Hazel is Six!

So, this year I didn’t do a party for Hazel. Nor did I do a cake with candles. Ummm, lame, I know but things kindof fell apart. She colored invitations for her friends at church for a horse party, so I thought that we could just have the “party” at the ward waterskiing activity which was the day before her birthday. But then it was cancelled because of rainy coldness, and so I thought I’d just make the cake for her on Sunday, which was her birthday. But then we went to a baptism after church and never got around to it afterwards (though she did get to open her presents). Then I made a cake on Tuesday (I can’t remember why I didn’t on Monday), and I was going to ice it and put candles in and sing, but I went to German class and Brett didn’t realize that that was the plan (because I hadn’t told him), and they just ate the cake. Oh well, I guess. This has really been a lame-o year for holidays. No valentines, no birthday cake or anything for Brett, now Hazel’s birthday was a flop. OH WELL. Such is life.

Luckily, Hazel’s kindergarten class knows how to celebrate a birthday! Firstly, Hazel stayed home from school in the morning until all the kids in her class met at school and walked down to our house. Then Hazel got in the special birthday wagon, and they all sang to her (listen, it’s in English and German), and pulled her all the way back to school.

Then Hazel got to light six candles and sit on a special birthday chair. One by one as she called their names, each of the students picked a little bead from a bowl and came to Hazel and put it in her little bag and told her Happy Birthday or best wishes or something. Then her teacher helped her put all the beads onto some string and make a bracelet.Here are some pictures of Hazel’s classroom which I think is so awesome.

Then we shared the treats we brought with all the kids.Remind me next time to NOT make something so involved for kindergarteners. Then we went to Sport with the class. It was so awesome! They had a bench set up like a slide that the kids could climb and slide on.

They had a ladder attached by ropes to make a swing.And they had a bench with mats on the sides, and the kids would walk to the middle from the ends, shake hands, and then try to push the other one off.

Rings to hang on.

Then the kids helped put away all the benches and mats. I was impressed with how well they all worked to get everything put away. Then they played some good old freeze-tag for a while.

I've never seen a gym so awesome in the States, and I’ve attended lots of different schools growing up. And correct me if you think I’m wrong, but I just don’t see anyone in the States letting kids try to push each other off the balance beam.

While we’re on the subject of classrooms, here are some pictures of Jethro’s.

Here’s the view from his classroom window. Hard to beat that.