There's a 1st Time for Everything...

Little Miss A just wrapped up 1st grade last week.  She has has such an awesome year!  She has loved her teacher, her class, her school--I'm so glad!  In fact, she specifically mentioned that her favorite teachers, so far, have been "Mrs. Branen and Mrs. Bromley-Vogel."  (The two teachers she has had so far.  I would say we are doing well. :)

We got to attend her "Gallery Night" where she showed us around the school and gave us a taste of what she's been working on.  It was seriously awesome.  I was so impressed.  Their most recent expedition was on Birds.  They hatched quail eggs (their school mascot) and she wrote a research paper on the Northern Flicker.  She can now identify all kinds of bird calls-- we'll be on a walk and she's say, "Oh that's a Quail- he's feeling threatened." Or "that's the red-wing-blackbirds mating call."  You might think it's useless information, but because she can apply it to day-to-day things the whole concept behind is really sticking.  I love this school!  They did some awesome field work for this one too.

 

 

 

 

This was from their first expedition about the history of our town and how things change over time.  She's pointing to her slide.
 

 

This was her penguin poster-- they were learning about non-fiction works and citing and putting things in your own words.  I thought it was cute.
 

I was blown away by some of the cool projects from the other classes.  The 3-4 crew studied and disected salmon, and made this cool diagram of the path they take.  Really facinating.
 

 

I think she'll miss her patient, gentle, soft-spoken teacher.  Her teacher got teary saying good bye.  We're sure thankful for such awesome opportunties!  Another year over...
...now bring on the summer fun! :) 

Riding the "Potty Trains"...

 Seth has been riding the "Potty Trains," as he calls it... and it has been quite a ride, indeed!  He's actually done really well, but I think boys are tough- we have our good days and bad days.  He's pretty much got it figured out though and I'm proud of him.  He loves wearing his "wonder-wears."  He helped me make a fun chart. (Thanks Grandma Nana for the cool stickers!) We laminated stickers and at the end he won his little baseball and bat (which he also thinks is called a potty train now. :)  He's such a fun happy boy!

Briggy sharing in the excitement, is not too far behind...
(or so the girls think.  Poor boy!)

I thought this face held an appropriate "sigh" for those "bad days"...
All this potty training has worn this little guy out- I found him fast asleep in the tub after a bath.
 

There is always give and take, and while my focus has been on potty-training, other thing/children have fallen by the wayside.

I certainly hope someone is keeping track of what these kids are eating around here, because it's too much for me. :)

Most of the time, I think it's edible.
 

Hug a Tree...

Doug is a member of The Tree Commission.  On a lovely spring day last week, they had a community project where they planted some trees along the Paradise Path.  We hauled the kids with us and they actually had a blast planting tree (with a little help). They were eager planters.  It felt good to get our hands in the earth.  I'm proud of Doug and his involvement in the community-- not to mention his resume building. :)
 

 

 

Also wanted to mention that Amberlee, Brigham, and I spent a day last week at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital in Spokane for some testing.  It went so well!  We finally got some answers on why she's had these reoccurring UTI's, and we've got a plan!  Happy Day!  Thank you for your prayers!  It was really kids friendly testing.  As you can see, she was quite taken with the talking Tigger and Pooh. :)

Ducks in the Pond Quack a Happy Song...

We joined our friend Helaine for an afternoon at the park.  It was so fun to watch the little geese family- the protective mother and father and all their cute little babies following in a line.

 

 

Boy + Pond =
 

Autumn made some friends and they shared their bread.  There were tons of fish and even a turtle that joined in the feast.
 

 

This was our first trip to the Farmer's Market.  It just opened- it's fun to walk around and see all the fun things people are selling- lots of flowers and tomato plants.  We miss Doug because he has to work Saturdays, but I still have to find things to keep the kids busy. :) 

We stopped by our favorite fountains on the way back.  The boys almost dove in. :) 

 

 

Tiny Dancer...

 
My career as a  trained dancer was brief... but you'll notice my careful choice of the word "trained".  I am a bit of a free spirit, and I struggled conforming to certain "positions" and "steps".  I feel confident I would have excelled at interpretive dance. :)  My mother, after my persistent begging, enrolled me in a beginning dance class, and I was bored stiff... we had a whole gym to twirl around in and all my instructor wanted us to do was "leap" over her jacket... repeatedly.  After one week of that, I had had enough!  I must have been fairly mischievous, even at age five.  I told her I needed to "use the bathroom" and took a lengthy detour outside to play for the remaining hour in the open grassy area where my mother had arranged to pick me up.  This, I repeated three more times before my mother caught on when she drove along the street running errand (probably grateful to have a break from me) and spotted me twirling outside in the shade of the sycamore trees.  My exasperated, and very patient mother stopped bringing me, but they were kind enough to allow me to join them waving a small flag as we sang, "I'm Proud to be an American."
However, I was not disheartened by my inability to conform at a young age.  I have since been well supplied with crucial dance moves from Lawrence Welk, Rogers & Hammerstein movies, and by closely observing my high school drill team.  In the comfort of my own home, or with my sisters and ma, I am proud to say, I can keep up with the best of them.  And my dancing legacy lives on...

(I want you to know that besides the addition of the band-aid I put on her face, none of this was staged.  She came out the other morning, just as you see her, and it was just too perfect! :)  She is so much like me sometimes, it's scary!

The girls just finished up their last dance class.  We made an outing of it by riding our bikes. (Yes, the girls were THRILLED to be publicly sporting their ballet outfits.)

 

 

Their sweet teacher is just about ready to pop and the "leaping" thing isn't working for her.  It's been a sweet service she has offered to some of the little girls in our ward.

 A household with 3 girls can create some high drama, but we have fun.

 

 A little "estrogen" is good for all of us every once in a while. :)