horsin' around

Katie met her lofty goal this year and earned a weekend at horse camp (FREE!). Even though I'm not the official troop leader any more, I was able to go because I am the designated first aider. I think I had just as much fun as she did. I've been on trail rides here and there over the years, but never any formal training. We learned a little bit about everything - nutrition, equipment, grooming, and of course, riding. We did not go on a trail ride, but we did spend quite a bit of time in the corral. We practiced starting and stopping, following and leading, balancing and more! It was pretty cool. Katie was beside herself with giddyness because she had never been on a horse before (other than pony rides). It was a terrific experience for both of us.

Thanks to everyone who supported us by buying Girl Scout cookies.

fiesta float

The Kinder kids at the girls' school all made floats for their very own parade. I think the idea is traditonally to use a shoe box size container, with a string to pull it, but there was a lot of creativity this year. Anna is becoming quite the artist, and while sitting at a mexican restaurant a few nights prior, she started sketching the portraits hanging on the wall on her napkin. It gave me the idea to do an art float. We found several portraits that she liked, and she re-created them in her own special way. We embellished them with beads and flowers too. I also made a gazillion tissue paper flowers to accent her work. I think it turned out pretty amazing, and was definitely an original...

didn't eat it

We've still got a small selection of candy leftover from the weekend. I separated all the stuff I didn't want them to eat (starburst, laffy taffy, tootsie rolls), and the stuff I wanted to eat (chocolate), and they were left with a simple selection. I've let them each have a few pieces throughout each day, but Bethany asks the most because she's at home the most.

I was talking to my M-I-L on the phone the other day and Bethany asked for a piece. I told her if she drank most of her water bottle, I'd let her pick one. She didn't want to do that, so she sat at the table for awhile sorting the candies by color, etc. After a few minutes of bring distracted by the phone call, I noticed she had managed to open a few packages.

I said, "Bethany, are you eating the candy?"
She said, "Nope."
I said, "Then what are you doing?".
She said, "I'm just licking them."

lights, camera, book fair

Our elementary school is hosting their seasonal book fair this week. Scholastic always comes up with fun themes, which then roll into family night. This year it was Hollywood... movie stars... the Oscars... glitz and glamour... you know the drill. If you dressed up, you got your name in the drawing for a door prize. I don't know how many kids entered, but Katie won - a $10 credit! There's nothing Katie would rather spend her money on than books, so she was in hog heaven!

Here are the girls with our wonderful Librarian, Mrs. Rogers, and our favorite Volunteer, Mrs. Josey...


I told the girls they could each pick one book,
Bethany - Puff, The Magic Dragon, by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton
Anna - Junie B. Jones is a Graduation Girl, by Barbara Park
Katie - The Sisters Club, by Megan McDonald

plus they each get to choose one out of their teachers' wish box (for the classroom),
Anna, for Mrs. Schanlaub - Goodnight Gorilla,by Peggy Rathmann
Katie, for Mrs. Watts - Matilda, by Roald Dahl

then Katie decided she wanted to use some of her allowance to buy...
The Tales of Beetle Bard, by J.K. Rowling
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day, by Meg Cabot
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: The New Girl, by Meg Cabot
Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke

and the next day, with her prize "money", she chose:
Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis
and, a book of Mad Libs

Now, does anybody have an extra bookshelf we can use?

Easter festivities

The weekend was kicked off by a party at Bethany's preschool. Crafts, snacks, and an egg hunt... such fun! Here she is in typical Bethany mode (these days, at least).











Here are the girls on Easter morning, fresh out of bed. Well, maybe not fresh. Apparently Anna pestered Katie for about an hour before they finally came to the top of the stairs. The EB hid eggs inside this year because of possible overnight thunderstorms. The girls used their Six Flags kids meal buckets to collect their treasures - we have a mish mosh of Easter containers collected over the years, this way it was 'fair' - everybody had the same size to fill.











We appreciate the sensibility of the EB. He usually brings something functional. This year... slip n slide, swimsuits, flip flops. The girls were thrilled. Of course, they each got a hollow bunny, some peeps, and a few other small treats.

I was also incredibly pleased with the way the girls Easter dresses turned out, and Shayne was thrilled that we didn't break the bank. Bethany wore a dress that she received from a friend for her birthday. I found the older girls' dresses both at Crazy 8 for $15 each! woo-hoo! We had to do a little accessorizing here and there, but I was happy with the result.

how does your garden grow?

Anna and her fellow kindergarteners put on a delightful performance. They worked for months with the music teachers getting ready. It was the first kinder program our school has put on in it's entire four years. It was a bit chaotic, and some of the parents went a little overboard with costumes and sets, but it turned out great.


A few kids from each class were chosen to have speaking parts, based on their stage presence and ability to emote and project (some kinders just aren't quite ready for that). Anna's line was "all of the sudden, and quite unexpected, we're being invaded by weeds". She was one of the flowers, the boys were the weeds, and some of the other classes were farmers or vegetables.

Here is a link to a short clip of Anna's group song (taken with my broken camera). She is the lavender flower on the left side of the screen. They are singing "we are the loveliest flowers". watch

AND... thank you thank you to our friends that came to watch! Our kids are blessed!