That's a Wrap!

 Well, fifth grade is over and this year definitely flew by. I seriously can't believe we have a sixth grader on our hands. Max had a great year. They started switching classrooms/teachers halfway through the day to start preparing the kids for junior high. Max didn't particularly like switching but he eventually got used to it. This year was filled with a lot of fun since all of his best friends were in his class. This made for a very positive school year. I was proud of him for getting honor roll every quarter and the PACK award since his closest friends were in his class. He was still able to focus each day. 

He grew a lot this year, and not just physically, but also emotionally. He also learned about puberty at the end of fifth grade. This subject embarrasses him, but I did my best to let him know this is normal and natural.

We ended fifth grade with a pool and waterslide party for him and his friends. The boys had a great time. I sat outside to monitor the crazy boys with one of the other moms who has become a good friend of mine over the past few years.

It's been a successful year in 5th grade and now we are onto a fun filled summer 

May Update

 Our house backs up to a park and at the end of April, I spotted this coyote from my office just chilling by the pond. Good thing we don't have small dogs.

Our good friend Quinn was in town for work so he came to Max's golf lesson where we shared some appetizers at the bar before we headed out to dinner. It's always fun getting together with Quinn when he's in town because all the memories from our crazy young days come back to life. I have known Quinn since he was 18, so it's crazy to think how long ago that was when we first became friends. 

In early May, I volunteered at Max's last field trip for the year. We went to the children's theater in downtown Phoenix. The kids are older since the last time I did the field trip to the theater so this was easy peasy. The play we saw was called Eddie and Vinnie and I thought it was cute. 

Max had his last band performance as a fifth grader, and probably ever. He did not enjoy band and is not planning on taking band next year. He said he's going to take general music. 

Max received two awards for the fourth quarter for making honor roll and the Pride in the Pack award. The Pride award is for good behavior. He made honor roll every quarter this year and Andy and I are very proud of him. We saw him work hard to achieve this so it meant something special to attend the awards each quarter and watch his face beam with pride when his name got called to join the other kids on stage. 

Max also started to go to the chiropractor this month because his back is all jacked up from being hunched over using various electronics. The chiropractor says he sees this all the time now and when Max is all corrected he will be almost a whole inch taller. Max absolutely loves to go and looks forward to it each week since it makes him feel so much better.

Happy Easter!

 We started the Easter weekend off with coloring eggs. We always have a good time doing this and Max looks forward to it because then I use the eggs to make his favorite, deviled eggs.

The Easter bunny came and was very good to Max. He was excited to see his basket but he seemed to be the most excited to see Dubai chocolate in it. He has been talking about this chocolate for quite some time and how badly he wanted to try it. He tried it and wasn't impressed with it like he was hoping to be.

We had the annual egg hunt in the back yard. Max chose to do the egg hunt in his robe and underwear. 

Grandpa T, Grandma S and the Cottons came over to have Easter lunch/dinner with us. Grandpa T and Max did their job of popping the bottle of champaign. This has been a holiday tradition now for many years.

We hope everyone had a Happy Easter! We had a nice day with our family and friends and the beautiful AZ weather.

Birthday, Swimming and Pickleball

 We celebrated Andy's birthday like we typically do. It was during the week so it's challenging with work and school in the way, but we gave Andy his presents, had dinner out at one of our favorite restaurants and celebrated with a Blizzard.

Max had his first swim for 2025. It was too cold for me, so I just watched. I think the water was only 82 degrees at the top on this day, but it didn't stop Max from jumping in. 

We've had a pickleball set for a year now but just haven't used it. We finally set it up in the driveway and had a family pickleball game. We all had a lot of fun and it was nice to be outside enjoying the beautiful AZ weather. 

Volunteering, Plays, April Fool's and a Park

 At the end of March I volunteered at Max's school for Field Day. The last time I did this was when he was in Kindergarten so I was looking forward to it. My friend and I manned the water bucket race where I was in charge of getting the race going and determining the winner while she made sure the buckets had enough water in them. There were four classes that went through my station and if there was an all-girls team in the round they won by a landslide. It was super fun to watch and a great way to spend my morning. 

We also went to see Stella in the play Legally Blonde. So that Max would get the play we watched the movie the night before. This was such a fun play to watch and so cool to see Stella do what she loves.

It was April Fool's and I played a joke on Max in the morning for breakfast. I had froze his water cup the night before so I had to use one of the plastic cups so he wouldn't notice the water was frozen. When he went to take a drink with his breakfast he was shocked. I couldn't stop laughing at his face. It was a fun April Fool's joke. 

We went to Veteran's Oasis Park one day to get outside, walk around and enjoy the weather. This was a fun morning and because Max didn't complain one time so we stopped for Boba on the way home.

 

Spring Break

 Max had two weeks off of school for Fall break and he spent most of the two weeks with his grandparents. He did a lot of cool stuff from going to the Phoenix Zoo, the aquarium and the Illusion Museum with Grandma L. He also did Top Golf, hot tub and lunch dates with Grandma S and Grandpa T. There were also a couple of sleepovers mixed in too. He had a great time.

We took Max and his friend to the Ostrich Festival and they had a blast. Max's friend has no fear and went on all the rides. This encouraged Max to step out of his comfort zone and try new things. He looked terrified half the time, but I am glad he went on a lot of the rides with his friend. I didn't blame him when he said no to two of the rides. I wouldn't have gone on them either even when I was a kid.

Another day I took Max to a kids entertainment place where we met his friend and mom there. It was nice to catch up with my mom friend while the boys had a great time racing cars and doing the ropes course.

We ended Fall break with drinks at the golf course where Max has his golf lesson. 

Field Trip and Awards!

 In early March I volunteered to chaperone the class field trip to the Chandler Nature Observatory located at Veteran's Oasis Park. Max asked me to and since I have my own business, more on that later, I absolutely can!

The field trip was based on learning science and the first half of the trip the kids made slime. They learned the science behind making slime. Since Max has made slime a million times this was easy for him but he had a lot of fun making it. 

Then they all went to another room where they learned about pendulums. They were in groups and answered math questions based on the science of pendulums. Afterward, the class walked around the man-made lake. Good thing it was a beautiful day outside.

We headed back to school and the kids had lunch together. 

There was an assembly at the end of the day that I attended for the third quarter awards. I watched Max get an award for honor roll and a PACK award for his excellent behavior. Honor roll is a big deal in this house because Max worked hard to get honor roll and we are very proud of him that he was so close to getting Principal's List. Maybe next quarter!

It's Spring Break time for Max!