Bickmore Buzz May 23, 2016

Hi Family!

We are officially on our summer break! Yahoo! Van had beach day on Tuesday. He wore a swimming suit to school and had fun playing water games. On Wednesday, his last day of school, it was PJs and Pizza day so he wore his jammies to school and kept reminding us, "Mom, Dad, DON'T pack my lunch. It's pizza day!" We picked up some Capri Suns and cookies to share with his classmates for the pizza party. I also wrote a heartfelt thank you note to each of the teachers expressing my gratitude that my son could be in good hands while I was teaching school during the day.  I see how much Heavenly Father has blessed our family the past three years, and McClintock Preschool has been a huge blessing. 

William and I had a busy last week of school. Monday, our class read Hi Fly Guy and the kids got in groups and acted it out. Tuesday, we had the staff vs. fifth grade kickball game. The teachers won again. The librarian from our public library came and explained the summer reading program to the kids.  Before lunch we took the first graders to the park behind our school and let them play on the playground. Then we did rotations and did different outside games--leapfrog, relays, tag, etc. and ate otter pops. Then, at the end of the day, we had a water conservation assembly. 

Wednesday was a surprise day for our principal, Ms. Sharpe. We had a "fancy day" where all the teachers and students came to school in fancy clothes. Since she loves the Fancy Nancy books and is such a classy lady, we thought it would be a fun way to honor her. Before school started, our staff had a farewell party for the staff members who are leaving. We all shed a few tears. 

On Wednesday afternoon we had our school talent show. We dedicated it to Ms. Sharpe. The talent show was way too long, but each grade level performed a song for Ms. Sharpe. The first graders performed "Skidamarink" and Isaac accompanied it on his ukulele. I'll upload it to my youtube channel so you can watch it. It was adorable. After school, my principal came in and talked to Isaac and I for about an hour and a half. It was so nice to visit with her. 

Thursday, Van was thrilled that he got to stay home and play video games while William and I went to our last day of school.  It was a wonderful last day. I passed out awards and prizes to the kids, then we cleaned our desks and stacked them against the wall. Then we had a popcorn party and watched Horton Hears a Who. School was dismissed at 1:00. I hugged the kids goodbye and breathed a sigh of relief. Isaac took the boys to Kung Fu Panda 3 and I stayed to tidy up the classroom. When my principal came in to check me out and I had to say goodbye, I started crying. I couldn't help it. She has been the best principal I've ever had. 

The past 4 days have been very relaxing. I've had a miserable cold for almost 2 weeks. Our days have been filled with laying around, watching movies, running errands, and eating fruit. Friday night we took a 12 hour camping trip. We ate Little Ceasar's pizza on our drive to the campground. We pitched our tent, threw rocks in the river, then built a fire. I made a s'more treat. Isaac told me to stuff marshmallows and chocolate in a sugar cone, wrap it up in foil and cook it in the fire. It was so yummy. Too bad the boys didn't want one. They just wanted to throw marshmallows on the fire logs instead. 

Once we settled to go to sleep, the campground came alive with tons of partiers. Isaac happened to bring ear plugs so that helped us sleep through it all. In the morning, Isaac cooked a delicious campfire breakfast. He scooped out the flesh of an orange and filled it with blueberry muffin batter. The muffins were delicious. After breakfast, we cleaned up and arrived home at 8:45 am. 

We are getting excited for Grandma and Papa's visit this week! They are coming Thursday and will be with us for 5 days. We can't wait! 

Overheard at our house:

Van, making a fish face, said,"Mom, pugger up!" 

Isaac and the boys were playing monsters. Will cried, "Dad, you are a horrible integrated monster!"

Van: "Mom, you're a good bug killer!"

Van: "Why don't we watch it on the big scweam?!"

Van and his morning preschool teacher Ms. Joyce Johnson. 

Ms. Sharpe and I on Fancy Day

The teachers crowning Ms. Sharpe at the talent show

William and I on the last day of school.

The river at the campground

Camping in the dirt. It's a completely different experience camping in the desert. It's way too hot. We'll have to go camping up in Flagstaff where it's cooler.

Isaac's yummy muffin in an orange breakfast

Good morning!

This was Van last week at Dr. Manti's party. He was playing the launch pad with Dr. Tobias.

Yesterday, I spent most of the day in bed with this awful cold. Van brought me ice water, put socks on my feet, and took sweet pictures and videos on my phone for me.

A selfie at an incline.