Love Note from Ty

DER MOM

I LUVY

VEREM

UHS

ANDON

TFRGT

Translation:

Dear Mom, 

I love you very much and don't forget.

Happy 4th of July!

Fourth of July was awesome this year!  Mom and Dad didn't think Sydney would be able to stay up late enough and watch a fireworks show at a park (and they didn't want to get stuck in all the crowds), so we bought some fireworks of our own and went to my friend Luke's house to set them off. 

Even though fireworks are illegal in my neighborhood, Dad showed me some simple ones before we left home.  These started out look like a thick circle and when you lit them, they turned into long black snakes.

And once they cooled, you could smash them into dust.

At Luke's house we had a BBQ (although I was too busy playing all night and refused to eat).  Then we set off some smoke bombs. 

Check out my smoke dance.

The smoke bombs were cool, but they should have been called stink bombs.

Once it got a little darker, Sydney started getting really tired.  Mom drove her around for half an hour, but she refused to fall asleep.  So we lit off our fireworks when the sun started going down.  We set up blankets and chairs in the front yard and got ready for the action.

Luke's neighbors around the corner were setting off big fireworks that went high in the sky.  They were really cool.

And really loud.

Ours were a little smaller, but still super fun to watch.

My favorite was one I had picked out all by myself.  It was an army truck.  Dad even let me light it myself.  Sparks came shooting out of the headlight, then the car actually drove, an then it had sparks coming out of its rockets.  Awesome!!!!

A bunch of the fireworks went high in the air and had a parachute come out of them.  The kids all raced to see who could catch the falling chute.  I caught one, but Sydney tore it up.

Traditional sparklers.

Sydney wasn't a huge fan of the fireworks.  She thought they were too loud and kept covering her ears.  She spent most of the time with her head on Mom's shoulder covering her ears (although in this pic she happens to be cuddling with Dad).

I asked Mom when the next fourth of July is and she said not for a whole year!  What?!  So I guess it's going to be a while before I get to light off those super awesome fireworks again.

Happy Birthday, Cooper!

Can you believe my brother would have been four this year!  He's almost as old as me!

We went and visited Cooper for his birthday on Sunday.  Mom was really worried because it was supposed to rain all day, but we got lucky and it didn't rain at all.  The sun even came out for a bit!

I drew Cooper a special picture and taped a real picture of me to it.

We brought him our traditional balloons and Cooper flowers (also known as calla lilies).  But we had to mix the lilies up with some daisies because we didn't have many lilies grow in our yard this year.

 
 We ate our traditional cupcakes.  Mom made mint cupcakes this year.  YUM!

We also took our traditional pictures by Cooper's headstone.  I took this one of Mom and Dad.  Not bad, huh?

I got Sydney to smile in these pictures by squeezing her neck.  She thought it was hilarious.

But after a few squeezes, her face started turning red and we decided we'd taken enough pics.

And finally, we ended the visit by running and playing.  I love to visit my brother and can't wait to see him again.
 

We miss you every day, Cooper, and wish you could be here with us!

Sky High

Syd and I went jumping at Sky High today.  It was soooooooo fun!  I know two videos of us jumping might seem like a bit much to post, but I know the grandparents will love them, so here they are.

The first is just Syd.

The next one is the two of us together.

I can't wait to go back!

An Appple a Day

Mom was going to use an apple as part of Family Home Evening the other night, but I got to it first.

You can stop taking pictures of me eating the apple, Dad.

Ready for the closing prayer.  Make it quick so I can finish my apple.

I think I did pretty well for my first attempt at eating a whole apple.

Syd the builder

I've discovered that stacking blocks is actually more fun than knocking them down.

Preschool Graduation

Yesterday was my preschool graduation and celebration.  It was so much fun, even though I had to wear a tie.  The AM and PM classes sat on a stage while the teachers called us up one at a time to give us our diploma and tell everyone a little bit about us.

It was kind of hard to sit still while they talked about ALL the kids, so I had to entertain myself a bit.  Thank goodness I was one of the first kids to get my diploma and was able to use it as a telescope.

After everyone got their diplomas, each class stood at the front of the stage so the parents could take pictures.  It kind of took a while for us to get all lined up.

I know it looks like I'm using "the force" in this picture, but I'm actually just waving at my family.  You can tell that all of us kids were ready to move on to the celebration part of graduation.

Oh, look, after a dozen pictures (which I won't force you to look at here) Dad actually got a shot of almost all the kids smiling!

Time to celebrate!  We had lunch in the gym.  I didn't really feel like eating...I just wanted to play around--especially with this fun balloon my best crazy friend Logan gave me.

Me and my friend Ammar:

My friends Ava and Maxwell:

One mom made these really cool brownie graduation hats.  It was a little small for my head.

Me, Logan, and Maxwell.  I loved running around with these guys outside when preschool was over each day--rain of shine.  (And Ammar too)

(And in case anyone is wondering about the necklaces we're wearing, Ms. Erin was handing them out to all the kids.)

Me with Ms. Colleen and Ms. Erin:

Me and Ms. Jennifer:

I wish my best friend Amelia had been there so we could have our picture taken together, but she's in Utah now and I hope I visit her some day.

And here is me and my family who I love so much.

I'm sad that preschool is over because I'll miss my teachers and the toys.  But I can't wait for Kindergarten!