VBS 2011

This year we went to the Big Apple for our VBS adventure. It was so much fun! I taught 3rd grade, which is easier than pre-k, so I enjoyed it much more. I had 12 very sweet kids and only one of them borderlined on extremely annoying. I had 2 teenage boy helpers who were very nice and tried very hard to be helpful. They were both Boy Scouts who were working on various stages of their Life and Eagle (or something like that). So, I enjoyed talking to them about all the adventures I remembered dad and Tommy taking for all those scouting years. This was Rachel's favorite year of VBS because her best friend/cousin JuJu came this year. The girls were absolutely precious doing all their stuff together. I saw them quite often in the halls holding hands or playing together in Rec or sitting next to each other in snack. They sang their hearts out during Worship Rally each morning and really loved learning all the sweet songs. Their favorite was: "Hey yeah yeah, hey yeah yeah, hey yeah yeah, Love you Jesus" which is really fast and peppy and continues on a long line of examples that they love, but not as much as Jesus. Ex: I love you more than my soccer team, I love you more than ice cream; I love you more than a baseball bat, I love you more than my dog or cat, I love you more than a really fast car, I love you more than any rock star; but that's not enough. I wanna love you more. It goes on like that for several verses and the girls loved it. The precious part was watching their enthusiasm as they really got into the hand motions and movements to the songs. Bradley also had a great time this week. He really enjoyed the first 3 1/2 days and then had had enough. He was sad on Thursday and by Friday didn't want to join his class. He ended up spending the last day in the nursery helping Gege with Trent and the other toddlers and babies. I am so thankful that Gege worked the nursery, because I don't think Trenty would have stayed without her. He had a fun week too and Deborah said he got more comfortable each day but never enjoyed going to the craft room each day. She said he really enjoyed music class, though. We all had a great, fun-filled week but I am glad it's over. I will NOT miss getting up at 6:30 every day. This week is a relaxed, unscheduled, leisurely week, and we're going to enjoy every minute.

Cute cousins

Some days, all you need is your brother, your cousin, a favorite tv show and a good bowl of popcorn! Love these cute boys!!

Goodbye Mittens

Mittens had a short little life, but we hope it was a comfortable one. She was a sweet kitten who played well with Dixie, tolerated Trenty and enjoyed love and affection from Rachel. Mittens died sometime during the night about a week ago. When Nick was leaving for work one morning, she was dead in the garage with a large pool of vomit coming from her mouth. We think she somehow got into some poison, but we're not sure where. Anyway, we will miss Mittens! Rachel has been pretty upset about it, but now wants to pick out a new kitten. Probably soon, we'll be heading to the animal shelter to see if we can find another nice kitty to add to our family.

Trophies

Ball is officially over for now and we don't have to go anywhere in the evenings or on Saturday mornings. We all had a GREAT experience with little league. The games were well organized, the fields were nice, Rachel and Bradley had fun and even Trenty enjoyed going because he could run around and be outside. Nick and I really didn't even mind driving to ball games...it was just a fun time! Both kids got their first trophies and they thought they were really special!

Our little graduate

pre-graduation

getting ready to put on his gown

walking down the aisle to sit on the stage

singing songs

Bradley and his super-sweet teachers:

Ms. Lisa, Ms. Kim and Ms. Jan

Bradley and Mark

the fam!

We have another graduate in our family...Bradley! He graduated from Mars Hill Preschool Academy on Friday, May 13th, 2011. It was a fabulous ceremony with sweet songs, an adorable slide show of all the kids and diplomas for each child. Bradley really enjoyed himself and loved singing the songs and sitting on the stage. Unlike the Christmas program, he was confident, excited and having fun! We had fun watching him walk down the aisle in his blue cap and gown and then hang out with his best buddy, Mark. Each child also received a Beginner's Bible as a gift from the preschool. We had a wonderful year in Pre-K and will miss our friends and teachers next year, but we are so proud of how much our sweet Bradley has grown and learned this year. He is truly a sweet, loving, compassionate, smart, funny, handsome little boy whom we love dearly! Congratulations Bradley Franklin Milligan! We love you!!!

Bradley's Beach Party

Bradley and Bella (Levi's little sister) tickling each other

the "tough guy" look

being silly: Trent, Jackson, Bradley and Marrrk

Levi cheering on Bradley

Isabelle and Rachel

Isabelle and Rachel waiting to slide

Levi, Bradley and Marrrk

the boys; and the sweetest big sister ever, taking care of Trenty

Rachel making sure Trent is safe and ready

Go Trenty!!

Go Bradley!!

Bradley's school had a Beach Party the day before school got out. Each class had a feast which included goodies that each parent brought and then we headed outside to do a bunch of water activities. There was a water slide, a few wading pools, a tattoo station and a picture booth. It was a great set-up, a very hot day and a really fun time! All the families of the preschoolers were invited, so there were lots of kids from babies to Rachel's age that attended. Rachel's friend, Isabelle got checked out of her school early that day so she could come, which made the day really fun for Rachel. Bradley LOVED the waterslide and he and his buddies would scream and cheer for each other as they watched each other go down the slide. Rachel was (as usual) a HUGE help in taking care of Trenty, and she faithfully stood by and assisted Trent as he went up and down the slide. Of all the young kids who were there, Trent was the only one who wasn't afraid to do the slide, and he did it over and over again. We had a great time and can't wait to do more water-related activities this summer!

Bradley's 5?

So excited!!
Happy Birthday to Bradley!!!
(Marrrrrk)

Bradley's table: middle on left side


Bradley, Marrrrrrrrk and Logan-waiting to go outside and play

Not really, but since Bradley has a summer birthday, he got to celebrate it at school the other day before they got out. He was thrilled since we had literally just celebrated Rachel's birthday over the weekend, and although he had handled her party/presents/sweets extremely well, he was ready for something a little special. So, we got to take some awesome Sam's Club Star Wars cupcakes to his school. They had little light sabers and storm trooper rings on them. They were a huge hit with Bradley AND the rest of the kids. Rachel, Trent and I went along and helped to celebrate and enjoyed watching Bradley beam with joy and excitement! He has had so much fun all year long with his new school friends and I'm so glad he was able to share a pretend-early birthday celebration with them. He even wore his Yoda t-shirt to school, courtesy of our sweet, generous cousin, Carter. :)