The Jones Girls

After I dropped Savannah off for school at 8:30am, I went with the triplets to their preschool to help their preschool teacher, Mrs. Drilling, with preparations for closing up her classroom and for the year end party for the preschool kids.

We shared some tears and laughter.   The festivities began!!   The kids were given fun beach buckets full of goodies such as bubbles, water guns and little flash lights and lollipops – totally fun stuff!!

There was a huge bouncy house and all kinds of fun little activity areas.  The kids were divided in groups according to classrooms.    We first got to watch the kids get face painting done.  Then the kids got to draw on the ground with chalk.   Then we got to go “fishing” for goodies.  That was so fun!   Then the kids went bowling.  Then we got to play with the parachute and bounce balls with the parachute.  The kids enjoyed running under the parachute.  Then the kids went to throw balls in the hanging hula hoops.   They were having a blast!!

It was approaching 9:45am and I had to leave to go volunteer at Savannah’s party at school.  I needed to bring the 75 “summertime” cupcakes to her party.   Cliff will pick them up at 11am while I am volunteering at Savannah’s school.

I made the most adorable cupcakes last night for Savannah’s party today!!   I frosted the cupcakes with chocolate frosting, then sprinkled them with brown sugar to resemble sand.  Then I took sticks of gum (kept them in the wrapper) and bent them into the shape of a lounge chair.  Then I put a little piece of candy next to the lounge chair to resemble a beach ball.  Then I put a little umbrella over the lounge chair. Those cupcakes came out adorable.

When I brought the cupcakes to the party, they were a huge hit!!  All of the moms were taking pictures of the cupcakes.   

All of the kids were playing at different stations.   There were water balloon toss.  There was a funny game where the kids had to put a balloon between their legs and run back and forth without dropping the balloon and then when they reached the final destination they had to sit on the balloon to pop it.   Then the kids did a fun game of transferring water from one bucket to the other by soaking a sponge and wringing it out int he empty bucket.   The first team to fill the empty bucket won.     The bean bag toss was a huge hit.  The last station was a water gun game.   The kids had to spray a water gun and move a table tennis ball across the table and the first team won.

After the games, everyone was served hot dogs, chips, fruit and juice boxes.   After lunch my cupcakes were presented and the kids went wild for the cupcakes!!  The LOVED the umbrellas and did cute things like put it in their hair and one kid even put an umbrella on her hot dog bun!  Lots of fun stuff.

After lunch the kids played on the playground and then we all went home.  The teacher gave Savannah a really cute Beach bucket filled with fun stuff like goggles, a lei and other goodies.

A couple of weeks ago I received a note from the school for us to attend Savannah’s school, El Portal’s, award ceremony.

So I dropped Daddy Cliff and Savannah off at school at 8:15am (she is an early bird all week…ugh!) and then I dropped the triplets at early morning day care at 8:30am (they normally begin at 9am but they offer early morning care beforehand for $2.50 per child per half hour – very convenient – YIPEE!!)..

The award ceremony started at 8:45am.  Cliff and I settled in our seats.    They began presenting the awards.   The VIP Student of the Year award for Miss Tarbell Kindergarten class was awarded to Savannah!!     What a huge and proud moment to hear our little daughter got that award.  We tood hundreds of pictures.  She also got the CARE award too.   

I am so proud of you Savannah!!  You have done exceptionally well in Kindy and you have made us so proud of you!!   We love you!! xoxoxo

Last week at Savannah’s Kindy class the kids and her teacher’s fiance, surprised the teacher with a wedding engagement proposal. Here is the video link. Savannah is holding the letter “O” for the word “YOU” in WILL YOU MARRY ME? So cute!!   Congradulations Miss Chrissy Tarbell!!  When the triplets have her in Kindy, she will have a new last name!!

Check it out  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Om-NDOuQg

Today is a huge milestone for Savannah.  When she was just turning 3 years old, I had her evaluated for speech, development, and physical delays.  She met all of the criteria at the tender young age of 3 and attended Meadow Green school Special Ed Preschool.  Her all time favorite and unforgettable preschool teacher was Mrs. Van Vliet.

Mrs. Van Vliet is an amazing teacher and speech pathologist that specializes in helping children meet the goals in delays.  She did a exceptional job preparing Savannah for Kindergarten.

So Savannah entered Kindergarten taking speech twice a week.    This year she has progressed well and the result from our IEP meeting  a few days ago meant that today is Savannah’s last day of speech.

This morning I decorated pretty, summery cupcakes to bring and surprise her in speech class.  We are going to party..this is a huge accomplishment for Savannah!!

Savannah received a beautiful graduation certificate at her party.  It put tears in my eyes.  I am so very proud of my sweet Savannah!!

I had an appointment today at Savannah’s school for Savannah’s annual speech evaluation.   Corrie, my friend, watched the triplets for me while I was in the meeting.

Savannah’s speech teacher is Darcy.   Savannah was with us at the meeting as well as Savannah’s teacher, Miss Tarbell, and the school psychologist.     We went over the test scores, from when Savannah was 3 years old in 2007 to currently at 6 years old in Kindergarten.  and her receptive language is average to above average.  Her expressive is average.  She scored a little low in certain expressive areas. 

The end result is that Savannah has progressed so well, making it by leaps and bounds since she was 3 years old….. she is graduating from speech!!    We did discuss the idea that I would like a progress report the 1st trimester of 1st grade to make sure she hasn’t fallen behind and to re-evaluate if she needs more speech.

I cried my eyes out.    At that very moment, I was the proudest momma on earth!!     I love you my dear, sweet, smart and amazing Savannah!!  I love you!!

After the Mother & Daughter Tea, we drove home to change and then we went to the La Habra Heights Avocado Festival.   Savannah wanted to stay and play at her friend Madeline’s house and Madeline’s sister, Analiese, wanted to come with us to the Festival.  We sort of did a kid swap thing…LOL!

We saw so many cute little animals, watched a weaver make homemade wool, petted little critters.  We visited a Dog Greyhound rescue booth.  I am going to have her be a guest speaker this summer for our La Habra Moms club and she will bring the dogs for the kids to meet and pet.  

We then went over to the Bee Keeper.  That was so neat!   They had a live exhibit of bees in a bee hive making honey.   I purchased some honey sticks filled with different flavored honeys.  They girls LOVED them.   I am going to ask Lynne the Bee Keeper to be a guest speaker this summer for La Habra Moms club also.  I referred the Bee Keeper to the school principal, Kim Likert, at Savannah’s school.   She really liked the idea and they are going to incorporate an event next year at school.  How cool is that?

Then we went over to the bouncy houses and the girls spent what seemed to be forever having a blast there.   Afterwards we did a little shopping and I got the girls beautiful butterflies. 

It was a fun day…and tiring too!!

Yesterday I baked a bundt cake with a cream cheese coconut center.   Today I frosted it and decorated it.  It came out really cute.  This is for today’s cake walk at the Spring Fling Carnival at Savannah’s school.  I also brought in cupcakes too.

Savannah had to get to school early today, at 8:00am.   Today is her field trip at Centennial Farms.   I didn’t win the drawing, but 2 mothers that do a ton of volunteering in the Kindy classroom won and I feel that they really deserved it.   Savannah was excited to go on the big yellow school bus.  

We had a rough start getting her ready for school though.  Savannah was all dressed and I have her a cup of milk to drink with breakfast.  Amanda had accidently bumped her cup, causing the milk to spill all over Savannah’s outfit that she had picked out the night before to wear to the farm today.  Let’s just say it didn’t go down well this morning.   Anyway, with a lot of disagreements, I finally got Savannah to wear something else.   We hightailed it to school.  I made her a special cheeseburger with Dorito chips and a juice box in a brown bag for her lunch today.   She loves her cheeseburgers.  I watched as she proudly marched with all of the other Kindy kids to the school bus.  They were all wearing cute blue sun visors given to them for their field trip.    She stepped up into the bus.  In my heart these steps were huge…steps from my little girl growing into a big girl.    I had a little tear at the corner of my eye…((sigh))

I purchased wrist bracelets for trhe girls to use for unlimited access to game booths and jumpy houses.  It should be a lot of fun!!