Father's Day 2019

Each year, I ask Steve how he would like to celebrate his 'special day,' and his answer seems to always be the same.  He really doesn't need anything and doesn't care much about going out to eat (I love to though!); he would just rather keep things simple.

So ... I had the idea to pick out a few of his favorite things -- letting the kids weigh in with ideas -- and then we wrapped them up and set them on the table.  We filled in with some special messages and let him open everything after a homemade breakfast.

The kids took turns handing him their chosen items and I am not sure who smiled more, Steve or them.  It was the perfect idea!

Samantha gave him a super-soft tee-shirt that said, "Batman" on it to match his Superman one.  And she wrapped up a big bag of his favorite wintergreen mints.  She also filled out this questionaire, earning a few laughs along the way.

Sophia remembered that her dad loves coffee, so we picked up a big box of k-cups for his coffee maker and a bottle of his favorite Irish Cream.  She filled out her own questionaire, but I suspect that she borrowed a few ideas from her sister :)

Jack chose to gift his dad with some peanuts in their shells (Steve loves these!) and some Big Red gum -- his own idea and completely "spot-on."  Then, he worked diligently on this workbook for Steve, with this page being one of my absolute favorites ...

"My dad really likes hot sauce."

"My dad really doesn't like poop."

(I don't know if I have stopped laughing ... yet!).

Jimmy gave Steve a big container of "spicy bar nut mix," and I gave him a small keg of Oberon beer.  Yup, we know him really well!

And then a picture of one of our favorite dads and his crew:

The End of the School Year - 2019

This year, the end of the school year brings with it a lot of changes. 

Samantha will be leaving the Elementary School and heading into 6th grade at the Middle School this Fall.  She's excited about it -- her classes, joining band and just the overall increased independence.  She has a large group of friends to support her and this year has taught her more about organization and structure -- two things that I expressed concern about with her 5th grade teacher very early on.  We will be learning as we go, but so far, I feel pretty good about the transition. 

One of the afterschool clubs that she was part of this year was "Puppet Club" and they learned to make their own puppets and then record movies with them. 

This is Marge:

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Sophia will be entering 3rd grade in the Fall and this is the first time that she will be the "oldest Lapinski" in the school.  Unlike her sister, she has a much closer group of friends and they managed to stick together despite being separated over three different classrooms in 2nd grade.  She continues to love art (I'm hoping to get her signed up for more afterschool art again) and excels in everything -- math, spelling, reading, writing, etc.

Every year, the 2nd grade class does a big research project on a chosen animal.  They spend time gathering facts and then putting those facts onto a poster of their own design.  Sophia chose to research sloths (such a cool animal!) and we worked on her poster together.  She then had to present it to the class.  I hear that it went very well!

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Jack graduated from kindergarten this year (Class of 2031!) and will be joining Sophia at the Elementary School in the Fall.  I have no qualms whatsoever about that, as he is very familiar with the school ... we have spent a lot of time there over the years ... and I know that Sophia will be able to help him with anything that he needs.

He loves learning and despite showing some moderate mood changes at home from time to time, he is a perfect little solider in school.  His handwriting is gorgeous and he LOVES to practice writing words and sounding them out whenever he can.  I can't wait to see what the next year holds for him.

Receiving his dipolma from his indergarten teacher, Mrs. Klaver:

Sitting next to his best friend, Colten:

They processed out to the usual 'Pomp and Circumstance" music and I teared up.  That song gets me every time.

A newly-graduated FIRST GRADER:

The Class of 2031?!  Wow.  Just wow.

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James will be going to preschool in the Fall on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8-11 am.  He has been talking about this forever and we'll be starting a countdown pretty soon so that it is easier for him to visualize.  In the meantime, he picked out his new bookbag (a special tradition that I do with all of the kids, ordering them early and having their names monogrammed on them) and he was SO EXCITED to try it on as soon as the UPS man dropped it off at our house. 

A construction zone bookbag.  Yes, please!

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