher too.  She is the sweetest teacher and her patience always amazes me.  I couldn't imagine a better way for my boys to start their first year of school than to get to go to her calm, happy, loving class.  Watching Eli change and grow this year has been so rewarding.  We used to worry so much about him and his temper and stubbornness but he is just so happy and pleasant and obedient.  He has loved school so much this year and has had such wonderful friends.  Every time I think about him going to school all day next year I get teary-eyed.  It's going to be a hard adjustment for me, I think.

I also missed the awards assemblies the boys had.  Both Isaac and Eli got awards for being on the honor roll both semesters.  Will got an award for completing the Advanced Reading Challenge.  He was awarded $50 to Barnes and Noble!  We took him to choose some books on Saturday and he ended up giving both of his brothers $10 each of his money for them to spend on books of their own.  I am always amazed at his giving heart.  He was so excited about his new books and is already on the third of the four books he got.  I think he reads faster than I do...

I got home late Thursday night.  My plane was delayed because of tornadoes in Denver (which is weird) so I didn't end up getting home until after midnight.  The next morning was the last day of school for the boys and they were excited because they got to go to Skate City with their classes and go skating and have pizza for lunch.  I got the boys to school and then came home and showered and then came down to talk to Eli and see if he and Piper wanted to go meet Will and Isaac at Skate City when my phone rang.  It was Isaac's teacher telling me that Isaac had fallen and hit a wall and she thought he was going to need stitches.

What a welcome home!

We quickly went to Skate City and I knew right away that he was going to need stitches.  Thankfully they had already cleaned all the blood up before I had gotten there but I heard it was a sight to see.  So, Isaac, Piper, Eli and I spent the last day of school in the ER getting Isaac all stitched up.  One of my friend's daughter is in Isaac's class at school and she told her mom that Isaac had to go to the hospital so my sweet friend showed up and got Eli and Piper for me and fed them lunch and watched them for the last hour.  We got done just in time for school to get out and so I rushed Isaac back to school so he could say goodbye to his teacher and classmates (and to pick up Will of course).

What a way to end the school year.  Poor Isaac.  He handled it very well, even though they did wrap him up like a mummy at the ER.  I thought, "Is this really necessary?"  It would have just freaked me out more to have my arms all wrapped up by my side and something put over my face so I couldn't see.  He was really brave and such a good sport.

His poor eye was all puffy and black and blue but he got his stitches out today.

So far our summer vacation is going well.  We are going to sit down and talk about all the things the kids want to do this summer and what we want them to do (keep their room clean, practice piano, exercise, read books, etc.).  We only have about six weeks left here so I am determined to make it a memorable few weeks and enjoy our remaining time in Colorado as much as we can.