Kindergarten and Pre-School Graduation

 I was asked to give a speech.  In every picture I'm blinking.  Oh well :)!

Last Week

On Sunday we had Lorén's first Ballet Recital.  She was so excited.  I couldn't believe how beautiful she looked in her outfit.  She was extremely proud!

Dress rehearsal was a lot of fun!  Lorén had got a bit confused as they had moved her 2 times and she was confused as to which one they wanted.  Glad there was a rehearsal!

As I'm trying to get her ready for her recital I hear her say, "Mommy, look, I'm a flower!"  Funny girl!!

It was really hard to leave her in that room and go sit down in the audience.  Would they take care of her for the hour?  Would that keep track of her?  Would my little girl actually make it out on stage?  I was so worried!

Lorén was so pleased with her trophy!  She kept saying, "I just can't believe that I won a trophy!"  She thought that she did so well that she won!  In our hearts she did!

I've never been so proud in my life!

Grandma took us all out for Ice-cream at Fitz's Ice-cream.  It s a fun place to eat ice-cream outside.  It was a lot of fun!  Lorén wanted chocolate ice-cream with chocolate syrup, sprinkles and extra cherries!

After Icecream, Lorén really wanted to keep dancing, she felt so beautiful!  

On Make it Monday we made Homemade sidewalk Paint.  It worked REALLY WELL!  In fact the paintings were still there a week later.  It washed away in the rain.

Don't know if you can see, but the first thing Jax did was to stick the paintbrush in his mouth!  I figured he was fine as it is just corn starch, water and food coloring.  His mouth was stained yellow for the day!

I do have to admit that it was extremely HOT out.  So, I put on the sprinklers and after painting, they ran through the sprinklers!

On our Time to read Tuesday, we worked on Maps.  It was fun to see their understanding of where they are in the world.  If you have never read Me on the Map by Joan Sweeny, I recommend it highly!

On What's Cooking Wednesday, Lorén picked out Zoe's Vanilla Cupcakes with Pink Frosting.  My "daughters" were over and they helped make the fun!  I love my "Older Two's" faces in the picture of them eating!  That's "my" girls!  Funny yet adorable at the same time!

Zach bit through is lip.  The nurse said it best: "That's one of those 'I told you so so I want to swat you yet I'm so upset you are hurt I just need to take you in my arms' moments"  I think she nailed it.  Poor boy.

A Good Day in St. Louis

So Apparently whenever there is a good day in St. Louis, everyone heads to the Zoo! 

Mike and I told the kids we would go to the Zoo.  We got there and drove around for 40 minutes trying to find a parking spot.  Finally Mike said, "Let's get some culture!"  We went to the Art Museum.  The kids were less-than-thrilled at our change of plans but they ended up having a lot of fun in the end!

 

 We had people comment on how much she looked like "Susanne."

 There was a museum worker watching us.  I didn't see him!  He started laughing so hard when I did this to my poor children.  He said, "WOrking here 10 years, I've never seen anyone do that!  That was awesome!"  It was funny!  I just love Lorén's face.  She was so angry!!

Jax had finally got freed from his stroller!  He was so ticked to have to leave!  

I have to say that at the end of the day, I just don't get art!  Especially the feature artist.  I mean honest-to-goodness, I could do what he did. . .Lorén could probably do what he did.  I just don't get it.  I mean, the only paintings I was truly impressed by were the Italian paintings from the 15th century.  I didn't even get Monet or Van Gogh.  I did like few Degas though, I must admit. . .

Way to Go Zachary!!!!

Field Trip Friday!

So I was planning on starting our Summer Memories Calendar next week.  However, an opportunity arouse for us to go on a field trip!  So, I began our "Field Trip Friday" this week.  Zach was "watching" the news this morning as I got the family breakfast and he kept talking about how they were making donuts on TV.  We talked through the process together.  At the 8:00 hour I was able to sit down with my cup of coffee and actually watch the news myself.  Sure enough, there was a segment on because today is National Donut Day.  The shop they were interviewing said, "Bring a canned good and get a free donut."  I looked up the place and it was right down the road from us!  I quickly called and said, "I have 3 kids, if I bring in 3 cans, can they each get a donut and some donut holes for the baby?"  The owner was gracious and kept saying, "YEAH, COME ON DOWN!" 

So being the wonderful mother I am. . .I bribed the children.  "If you want to get donuts today, you must clean toy room!"  I've never seen it get cleaned a) so fast or b) so well!  Their reward: A trip to Old Town Donuts! BTW - The donuts were the size of small plates!  Look at how big it is in the size of Zach's hands.  It was the biggest donut I've ever seen!