Month of June Part 1: Last Days of School, Graduation, and Nonantum Fair

Woo hoo!  The month of June was ALSO a crazy busy month for us.  We celebrated the graduation of Alex successfully completing Pre-K, William successfully completing his first preschool class (Petit Jardin), and Joseph completing his residency.
The second part of the month was full of our family vacation (that will be in part 2 which will be the next blog post).

While watching TV one night, Joseph asked me,
"Hey Nikki, does the dog look like he likes this?"

I looked over and chuckled....ummmm, I think he's contemplating
how to shimmy out of this hold.  :-p

Time for a fresh hair cut before graduation and before our vacation!  In order to look fresh and fabulous, I took the boys to get their hair cut so they could look nice for graduation and for our friends and family when we went on vacation the following week.

William getting his second hair cut, ever!  He looooves
to get his hair cut!

So does Alex.  Alex told me that since he's a big boy now,
that I can stay by William while he gets his hair cut.
He said to me, "Mom, I'm cool.  I'll be fine.  I've got this."

*Sniff....sniff*  Ok, big boy.  :-(

We had a little down time before school started one
afternoon, so the boys asked if they could take a silly
picture together.  :-P

On June 4, my dear friend Christina stopped by our house for dinner and catching up.  I've known Christina since the first day of 6th grade!!  We were the best of friends in middle school and have been in and out of touch throughout the years.  We used to talk to each other for hours on end over the phone as soon as we got home from school and were pen pals before the Internet age.  The last time we saw each other was when she visited me in Indiana when I turned 15.  We both couldn't believe that it had been 18 years since we were last together!!
She came over for dinner and helped me with the boys' nightly routine (Joseph had just left for his overnight shift).  Afterwards, we chit chatted and gave each other the Cliff's Notes version of our lives and things were just as they were; as if no time had passed.
It was so great to catch up with you and see you, Nina the Christina!!  Even though you're a big shot lawyer now, you're still the person that I knew and loved as my dear friend many years ago. 

Here's "Aunty Christina" reading a book to the boys
at bed time.

The boys adored her so much that they asked her
to read a second book.  I guess Mommy was "chopped liver"
that night.  :-)

Alex and his classmates took a "field trip" to their local mail box to deliver some handwritten postcards to their families.  What an adorable idea, huh?

Alex and his classmates, walking to the mailbox.

He was so excited to tell me that he delivered a special postcard to us.

Alex and his classmates hanging out after their outing.

The boys on our morning walk holding hands with one
another.  I love when they do this.  It just warms my heart.

The boys being sweet with one another on our morning walk.

Ahhhhhh!!  Alex's last day of Pre-K!!  This is all moving way too fast for my liking.  Alex had a really great year overall and worked very hard both academically and socially.  We're so proud of him and his accomplishments and can't believe that Kindergarten is just around the corner.

Alex on his last day of Pre-K.  He said that when
he grows up, he wants to be a Daddy.  :-)

William's last day of Preschool!!  William made great gains in his comprehension of the French language and made many friends in his classroom.  At the end of the year, he could count from 1-20, identify shapes and colors, sing the alphabet song, identify all his letters, and was completely potty trained except for his overnight diaper.  What a big year for this big boy!  We couldn't be more proud of him as well.  He will be returning to the same school in the fall and will be in the Moyen Jardin class.

William on his last day of Preschool.  He said that
when he grows up, he wants to be a doctor.

Before the last day of school, Alex and William had a play date at Alex's classmate's house.  Alex and William get along so well with Chloe and her younger brother Owen.  They had lots of fun playing together and enjoyed some pizza for lunch.

Here's Chloe, Alex, and William eating their pizza
at their own personal table.  They were so adorable
together.  They even went, "Cheers!" and clanked
their cups together before they started eating.
These kids are a riot!

Alex and William on their last day of school!

William was like the "mayor" of the school and made
sure that he gave everyone a hug good bye.  He's very
friendly and social.

However, William is also 2 1/2 years old.  I swear, this kiddo is more like 2 going on 20.  He knows what he wants and is very determined to get it when he wants it.

William being a typical 2 year old and giving me
attitude in the morning.

This kid's full of sass.  :-p

On June 6, the boys' school had a grand graduation celebration!!  They called each student's name and had them cross the stage to collect a diploma and a rose.  It was a very sweet ceremony and the kids were super excited. 

The elaborate stage set-up.

This little stinker did NOT want me to leave him in his
classroom with his classmates while the parents and families
got seated in the tent.  He was pretty freaked out
and did not want me to leave his side.  So, Joseph
had to get seats by himself while I waited with William
for the graduation ceremony to begin.

It was William's turn to cross the stage, and he wasn't too
happy about leaving my side, but he rallied and
crossed the stage without any tears.  Success!!

William receiving his award from his two teachers, Samantha and Sonia.
Congratulations, William Billiam!!

And now it's time for big brother to cross the stage!

Alex and his classmates, waiting to cross the graduation stage.

Alex standing on the stage with the director/owner of the school.
As you can see, this kid was quite proud that morning.

Alex receiving a diploma and flower from his teacher,
Miss Michelle (who did amazing work with Alex this year).

Alex with his two teachers, Michelle and Sophie.

There he goes!  Congratulations, darling!

Alex, watching the rest of the graduation, and getting
ready to sing some songs with his classmates.

Alex and his class singing a song during graduation.

He was totally into it.  This kiddo loves to perform.

More graduation songs :-)

William, sitting in the second row, was preoccupied with his rose the whole time.

Hey there, big boy!!

Our proud graduates!  :-)

Me, Alex, Joseph, and William at the boys' graduation.
Joseph was a real trooper that morning.  He had just gotten off
of an overnight shift, had had major dental surgery that morning,
and still managed to muster up enough energy to come to the graduation.
The boys and I were so happy to have him there.

The boys, enjoying some refreshments after the ceremony.

Joseph was just happy that he wasn't dribbling water down his face
after the surgery.  Alex, as you can see, made himself quite comfortable
resting his leg on Joseph while snacking.  :-)

A sweet moment between two brothers.

Our little stinkers.  :-)

And now it's time to run around!!

And rollllll down the little hill!

And roll around some more when they got to the bottom.  These kiddos
were so excited to see all of their friends and teachers.

Alex with his amazing teacher Michelle.  She did wonderful
work with Alex and gave him the T.L.C. that he needed
throughout the year.

Chloe, Alex, and William at graduation.

Love these kids!

On June 7, Joseph was doing his last overnight shift of his residency, and needed to sleep during the day.  It was perfect, because there was "Nonantum Day" (which is a small neighboring town in our area).  Thankfully the fair was so close to us, that it was about a 15 minute walk from our house.  So, the boys and I walked over to the fair and had a lovely time playing around that morning.

Alex getting ready to go in the bouncy house.
(William, for some reason, isn't really into bouncy
houses.)

There he goes!

The boys with Olaf from the movie Frozen.
Thanks for the free tooth brushes, Olaf!  :-)

The boys were mesmerized by their balloons.

Time to play in some heavy machinery!

The kiddos loved playing around with all of the buttons
and levers.

Time for lunch!

We got hot dogs from a local business that specializes
in their Italian sausages, etc.

When William made this face, it reminded me
of when he was first getting his teeth and was fascinated
by the feeling.  :-)

Alex enjoyed his hot dog as well.

It was a really lovely morning and the weather was perfect!
It was sunny and not too hot.

Time to say, "Hello!," to some characters!

Alex and William were so excited to see Clifford the big red dog.

William was still holding onto Clifford's hand
while Alex began to greet Winnie the Pooh.

Then William went in for the "high five."

Minnie Mouse got a high five and a fist bump from the boys.
These kids are hilarious!

The boys petting some adorable little chickens.

William loved this little goat.

Time to watch the dance troops!

The boys dancing to Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk.
They LOVE this song!

This cheeky little guy was excited to carry around his
free swag that he got from the local business.  He looooooved
his free sunglasses.  Does he have nice sunglasses that we
got him?  Why of course!  However, he prefers the
free ones that he got from the local bank.  :-p

Alex loves his free sunglasses, too.  :-p  Go figure!

My view:  Little William and baby bump.  :-)

Now it's time for some face painting!

Alex didn't want his face painted, though.  He asked
the woman to paint Batman on his hand.  A fair compromise.  :-)

William wanted a dragon on his face!  This kid's street hardened.  :-p

"I want a green dragon, please!"

Alex showing off his upside down Batman face.

William with a fire breathing dragon on his face.

This fair was so awesome and took us straight up
until nap time in the afternoon.  We had a wonderful
time visiting the local businesses' tents, getting swag,
and doing all of the other awesome stuff the fair had to offer.

Lastly, we had some fun in a photo booth!  Here's our pictures:

Our summer was off to a great start!  Graduation and the fair were a blast and we couldn't wait to go on vacation to visit our families.  June treated the Franses family quite well this year.
Until next time...

Love and kisses,
Nikki