And the race is on....

Soren had his pinewood derby race today. He designed and painted the car himself.

The car's name....

Lightning.

He came in 4th in his group.
It is so funny to watch these things. The parents get more into it than the kids.
You can definitely tell which father's or grandfather's "built" the cars.
I just say let the kids be freakin' kids.

It was fun to watch the boys from out den. They all did a great job!

Soren got hold of the camera and took some pictures of his car.

I am so proud of you Soren. You did a great job.

Better late than never.

That is my new motto. Better late than never. Soren's birthday was in May and we just had his party. Soren has become a little Wrangler, so we had a cowboy themed party.

This is typical attire for him. Doesn't matter if it's scorching hot out or not. Golly gee, I want to pinch him he is so cute!

I thought it would be fun to have straw bales around. Soren liked the fact that it made him look more cowboy. I was just scared he was going to choke on the stuff.
Note to self:
NEVER HAVE STAW AT A BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH A LOT OF KIDS!
=
HUGE MESS!

Could he get more red neck than this? I threatened him that if he ever acted like a red neck again, I was going to take his boots away.

Our lovely Ella and our Izzie dog. I put a clothes line up on the tree house with old jeans and aprons on it.

Ok, so this was soooo Olivia acting the spoiled little girl that she is. She was throwing a fit that she didn't get to have her picture done before Soren. As she was pitching her fit, Fred whacked her with his tail and totally ticked Olivia off.
Can you tell she wasn't happy?

Soren has so many of his good buddies over for the party. It was fun to see some kids that we haven't seen in a while. I got a kick out of watching all the different personalities that the kids have.

This is a picture of Troy running for his life.
REALLY.
I had the kids all blindfolded and they had to catch Troy.
Good in theory.
The kids could see through the bandannas.
The kids are leavel with Troy's you know what, so when they are runny semi-blinded, full throttle into Troy........
Not good.
REALLY.

Soren wants to marry this girl. If only life was that perfect.

These two little jumping beans are twins. Look how high they are.
Was I ever able to jump like that? I couldn't get two inches off the ground now. I don't even want to try. It makes me tired just thinking about it.

This reminded me of a scene from Tomb Raider. Watch out boy's, this little gal is going to be the first female James Bond. It does help that she has this in her genes. Her father is a policeman.
I wonder if he could pull a stunt like this? Hhhmmm?

Leave little boy unchaperoned for 2 seconds and they all have their shirts off. What's with that? I was just thankful the girls still had theirs on. Whew!
We all had a great time with some great friends. It's on day's like this that makes me want to do more with my friends. Hopefully this summer we will be able to do more.
What am I thinking.
I could wish can't I?

Thanks you all for loving our little cowboy. I had him on Mother's day 7 years ago.
Best Mother's Day present I ever got.
Things I love about Soren.
Dimples.
His squishy ears.
How he rubs my arms.
His hugs.
How he loves everyone.
The way he says "breakfast"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOREN
(only a month past due.)

Terrific Teachers.

The kid's teachers were fantastic this year. Brijit Elkins, who is Soren's teacher was the perfect match for him. He loved going to school everyday and seeing his teachers and friends. I am excited that he has developed a love for reading. It was a blessing to know that when I sent my kids off to school everyday that they were being loved at school.

Kendal is one of Soren's classmates and friends. She had to get a picture with him. Soren adores Kendal. There were many days when Soren would come home from school with stories about what Kendal and he did during the day. Soren definitely has a soft spot for the girls.

Ms. Janis was the E.A. in the classroom. I know I said Soren was lucky to have a great teacher, well he is extra lucky because he had Ms. Janis. He would tell me that she was funny. I love to see my kids smile!

I went in to get pictures of the teachers and the classroom were all packed up and ready for summer. Some of the kids weren't at school for the last day. These kids are the ones who were there. On top of having great teachers, Soren had some great friends this year.

Ella also had a fantastic teacher. Barbara Caffrey had a very full classroom and was able to do it all. Ella came away from this year at school with more confidence in her intellect and her ability to try new things. She knows that if she has to do something hard all she has to do is practice, practice, practice. Ella found it pretty funny that she grew taller than her teacher this year.

Thanks to Rio Rancho Elementary School for giving my children a great education and lots of love. Everyone there seems to know my kids and treats them with such kindness. Well done!

Go Broncos

I finally got the BSU Bronco's logo finished. I had been telling the boys that I would paint one for them. I used a projector to take the computer image and put it up on the wall. Then I traced it and painted it. That easy. The only thing that I didn't like is that it took a while.

I need to find some more BSU stuff for the room. Grandpa Chuck gave the kids a BSU trash can. I have been saving up all our old jeans to make the boys some jean quilts with Orange and Blue on it.

Troy got Soren's shelf hung up. Soren reads every night and he needed something to hang up his light on. Not two seconds after he had it up it was full of stuff. So funny.

Where are the Wild Things?

Ella reading her poem that she wrote.

The first grade sang "There's a Monster in my closet". The kids were snorting when I snapped this shot.

I love this picture. The three girls surrounding Soren are all in his class and he loves each one of them. Kendall, the little darling is wearing the Darth Vader mask. Abby, Soren and then Emily. They were all so much fun to watch.

Ella is standing in front of the poem she wrote.

We couldn't decide what Soren was. Any who, here he is posing with his picture that he drew. It is the one right above him.

The theme of this years Literacy night was " Where the Wild Things Are". Troy and I thought that was highly appropriate considering ALL kids are little monsters. Well, ours is anyway. This is Soren.

Ella.

Olivia.

Soren and his friend Emily. How cute are they?

Mooooooo.

While we were out at Baca Ranch yesterday the kids wanted to go take a look at the cows. So I walked with the kids until we found them. Soren and Olivia stood and Mooed at them. It was so cute to watch them call the cows.

Hey Mom. We're calling the cows!

Oh Nellie, they're mooing back.

It's about time.

The Rio Rancho Fire Department were brave enough to come show the Scouts the fire trucks.

Little boys dream about being a firefighter.

Soren got a little distracted by my camera. Ham!

Soren and Gabe standing at attention for the flag ceremony.

This was his first time wearing his Tiger Cub shirt. He is so dang proud of himself.

OK guys. I think they did this on purpose. You have to admit that they were being pretty funny.

One day Soren will forgive me for pointing this out. Look how the hat makes his ears fold down. He has the yummiest ears. I love to chew on them, they are so pliable. You know soft and squishy. Never mind.

For the past several years Soren has tagged along with Troy and Logan when they are doing scouting. We promised him that when he was in the first grade he could join the Tiger Cubs. He is in Pack 714 that meet at their school. Troy and I ended up being recruited to be the Den Leaders. Yay me. Soren's friend Gabe is in it with him. I am hoping that we are able to get some more boys in the den. The more the merrier. Is that possible with a bunch of 6 year olds?

The pictures on this post is of the Pack Meeting that was on the 23rd of this month. The Rio Rancho Fire Department came and showed the boys all about the trucks and the gear. Troy followed the fireman around like a puppy dog. He kept oogeling the first aid gear. He pointed out to me the "really cool first aid scissors" that one of the guys was carrying around on his belt. I was following the Firemen around for another reason. Dang there was some really hot looking guys there. Get it...hot. No, really some of the guys were really good looking. I asked Troy if the Firemen would do first aid on me if I pulled my bum muscle. He wasn't amused. I really think I need to look into Troy getting a Fireman uniform. Hmmmm.