Sophia's 6th Birthday Party

Sophia's 6th birthday party was held at Southlake Gymnastics Academy. It was booked before Russell lost his job. If we backed out, we'd lose our deposit, so we opted to have it there anyways.

I went super light on the décor. They provided plates, forks and 2 table cloths. We just bought a few balloons and Monster High table cloths and napkins to jazz it up.

We use their table cloths to cover the cake and gift table.

Sophia loves Monster High so she wanted a Monster High party.

 

They had movie seating directly outside to wait for everyone to get there (I'm assuming that parents normally sit on these to watch their children do the gymnastics lessons).

The first rotation they did was the Southlake Mountain.

They also had bars near there that they could use.

Then they sat them down to tell the rules of the land.

Then it was time to jump.....

swing.......

and jump some more.....

 

They had fun. At least Sophia did.

Then it was cake time!

I'm telling ya, 2:00 pm is the best time to throw a party for this age group. No naps to worry about. Don't have to serve a meal like lunch or dinner.

Then came presents.

She got lots of great gifts. Apparently her friends know her very well.

Then they had more time on the mountain.

What a fun group of kids!

Thanks for coming to celebrate with us!

Summer Vacation Begins!

Our summer vacation started off with making a list of things Sophia wanted to do during the summer. It included things like swim club, camping, making S'mores, etc. Since Russell lost his job, we'll no longer be going to Chicago (bummer). And Sophia was super bummed but we're trying to find inexpensive things to do.

 

We started it off with a visit to NRH2O with her cousins. They have season passes so both of us got in for free! Plus we had a great time!

The next day, we headed to the Hurst Library and got Sophia her first library card. She checked out 3 books and read them in the car on the way home. They have an on line computer program to log your reading hours (and I can log mine too) and we get reading bucks for every 5 hours. They have prizes they can buy with the bucks. Plus, each week they have new coupons. We just used a BJ's free kids meal coupon and Russell and I split a meal (the portions are too huge anyways) for her birthday week.

And then we also have swim lessons. She LOVES swimming. We go for 2 weeks at 2 pm.

 

On Thursday, we did our first movie via the Cinemark movie club at NE Mall. We saw Ice Age: The Meltdown. We snuck in our own snacks and drinks in my huge purse. We bought the season pass which was 10 movies for $5. So $10 for both of us! Score!

 

Losing a job has totally made us reconsider our way of life. We've been wasteful in so many ways. I think this is a wake up call for us. But you know what, there are many free/cheap ways to have fun. And you learn from your circumstances and past mistakes. This summer is going to be EPIC!

Field Day....I Forgot!!!!

I forgot to post about field day. All those pics are on my phone. So I forget about them. It basically had to be done during their specials time due to the rain fall we had.

 

This was my station. The duck station. They had to go to the swimming pool, try to find  duck with their number on the back, race back in relay fashion and let the next person go. The first team with 3 ducks wins.

 

Sophia REALLY got into the competition.

Didn't get to see her after that but it was fun while it lasted.

Goodbye Kindergarten! Hello 1st Grade!

My little princess started this year as a scared little learner who was timid about starting at a new school (having been at her Pk for 3 years).

 

She ended the year as a first grader who can read on the end of the year 1st grade level (I), who had to learn to deal with many personalities in her classroom. But with Mrs. Hoss'  help, Sophia managed to learn to read at an even higher level than expected. Thanks Mrs. Hoss for a great year!

 

Kindergarten Graduation

 

This past Wednesday, Sophia had her Kindergarten Graduation.

They performed 2 songs for us.

Then it was awards time. They were giving out medals for being above grade level on Reading 3D (a measure they use for reading in our district). They have to be a level C at the end of Kindergarten, so anyone reading above a C got a medal.

 

And guess who got a medal??? Sophia Grace! She's on a reading level I (the level they need to be on at the end of 1st grade). We couldn't be more proud of her!

Then we went back to their classroom for more awards.

 It was a really hard decision for me, but when choosing the artistic excellence award, it was tough. I immediately thought of Sophia, because she usually takes the entire 45 minutes to complete a project and really does try her best. But, then I thought people would be upset thinking nepotism. So I had a tie. I picked Sophia and another girl to share the award (I pick a boy and girl per class).

 

Then, they did dance party!

 

Here's Sophia with Mrs. Hoss. We really love what a great kindergarten experience Sophia had. Mrs. Hoss is amazing!

Sophia! We are so proud of you! You rocked kindergarten. Mrs. Hoss even suggested you come back and be her personal assistant instead of moving on to 1st!

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

 

For Mother's Day, we went over my mom and dad's house for a Sunday lunch. My dad smoked a brisket and chicken. The guys made all the sides and desserts. Way to go guys for giving us a day off and making us feel special.

I got to do a ton of reading and relaxing (although my back apparently didn't get the memo. Darn back!).

And here's the reason that I feel so special on Mother's Day, my little Polish princess, Sophia Grace.

Love this little rugrat!