Celebrating More Awesomeness

Mr. Dryden was student of the month for the month of November this school year. That makes two years in a row of celebrating his awesomeness. Kindergarten? Check. First grade? Check.

This kiddo. 

Not only is he a stellar student academically, he sets a wonderful example to his classmates with his great behavior and mad listening skills in the classroom. His teachers absolutely love him. He is quiet and respectful and a friend to everyone. We are so very, very proud of him for all he has accomplished in the face of much adversity. What a kind, special boy.

Student of the month assemblies are celebrated with treats afterwards for the kids and their families. And what could be more rewarding on a cold fall morning than popsicles?? 

Way to go, you smart, sweet, awesome boy!

HOT-ober Happenings

Good ol' October in Phoenix. The time of year when I shake my fist at the weather because it is somehow STILL not time to wear pants. Or turn off the air conditioning. Or open the windows.

But.

It's better than freezing for most of the year, so I will try to stop complaining.

This October was jam-packed, as usual. It was fun and busy, but I, for one, am glad for a calmer, less frantic November. The only thing I miss about October is the pumpkin seeds. I could eat those things all. year. long.

We started the month off with the Fun Run. This year Spencer stayed with Grandma Linda so that he didn't have to be tortured with hours of watching other people running. I, on the other hand, was tortured with hours of watching other people running for the 5th year in a row. Okay, just kidding, it wasn't really torture. I truly am proud of these guys for their stamina and willingness to participate in something out of their comfort zone.

October also included Craig's favorite fall-time activity...carving PUMPKINS! He is grateful that the kids are all finally old enough to carve their own pumpkins while he sits back, takes photographs, and watches. Hahahahaha...maybe in another 15 years that will be the case. But, Julia DID design and do most of hers, so that is definitely something.

In October, we also worked on spelling our names with giant sticks. These guys are pros, I tell you. They barely needed practice at all.

And, last but not least (actually not last, because there is still Halloween to write about in a forthcoming post...but you know what I mean) we enjoyed our 5th Vocabulary Parade at MPE. The kids all chose the word "Photo," which made our lives considerably easier this year. But I tell ya, I sure look forward to the time when we have 0 to 1 costumes to deal with for this yearly learning opportunity.

Oh, and did I mention that the girls also got awards of awesomeness in the month of Hot-tober? Yesiree. Lexa was student of the month for her class, and Savanna was the art student of the month for the third grade. These cuties are top notch, Plus, Craig and I were already at the school for the Vocabulary Parade that morning, so it really was a win-win for everyone. Thanks, MPE for saving me an extra a trip to the school. (You know, since I'm already there twice a day, anyway.)

There you have it. We survived October. And, most of November, incidentally, but you'll just have to wait to hear about all that jazz.

Fast Forward to Thanksgiving

Halloween threw up at our house last week and we have yet to clean it up. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Better pull out the last of the fall decor so I can enjoy it for 20 days before we decorate for Christmas. 

Also we really need to buckle down and eat all of our Halloween candy before it's time to fill stockings. Better get started...

Caveman

When this cute boy woke up from his nap the other day with his shirt all askew, Dryden took one look at him and said, "Why does Kaden's shirt look like a caveman shirt?"

A valid question, my love.

Kaden seems to be wondering the same thing.

Laura and Spencer and Me Make 3

 After the kids' fall break, Laura braved the heat and came back to Arizona with us for a few days. It was spectacular. The highlight of her trip was a few hours of shopping {by ourselves!} followed by dinner and dessert with none other than Michael Walker. Because we are slackers and didn't take any pictures of said activities, we'll skip to the second-best part of the trip, which was going to the zoo with Mr. Spencer.

I'm not gonna lie; it was hot and uncomfortable that day (you know, like "Fall" in Phoenix tends to be), but it was still a lot of fun. For the two hours we lasted, anyway. My favorite part of the day may have been when Spence said, referring to some really loud construction noise near the elephants, "That sound is annoying...it's making my ears MAD!!"

Finding the turtles on the bridge

Laura knows how to trick Spencer into 

being in a picture he doesn't want to be in.

Pretending to be in line for the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland

Hey, look! Sometimes the animals do something other than apathetically

standing around and ruing the day they were brought to the zoo.

{That's apathetically, not alphabetically. I think they purposely
don't put the animals in alphabetical order so the zebras don't feel bad.}

They call this the "Endangered Species Carousel."

Reminds me of how carousel rides for my 

children are an ever-dwindling phenomenon.

{Good thing Laura was there to save the day and pay for Spencer's ride.}

Coolest Lego seahorses I ever did see.

Sandwiches in the shade with my favorite almost-twin.

(photo credit: Spencer)

Laura, please come back soon when you are tired of the snow and our decent winter weather has kicked in. I started missing you the moment you drove away!