The Hines Family Experience: Summer Time

It is hard to believe that the school year has already come to an end. The end of the school year always means that there is a lot going on at school. With Nonny in school this year the end of the school year stress was doubled. However, with the stress there was some fun as well. We got to help at Nonny's Field Day. It was fun to see all the kids and watch him participate in the activities.

Nonny also had Kindergarten graduation. I was so proud of him for participating in all the activities. He sang, he did the actions, he was one confident little man. I can't believe how much he has grown up this year. I was very nervous for graduation because of how he handled the Christmas program. He has obviously grown and matured since that time.

Another big change for us is our new vehicle. Daryl is our new (or at least new to us) van. My husband is very pleased with himself for talking me into a van. I have to say that I absolutely love it. As much as I fought getting a van I wouldn't trade it for anything else.

As the school year came to an end my stress level was crazy. I am about to show how big of a dork I really am. My stress reliever was creating plans for the summer and planning for vacation. My husband thought I was a little crazy because I have "lesson planned" the entire summer and have already started packing for our beach vacation. I have lots of things to create and put together, and I look forward to sharing the finished projects with you!

After school got out my little Peanut turned 4! It seems like just yesterday that she was a newborn. She really is growing up way too fast.

The first week of summer vacation was Alphabet Week. We did several different activities all centered around learning the alphabet. The kids created alphabet books, did letter hunts, and read books all about the alphabet. Here are some pictures of Nonny's alphabet book.

We have also had the pleasure of going to the zoo a couple of times already this summer. It may be one of our favorite places to go. The kids always have a good time while we are there. During alphabet week we looked to see if we could find animals that started with every letter of the alphabet, and we got almost all of them. An impromptu visit this week made it possible for us to see the animals we didn't see on our first visit of the summer. I look forward to going several more times this summer!

One of our other favorite places is the splash pad. The kids always have a good time playing in the water, and it is especially fun once the "wonderful" summer heat kicks in!