Hannah's Last Day of Kindergarten

Well, we made it through our first year of grade school, and our first year of part time homeschooling. What a year it was! I know that I have enjoyed teaching Hannah, but I am soooooo excited for some summer fun where we just enjoy playing together! So, here's our celebration of Hannah's accomplishment: And here's a comparison of the first day of Kindergarten: And the last day of Kindergarten picture with her sisters: Some hot chocolate at home (since there was not time to go to coffee before 7:30am send off) And the graduate...what a cutie!! Her class celebrated the last day of Kindergarten with a pizza party!! And we celebrated as a family by going to Cold Stone Creamery after dinner. What a finish to a great year!!

Preschool Grad Party!

After Kate's preschool graduation we picked up Jeff from work and headed to Sea World to celebrate with the dolphins! She was so happy!! Thanks for giving us a reason to celebrate Kate! We are both so proud of you...it wasn't always easy for you to go to preschool, but you went every day (some days more tearfully than others), you played, learned and had fun! We hope that this is just the beginning of many fun years of learning ahead!

Here's Your Sign!

I'm still getting used to the things that Hannah is capable of doing...here she is taking a quick picture of Kate and I. She then looked at the picture in the camera and said, "Wait! Your sign is the wrong way!" So we fixed it and she retook another good picture...love my girl!

Cell Phone Restriction

Rachel Lee loves to play with my cell phone, but unfortunately (or fortunately for her...)she has figured out how to call my mom and dad who are on speed dial. My parents don't seem to mind, but Rachel Lee sneaks away, calls them and then "chats" for a while with them. Then when she is done she sets the phone down and walks away...just leaving whoever is on the other end. So, I've been more careful where I leave my phone, and when I hear her talking on the phone I make sure it is just her play cell phone...she does keep me busy! Here she told me that she was calling Grandma Sue because she text her to come over. Wow...this girl know the lingo!

My Little Reader

This year Hannah received an award for reading (and being read)over 10,000 pages! Here she is at the award ceremony celebrating her accomplishment as a reader: Hannah with Mrs. Cavalier after the ceremony We are so proud of you Hannah! Way to go little reader!

Kate's Last Day of Preschool...Sniff, Sniff

Kate's school ended June 6...and here I am, and here I am, 17 days later, reliving the moment. Let's just say I am so amazed at how much Kate has grown this year. It was great to see her celebrate at her school, where kids lace their own necklace with their name on it, sing songs and have ice cream together...nothing over the top, but a lovely commemoration of the year and a send off to...sniff, sniff...KINDERGARTEN! And trust me, this little girl is ready for it! Here are some first day/last day contrasts: first day sillies... last day sillies... ...first day by the frog... ...last day by the frog... ...first day coffee... ...last day coffee... We brought Kate a balloon to celebrate her accomplishment! And of course, the ice cream party...what a treat!! And here are some videos of sweet Kate singing her heart out! This was the last song of the performance, but I put my camera away and wasn't able to get my camera out quickly enough, so I missed it...it was the one song that made me cry too. So, Kate was kind enough to sing it again for me at home, and once again I teared up realizing that she is saying good-bye to her preschool time, and is entering school age. I love celebrating this new phase of her life, but really...she is growing so fast! Ahhh...now I'm crying again. So, grab a tissue and watch this sweetie singing a sweet ditty: Tootle-loo!

Kate's Summer Birthday

One of the things that summer birthday people complain about is that they were never able to celebrate with people at school. Well, Kate's school made sure that EVERY kid was celebrated, and since Kate's birthday was the last birthday (yes, Kate was the youngest in her class, something that is probably common with and August 17 birthday since August 30 is the cutoff) Kate's birthday was celebrated the Tuesday before the last day of school. BUT, she was celebrated, and she is a kid worth celebrating time and time again!

Yellow

Rachel Lee seems to be around school related activities a lot more than the other girls, and for that reason seems to know all basic colors, most shapes, and some letters. She can also count, and has a great one to one counting correspondence...okay, enough teacher talk. There are times when I forget she is only two, and then cute little moments like this happen and I realize, she is still so much my baby:

Love for the Waiting Place

I am a HUGE Dr. Seuss fan. I can recite quite a few lines from his books, and in the last baby shower I went to I won the game where you had to complete the Dr. Seuss title of the book. I basically dominated the game because I LOVE DR. SEUSS! There is one book I love called, Oh The Places You'll Go! and I actually have a copy for Hannah and a copy for Kate that I am using as a pseudo yearbook and having all their teachers sign and when they graduate (from high school theoretically) I will give them this book and send them on their way to great places (here's hoping I don't forget a teacher here or there or anywhere...yes, that's a reference to Green Eggs and Ham...). There is this one section of the book that I often think of that says this: You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lightened. But mostly they're darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win? And if you go in, should you turn left or right... or right and three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind. You can get so confused that you'll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild spaces, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place... ...for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a place to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or a phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting. Well, let me start by saying that there are sometimes in life where waiting is just a huge waste of time...like the times that the girls and I sit around at the dr's office waiting for our turn...where I won't let them touch anything for fear that they will get something worse than what we already have...UGH! But Jeff and I are in the phase of our lives where we are waiting to see where we are moving next. Jeff just interviewed at a company in San Fransisco, and we are waiting to see if he gets offered the position. We are waiting to see where God leads us, and in this waiting time in our lives, I find that worry is so prone to sneak into my thoughts. This worry leads me to times where I find myself praying, meditating on God's promises and verses in the Bible, singing songs of hope, and remember the times that God has taken care of us. So at this time of waiting, I know that it's not a waste of time, but instead find it a sweet time. A time where I am relying of God's leading...a time where I am remembering His care in our lives...a time where I look to Him to be my strength and comfort. There is purpose in the waiting, and there is glory to God in everything. In Him, nothing is wasted.