Journeys of June

After spring, we headed into summer with lots of excitement. We had fun relaxing in June and catching our breath after our first official school year! Ellie finished out her Kindergarten year strong!! She had a wonderful year and loved every minute of it. Quinn and Mia missed having her at home and were happy when the summer rolled around (for the most part).

 Ellie sang some songs at the end of the year. She is the one on the end at the bottom with all the hair.

 Ellie and her amazing Kindergarten teacher! She was a complete answer to prayers for our sweet Ellie!

 Last Day of Kindergarten!

 They have a parade for all the 5th graders on the last day and all the other students cheer them on! Ellie is wearing the pink backpack next to her teacher in the pink pants.

 A little welcome home art!

 Enjoying the yard and playing in the water!

 She was obsessed with rocks this summer!

 Every child needs a summer memory of slipping and sliding! Growing up those were some of my favorite memories!

 Someone needed a bike helmet to go with her new bike! She wore it all the way home!

 Cruising on the new bike!

 "Ahh! Finally, I get to have the tricycle!"

 This big girl learned to ride with no training wheels! She spoiled Ben. He let her go once and she took off and has never looked back!

 Ellie and I on our first bike ride!

 Making our pizza dinner!

 She loves her own style!

 Crazy Character!

 Safety is always important, even when sitting in the dining room!

 When her sissies weren't looking she swiped one of their cameras!

 Little surprise park visit on our way home from church!

 Mia loves to slide!

 Enjoying the splashpad...

 and the zoo...

 and the MIA!

 We also went to a man made lake. It is pool water but has a sandy bottom and no animals in it! The girls had a great time!

 The splash at the bottom was Ellie or Ben coming down the slide!

 We also did lots of building this summer!

 Safety First!

 We visited the gardens and...

this little lady ended June by starting to help out more in the kitchen. My greatest memories are with my Mom in the kitchen. There is lots of learning that goes in there that is practical and also major life lessons and life discussions have happened with my own Mom in a kitchen. I am so lucky to get to be her Mom. She stretches me and challenges me and she is so much fun and so full of love. Moments like this make me so excited about the many more years in the kitchen we will have together!

SuperHero Quinn

Sweet Quinny turned 4 in April!! I can not believe she is already 4. She requested a PJ Mask themed party, which are superheros for kids on Disney. She loves capes and turns her feety jams into capes each night for bed. Quinn is a great mix of sweet and sassy. She is our one that has many traits and physical characteristics from my side of the family. Her trend has been short and small in stature, much like myself, as Ellie has always been more of Ben's trend as she grows, long and lean. Quinny has eyes like my GrannyFranny and my Dad and a gift for gab like my Grandmary. She was born with hair my color and it changed much like my own did as a young child. She is full of personality and is tough as she has learned to stand up to a big sister and protect herself from the hair pulling hands of her little sister. She is the BEST snuggler in the house. I love to snuggle and I have been given this sweet Quinny that loves to snuggle too. She has always been a snuggler. I often ask her if she will still snuggle me when she is 25 and she immediately responds with "YES!!!". She lets her opinion be known and we are trying to guide that in the right manner. She is creative and imaginative and loves art, much like Ellie. She challenges me in her learning style. Ellie is a rule follower and learns fast. Quinny learns fast as well, but in a different way and in her own time. She is so proud of her learning this year and has learned to write her name and all her letters and numbers to 10. Being left handed has been a challenge when getting her to write the right direction, but she is catching on. She likes to always be with someone, trait of a middle child I suppose. She also has an amazing heart. She is so sweet to any animal she meets and can not wait to get a dog! She loves on us all and always wants to give her sisters hugs and help them. She is our sweet Quinny and I am looking forward to soaking in my last year with her before she heads off to school!

 Quinny tends to pick things that are on the newer side and do not have many things out in the marketplace to purchase. (Last year she picked Special Agent Oso and changed to Anna and Elsa the week before, thankfully.) Most of her items I found on Etsy, such as the sugar sticker above for the cake. Quinn's favorite character is Catboy, who is the blue guy.

 Sleeping in Ellie's beanbag her last night of being 3, example of how being alone is not her thing.

 She got a free cupcake from Barnes and Noble for it being her birthday!!

 So happy to celebrate Quinny!

 We always eat dinner out and they get to choose and then Ben's parents came over for cake and presents.

 She got a PJ Masks shirt, which she wears constantly. It was another great Etsy find.

 She also got her very own Catboy mask and cape courtesy of Etsy.

 The biggest gift was she got her very own fish! Ellie had a fish in Charlotte that she got when she got a big girl room. His name is Mickey and he went on vacation right before we moved to Minnesota and stayed on vacation until we were settled in our new house. Since Ellie had a fish Quinn wanted one too! She kept saying she wanted to name it Coocumber. For her birthday she got one, but decided to name him Catboy! So our pet count is up to 3, one cat and two fish, with a dog on the horizon when Mia is potty trained and a fish for Mia in the future when she gets a big girl room.

 She loves when her sisters get treats!

 Traditional reading of the birthday book!

 For Quinn's special birthday activity we went to the Children's Museum. They are doing big renovations, but still had a good amount of exhibits opened, one favorite being the Eric Carle exhibit. We have since been back to explore the museum again with friends and can't wait for the renovations to be done at the end of the summer!

 The anthill was super fun to explore!

She is super fun and so filled with personality and love!! She has the sweetest heart and is full of style! I am so excited to see where her path takes her!!