Before lunch we made our way to:
Brookshires
Party City
Barns and Noble
Target
And get this... SAMs
My kids could eat a gallon of raspberries each... Every day. Alas, that is not in our grocery budget, but we did find a good price on some today and they gobbled them up! I think they like them so much cause you don't need a fork or spoon...
We had a great Memorial Day yesterday. I kind of wish we had done more "memorializing" but we had a talk with the kids and had a lot of fun. We had a lazy morning, papa brought over a new-to-you swingset he's been working on, we had lunch with the Husser crew, good naps, made from scratch banana pudding and lemon ice box pie and spent the evening in Minden with family eating awesome Joe and Jody food (they always have the best!): ribs, slaw, potato salad, homemade salsa and chips, hot dogs, sausage, bread, fruit, and more I'm sure. It was great. The kids had a water gun fight, grace and john watched a movie in a "fort" aka bunk beds, the adults got to visit, and jack played in the music room. He LOVED the music room.
The kids were playing before bed tonight, and I heard Jack start stomping and saying "I am thu fiw-a-steam! I am thu fiw-a-steam!" I guess he thought maybe it is okay to act mean and angry and stomp around when you are pretending to be a philistine. I gently turned the game into a full out production of David and Goliath, with the kids taking turns being each character. They had tons of fun and I was really surprised by how they knew all the "lines" each person was supposed to say (according to the Jesus Storybook Bible).
So here is Jack's scary Philistine face...
This morning we decided that if we didn't want to be inside all day then we had better get out while it was still cool and the mosquitoes were still groggy. So we hopped in the car, picked up some hot Southern Made donuts (yum-O) and headed to the playground. It was cool and breezy and we stayed for nearly 2 hours.
The kids walked around and ate their bags of donut holes.
Today was Grace's last ballet class of the year. Jonathan, Jack and I got to observe... Which means Jonathan, Jack and I got to observe the fist half and then jack and Jonathan went and walked around while I watched the whole thing.
I'm still not too sure if Grace actually Likes ballet class. She always has a big smile on her face when she is finished, says she has fun, tries really hard and is a leader in class, but I think she would rather be home. I think this may be the case about most things for our shy kid. Still, it's good for her to do it, so we will press on.
Ms. Carol talked to the kids tonight about how she can play the flute and piano and paint and draw and design costumes and sets as well as dance. She told the students how important hard work and discipline are when learning. Grace and I talked about that tonight at bed time. I asked her what she wanted to work really hard to learn to do. She said play the violin. She wants to have rosin for her bow in the shape of a flower and play her special song (the little women overture) and Jack's special song (In the Morning When I Rise). I told her we would try to make that happen. I also told her all about how older ballerinas who dance en pointe get to use rosin too, and she seemed really excited about that prospect and dancing on her tip toes.
I don't know what she will eventually excel in. I do, however, know her personality and gifts, and these things give me confidence that she will find something she wants to do, work very vary hard to excel at it, and succeed. It is just in her. And I LOVE this about her personality.
This is my girl who learned to peddle her trike before her second birthday, tie her shoes at the age of three, write all of her letters perfectly at four and at the same time refused to potty train, say hello to a friend, or drink milk for a month... just because. What can I say, she has a mind that can be set, and although sometimes a challenge for me as a parent, it is also a trait that, when tuned in the right way (Lord help me), will serve to her great advantage.
I really appreciate that my parents always gave me every opportunity possible to try as well as experience new things. I was not a prima ballerina, but I love dancing and the physical skill required to do it well. I am not a fabulous pianist or vocalist, but I love music. I am not a great artist, but I love and appreciate art and craft. I am not a famous architect, but I truly enjoy many aspects of the practice. I guess we are an "arts" family in many ways. I really want Grace to appreciate these things and have meaningful experiences with them just like I did growing up (and still find myself doing!). I don't so much care that she devote her life to them (probably best she doesn't) or master each. I really just want her to enjoy them and be able to share in that enjoyment with her.
So until next fall...
I found umpteen-thousand pictures on my phone the other day (all taken by a certain 4 year old) of the "cousins".
The other week I thought it would be fun for the kids to have a slumber party.
Jack's friend Aubrey had his 3rd birthday party! The kids jumped on a "blob".
Grace climbed a tree. The tree that all the neighborhood kids of a certain age have climbed. Martha's tree.
Grace 4, Jack 2, and Bear with the Sweet Curly Hair "Sally".
As we crossed over the Mighty Mississip:
This is Jacks favorite movie clip. It's from "the Great Dictator", but we call it "Charlie on the Airplane" at our house. This kid loves some Charwie Chapewin.
Grace is glad to be reunited with Maggie...
My little sister got married last weekend. What a FUN day and BEAUTIFUL ceremony! I will post more later once I get the pictures. :) For now though, the Flower girl and Banner boy (that's what I named jack since we would not entrust him with a ring and gave him a "here comes the bride" banner instead).
"Our baby is a girl. I looked in there yesterday and saw. It's a girl."
Everyone in our immediate family thinks this baby is a girl... Except me. I'm positive it's a boy. And I'm always wrong. That's the only reason I would say its a girl... Because I'm so sure it's a boy.
It was a big Mother's Day for us around here. I'm a mama to three now!!! We think the next little one will join us around Christmas! And we are SO excited!
It's HOT out there, people. Too hot for a picnic or much playing outside after about 10:00 am. So we had an indoor picnic today! Mary Poppins, peanut butter sandwiches, chips, grapes and I even made some peanut butter cookies.
We have been checking out and reading our limit of books each week from the library lately. Grace has always listened to everything she randomly pulls down off the shelves and shoves in the book bag. Jack, on the other hand, is a little harder to please. I think it's because he has a Nana who has provided him with an enormous home library of his own with only the best of the best... The broadmoor branch really just can't compete. But today I found a section that has him enthralled!
How do we celebrate another year of no cavities for the Grace girl?
G: hey, Jack. You wanna come help me build the tallest tower in the whole wide world?
J: yeah! sure! Ok!
G: great! Come on!
J: ok! Lets go!
We had a couple of surprises in our backyard this spring.
A beautiful little rosebush tucked in behind another bush:
It's so good to have a little group of friends to hang with now. We really missed our GA friends for a long time, but have made some new friends from our church and neighborhood! There have been some serious play dates lately.
Sliding with friends is so fun!
