Brielle's last day of Preschool

On the last day of preschool, Brielle's class had a Spring Sing, where they sang several of the songs they had learned throughout the year.

We were familiar with many of them, since Brielle has been singing them at the top of her lungs as we walked down grocery store aisles for months.

I thought I'd post some of my favorite shots. Though it was difficult to take these since I had to keep Clara balanced on the table in front of me, AND intermittently run outside (scooping up Clara first of course) and grab Hyrum before he could make it to the parking lot again.

Brielle had a great year in preschool. Her teacher, Mrs. Gillespie, was amazing, and because she made preschool such an exciting place to learn, Brielle is now exorbitantly eager for Kindergarten to begin. One of the few kids counting down the days of summer, anxious to go back to school!

Brielle is a very quick learner. Outside of preschool, she's picked up a lot of things just on her own. She's already reading simple books, and doing math, and her grasp of scientific principles is astounding. You can ask her all about echolocation, or sound waves, or nocturnal and diurnal animals, or photosynthesis. She can also name most of the plants in our area: sword ferns, huckleberry, thistleberries, bracken ferns, cedars, spruces, maples, rhododendrons, etc.....

She's one smart cookie!!

Aviation Day

All year long he anxiously awaits the Aviation Extravaganza and Air Show

at Boeing's Paine Field.

As the day gets closer he reminds me monthly, then weekly,

and then daily that we HAVE to go to it.

On the day of the Extravaganza, he wakes up annoyingly early, eager to get out the door and see some air planes.

Once there, we have to watch every single plane fly around, and we have to get into every single cockpit and look at the buttons.

And talk to the pilots.

And hear which planes HE would have if he could have one.

It's endearing. And pretty dang cute.

Fortunately the kids don't mind going along with Russell to their daddy's favorite event of the year!

Believe me when I tell you that Russell took A LOT more pictures than this.

I only posted a few.

You're Welcome.

Teacher Appreciation Day

Brielle and I made these for her preschool teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day, about a month ago. I put rubber bands around straight edged glass tumblers, and Brielle placed the colored pencils inside the rubber bands, around the cup. Then I made flowers out of tissue paper. They turned out darling.

Kip's Hair-Cut

He looks like a much smaller dog without all of his fur. His puppy coat and adult coat were changing places and a bunch of mats cropped up that were irreparable. On the bright side, no more large black clumps of hair for me to sweep up!!

I blame the eye-liner.

I got all dolled up for church today: new blouse, straightened my hair, beaded myself a new necklace, I even put on eye-liner for the 5th time in my life.

As I was carrying Clara into the Church building, she turned and vomited all down my shirt. Then for good measure she vomited again in a perfect arc to cover my cheek and hair. So with her stomach contents dripping down my chest and across my hair and face and shoulder, I drove the two of us home.

All that work for nothing.

Phone conversation....

me: "Honey, there's a funny warning light on in the van."

Russ: "Is it the sail boat light? " (my description of the temperature warning symbol)

me: "No, it looks like a heart. An anatomical heart with the aorta and the pulmonary artery, and maybe a smidge of right ventricle."

Russ: -pause- "Is that really the description you're going to give me?"

me: "Okay, it's Ohio."

Russ: "What?!"

me: "The state. It's Ohio shaped."

Russ: "You probably shouldn't drive it then."

me: "What if I change my answer to Iowa? Then can I drive it?"

(Sail boat warning light)