May Top Ten 1 thru 5

I just can't get this catching up done so I am going to use my top 10 list as a motivator to get it done.

1. Nicole turned Seven on May 4th.

We had the family over (friend birthdays are only every other year) had cake and ice cream and lots of laughs.

She loved her presents and all of the attention (who doesn't?)

She used her money to buy a Slip N' Slide (otherwise known as 'only adults who want broken bones or concussions are dumb enough to do this')

Courtney took these awesome pictures of the action.

I'm not sure why she did them in black and white, our grass is so green and pretty right now.

2. Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. It started with breakfast in bed, homemade cards and gifts from school and a new pair of running shoes. I asked for those. Alan is really good at getting the gifts that I request and leave lots of hints about!

My beautiful kids and I before church.

My Mom and I - I'm so glad she got to come to church with us.

3. Jr. High Awards Night

I have no pictures from this. It was all a mystery. We had already attended the Academic Awards Night when we got a letter from the school saying that they were having another award night at the school and that my children were receiving awards.

Devon and Courtney were both on the Principal's List - which is a good thing. They were in the top 2% (out of 800) academically. Later we got a letter from the principal saying that Courtney was ranked number 2 in her class and Devon number 6. They finished the year, Courtney with a 4.58 gpa and Devon with 4.33. Devon also received the Scholar/Athlete award given to three students who played two or more sports and were on the Principal's List.

4. Courtney Spoke in Church

She did a great job. Public speaking is not her strong point. She is a Nervous Nelly, but she practiced a lot and pulled her hair back away from her face so she couldn't hide and gave an excellent talk on testimony.

5. Sixth Grade Promotion for Morgan

When I left 6th grade, I'm pretty sure the only thing I got was a "have fun in Junior High" from my teacher. My kids get a full on graduation, complete with awards, a dvd compilation of pictures and a cookies and punch reception at the end.

One of the highlights of the ceremony was when Mrs. McDaniel, the gifted pull-out program teacher, who is not LDS, quoted President Hinckley from his book Standing for Something, in her remarks.

Morgan received a Johnson Jayhawk Award for being all around awesome. I can't really remember what that award is so I'm just going with the awesome - because she is!