Connor wanted me to take a picture of this - he decided to make himself into "box man". He was only one kleenex box short.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Track and Field
So, remember how Connor was enrolled in a volleyball class this past winter? He continued on to the next session and learned track and field events, like shot put, javelin, discus, high jump, sprinting, relay races . . I'm sure I'm forgetting something. He had a great time. I got pictures of the last day, which was hurdles. Such short little hurdles - it was adorable.
Connor wanted me to take a picture of this - he decided to make himself into "box man". He was only one kleenex box short.
Connor wanted me to take a picture of this - he decided to make himself into "box man". He was only one kleenex box short.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
School Camping Trip
Ryan took the kids downtown again this year to watch the soapbox races. They had planned to watch from his office building, which has a perfect view, but the police department ended up closing the building to spectators - Rats! Anyway, here is Elise with her favorite car.
That same day, we headed up to Silverwood Lake to attend Connor's class campout. Unfortunately, not very many families were able to attend, but it was still pretty fun. We grilled hot dogs and chatted with the other parents while the kids ran around.
After it got dark, we did marshmallows and went stargazing.
Connor's teacher's husband (who is a science teacher himself) had the coolest toys ever. One was a special laser pointer that could be seen in the air, well enough to point out individual stars in the sky. The other was a "celestial scout". It's shaped kind of like a video camera, with a computer on the side where you can look up that night's "highlights", or search for a specific star, planet, constellation, etc. Then, you look through the viewfinder and follow the arrows until you're looking at whatever you were searching for. Or, you can point it at a star, push a button, and it will tell you what it is. I sooo want one. On the way to finding a good spot for looking at all this stuff, somebody saw a toad in the grass, so Ms. Debbie picked it up and gave an impromptu lesson on toads. I love Connor's marshmallow face.
Later on, everybody shared campfire stories, and Connor very proudly did his rendition of "Bloody Fingers". Also, one of the dads played this crazy Native American flute, that lets you do two notes at once.
Connor fell asleep in Ryan's lap, so after awhile we excused ourselves to make the 90-minute drive home. Yeah, we're that lame. We had church stuff to do in the morning, and nobody would have appreciated Evan's version of nighttime sleep, so it was definitely the way to do it.
That same day, we headed up to Silverwood Lake to attend Connor's class campout. Unfortunately, not very many families were able to attend, but it was still pretty fun. We grilled hot dogs and chatted with the other parents while the kids ran around.
After it got dark, we did marshmallows and went stargazing.
Connor's teacher's husband (who is a science teacher himself) had the coolest toys ever. One was a special laser pointer that could be seen in the air, well enough to point out individual stars in the sky. The other was a "celestial scout". It's shaped kind of like a video camera, with a computer on the side where you can look up that night's "highlights", or search for a specific star, planet, constellation, etc. Then, you look through the viewfinder and follow the arrows until you're looking at whatever you were searching for. Or, you can point it at a star, push a button, and it will tell you what it is. I sooo want one. On the way to finding a good spot for looking at all this stuff, somebody saw a toad in the grass, so Ms. Debbie picked it up and gave an impromptu lesson on toads. I love Connor's marshmallow face.
Later on, everybody shared campfire stories, and Connor very proudly did his rendition of "Bloody Fingers". Also, one of the dads played this crazy Native American flute, that lets you do two notes at once.
Connor fell asleep in Ryan's lap, so after awhile we excused ourselves to make the 90-minute drive home. Yeah, we're that lame. We had church stuff to do in the morning, and nobody would have appreciated Evan's version of nighttime sleep, so it was definitely the way to do it.
More May . . .
I'm starting to think we had way too much going on in May! Here is some of the randomness:
We had Joy School a couple of times here at our house, including the unit on Imagination and Creativity. Here are our sweet kids showing their shape pictures, including one by Mister Nobody! (It's a Joy School thing.) That unit also had us act out the Three Bears and Three Billy Goats Gruff, which I think is one of my favorite memories from Joy School this year. Everybody wanted a chance to play each role, so we did those stories at least four times in a row. The kids were really into it.
I walked past our guest bathroom one day, and this is what greeted me. It's become a major pastime of his, along with splish-splash in the toilet, and carrying sharp pencils around (which his siblings occasionally leave just within reach.)
Ryan's grandparents were able to come stay with us for several days, and it was nice to be able to spend time with them - they live in Tennessee now. We did a ton of stuff, but this is the only picture I managed to get! They were always looking for ways to be helpful or giving us gifts - they're such sweet people.
The lighting in these pictures didn't quite turn out, but they're of Elise opening a package from her Aunt Helena (Ryan's sister.) Helena also sends Connor these periodic cards (which he's finally old enough to read himself.) He looks forward to checking the mail now, just in case!
We had ice cream, cones, and sprinkles left over from the kids' birthday parties for quite awhile. This captures the sugar-fiend gleam in my daughter's eyes as she picks out which kind of sprinkles she wants.
Lastly, I looked out the sliding glass door one afternoon to see this. When I asked Connor what he was doing, he explained that they do it at school during yoga - and that you're supposed to "think of nothing". Elise wanted to get in on it too. I love Evan's expression of disbelief.
We had Joy School a couple of times here at our house, including the unit on Imagination and Creativity. Here are our sweet kids showing their shape pictures, including one by Mister Nobody! (It's a Joy School thing.) That unit also had us act out the Three Bears and Three Billy Goats Gruff, which I think is one of my favorite memories from Joy School this year. Everybody wanted a chance to play each role, so we did those stories at least four times in a row. The kids were really into it.
I walked past our guest bathroom one day, and this is what greeted me. It's become a major pastime of his, along with splish-splash in the toilet, and carrying sharp pencils around (which his siblings occasionally leave just within reach.)
Ryan's grandparents were able to come stay with us for several days, and it was nice to be able to spend time with them - they live in Tennessee now. We did a ton of stuff, but this is the only picture I managed to get! They were always looking for ways to be helpful or giving us gifts - they're such sweet people.
The lighting in these pictures didn't quite turn out, but they're of Elise opening a package from her Aunt Helena (Ryan's sister.) Helena also sends Connor these periodic cards (which he's finally old enough to read himself.) He looks forward to checking the mail now, just in case!
We had ice cream, cones, and sprinkles left over from the kids' birthday parties for quite awhile. This captures the sugar-fiend gleam in my daughter's eyes as she picks out which kind of sprinkles she wants.
Lastly, I looked out the sliding glass door one afternoon to see this. When I asked Connor what he was doing, he explained that they do it at school during yoga - and that you're supposed to "think of nothing". Elise wanted to get in on it too. I love Evan's expression of disbelief.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Elise's 4th Birthday!
The day after we went to Joshua Tree, we were driving through our neighborhood when Ryan suddenly screeched the van to a stop. There, on the side of the road, was a pile of sod with a sign marked "free". Now, I don't think it would have mattered much what was under the sign - those of you who know Ryan are aware that he likes "free". It just so happened, though, that we had an area of dead grass in our yard just the right size for this stuff. We went home, dropped off the women and children, and Ryan and Connor drove back down to load free sod into the (previously kinda clean) back of our minivan. It turns out the house owner had just finished re-sodding (is that a word?) his backyard in preparation for his daughter's wedding, and had this left over. Connor and Ryan worked late that night digging up the old grass, and our Family Home Evening the next day was laying sod. The kids were pretty proud of their work - and it looked pretty good, until somebody forgot to water it. We're going to need a few more pieces of free sod to repair the dead spots, but it's still better than it was before.
Shortly after the sod adventure, Elise celebrated her fourth birthday by hosting her first birthday party! Three of her good friends came over for a (what else?) princess party. I have to say, I'm pretty new at this birthday party thing, but this was way different from Connor's party. It was much easier. I don't know if that's because there were a third as many kids, or if it's because they were girls, but it was great. They did princess crafts, ate ice cream, and hit a pinata. Elise loved it. (We improved a bit on the pinata thing by putting the goodie bags inside the pinata, rather than loose candy. It cut down on the rioting and tears.)
After the girls had their turns, the rest of us got our aggression out on the empty pinata.
Ryan got Elise's cake from Porto's, as is our habit. I think it was supposed to be a Mother's Day cake, what with the flowers and all, but Elise thought it was perfect.
You may not be able to see it in the pictures very clearly, but this was the month that Elise was wearing her thumb guards. For the past year or so, whenever she sucked her thumb, Elise would scratch her nose with her free fingers. It became an open sore after awhile, and band-aids only worked if we remembered to replace them fast enough. I bought these thumb guards on Amazon, and after a month of using them (just during the day), she still sucked her thumb, but she completely stopped the nose scratching. Good job, Leesey! I figure we'll go after the thumb sucking itself when she's a little older. I'm hoping the less of a big deal we make of it, the easier it will be for her to give it up. In the meantime, it sure is cute.
Happy birthday my sweet girl! Your dad and I thank God each day that we were blessed with such a kind, loving, smart, snuggly, tender little princess!
Shortly after the sod adventure, Elise celebrated her fourth birthday by hosting her first birthday party! Three of her good friends came over for a (what else?) princess party. I have to say, I'm pretty new at this birthday party thing, but this was way different from Connor's party. It was much easier. I don't know if that's because there were a third as many kids, or if it's because they were girls, but it was great. They did princess crafts, ate ice cream, and hit a pinata. Elise loved it. (We improved a bit on the pinata thing by putting the goodie bags inside the pinata, rather than loose candy. It cut down on the rioting and tears.)
After the girls had their turns, the rest of us got our aggression out on the empty pinata.
Ryan got Elise's cake from Porto's, as is our habit. I think it was supposed to be a Mother's Day cake, what with the flowers and all, but Elise thought it was perfect.
You may not be able to see it in the pictures very clearly, but this was the month that Elise was wearing her thumb guards. For the past year or so, whenever she sucked her thumb, Elise would scratch her nose with her free fingers. It became an open sore after awhile, and band-aids only worked if we remembered to replace them fast enough. I bought these thumb guards on Amazon, and after a month of using them (just during the day), she still sucked her thumb, but she completely stopped the nose scratching. Good job, Leesey! I figure we'll go after the thumb sucking itself when she's a little older. I'm hoping the less of a big deal we make of it, the easier it will be for her to give it up. In the meantime, it sure is cute.
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| One-year-old Elise |
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