Brody's Last Days of 1st Grade

Brody's final months of first grade were equally sweet as he really ventured out of his shell to try new things.  He isn't the most athletic kid, but he always tries his best.  He volunteered to run in the track and field events at the high school like his big brother.  He is just the sweetest little soul to everyone he meets and always has a big smile for everyone.  He is so well-behaved in school and always brings home the good character tickets they receive for good behavior.  I think of him as my Ferdinand the Bull.  He would just rather pick flowers and enjoy taking things a little slower in life instead of charging full speed ahead.  He really had a great school year and made so much progress in reading, writing, and math.

His school post a lot of pictures throughout the year on their Facebook page so I love finding Brody in them.  I love his "surprise" face behind his teacher when she received a gift for the class. He often pretends to be shy looking away from the camera.  He does love computer time. 

One of my favorite picture projects of Brody was his make a wish picture.  He wrote a little piece about what he wished for to go along with it.   He wrote he wished for mom to be nice because she is loved and is the best mom everyday.  Um, maybe mom isn't always very nice?  But I do feel very loved by him.  He was also ready to try to run in some track and field races at the high school. 

I love how determined he looked running.  He makes me so proud! 

He and his classmates enjoyed playing together at their school field day events. 

They found something interesting down in the sewer grate.  Maybe ninja turtles?  Haha!  Yes, Dad caught me giving him pointers on how to do his long jump.  

He had good form and made it almost 4 feet. 

Caught in the air. 

Drinking water and cheering on the racers. 

Brody and his teacher on the last day of school. 

Ready for their ice cream party! 

Getting tons of sweet treats for their ice cream. 

Look at that happy face!  His sweet friend gave him bunny ears. 

Giving his teacher a gift. 

And a big ol' group hug for teacher.  Little brother just wanted to play on the table with Mommy's phone. 

He gives the best hugs!  

Evan's Last Days of Elementary School

Wow, I can't believe we are already at this point!  Next year, MIDDLE SCHOOL!  It really seems like I just wrote about his first day of Kindergarten back in 2012.  Where does the time go?  Evan has always been such a champ at school.  Even through changing schools multiple times, he doesn't miss a beat.  He accepts any challenge, makes friends with everyone he meets, and loves learning EVERYTHING!  Seriously, he is a bit of a nerd.  He always has a book in his hand.  I have lost track of all the books he reads because he has a new one everyday.  Yes, he reads very fast too.  He mostly reads middle and higher level novels now and loves book series about magic and fantasy like all of Rick Riordan's series.  He also loves historical fiction and nonfiction books.  Also, he is a champion chess player and loves going to chess club at school.  Nope, I don't know where he got that from because I cannot stand chess.  He is equally well-rounded about his love for sports and the outdoors too.  As much as he loves learning, he still loves recess and spends every spare second outside playing with friends.  He doesn't care what the weather is like either.  If he is inside too long, he goes completely crazy and gets pretty ill-tempered.  Ha!  His last months of elementary school and fifth grade were pretty full of fun experiences for him.  He competed and won medals in his two Science Olympiad events.  He went on a field trip with his class to the local National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force.  He went on his big fifth grade field trip to Charleston, SC to see the USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier, ride a boat tour of Charleston Harbor, and visit an aquarium.  I am glad his last days of elementary school were such fun ones for him.

Evan loved visiting the air force museum which he had begged to visit since we moved here.  It is clearly visible from I-95 between Pooler and Savannah with large planes displayed outside.  

Evan and his Science Olympiad team all did very well at their regional competition. 

Their classes had some fun events like playing Escape the room and having a glow in the dark party. 

Evan wanted to participate in a field day event at the high school and will possibly go out for track and field next year because he loves to run.  Seriously, who is this kid and where did he come from?  I think he is an alien.  Haha!  

Getting to sit in the captain's chair on the Yorktown.  I didn't go on any of his field trips so I was thankful for these pictures. 

Evan and his classmates on the Yorktown. 

Of course, the guns are usually their favorites. 

Such a fun full day trip. They rode a boat ride while they ate lunch and then visited a local aquarium. 

Evan enjoyed the touch tank, and they all fit inside this huge eagle's nest. 

Although his school didn't have an official graduation, they do a special graduation from their CHAMPS curriculum taught by the Sheriff's Department which is similar to the old DARE program I did in school.  

Receving his "diploma."

A picture with a proud Daddy and Mommy. 

And one with his teacher at their end of year party.  Evan and his best pal, Tyler, are computer geeks. 

They received awards from their teacher for the year.  Evan received a special award for his creative writing. Grayson just loved the beach balls all the kids received to get signed by their friends. 

Evan and the Pittsburgh Pirates

Evan's season of baseball had its share of highs and lows as most of our years of rec sports have.  There are things we have enjoyed and things that we haven't.  Sometimes it is the less than stellar coaching, sometimes it is the bad umpires, and sometimes it is the bad attitudes of the kids.  In it all, we find something new to learn and grow in our skills.  Evan loves any chance to play a game involving a ball.  He doesn't usually let much upset him and usually ignores the bad behavior around him.  I am thankful he has his daddy's attitude there.  He played very well this season.  He was very fast in the field and could catch or stop a fast hit ball and get it in to the infield position to make the out.  He could steal bases like a pro.  I really enjoyed getting to watch him play this year.

We also took Evan's baseball pictures because we missed the official team picture day. 

He is an expert at posing for pictures. 

He looked so professional in the field.  

He has a great arm for throwing. 

Up at bat he was ready to swing at a good pitch although he rarely got one.  He got walked a lot this season, but he is great at knowing when to swing or not. I think that pitch actually hit him.  

He could usually steal bases easily because of his speed. 

Safely at second. 

Ready at bat. 

We had to buy a new bat because his league had some crazy restrictive bat rules.  

He stole all the way to 3rd. 

Great swing!

He is always ready in the field. 

At bat on one of his last games of the season. 

He stole and slid to make it safely to second. 

He's safe at second and going for third. 

Safe at third. 

These boys were having a fun day at the ball field. 

I love watching him play.  He really gets into the game. 

A close and hard fought game. 

Way to go, Evan!  You are a winner to us!