Schools Out for Summer!

All three of my boys are finishing up the school year this week.  Because it is the end of the year, the last couple of weeks have been filled with all kinds of festivities.  Here is a run down of what we have been doing to celebrate the end of preschool, kindergarten and the third year of medical school.

Kindergarten

Ammon got to participate in the kindergarten music concert.  The theme for the concert was, "Sing Me A Story."  We happened to have a Harry Potter costume hanging around that was perfect for the concert! Ammon had a minor wardrobe malfunction (as you can see in the video below) and spent a lot of time messing with his scarf.  Despite the clothing issues, Ammon did an excellent job and we were very proud of him.

We also got to attend, "Fine Arts Night"  at Ammon's school.  We were able to see some of the projects that Ammon has made in Art class this year.  He even made his own clay pot!  Here he is posing in front of some of the art work (looking a little shabby, I know, we had to go straight to Tae Kwon Do so he's sporting the gym clothes).

Our little artists very own rendition of Starry Night.

Ammon also got to participate in  field day and go on a field trip to the Des Moines Art center. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of these fun events.

Preschool

I was able to go on a field trip with Carter to the Saylorville Lake visitor center.  We went on a hike and learned about different plants and animals.  Here is Cart with his cute little preschool class by a replica of an Eagle's nest (I'm not really sure what Carter is doing here, sadly this is the best picture I got of the fieldtrip.)

Carter's school also had a fun icecream party and program. Carter did a wonderful job singing and even got to introduce one of the songs (see the video clip below). He is really going to miss his preschool teachers!

End of Third Year

Since we have lived in Des Moines, it seems like our time spent here has been measured in school years rather than calendar years.  We are pleased to be able to say that Colby is officially done with his 3rd year of school. This is a big one because it means that he will graduate NEXT YEAR!  Although I am excited for this milestone, I'm not really looking forward to him starting his fourth year NEXT WEEK!

Last week my friend Sara had a "Favorite Things Party."  In true Oprah fashion, everyone brought 3 of their favorite things to share (3 of the same item) and went home with 3 different "favorite things."  It was super fun and a great way to end the year!

Maryann, Auprielle and I show off our "winnings."

Sara and I pose for a picture.

Although starting the fourth year of school is exciting, it definitely has it's downsides too.  Colby and his buddies will be traveling a lot next year and some of them won't be back in Des Moines until graduation (and I know Bryce is going to come to graduation, right Bryce?) We had a little celebration with some friends to congratulate the boys on making it this far, and to wish them luck next year. Ben, Jason, Colby, Phil and Bryce showing off their super cool T-shirts.

Yes, I know it's cheesy, but Megan and I couldn't resist having these matching T-shirts made for them.

The wives (we missed Aunna, who had already taken off for Memphis).

The Family

The kids.  (I just realized that my captions are getting progressively shorter and less creative, I guess I didn't have the stamina for this super long post tonight- humor me!)

I also couldn't resist ordering this cheesy cake.  Ever since I first saw these custom cakes (with edible pictures!) I have wanted to order one.  I thought this was the perfect occasion.  Turns out I have TONS of leftovers (and it's definitely not on our "healthy food" diet) so any of you Iowans who would like some cake are welcome to come on over (especially you, Fluhmans, who snuck out of Fudruckers without the two huge pieces of cake I was trying to send with you!)

I think the cake says it all,  

We are going to need it!