Baseball!

Anyone who knows my husband, knows that he loves baseball! So, my children have no choice, but to play baseball. Sorry kiddos if you're a Phelon you must love baseball and you must love the Indians! Look at me, I had no interest whatsoever in baseball and didn't even know who the Indians were! Fast forward nine years and I am an expert on baseball and the Indians! (and I'll let you in on a little secret, I actually really enjoy baseball and I LOVE the Indians!) Yep! I've been converted! And the Phelon children have no choice but to love baseball and the Indians since they have been immersed in it since the moment they were born. I even agreed to have my baby's middle name be Cleveland! The whole point of this is that our family loves baseball and every spring Pete coaches T-ball/coach pitch for the boys. This spring was no different and we had a wonderful coach pitch season. This was the first year of coach pitch for both the boys and Pete. It took a little bit of adjusting to pitching and being pitched to, but it ended up being a really fun time for everyone. Pete is such a great coach. He is so patient with the kids and loves to have a good time with them. I am so glad that he is willing to put in so much time and effort into coaching so our kids can have that bonding time with him.

The boys are definitely showing an interest in baseball. When he is watching baseball on TV, they always ask him, "which team do we want to win, daddy"? Then they cheer the team on. Yep, I think we've got another generation of Phelon baseball and Cleveland Indian lovers!

SCHOOL'S OUT! SCHOOL'S OUT!

Finally! Our school is out for summer vacation! And summer is finally here weather wise, too. We have had beautiful days and no rain since last Saturday. Thank heavens! I thought the northwest just might skip summer all together this year.

Brandon had a wonderful year in first grade this year. His teacher was Mr. Schiewe and Brandon loved him! He was so wonderful with the kids, I couldn't have asked for a better teacher for Brandon. He really pushed Brandon to read harder and harder books and Brandon can read anything now. I was hoping Kenyon would get him for next year, but that is not to be. (Sigh) Oh well!


(Notice Brandon's new do! He got a short summer hair cut!)

Kenyon also had a great teacher for Kindergarten. Miss Price was also Brandon's teacher last year for Kindergarten. I told her we would miss her next year, especially since we have had her for two years. Kenyon loved Kindergarten and enjoyed having her for a teacher.



(Kenyon graduated from Kindergarten!)

Thanks Miss Price and Mr. Schiewe for a fabulous year!

Daddy's Day Pizza Party!

On Friday June 13th, Kenyon had a Daddy's Day pizza party at his Kindergarten class. The kids had made their dad's ties and they served their dad's pizza and punch. They had a lot of fun! It was such a neat idea for Miss Price to have the dad's come. The mom's are so involved in the school already, it's great for the dad's to be able to enjoy being in their classroom.


(As you can see on my Father's day post, Pete wore his homemade tie to church. Kenyon was thrilled.)

Fathers Day

(Pete with Baby Brandon-12/00)


(Pete with Baby Kenyon-8/02)


(Pete with Baby Shaylee- 4/05)


(Pete with Baby Jaron-4/07)

I am very lucky to have married a man that is not only a wonderful husband, but also a Super Dad! My kids adore their dad and can't wait for him to get home every day so that they can hug him and play with him. Our kids made Pete a book called "Super Dad, Pete" for Father's day this year and this is why they each think he is a super dad.

Brandon-Pete is a super dad because he plays baseball with me -and he's the one to beat
Kenyon-Pete is a super dad because he snuggles with me -and he tickles my feet
Shaylee-Pete is a super dad because he takes me on daddy daughter dates-and he gives me a treat
Jaron- Pete is a super dad because he holds me and plays with me- he is so neat
(notice the rhyming? I know I am so clever! JK!)


Pete you are a fabulous dad! Thanks so much for all that you do for us. You work hard to make sure that we have a good life. I appreciate all that you do. Thanks for making life so much fun and full of laughs! I love you!

My Dad!

I just wanted to take a brief moment to tell my dad how grateful I am to have him as a father. He has spent his life working hard to provide for his family. He spent a great deal of my early years traveling and missed out on a lot to make sure that we were well taken care of. We always missed him a great deal when he was gone, but it was always so exciting and fun when he came home from his trips laden with gifts for us. I have many dolls and souvenirs from all around the world.

Being the father of five girls (and one boy), he is very protective of us. He worries about us even to this day. (Thanks dad for flying up here to bring the kids and me back in July-You're the best!) I always felt a bit sorry for him that he was out numbered by all us hormone ridden girls! I remember one time that he had my little sister, me and my older sister all crying at the same time. He looked at my mom like "what did I do?" It is one of my very favorite memories!

I love you dad!

Over In the Garden & The Hot Air Balloon

I am about done with all of the end of the school year activities that each class has had this year! It is so crazy! For the last month I have been at that elementary school at least two times a week for some activity or field trip for Brandon or Kenyon! I can't wait for school to be out!

Here are Brandon's latest school activities.

On June 5th, Brandon's music class had their musical informance. It was about the bugs in the garden. Brandon was the rolly polly speaker. He did a great job with his speaking part and playing the instruments. He loves music and had a lot of fun.







(Jaron watching the show-he loves his thumb)

On June 12th all the first grades in Brandon's school had a hot air balloon launch. Each class made their own hot air balloon as the culminating activity for their science unit. They invited first grade families and the rest of the school to come to the lift off. It was a lot of fun to see. Some of those hot air balloons went a long way! I was impressed!



(Kenyon and Brandon watching the launch)

The Zoo!

Last Tuesday on June 3rd, I was a chaperon on Kenyon's field trip to the zoo. I woke up at 4:45 in the morning and it was pouring rain. I was not happy to think of going to the zoo in the rain. It poured all morning until we got on the buses and then it slowed to a drizzle. By the time we got off the bus the rain had stopped. Yea! We had such a fun time at the zoo. It didn't rain one drop! It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold. It was a perfect day to go to the zoo. We asked each child which animal they wanted to see and we made sure we saw each one. The favorite animals were monkeys, bats and tiger. We were in a group with three of Kenyon's good friends, Alex, Mark O and Mark A. Their favorite animal was the polar bears because they were so playful and then after playing so hard one of the polar bears took a dump right in front of the kids! You should have heard the shrieks of disgust from the kids, it was hilarious.

I really enjoyed going on this field trip. It was low stress because we had three moms to four kids and I enjoyed talking to my friend Tiffany and getting to know Mark A's mom, Oksana. I loved hanging out with Kenyon and seeing him interact with his friends and enjoy the animals. I even like riding the bus because it was so exciting for Kenyon since he never rides the because he walks to school. It ended becoming the perfect day to go and enjoy the zoo.

What's the Buzz about?

Ever since I had Jaron last year I have been working really hard to get rid of all this extra baby weight. I was exercising off and on all summer and fall, but I wasn't very consistent. Then my friend, Amy asked me if I wanted to start working out with her at the gym. This would mean getting up at4:45 and going to the gym from 5:00-6:00, so I could be back in time for Pete to go to work. I decided to give it a try and I have loved every minute of working out with Amy.




Some of my friends from the ward asked me if I wanted to run the 5K in the Starlight Parade on May 31st. I am not a runner so I was hesitant, but they all convinced me it was just for fun and I wouldn't be holding anyone back, so I decided to go for it. We all dressed up as bees and four of us brought our families to see the parade and cheer us on. It was so much fun. It was hard, but I really enjoyed it and it was a great accomplishment for me. The kids loved seeing me all dressed up and were cheering away when I ran by. Shaylee was out in the road screaming MOMMY! I had to stop and give her a kiss. I am so glad that I did it and can't wait to do it again next year. Thanks Tamara and Tiffany for asking me to join and convincing me that I could do it! Thank you Amy for working out with me and being such a great work out buddy and especially thanks to Pete for supporting me and watching the kids for hours by himself while I ran!

Father and Sons

This past weekend was really busy for our family. Brandon had his field trip, then after Pete got home from work he took the boys to the father and sons camp out at Beacon Rock campground. Beacon Rock is this huge rock on the Washington side of the gorge. They have a camp ground, a golf course and hiking up the rock. It is a beautiful area with great views of the Columbia River.

I have never camped there, but Pete said it was a great campground and he and the boys had a blast. A lot of their friends were there and they loved the camp fire. We don't camp very often so our boys are not very experienced with fire safety. I guess the boys were throwing sticks in the fire and Kenyon had a long stick with one end in the fire and the other end in his hand. He turned around with the stick in his hand and poked Brandon right below his right eye with the hot end of the stick. It was dark, so Pete didn't realize it had burned Brandon until the morning. He has a lovely burn right under the corner of his eye! He was very lucky it didn't poke him any higher. That could have really done something to Brandon's vision. I guess we need to take our boys camping more often! Despite the burned eye the boys had so much fun and can't wait to do it again next year.

Let's Go On a Hike!

On May 30th, I went with Brandon's class to Lacamas Lake. We hiked on the path that makes a circle around the lake. We then went on a Scavenger hunt, ate lunch and the kids played on the playground. We then hiked back. We ended up going two and a half miles. That's quite a hike for first graders, but they were all troopers! I was a chaperon for six kids which is a lot for one parent, but the kids were all very good! Our group included Brandon, Daniel, Alli, and Elena who are all in Brandon's class. The other two girls were from another class that didn't have enough parent volunteers. Their names are Leena and Jennifer. The kids all got along well and enjoyed being together. It was a lot of fun and I loved being with Brandon and being able to have that bonding time.

There's a Rumble in the Jungle!

I am posting this way late, but better late than never! On May 20th, Kenyon had his Musical Informance. This is when the kids show in a musical performance what they have learned in music for the year. Kenyon's was about a rumble in the jungle. The kids were dressed up as all different kinds of animals and played different music for each animal. Kenyon was the main tiger with the speaking part. He did a great job even though I had no idea he had a speaking part so he
hadn't practiced it at home. He also did great playing his music. It was very enjoyable to watch.