The Kitch’s of 2012!

Walker is in 7th grade!!! Did you hear that? Seventh grade!! I can’t believe it. Earlier this year he was in a film challenge put on by Child’s Play. He did a fantastic job, and he even had the closing scene and close-up all actors wish for. 🙂  He also took 2nd place in his school’s Math Bee! He turned 12 this summer and was ordained a Deacon. It was a powerful experience to witness Jared bestow the Priesthood authority upon him. Walker is officially a tween and quickly becoming a young man. It’s actually been really neat to see him make this transition from elementary school to Jr. High. He’s become so much more mature, responsible, and forward thinking. It’s so interesting to hear his thoughts on real world issues. He’s definitely growing up, and we couldn’t be more proud of the young man he’s becoming. He’s in all Honors classes this year which are proving to challenge him, which is great. Walker invited me to “Bring Your Parent to School Day”, and I was blown away with how he manages his day. It’s not like it was when we were in Jr. High that’s for sure! Walker is a straight ‘A’ student, he plays percussion, and is in Boy Scouts. Scouts keeps him pretty busy, and he goes on campouts about once a month or so; he just received his Star. Walker also got braces on in May, and we can’t wait to see that new smile!

Eli is in 4th grade now! He turned 9 this year, and he’s really come out of his shell. He is quickly coming into his own. He is proving to be quite “the man on campus”. He has an amazing teacher this year, and she has been such a blessing for him. Eli is in Cub Scouts, and he’s just about to earn his Bear Rank. He enjoys Cub Scouts and is excited for when he can join Boy Scouts so he can do some more of the high adventure activities the older boys do.  Eli is involved in pretty much every extracurricular activity the school offers.  He is in Chorus and has landed himself a few solo parts. He’s also in a small group solo for the 4th grade program coming up. He applied to be a Peace Helper during recesses, and once accepted, had to undergo a two day training course on how to help mediate students that may be having issues during that time. His teacher tells us that he is a leader in the classroom, and she loves joking around with him and his grown-up humor. She told us he is a joy to have in her class! This year Eli started pull-out ALP (Accelerated Learning Program), where he leaves his regular class for Math and Language. His ALP teacher expressed to us that he has a real talent for writing. It comes very naturally for him, and she loves to read his work. She also told us that he’s a whiz at Math as well! He’s a straight ‘A’ student and an amazingly hard worker!! He inspires me!

Alayna started all day Kindergarten this year! My baby grew up on me. She absolutely loves school and her friends. She is the top in her class and is already proving to give the boys a run for their money academically! Her teacher tells us that she is the “Little Mama” in her class. She looks out for the other kids who might be too shy or have trouble staying on task. She tries to include everyone, and she makes friends very easily. We’ve already had to have some talks about boys. We’ve had a few little admirers that have asked her to be their girlfriend and have been giving her gifts. It’s pretty cute actually, but we have to make sure she understands we don’t date until 16, and accepting gifts from boys can send the wrong message! LOL!!! Oh boy do we have to watch out for this little charmer of ours! Alayna will be turning 6 at the end of the month and I have no idea how that happened!! My children are the joy of my life!