Busy Saturday

Saturday started with soccer for Noah. He scored 1 goal in the first half and logged a shut out as goalie in the second. 

Next to Caleb's baseball game where he went 2 for 3 and played some great defense at the pitcher's position. (No pic)

Then to Caleb's soccer game where he scored a goal and had 2 assists.

Then to Noah's basketball game where he played a great game in a tough loss. 3 points and 10 rebounds!

Finally, to a karate birthday party for Caleb's friend....

Whew! Busy day. Not to mention the house full of people Caleb and I came home to! Ready for a relaxing Sunday.

Noah Turns 11

That's it…no more counting your years on your hands.  Noah has turned 11!

It was a happy birthday for our big guy and for the first time ever, he had an actual "invite your friends not just your cousins" birthday party. :)  It sounds a little tragic that he has yet to have a friend party, but with his birthday being in the beginning of the school year and knowing that he has switched school 5 times in 7 years….it makes sense.  We had some options for his birthday, and in the end he decided to have a party for his friends at a beach park, and instead of bringing presents, he would collect money to donate to his friend/former soccer coaches sister/daughter's fund for medical treatment.  You with me?  He raised money for a worthy cause!

I decided at the last minute to structure some "minute to win it" type games, recruiting Eric and Uncle Tom for our team captains.  The boys had a blast with it.  I wish I would have planned ahead on the picture situation, but thankfully I have amazing friends and one jumped in to snap pictures, realizing I was missing out!  Thanks Auntie Meghan!

Clearly the morning started with decorations, chocolate pie, and presents!

11

Here is a glimpse into a moment in our house.  On this morning a giant bumble bee got into the house… (hey Ohlers, this reminded me of the scene when I asked Wil to catch the lizard and put it outside :))

Noah is such a good big brother….just as sweet as can be. Usually.  ;)  This video begins as we just started another attempt to sing to Noah…and Jonah has again blown out the candles. 

 The moment he realizes what it is….

 Later a soccer game...

 Then party time….chest bump!

 brother team!

 Team captains!

 Cutest party goers ever!

 Building their marshmallow towers...

 Yay, family pic! These are too few and far between!

 Such great listeners...

 Dad and Noah demonstrating the noodle game.

 Soccer and pizza break!

 The oreo face slide...

 No hands!

 And finally, a kickball game!

It was such a fun day and Noah had a blast….which is all that matters.  A couple days later we headed to the bank to deposit his donations.

Here is a peek at his thank you card he sent out too…

Thank you customized with Smilebox

Noah Graduates from 5th Grade!

Wednesday morning, Noah had his 5th grade graduation ceremony.  A big deal for he and his classmates as they finished the PYP curriculum, receiving their first International Baccalaureate degree, and preparing to move on to a new school next year.  We are super proud of the young man he has become and so excited to watch him continue to grow!

For an hour before the ceremony began, they played a slide show of pictures of all the kids throughout the school year.   They also included early childhood pics of the kids and the students had a blast laughing and shouting out their guesses for who each picture was.  No problems guessing who the the blond boy in the STL cards jersey is!!!

 One thing I LOVE about living in Hawaii is the importance of the Ohana.  For a 5th grade graduation, this gymnasium was PACKED!!! Parents, siblings, aunties, uncles, cousins, friends….it was awesome.    People were ready to celebrate their graduates with leis, flowers, balloons, and more!  I was so thankful Caleb's teacher excused him from class to come and watch the graduation.  He could have cared less but Noah was excited! :)

 Here he is with just his 5th grade class.

Lots and lots of leis were given after (and during) the ceremony. 

 Shaka!

 My IB PYP graduate!

 Happy, happy Selters.

Below is a video of Noah receiving his diploma.

The next video is a song the kids performed as a surprise for their families. So stinking cute.  This is the entire 5th grade.  Noah is in the back row to the right.

After the morning graduation, the new 6th graders spent their afternoon at the Oahu club swimming and celebrating their accomplishments.  After I picked him up, as we were driving home, we were talking about his day and the memories he made.  I said, "Noah, that's great! what a fun day….you are going to remember this day forever!'
He responds, "Yeah…..the day I learned how to play chicken."
Hahaha!  Love the innocence of my kiddos.

April 17

Noah's fifth grade class had their PYP Exhibition night with a gallery walk-through for family and friends.  Noah was in his element chatting it up with the adults strolling around the exhibit.

Here he is with his group members in front of their presentation board.

 Here he is educating our state representative about his project.

Here is a video they made as part of their exhibition project.  They also organized a beach clean-up we participated in as a family this past weekend.  Pics of that event are coming soon!

Noah's 5th Grade Fitness Expo

Last week Noah competed in the 1st Annual Kaiser complex fitness meet. It's was a gorgeous day for fitness fun! Jonah and I snuck by for a few minutes to check out the competition. 

Noah's school won the final relay and all the kids were stoked! :)

Double Digits

10 years old! We cannot believe it! It's hard to imagine that this amazing boy has been a part of us for an entire decade. He is by far the coolest, most handsome, funniest, and smartest 10 year old around....and yes, I am biased. Here is a peek into our birthday morning yesterday....

Noah's Mini Vacation

Over Father's Day weekend, Noah was invited to visit some dear friends from AZ who were vacationing on Maui!  I was his first solo flight ever....luckily for him, it was super short!  Mom was still nervous.  The funny thing is that I received a picture of him and his friend at the Maui airport before I was even home from dropping him off!  Talk about a short flight!
Still, the second he entered the plane and I could no longer see him, no matter how brave I am, and how much I trust my son, there was still a nervous/scared/anxious/sinking feeling about it.  Thankfully, the family he was visiting is amazing.  They have always cared for Noah as one of their own and Noah feels like he is part of their family!  Thanks to the Emigs for helping to make Noah's summer extra special!

Here he is waiting at the gate to board the plane.

 He was way too excited to be leaving me!

 He is so old!

 He made it to Maui!  BFFs reunited.

 Sunday, the did the road to Hana....this was their quaint little lunch spot.  Noah said he saw tons of waterfalls and even swam in a cave!  I'm pretty sure he had a blast!

 His mama for the weekend!

Here he is at black sand beach....pretty cool.

Once again many mahalos to our friends from AZ!  Perhaps next year we will all crash your family vacation! :)

Almost forgot to mention....when I picked him up from the airport, I was first told the wrong gate....there were a couple of panicked minutes there of Caleb and I frantically running around the Hawaiian terminal searching for Noah! AAHHHH!