Dallin, Parker, Gretchen and Uncle Ranger Dale at Ranger graduation. 

The End is Here!
Parker graduated from Preschool at the end of May. They had a graduation ceremony complete with processional to It's A Small World. They sang some of the cutest songs. Then they called each child up on stage and gave them their diploma. While he was on stage, they said what he wanted to be: an artist, and why: because he is good at it. DUH! It was really cute to see them all dressed in their sunday best, and using their best manners. Afterwards we he picked the restaurant, Ruby Tuesdays, and we had cheese fries and chocolate tall cake. So that is the end..Parker is officially a kindergarten student. WOW!

Parker and Ms. Deborah, the lead teacher. 

Parker and Ms. Ingrid, who was his "favorite" teacher. 

Parker's preschool graduation, his class M/W/F and the T/TH class. 

Parker and his class singing a song about the numbers, and loving YOU! 

Parker and his class singing a song about hiding your little light under a buschel. His finger is the little light. 

Parker receiving his diploma from his teacher, Ms. Deborah. 

Some twirls and bends with a little tapping...and you have one CUTE dancer.
Gretchen started taking dance classes in February. She absolutely LOVES to dance, and dances all over the house. At times she can even convince the boys to hold her hand and give her a spin across the room. Her class meets once a week for an hour. They do ballet, tap, and modern dance. Her teacher is the most patient sweetest lady, Ms. Maria. Gretchen always gives her a BIG hug after class. The girls in the class always look soooo cute in their pink tights, pink leotards, and pink ballet slippers. The boys and I watch her from an overhead window, and they have a hard time picking out which "Pink" girl she is. Her first recital was at the end of May. We took lots of pictures, and the boys brought her a dozed miniature pink roses. She looked like a little prima ballerina, and I am sure she felt like one.

All the dancers waiting for their big debut! 

This was a cute stretching routine they did. Her tiara kept sliding down her face. She insisted on wearing her hair "long, and beautiful". 

A little ballet dance. 

More tapping, notice the contentration. 

Gretchen doing a tap dance. 

All the little dancers, Can you spot Gretchen? 

Gretchen with her "ballerina" trophy and her certificate. 

Gretchen and Ms. Maria  

Doesn't this look like FUN? Don't you want to come visit us and see it for yourself? :)

Dallin,Parker, Gretchen, a twin, and me! 

Dare, Owen and Elijah doing Dollywood! 

Dare and Ryan on Timber Tower. 

Richard, Dare, Ryan, Parker and Dallin rode the river rampage. 

Richard and Dallin heading up the tower. 

Ryan and Parker on the do-it-yourself drop zone. 

Gretchy & Parker on the busy bees. 

Dallin on the drop zone. He rode all by himself. He kept giggling the whole time he was on it. 

Parker and I took a self portrait. 

Gretchen was not a fan of the ferris wheel. 

Hooray for Dollywood!
It has come to our attention that some of you just do not want to come visit us. You all are always welcome to stay at the Hopfer Inn. We are now luring people with taking you to our own Mountain Amusement Park. Complete with Dolly! Just kidding, we have a lot of fun at Dollywood, since we are official season pass holders. There really is enough enjoyment to be had by all age groups. We recently took Dare, Ryan, Owen and Elijah, and the twins even had fun. They told me so! They have some fun rides, yummy food, and some cool shows(the rotate through the year). So here are our recent pics, some with just me and the kids, and some with Dare and Ryan and the twinlets!

Parker-The P-Man-Parkster-Parky
Since school has ended for Parker, he has been so HAPPY! He commented on many occassions during the school year, that he did not want to go to school(although his teachers said he had a blast at school, and was ALL smiles when we picked him up). He is actually quite the homebody. So I guess summer break was just what he needed. He is relaxing, and having fun with Dallin and Gretchen. Well, since his relaxation has started, he has been quite talkative. He has said some very mature comments, and is a great storyteller. He has one imagination. This brings me to yesterday, and his fun comments. We picked Richard up yesterday so he could leave his car at the dealership for an oil change. So after our errands, we took Richard back to his car. At the first stoplight, Richard was next to us, and we all had the windows down. So Parker leans out the window, and says to Richard, "We will race you home, and the winner gets the PINK SLIP!" Yes, my son knows all about pink slips, street racing, and you can thank his dad. I guess these things make for one well rounded son. And, yes, WE WON!