It's Graduation Day.......Pre-School style!

It is so hard to beleive that the end of the school year is here and Jordan graduated!  He will be moving forward to Kindergarten next year.  Makes mommy sad and happy all at the same time.  He is growing up so fast and I must say it myself, is becoming a very wonderful "little man".

Yesterday daddy told Jordan that he couldn't wear shorts today to school so Jordan himself decided that he WANTED to wear his button shirt, his tie and good pants.  Of course with this outfit comes the Papa Boots!

Graduation started with the traditional Grand March with everyone and their caps.

Getting ready to sing a couple of songs that they learned.

Receiving THE DIPLOMA!! and a high-five.

The proud Graduate!

Jordan with a wonderful Pre-School teacher, Mrs. Milius!  Thank you for all you have done for many children!

THE DIPLOMA!

After Graduation we headed to Waverly.  Daddy had arranged a stop at the Sherriff Station to see the 911 communication center, courtesy of our friend Kip!  It was a hit with Jordan, now every time the scanner goes off he listens and says, "that's the lady that showed us all those screens".  What a great experience for ALL of us.  Our next stop was to have the tire on Mommys van checked out, needed a new one :(.  Then to Pizza Ranch for Jordan's favorite lunch.  On our way Jordan says "this is the best day with lots of great things"!  The day ended with a trip to Wal-Mart for a new frame for the diploma and some much wanted popcicles.

It was a great final day of Pre-School and we are looking forward to learning LOTS next year in Kindergarten too.

Daddy just asked Jordan what the best part of his day was and his response.....

"going to that office where the lady works and seeing Kip!"

by Jeni

Geocaching on Mother's Day

I decided I wanted to spend Mother's Day with my boys so we found a couple of geocaching spots and headed out.  The last time we did this, Jordan was still in diapers and we took him in a stroller so this was a completely new experience for him.  Armed with the GPS and a daddy that knew approximately where we were going we were off to "Kip's Forest".  We told Jordan that we were going to find some treasures that our friend Kip had hidden in the forest and he decided that we were then going to Kip's Forest!

The boys are never ones to take a already taken path, they are just following the arrow on the GPS.

First treasure found.

Taking a break, VERY close to the second treasure.

Jordan found it all by himself!

Mom, insisted on taking the path back to the van.

Our trail guide at the final destination!

It was a great Mother's Day adventure for all of us.  Thanks to my boys for taking me along.

by Jeni

Taking a trip with Grandma & Papa

Last week Jordan & I took a trip with Grandma Ann & Papa Steve back to Audubon for a funeral.  Along the way we made a side stop in Story City and decided to ride the carousel.

Jordan...always the clown.

Papa

by Jeni

The Newest Member of the Family

It has been over six months since we lost our favorite friend Katie.

Everytime Jordan was asked if he wanted another dog the answer was always a VERY firm NO!  For some reason however a few weeks ago we showed him a picture of a dog and asked what he would think if this dog would come home with us and he was all for it.

So, on Saturday, April 17th we traveled to Waukon to meet Shelby.

Shelby is a Collie/Golden Retriever mix that is about a year old.  Her face and tail are definately Collie and the rest is the Golden Retriever.  She is very gentle and LOVES the attention that Jordan gives her.  She is completely house broken and a very calm dog.  We are still working on boundaries and the rules of the house but for the most part, she is fitting in very well.

On our way home.....

just before Shelby's nerves got the best of her and she puked all over the seat and blanket beside Jordan.

Showing her around the house.

I call this "tolerance"!

They sat here for about an hour while Jordan combed her.  She LOVES to be brushed and combed and Jordan loves that he can do it.

We are hoping that this is just the beginning to a close friendship like Jordan had with his Katie. It has only been a week since Shelby first came to our house but things are working well so stay tuned for lots more updates.

For those of you that are wondering, we found Shelby using http://www.petfinder.com/ .  This is also how we found Kesley and Katie several years ago.

by Jeni

Daddy & Son project

For Christmas Jason & Jordan received a building project from Grandma Ann & Papa Steve.  Jordan finally begged enough today that Jason decided the painting should at least be done.  Jordan is hoping that tomorrow they can actually put it together.

Getting the parts painted.

The concentration.

Reading directions

by Jeni