Poetry Reading

Lexie's class has been writing a lot of poetry these last few weeks. It's been really fun watching how excited she got about her work. Today we got to go to her "Poetry Reading" & it was fun to watch.
First, the whole class recited Shel Silverstein's "Sick" for us.

Then each kid read a few poems they wrote from their poetry book. They wrote cinquain poems, haiku poems, name poems, acrostic topic poems, animal poems, shape poems & color poems.

It really was an enjoyable afternoon!

Aquarium Field Trip

Since there was no way I could be at the field trip with Andrew & get Joseph to school & some other commitments, Rick got to take Andrew to the Aquarium with his class! They had a blast!!

He says his favorite part is "EVERYTHING!" He did not like the sharks but he did like the catfish. And he especially loved that Daddy got to take him!
He also loved just walking around downtown afterwards. I guess we've got a city boy on our hands.

Our Family Birthday

It's hard to believe we've been married for 9 years! Where does the time go? But these 9 years have been wonderful! My friend, Kristin, was kind enough to help me steal one of her great ideas & take this picture for me with our wedding bands.

The kids sure loved celebrating today with us! We're so grateful to be a family & that families are forever!

Aunt Megan

It was so much fun to have Aunt Megan come out for a visit from her sweet home! We enjoyed lots of time playing with cousins, going on walks, shopping, they went on a hike (where we learned Andrew definitely doesn't have a fear of snakes), bbqing, playing games, & just enjoying time with her.

She made this cute bow & block for Eliza. She loves them!!

And here she is with the younger kids. I meant to snap one while Lexie was home but forgot. :(

Thanks so much for coming! Come back again to visit soon!

Hail Storm

Grateful that it was only a little hail storm (not a huge tornado like have been hitting the Midwest & South). It started out as marble & then to this golf ball size stuff.

It would break into pieces almost immediately once it hit the ground so I never really got one fully intact. This was the closest.

This picture was crazy though & the picture doesn't really show it (one of these days I'll get a great camera), but you could see sheets of hail just falling down the street once it past my house. I have never seen that before. It was amazing though to see.

Silly Kiddos

Yesterday we went garage sale-ing. We found a few fun things. Lexie wanted to put on some of the clothes we got. Once she tried them on she came in & said, "Um, these new shorts don't fit me." Yeah, because those are some jeans I got for Eliza.

Liza sure thought it was funny & laughed lots for us.

Silly pic of all the kids, we cannot ever get them all looking & smiling. But they are cute anyway.

Lexie loves to show us her tricks. She did really well with this one but I never got a great picture showing how well she can get off the ground.

All of my attempts sure wore her out.

7 Months Old

And she loves to read!

Now, I'm Ready!

The end of the world can happen now that I've gotten my Tree of Wisdom to 1000 feet on Plants vs. Zombies.

Life is now just about complete! Ha! Ha!

I am excited for this evening though. Rick & I have decided we will "Eat, Drink, & be Merry" for tomorrow...may never come. :)

A Quick Visit

We had to document that Aunt Janae did come to visit for a few hours on her road tripping adventures. It was fun to see her.

Kindergarten Program

Joseph's Kindergarten Program was a delight to watch. It was so fun to see these kiddos perform. They crack us up! I loved listening to Mr. T, the other kindergarten teacher, practicing the songs on his guitar with the kids as I'm helping in the classes & Mrs. W teaching all of the little rules with the kids. They all have sure learned a lot in Kindergarten. Here are some videos of Joseph's parts (he got to open & close the show) & a few songs they sung.

Joseph's beginning part.

"You Got A Friend in Me."

"The Vowel Song."

They also sung "Down by the Bay" & "What a Wonderful World." (Just didn't want to put the whole program up.) Joseph thought it was funny that I got to sign that song for a concert when I was in Junior High & could still do it for him. Some things we just don't forget.

The End.

We love his teacher & are grateful for all the hard work she's given Joseph & finding great ways to challenge him. She is wonderful!

Lexie adores her as well.

We are so grateful that we've been so blessed with awesome teachers!

Great Job, Joseph! As we were getting ready to do bedtime, I told Joseph it was fun to see all of his hard work pay off with learning parts, songs & practicing hard for this program & he said, "Yeah, but sometimes you don't get rewarded with money for doing a good job. Sometimes it's just a reward in doing it. You feel good inside." I love this boy so much!

Tackle!!

The kids love to play "Tackle" with Rick lately! It cracks me up to watch Andrew try to be like Daddy. I'm grateful that he takes so much time after a long, hard day at work to play with them!

Hmmm...

"Yes, I did brush my teeth. But, I think I forgot about washing my face." And I love his poor little finger. He got it hurt when he was helping Rick move the garden boxes. What a trooper.