The Growing Caldwell Family

The day after school let out we were headed to the beach! Loaded up and ready to go! Can you say, "ROAD TRIP!" First off we headed to the pool! Then, we were ready to get down in the sand!

We were so happy to have Maw Maw come visit! The kids had a chance to show off gymnastics moves, reading capabilities, singing songs, talking about superheroes and favorite YouTube videos and generally immersed her in their world. I know it was loud from both upsets and joyful laughter as well as all around chaotic! These two cuties love to be together! Olivia wasn't so sure about anybody new, so I didn't get a picture of her with Maw Maw. She had the chance to go to kindergarten awards and SG's last gymnastics class. The Graves in Sarah Graves' name is after her (and my Maw Maw Graves) and I feel so blessed they have a chance to know each other.

The reading series that kindergarten and first grade use is called Superkids! There are characters associated with different phonics sounds and they work through them all over the course of the year and to mark having met all of the superkids they have a special day to dress up like their favorite one! Sarah Graves chose Etta Betta, which thank goodness is a girl who wears a green shirt, blue bow, glasses, and a khaki skirt! Something we could handle.

Our Mother's Day weekend was crazy hectic with a gym show, May Day festival, and the end of school coming up; so, we had a brunch with all of us together to celebrate Lovie! She takes such good care of all of us and makes sure these sweet kiddos are especially well loved! We can never tell her enough how much we appreciate all the sacrifices she makes for all of us!

We spent Mother's Day at Six Flags! Our day got off to a bit of a rough start when Charlie surprised us and threw up when he woke up! After a bath and some time to calm down, he ate some crackers and decided he was ready for the day! Despite the crowds, we had a fun day and enjoyed all being together. Livy was so excited when she recognized SG and Charlie on a ride! She can say Sissy and went crazy waving! Livy was thrilled to ride some rides with these big kids! She and Charlie really have a special bond! Six Flags was a great way to enjoy some thrills and fun times with people I hold dear.

St. Benedict's hosts a May Day festival that is a lot of fun for the kids. There are bounce houses, festival food, and crafts. There are also auctions and a bake sale to raise money for the school. The best part is seeing how comfortable the kids are being at an event where they feel confident, know the people around them, and are part of a community. I love that for them!

     It is hard to believe that these two sweethearts just finished preschool and kindergarten! We had a great year at St. Benedict's!  Sarah Graves loved being in the woodland critters class with Ms. Rice and Ms. Dehart. Her favorite subject was math, her good friends are Caroline and Mallory, and she wants to be a gymnastics teacher, dancer, doctor, and nurse when she grows up! Charlie loved being in the speckled frogs class with Mr. Peter and Ms. Ashley! He loves superheroes, his favorite thing at school is building with magne-tiles, and his good friends are Logan, Evan, Julia, and Chloe!

To mark the end of the school year, the kindergarteners had an awards ceremony to celebrate something special about each child followed by a class party to celebrate the end of the school year. The awards were all themed around candy! Each child got a different type of candy that related to something special about him or her. Sarah Graves received the symphony award for humming and singing while she works! Sarah Graves with her teachers Ms. Dehart and Ms. Rice. These are some of Sarah Graves' buddies at school - Caroline, Lana, Mallory, and Jillian. SG was very fond of her teacher, Ms. Rice, and will definitely miss her! SG just adores Caroline! You can tell by the look of genuine joy on her face being with her friend. Something about her finishing kindergarten really drives home for me that she is growing up and not a baby (always my baby though). I can't believe how fast the time is going. I am enjoying having her as my buddy. We enjoy watching TV

The kids do not always act it, but they like the ritual of sitting down together for dinner. If we don't sit together, Sarah Graves asks why we aren't having family dinner. Most dinners are served family style and include a food item that the kids will eat (often that is buttered pasta, garlic toast, or yogurt). We also serve the treat as part of the meal and the kids can eat it whenever they choose. When they ask to get up, my one question is if they got enough to have a full tummy. They pretty much always say yes, but I feel like I did my part!

We had Livy over on a Sunday afternoon and she enjoyed being with her cousins painting and riding in the cozy coupe!