Kindergarten Program

              Friday morning was Riley's kindergarten program.  I can hardly believe my little boy is about to be in first grade.  This year has just flown by.  I know all parents say it, but it truly seems like just yesterday that he was that little 5lbs 7oz baby that fit in the palm of my hand.  Now he is this tall, handsome little boy who is learning to read and fascinated with the world around him. 

   Thursday night as I was preparing everyone clothes for the next morning, I asked Riley how he was supposed to dress for the program.  He looked at me seriously and answered, "handome!"  Love it!  Well I decided on one of his new pair of shorts with a brown polo shirt.  I could have dressed him in his church pants, but frankly they are all getting a little short and don't look too good.  Plus I didn't want him to have to change clothes the next day.  Friday morning, Michelle Rayburn was going to cover my class, but I was still worried about finding somewhere to sit.  I remember last year the parents lined up around the outside of the school and the cafeteria being packed.  So I told my parents to get there early.  They got there really early.  I think they got to school about 8:00am for the 9:00 program.  That would have been great, except that I forgot that I had purchased front row seats at the carnival.  So my parents got there super early to already have saved seats.  Oh well!!  Now the cafeteria was packed by showtime, but not at 8:00am. 

Riley's class performed, "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head!"  It was so cute!  I did just fine during that song.  Then at the end, all the classes, sang, "Its a Wonderful World."  That made me cry.  It was the line about how they were just babies and now growing and learning just reminded me of how much he has changed and grown.

After the program, each class went back to their homeroom and received their certificates marking the end of Kindergarten. 

Riley with his fabulous teacher, Mrs. Adams.  He absolutely loves her!

Mrs. Adams' Kindergarten Class 2010-2011

I had planned to have Riley stay in school after the program, but then I quickly realized that almost all the kids were going home.  Luckily Randy didn't have any big plans for the day since he had taken off for the program, so Riley spent the day with daddy.  I'm glad he went home because it ended up there were only 19 kindergarteners left after 6 classes worth of kids went home.  Mrs. Adams originally only had 1 but 2 girls felt sorry for her, so they stayed behind to keep her company. 

Plus Riley had a great day with daddy.  They had lunch at Wendy's, complete with a frosty, went to the parts store, picked up Alex, went to get sno-cones, Kroger for dinner preparations, and then home to play on the swingset.  A great day for everyone!

A Ranger Birthday Party

On Sunday, in spite of the unseasonally cold & rainy weather, we went to a birthday party at the Ballpark in Arlington. 

The birthday party started off with cake and ice cream and then we headed to start the tour of the stadium.  While I have been to several games, I have never taken a tour or seen the behind the scenes parts.  I have to admit that I think I was way more excited than Riley was.  The kids & very interested parents got to see the City of Arlington suite (very plain & boring) and the working underneath the ballpark.

 After checking out a suite we headed downstairs to the behind the scenes parts.  Here was the indoor batting cages with the american league pennants of the past & some extra motivation.

 Then we headed over to the media room where the postgame interviews are held.  The kids really enjoyed sitting at the big table.

After the media room, we headed to the dugout.  The kids were pretty excited about it, even though they were not allowed on the field.

 Finally came the kids favorite part.  We headed to Center Field for a little wiffle ball action.  The kids had so much fun hitting the ball and chasing them down.  A big yea to the birthday boy for getting the only out of the "park" homerun.  So cute!

Final soccer game of season

Saturday was Riley's final soccer game of the season.  I can't believe how fast the season has flown by.  I think part of it was this was the first season with no rainouts.  But I just can't believe it is already over.  Riley has gotten back to the point, that I truly enjoy watching every minute of his game.  His intensity is back and he is aggressive again.  He just made so many improvements this season.  He has so much better understanding of the positions and when to come up for defense or when to stay back. 

At first I complained alot about this coach because he wasn't much for extra reminder emails or just much for talking to the parents at all.  On top of all that he scheduled practices on Friday nights at 6:30.  Who does that?  Well I complained alot at first, but then I quickly realized that it wasn't that bad because I didn't have to rush home on a school night to get him ready for the next day.  Plus whatever they practiced the night before, I often saw them trying it out in the game the very next day.  Coach Luna did a great job of really pushing their soccer skills to the next level.  This adds to the reason that I am sad to see the season end.  I would really like to play another season with the exact players.  They all have something to offer and something to teach each other. 

 The YMCA also changed up their trophies this season.  It was kind of funny listening to the kids talk about how they wanted a trophy.  LOL!  Luckily my child was just happy with whatever he got!