Smarty Pants!

I don't give our boys enough credit for their hard work in school. These poor kids were doomed with a "Teacher Mom", and excellence at school is basically expected at our house. Here are a few of the great things they have done at school over the last few months...

Cody has been participating in The Battle of the Books competition. Here is him and his team. This competition goes on until the end of the year. His team has done well. Cody has learned the importance of preparation and study by doing this. "Winging it" is not an option!:0)

Tyler and Preston both earned "Kid of Character" awards. I am so proud of these boys. Preston's teacher told me that when he had to choose someone from his class, it was so easy to choose Preston because he is such a great kid! Good job boys!!!

3rd Grade Snow Day

Every year the 3rd grade has tons of snow shipped in for a fun snow day! The kids have to work hard to earn the opportunty to go. Preston had a blast this year!

Alex and Preston are such good buddies. They play like two puppies...always wrestling!

Preston and his buddies from Mr. Anderson's class.

Gingerbread Houses

Cody's class decorated gingerbread houses this week. They had so much fun! These kiddos work so hard in school these days. I am glad that they still get to do fun things like this every once in a while!

Tyler's Thankful Feast

Tyler and Mrs. Aupperle. She moved to California...we will miss her!

Jackie, Tyer, and Spencer enjoying the 1st grade Thankful Feast. Love these boys!

Battle of the Books

Cody participated in the first round of Battle of the Books at his school. I am proud of him for participating! He and his friends did O.K. They had to compete against 6th graders, and learned that they need to study way more for the next round in December. Good job boys!

Preston's Project-Mr. Anderson 2011 (3rd Grade)

I got to go into Preston's 3rd grade classroom today and watch him present his project on volcanos, lakes, deserts, and mountains. It was so cute. His group presented a Power Point presentation first. There were all kinds of graphics and facts. My favorite was the last slide on lakes by Preston. It said, "Lakes are cool!"

We are so proud of Preston, and thankful for outstanding teachers and a great school! Way to go Preston!!!

Here, Preston's group is presenting their project to the class. Preston was in charge of "lakes".

First Day of School 2011/2012

And they're off! Cody in Mrs. Vannatter, Preston in Mr. Anderson, and Tyler in Mrs. Aupperle. We feel like we hit the jackpot with teachers this year! They all love school. The boys are so excited!!!

Last Days of 2010/2011 School Year

We are so happy Mrs. Vannatter is looping up with her class for the 5th grade next year! She is a talented teacher. We love her!!!

Mrs. Garcia is a fabulous classroom teacher. I am already prepping her for my younger two. We love her!!!

It has been such a fantastic school year for our three eldest boys. We love our community school so much. Cody finished the 4th grade, Preston 2nd, and Tyler kindergarten. We are ready for summer, but can't wait for another great year next year!!!

Tyler, Jackie, Seth, Christina Cruz, and Seth. I don't know how she did it with all four of these blondies in her class!!!???
Alli Wootten and Christina Cruz with Tyler. We have the BEST teachers!
Mrs. Cruz and Tyler. She is a good friend to our family!

Preston, Brit, and Kaden. You can see Laura Garcia in the background. She is one of the best teachers I know! The boys are signing autograph books.

Ice cream Sundays!

Kindergarten Field Trip to Superstition Farms

This year the kindergarten field trip to the Superstition Farm did not disappoint. The weather was fabulous! The kids got to see over 2000 dairy cows, horses, donkeys, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, geese, and learn all about farming in Arizona. This big dairy is within 5 miles of our house.

Good friends...

Farmer Dane...

This chicken loved Tyler!

"The Music Man"

I attended "The Music Man" play with the Power Ranch 2nd graders. The play was long, and serious. I was so very impressed at the polite behavior of these kids. What a fabulous group. I loved the play, but the actor they cast as The Music Man was probably 30 years older than Marian. It was kind of gross when they kissed. The second graders thought so too!

Call Me Crazy

Call me crazy. Don't get me wrong, we only hold our children to the highest standards as far as education goes. They spend many hours inside studying and working on homework, while others are at the park. However, I love class parties. I love the cookie decorating, the candy, the frosting, the crafts, and especially, the memories.

I have had the rare "opportunity" of being a class mom in a couple of different classrooms this year. It's not easy. I don't have time for it. But, I just can't say no.

So, here's Valentine's Day at Power Ranch Elementary School...

Cody's class had been studying about the state of Arizona (woot, woot!). Since it was Arizona's birthday, they decorated giant cookies and had to make maps out of them. The girl to the right is from another, strange country. I can't remember which one. Cody is totally fascinated by her because she is so excited about everything they do. He loves explaining what things are. It's kind of cute!

Preston loves for me to come into his classroom, but does not give me the time of day when i'm there. It just makes me hug him and kiss him even more!

Tyler was SO excited to make a Valentine bag, and do all of the activities at his party. Everything is new to him. I love it!

High Honor Roll

Cody earned High Honor Roll, in the second quarter, for the fourth grade. He has developed such a strong work ethic in school, and we war so proud of him. We are also thankful for the friends he surrounds himself with each day. What a great group of kids!

Thanksgiving Performances

I can't even stand it they are so cute!

Tyler's Thankful Feast!
The second grade put on a wonderful Thanksgiving performance. Preston is peeking out on the left side. He is a pilgrim.

Preston and Kaden.

End of First Quarter

Cody made straight A's this quarter, and Cody, Preston, and Tyler all earned the Power Ranch Community Service award this quarter. I don't have a picture of Tyler because the principal awards them in their private classrooms. I am proud of my boys! They work so hard!!!

Above: Cody and Mrs. Vannatter. Below: Preston and Mrs. Garcia. I am so thankful for good teachers who love and challenge my boys each day.

At the Honors Assembly Dane was very naughty. He ran onto the stage more than once, got into everybody elses pictures, and would not get up off of the floor because he was cold. I am officially giving him the naughtiest 2-yr-old award!

Character Counts

The other day this is what I found in Preston's backpack. He had won "Kid of Character" at his school and not even told us about it! This is a very big deal at Power Ranch. Preston won the award for the pillar of "Fairness"...which is totally appropriate for my easygoing boy. Congratulations Preston!

This Is What We Do On Half Days...

One tarp, one hose, a hill, some pool toys, 5 bottles of shampoo, a bunch of kids, and you have the perfect half day activity!

Crazy Hair Day

We are extremely strict about education at our house. We discuss college and occupations when our children are in preschool. We expect only the best grades from them. However, I must admit that I am a sucker for the "fun" parts of school. I think they're important. I love "Crazy Hair Day", "Football Friday", class competitions, read-a-thons, and Halloween parties.

Today was the annual "Crazy Hair Day" at Power Ranch. We did black and green paint to match football jerseys. I have no idea what Dane is doing with his mouth, but he wanted to participate too!
Big "T".

Crazy Dane on his bike. He was screaming at me to take this picture.

First Day of School 2010

The boys...
Cody was the most ready to go back to school. He just needs his brain to get going again. For him we shopped for Volcom, Quick Silver, DC's, and sports shirts. He is kind of getting into the brands, and thinks he's pretty hot stuff. Don't worry, I still packed a butterfly napkin with a note on it in his lunch box! We gotta keep 'em humble right? He is excited to be in a class with some of his buddies and an awesome teacher! Preston started the 2nd grade today. He was so excited to go this morning. Cody has talked about Mrs. Garcia for two years now...he loves her! I asked Preston this morning if he was nervous. He said, "No mom...when's P.E.?" Believe it or not, that is about how nervous Preston was to start Kindergarten. He was excited to be seen with his camo. backpack and DC shoes. What a good boy!

Tyler started Kindergarten today. He went to bed with a smile last night because he was so excited. I am a little sad because he has been such an easy child to have at home. However, he was ready. He went ready with his Batman backpack, Clone Wars lunch box, and football water bottle. A little aprehensive at first, Tyler quickly relaxed when he saw that several of his buddies were in his class. Good luck with that Mrs. Cruz!

THE backpack. Enough said.

Tyler and Mrs. Cruz. She is a dream teacher...we love her! She loves the kids, and they know it! Not to mention the fact that those kids leave Kindergarten really knowing their stuff...which I love!

Preston, Brit, and Andrew. Good, good friends of Preston.

Brendan, Cody, and Conner. Good, good friends of Cody.

We feel so blessed to be able to have our children attend such a fabulous school. We love the teachers and the administration. Both the kids' and Warren and I have met some lifelong friends here. It's going to be a fabulous year!