Birthday celebration Connor-style

I'm fairly confident that Connor's birthday was about as perfect for him as can be. We spent the entire day as a family, doing some of Connor's favorite things as per his requests.

We spent the morning hiking along Boulder Creek in Boulder Canyon. It seriously was about the most perfect morning for a hike with glorious weather.
The wildflowers were in beautiful abundance-
This is the bush Connor called the ladybug picnic, as it was filled with dozens of ladybugs, his favorite bug.
We went to Red Robin for lunch, where Connor was of course sung to, and given a birthday ice cream sundae-
We weren't sure how a firefighters would respond to his request to visit a fire station, but they were very warm and welcoming and gave him a full tour of all the rescue vehicles and equipment, even turned the fire truck lights on for him. This was his favorite part of the day. When his Nanna called him to wish him happy birthday, Connor told her about the fire station visit. She asked him if he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up. His response was, "Actually, no, I want to be a paramedic. So when I'm older, if you get in a car crash, call me!"
We grilled hot dogs for dinner and had a quick cake and ice cream celebration-
And then spent the evening at the lake near our house, fishing and throwing rocks in the lake. Seriously, my kids could spend HOURS doing that.
Unfortunately, the sun must set on even the most perfect of birthdays.

Connor is 6!

Hard to believe we've gone from this...
To this...

It was Memorial Day, May 26, 2003. Brian and I spent the day in the mountains with his parents. We drove over 11,000+ Guanella pass, a long and bumpy road. My in-laws were concerned that I was experiencing back pain. It shouldn't have come as a surprise when my water broke that night, at 1:20 a.m. on May 27. After more than 17 hours of labor that ended in an emergency C-section, I became a mother to the sweetest little boy.

That little boy, Connor Patrick, is 6 today! What a journey it has been. A few things about Connor as he turns 6:

- Just finished kindergarten. He's a great reader, was one of the top 5 readers in his class. He's a very smart boy, has such an interesting mind. He constantly makes me look at things in a new way.

- LOVES all rescue vehicles. Firetrucks, ambulances, police cars, police SUVs, rescue helicopters, police tow trucks, and whatever else rescue vehicle there is.

- LOVES to be outdoors. He is super flexible, athletic and fast. Loves running, climbing, jumping, hiking, bug catching, trampoline jumping, bike riding, scooter riding.

- Just started T-ball, and is really enjoying it so far. Is really good at hitting and throwing the ball.

- Loves Legos. Spends hours building different Lego creations.

- Favorite movies: Madagascar, Shrek, Cars.

Favorite foods: Hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, raspberries, cheetos, cupcakes, chocolate, frosting.

Favorite colors: Red, green, brown.

Brian has taken the day off, and we are letting Connor plan the day. He wants to go on a hike, go to a firestation, and have lunch at Red Robin. Then he is having a Shrek party with some friends on Saturday.

Connor quote from the morning, "Look at how 6 I am!"

Indeed.

Quick getaway

On Friday evening, Brian and I enjoyed a quick getaway to the Garden of the Gods Golf Club and Lodge in beautiful Colorado Springs. It had been nearly 3 years we've had a night away together without children, and it was heavenly.

The view from our room:
It was actually rather cold and rainy, but having been there numerous times, we didn't mind. We would have loved to do some hiking through Garden of the Gods (a most beautiful area), but had to settle for a drive in the rain. Lovely picture with both of us having closed eyes.
We had a fabulous Mexican dinner in the super cute town of Manitou Springs, just on the other side of Garden of the Gods park. Tons of cute shops and restaurants and fabulous scenery.
The rest of the time was spent purely relaxing in the pool, hot tub, steam room, and in front of the gas fireplace in our room. We also met some of Brian's relatives - who live in Colorado Springs - for brunch. Was fun to see them!

Brian and I love traveling anywhere near or far together and always have a blast. What a perfect way to fill my bucket as we head into the start of summer! Thanks to my dear friend Paula for passing along the unused gift certificate, to my mother-in-law Kathy for staying with the kiddos. We had a great time!

End of kindergarten

School's out for the summer! What a kindergarten year Connor had. It was a year of tremendous growth and learning. After a somewhat rocky start, he figured things out with the help of a great support team, and ended on a super strong note, well positioned for FIRST GRADE! His final report card showed such improvement, especially behaviorally, that I literally wept with joy. And his academics were strong throughout the year. I am so proud of how hard Connor worked this year; what a great kid!

Here he is on the first day of kindergarten:
And on the last day:
We had an end-of-the-year picnic on the last day of school. He said goodbye to those who had a big impact on his school year. His teacher, Mrs. Prough:

His long-term sub, Mrs. Wingfield, who taught for 3 1/2 months during Mrs. Prough's maternity leave:
And Mrs. Claypool, his special education teacher:
Surrounded by siblings, friends and teachers:

A few highlights from this, the action-packed last week of school.

Field Day
The kids got to participate in their choice(s) of a variety of fun physical events. Connor enjoyed the shoe toss, trying to get it to land in an empty kiddie pool:

Connor and his friend Kyle. They are a crazy duo-



Grabbing as many marbles as possible with your toes and depositing them into a frisbee in a certain amount of time-

And Connor's favorite activity, "belly bumping" with these huge inflatable tubes-
But nothing compared to the arrival of the fire trucks, who then sprayed the hose far and wide for the kids to run under-

Soaking wet fun! Connor also got an up-close and personal tour of the firetruck (he is a SERIOUS rescue vehicle junkie; he even prayed the other night to "be brave when he has to run into burning buildings to rescue people"). The firefighters even let him start the firetruck's engine!
Video of the belly bumping. It was a battle of the Connors; both boys are kindergartners named Connor!



Kindergarten Music Program
They performed a Barnyard Moosical, and it was darling!

And video of a couple of the songs:

Spring dance recital

Isabel had a successful recital on Saturday! Seriously, the recitals are so cute and fun. And she truly loves being on stage. She talks incessantly afterwards about how she loves the stage, loves to dance, loves to perform, and so forth. Oh, be still my heart! Watching my children take part in something like that are the moments of motherhood that are beyond joy and description.

Isabel with some of her dancing friends. The class is for 3- and 4-year-olds, and she continues to be the smallest one in the class.
Her costume for the tap number:
Exiting the stage after her tap performance:

The ballet number was to "It's a Small World" and the girls each had to dress in their heritage. I made this little Irish number for Isabel-

Loving on Lucas-
Lucas got a bit restless during the show, and was happy to help the girl pass the time by playing ring around the rosie-


And the videos! We have had some teacher drama this spring, and to make a long story short, the girl didn't know the dances as well as they should have. Isabel is actually a performance perfectionist, and was frustrated that she didn't know every step. She still did great and knew the steps better than most of the class.




The tap performance was "It's a Small World." Sorry for the slightly shaky video, but one of the girls decided to freestyle it and did her own crazy routine and it was DARN funny.


We went out for ice cream afterwards to celebrate her great job. And now we turn toward this week, a busy one for Connor, with his first T-ball practice, kindergarten music program, track-and-field day, and end-of-year picnic. I am going to need that night away this weekend! But what fun times these are.