Field Day Festivities

The kids had their last day of school on Friday. It was a half day (as was Thursday) and was Field Day. I volunteered to help out and got to spend the entire morning there. It was a fun day!

They started off by having a "show" from a cowboy trick roper, complete with his horse and dog.

Courtney had a front-and-center seat (yay for being in kindergarten!)


Then the kids went out to the field where they had some bouncers, an obstacle course and some games and such set up.


My "station" was the cactus toss:


(Courtney's group never made it to where I was.)

They also had a hay ride somewhere for the kids and even provided hot dogs for lunch. Then everyone gathered up their stuff and report cards. Summer, here we come!

Kindergarten Graduation

This past week was Courtney's Kindergarten graduation. I'm really not sure why kindergarten needs a graduation ceremony -- I mean, really, they're already going to school all day long and not even moving to a different school or anything. What's the point? If anything, McKay should have had a 4th grade graduation (he didn't). But, all of the kids have had a Kindergarten graduation, so we go and clap and take lots of pictures. And yeah, I guess they are pretty darn cute.

Here's Courtney getting her diploma from the principal (and yes, they spelled our last name wrong...).

And here she is with her teacher, who we both loved!

With me in her classroom after the ceremony:

Courtney really did have a great kindergarten year, even though she had some awfully long days for a little girl. I can't wait to see what the future holds for her!

Outdoor Ed

Last week McKay joined the rest of the 4th graders from his school to attend three days of Outdoor Education. The school has been doing this program for 12 years now and all the kids look forward to it. I'll admit, I was initially hesitant about sending McKay away to a camp for three days and two nights. But he was so excited about it and I talked with his teacher (who I really like and who also happens to be LDS) and felt like it would be a good experience for him.

The camp was held at place called Ceta Canyon -- about a 45 minute drive from here. The camp hosts different groups year-round and is affiliated with a Methodist church.

Here's McKay all ready to go the morning he left:

The kids were divided into groups of about 8 or 9 kids per adult leader. They spent their day rotating through different classes and activities -- lots of science stuff. At night, they divided into different segregated groups (again about 8 kids per adult) and slept in cabins.

I was able to drive down on the second night for the parent skit night. I met McKay outside -- all the kids were wearing their tie-dyed shirts that night.

McKay was in charge of his team's flag that day (the "Blue Team"):

The skits were pretty typical from what you'd expect out of 4th graders (I was also reminded of Cub Scouts pack meetings...) -- it was fun to watch. The lighting was bad, so my pictures didn't turn out great. Here is McKay in his skit (he was being led behind the chalkboard by the "teacher" for supposedly misbehaving in their little class).

Here is his entire Blue Team with their parent leader:

And after the skits he got to show me his cabin where they sleep. Four sets of bunk beds per cabin, plus a bathroom and shower. (Apparently, they are the "nice" cabins that the school got to use this year because of a mix-up in the camp's scheduling.)

McKay also had his little camera with him for the week and took a few pictures. Many didn't turn out, but I thought I'd share a few that he took:

He told me his favorite thing was a hike they took on the last day up to a pond and waterfall.

Here he is walking under the waterfall:

I think this self-portrait pretty much sums up his experience!

Bloom

We've been enjoying the many blossoms and flowers that seem to have survived the winter and our remodeling. Many of them are simply wild and grow all on their own. Others were planted by the previous owners in some flowerbeds around the house. We enjoyed them last year when we moved here, but they got pretty neglected with our crazy summer. I was worried that between my neglect (and ignorance) and the kids walking over the flowerbeds and the construction equipment at times driving over the beds that they wouldn't come back this year.

So we've been pleasantly surprised! What a beautiful world!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

OK, I admit it. I'm apprehensive, overwhelmed, insecure and yes - even scared - at the very idea: growing a garden.

I know, I know, it's silly. So many of you grow gardens and have for years and enjoy reaping the fruits of your labors. I can't explain this phobia of mine. I guess I just feel so entirely clueless about the whole thing.

But this year I was determined to try. As I keep telling my family, there are no guarantees that we will get anything out of this garden. But I will try. I decided to follow my sister's lead in using the Square Foot Gardening method. I bought the book. I read parts of the book. I felt overwhelmed (again). I procrastinated. But by golly, I am going to try! So I bought the ingredients for the soil mix (still not sure if I figured it out correctly or bought the right stuff). And Brian shored up the existing box in the yard (larger than what is recommended, but we'll go with it).

And we drilled some holes and strung some pink string to mark our squares off.

And I have some good helpers who made me cute little stick markers.

And we planted some seeds around the edges and bought some tomato plants.

And we water and we wait. And we hope the bunnies and critters stay away (until we can figure out how to keep them away). And we notice the tomato plants aren't looking so great. Hmmm. But we do finally have a few tiny sprouts poking up here and there.

And now we have a garden! Whether or not we actually get to eat anything from this garden remains to be seen. I am hopeful, even if I am clueless. At any rate, it should prove to be a learning experience!

Toothless

Courtney got her front teeth knocked with a toy the other day and one of them ended up pretty loose. It could have been loose before, but after getting hit in the face, it was hanging crooked. :-) So she finally decided to let Dad try to pull it out. Voila!

(Wow, her hair is looking really blonde in this picture!)

I love the smiles of kids missing their top front teeth! Her other top front tooth got knocked loose as well, so it might not be too much longer before it comes out. If she's like Hannah and they came out before their time, she'll be toothless for quite a while!

Progress Report

I suppose it's time for a quick progress report on the work going on around here for those who are interested. Work on our house addition has slowed (stopped), but we hope to get moving on it again soon -- at least the windows have finally been ordered!

Work on the windmill includes Brian fortifying the base:

And then having a LOT of concrete poured this weekend to fill it in!

The past couple of weeks we have had Brian's brother-in-law Brandon here (married to Brian's younger sister), plus our nephew Corey (a son of Brian's older sister). They are here working for the summer on the house my parents are building. My kids love having uncles and "big" cousins around! Love this picture of Hayley and cousin Corey:

One of their first project was putting up an archway and fence to mark the entrance to my parent's property that adjoins ours. One of the first steps was digging the post holes. McKay loves to help whenever he can (and I love that he loves to help).

The trickiest part I think was figuring out how to lift the heavy thing once it was all welded together. This didn't quite work:

So they went this route instead:

McKay is a careful observer as always.

It got painted and looks great!

There is also some excavation work going on for the basement of my parent's home.

A great place to run and explore!

It's going to be a busy summer!

Metamorphosis

The butterflies have emerged! Today the last of the five painted lady butterflies in Hannah's butterfly "habitat" emerged from its chyrsallis.

First, we watched the caterpillars form their chrysallises.


When they were all formed, we could move the paper lid from the jar and pin it to the side of the mesh habitat.


We waited another week or so and out came the butterflies! The girls even got to watch one "hatch" right before their eyes yesterday.


So exciting! (Sorry the pictures aren't that great -- it's hard to get a good picture through the mesh fabric.) Hopefully we will release them into the great outdoors soon!

Writer's Workshop

Last week I was invited to Courtney's kindergarten class for their Writer's Workshop presentation. The kids have been working all year on writing and publishing their own stories. The parents were invited so the kids could show and read their stories to them.

Courtney had a folder full of stories! On some she had only done the covers but hadn't started writing the story yet. She is quite the little author and illustrator, just like her big sister.

She wanted me to take pictures of her holding all of her stories - here are just a few:

(I don't know if you can see it here, but it made me smile to see that she misspelled her name on two of the covers -- must have been in a hurry!)

And you can even hear her reading one of her stories to me. This one is called "The Runaway Milk."

Way to go, Courtney!