Art Extravaganza Awards - CORRECTION

So Kristjan finally came home with his award today (Clifford received his last week). Turns out Kristjan not only won the Judge's Choice Award but he ALSO won the People's Choice Award for his artwork!! EXCITING!!! (here's pics of the boys' artwork again. Clifford's on top and Kristjan's below)

Art Extravaganza Awards

Last month we attended the boys' school Art Extravaganza. Every child had one piece of art displayed, and during the event, parents/teachers/students were able to vote their top 3 favorite art pieces for each grade. The results are in....AND.....we have some budding young artists in this house!! There were two honor categories: People's Choice Award (voted by the Martha Lake Community) and Judge's Choice Award (selected by a panel of art judges). On Friday, Clifford came home from school with the People's Choice Award!!! We were so proud of him!!! THEN, on Sunday, while reading the school email we receive weekly, there's a blurb about the art winners. It stated that students receiving the Judge's Choice Awards will have their art displayed and judged at the Edmonds Art Festival in June. It then listed the name of students who won this honor. I couldn't believe it!!! First name on this list was Kristjan!!! He won the Judge's Choice Award!!! Peter and I had no idea! We're so proud of our boys, and are looking forward to the art festival next month :)

Speech Therapy

This afternoon Pete and I met with Mrs. Castell and Ms. Reece (Kristjan's teacher and speech therapist). Kristjan was recently tested by Ms. Reece to see if he met the specific standards designated by the state and qualify for extra help. According to the results, she can justify in a proposal for Kristjan to receive special education classes for his speech. She went over everything with us, specifically what letters/sounds he has issues with (there's a lot). Ms. Reece made it clear that Kristjan is a very intelligent child, with a lot to say (how true!). He just has issues with proper annunciation. So the plan is she'll continue working with him individually during class writing time, and then once he's in first grade this coming fall, he'll be pulled out of class a few times a week to work on his speech. In the meantime, Pete and I will be working with Kristjan on properly annunciating words whenever we hear him saying a word incorrectly.

Mother's Day '12

I had a (much needed) laid back Mother's Day. Pete made me french toast for breakfast, per request. Clifford and Kristjan each gave me little gifts they made in school (precious!). Pete did buy me two gifts with the intentions of giving them to me on Mother's Day. However, I accidentally found them a few weeks ago. He bought them while I was on my trip, and when his mom was here helping with the boys, she stuck them in the hall closet, which Pete had no clue about and forgot to ask her. I got a good laugh out of this since this is such a typical thing to happen when it comes to Pete giving me gifts. And the bright side was I was able to use the gifts right away (a hot glue gun and a special scrapbook cutter). As for the rest of Mother's Day, all I wanted to do was spend time at the beach. The weather was deliciously hot and sunny. Kristjan and I searched for sea shells while Clifford played in the sand. Pete bbq'd up some left over hamburgers from the night before for lunch (yum!). We spent a few hours frolicking on the beach before heading home. The rest of the day was spent hanging out on the couch.

Fun With Frogs

Saturday we took the boys to Fun with Frogs in Edmonds. This class has been offered a few times during the year for the past 3 years. I've always wanted to sign the boys up for it, but we were either always out of town or had some other conflicting event. I got lucky, however, and we didn't have anything scheduled on the calendar for this day. So off we went to spend two whole hours learning about frogs. It was a small group of kids, which made the learning environment easier. The "frog lady" taught the kids all sorts of interesting facts and answered any of their questions. Unfortunately, we couldn't hold any of the frogs she brought to show (though we did get to hold a stick bug), but she did bring them out of their travel cages so the kids could have a closer look. At the end of the class was a craft. All four of us thoroughly enjoyed this class. The "frog lady" is very passionate about frogs, and she made learning enjoyable. She has a business in Edmonds where anyone can come and visit during designated open hours. The rest of the time, she offers one-on-one learning classes if a child is considering purchasing a frog/toad for a pet. She'll teach you everything you need to know, provide you with a list of proper housing equipment, and a certificate of completion of the class. Kids can then take the certificate to Pet Smart where they can receive a pet frog/toad for free. Pete and I are considering doing this for the boys. They're low maintenance, and it would be awesome to fall asleep at night to the sound of frogs croaking. Next month, there's another class being offered called Turtle Time. If we're free that day, I'm signing the boys up for that as well. Then in fall, the "frog lady" will also offer classes on bugs and spiders. Clifford and Kristjan are very excited for those upcoming classes :)

1st Grade Spring Concert

Thursday evening Clifford performed in the 1st grade Spring Concert. All three classes sang songs about "Creepy Creatures" (bugs). Clifford stood in the front row and looked very handsome. There was a bit of concern by the teachers leading up to this evening. Notes were sent home saying the music teacher was very frustrated by the lack of listening and seriousness students showed during practices. It was noted that this was the worst behavior the teacher had EVER encountered in a first grade class as a whole. Peter and I did our part by discussing with Clifford the importance of listening and behaving. And his teacher, Mrs. Webster, 'bribed' the kids in the class that if none of her students were pulled off stage during the performance, she would let the class have an extra science project on Friday (nice! better than candy!). Only one child was pulled off stage, but he was from the other class. All in all, we enjoyed an hour of listening to all the dressed up toothless 1st graders sing to us about creepy crawly creatures. OH! and a few hours before the concert, Clifford lost his 4th tooth!! It happened while we were in the car. He was very excited knowing the tooth fairy would be coming that night and leaving him $4.

Cinco de Mayo!!!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!! We invited a few friends and neighbors over for a mexican-themed dinner to celebrate the Mexican Holiday. I decorated the house and whipped up some delicious new recipes using ideas from Pinterest (even made mini pinatas for the kids!). As always, the food was delicious, company was great, and the party was fun!

Peter Goes To Jail

The day finally arrived for Peter to do his time....in jail. Someone Pete knows volunteered him to participate in the annual MDA Bothell Lock Up. Whoever volunteered him (he was told they were in the witness protection program) felt he had the right personality for this. Pete graciously accepted this task to raise money for this organization. Pete set up a Facebook event, as well as emailed family and friends, requesting donations. He was picked up at work by a local firefighter (Pete originally requested that the SWAT team come drag him out and taser him lol) and taken to a restaurant in Bothell where the event took place. I was able to join him for lunch and help him make phone calls to raise more money. All in all he raised over $900!!! At this level, he provided a child with MD to attend camp. Thank you to everyone who was able to make a donation. If you'd like to donate, you still can up to 40 days from this date at

http://www2.mda.org/site/TR?px=1208788&pg=personal&fr_id=2359

Great job Pete!!