Writer's Workshop

Millie class hosted a writer's workshop last Friday where the children in her class got to read their fictional writings to visitors.  Teddy and I headed up to the classroom to participate.  Millie was so proud to share her work, as were her classmates.  It's always so fun to see the creativity and enthusiasm these children generate.  We are so fortunate to be in a school that is so devoted to bringing the best out of each child.

So proud to share her work with us 

Millie assures me she doesn't really want to run away... she also continues her desire to explore the jungle some day (which is where her character runs away to).

Teddy cracked me up in his stocking cap...

Blooms

Every year I love watching the beauty in our gardens unfold.  The early blooming bulbs are all gone now, but the peonies and mock orange blossoms were in full bloom last week.  Two of my favorites ... I just wish they lasted longer (especially the mock orange blossoms as they smell amazing)!

Powder Valley {Kindergarten Version}

Man, we've been to Powder Valley a lot this spring!  Our Kindergarten nature party, Millie's 1st grade field trip, and then Merrill's Kindergarten field trip last week.  I was a little worried when I heard the Kindergarten field trip was going to last 2 1/2 hours and they were ONLY going to be at Powder Valley.  I wasn't sure how we were going to fill all that time!  But, the field trip was very well organized and the time frame included travel time plus a buffer, so it was all good.  We had a scavenger hunt in the nature center, snack and writing in the learning center and then a hike on one of the trails.  The weather was perfect and the kids were all happy to be there.  I'm very thankful that I'm able to go on field trips with the kids -- it means so much to them right now.  I'm also thankful that we have friends who offered to watch Teddy for the afternoon so I could go!

Dance

Millie had her dance showing last weekend (the 16th).  She has really made a lot of improvement this year and is starting to show more maturity as a dancer.  In addition to watching her class perform, we also got to see Peyton perform for the first time.  She is also showing a love for dance and really did well up on stage!  We are taking a break from dance for the summer and the girls are going to do gymnastics instead.  We'll see which one Millie chooses to pursue in the fall.

as always, my bootleg video is a little rough, but I still refuse to pay the high cost of the professional video for the 3 minutes that Millie is actually in it...

so proud

Dance showing #2 featuring Peyton 

So glad we got to share Peyton's first performance with her!

Tigers vs. Cardinals

Scott and I treated each other to early anni-birtha-versary gifts this year and went to see the Tigers play the Cardinals last Friday night.  It's a match-up that doesn't happen very often during the regular season, so when the opportunity came to get some nice tickets we snatched them up.  It was a beautiful night and we enjoyed the chance to see a game up-close in the good seats and without children climbing and wriggling about.  It didn't turn out so well for the home team, but it was an enjoyable evening none-the-less!  Special thanks to my parents for taking care of the kids while Scott and I had a night out!

The boys in their Tigers' gear -- the girls were in their Cardinals gear ... unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the whole family

Mother's Day Weekend

We enjoyed a lot of family time over Mother's Day weekend, with a (short) trip to downtown Kirkwood on Saturday morning (the rain cut it short), a 'big' family dinner at my parents', and a visit to the Botanical Gardens on Sunday after being showered with gifts from the kids (and after seeing that the morning rains had passed us by and it was going to be dry for a few hours).  It was mostly an enjoyable weekend, but it wasn't without it's moments.  There are no breaks from being a mom and being a mom means taking the good with the bad -- even on mother's day.  (Let's just say our exit from the Botanical Gardens wasn't the most graceful...).  Even so, I couldn't be more blessed with these three kiddos.  They keep me on my toes, make me laugh, make me want to cry, make me proud, make me wonder, make me humble, make me doubt myself, and make me feel a love that is like no other.  As hard as having little ones can be, it breaks my heart to see them grow up.  As much as I love them at these ages, I can't wait to see who they will be.  Motherhood is full of these paradoxes, isn't it.  Such a strange and beautiful journey we are on.  I hope they always know how much they are loved and how much I believe in them and I hope I always earn the love and belief they have in me (even as we are making less than graceful exits...).

headed to the train station to check out the fire trucks and trains

free flowers for the kids from the garden club

4 out of 5 of the current grandchildren with their beloved Lainie

Teddy wasn't in a picture taking mood ;)

We got to see some of the set-up for the up-coming Lantern Festival when we were at the Botanical Gardens

Fun in the children's garden

Teddy spent at least 20 minutes moving these potatoes from the basket to the shelf and back again over and over and over...

Stopping to see the Japanese garden after spending most of our time at the children's garden was my choice.  Unfortunately, it did not inspire much peace in the kids... I thought it was beautiful though.

and that was about the end of our trip to the Botanical Gardens ... looks so serene doesn't it?  Amazing how quickly emotions can change!  

Track Meet

Our school district holds an annual elementary school track meet every spring, though they didn't have it last year because they were doing renovations to the high school track/stadium.  I wasn't too sure what to expect when the sign-up form came home (it's an after school, optional event), but the girls both said they wanted to participate and each chose two 'events' to do.  We received a letter home a day or two before the meet stating that we were to arrive at the stadium at 4:00 PROMPTLY.  This struck me as odd since the opening events weren't schedule to begin until 4:30 and since our elementary school (and I assume all of the others) doesn't get out until 3:40, which mean the earliest I can pull out of the parking lot is 3:50 and that's only if I'm at the front of the car line.  But, being the good little rule followers we are, we picked the girls up, dropped off our neighbor and headed straight to the high school.  It took us a bit to figure out parking and where we were supposed to be and we were still one of the first ones there.  The high school students were still using the track and field for their own practices and there appeared to be no one in charge present.  So the girls (and Teddy) hung out with their friends and we ate the dinner we had packed and waited for someone to tell us what to do.  Eventually the stadium filled up with kids from all of the schools (ALL dressed in red... nearly impossible to distinguish schools) and teachers and then all of a sudden it began (at 5:00).  I will say, that though I was a bit irritated at having rushed over just to sit for an hour (while also having Rosie with me and forcing her mom to pick her up from the high school instead of our house), getting there early did get us a good parking spot :).  The event itself was a bit chaotic -- though I guess that is probably just the nature of things with mass numbers of elementary school kids.  The girls each did events on the field and we couldn't really see them from the stands.  Scott managed to go down to the field and watch Merrill doing the low hurdles.  Most of the events were just done for 'fun' and there were no winners.  Heats of kids just went through each event until everyone had a turn and then all of the participants got ribbons.  This seemed to be just fine to the kids -- they all seemed to have fun.  The exception was for the relay races which were limited to 3-5 grades.  We had fun watching those and cheering on our school (though by then the sun was getting pretty hot!).  We headed home after Millie ran the 50 m dash and didn't stick around for the rest of the races.

Right before school Millie said to me: "I'm surprised you haven't wanted to take our picture together".  Never gonna turn down a chance to capture these smiles :).  She also had her teacher take a picture of her and her friend who were dressed as "twins" in their red shirts and black shorts (and similar shoes and hair).  

hanging out with friends before things got started

showing off her ribbon for the low hurdles

Merrill jumping the low hurdles with grace

The 50 meter dash -- Millie is there in the middle.  She started out strong...

... and then she got a bit distracted by the crowd in the stands -- you can just barely see her here looking up at the crowds...

... but through it all she just had the biggest smile on her face.  It was tempting to give some 'coaching' after the race about staying focused during the race, but really it was just so much fun to watch her enjoying every minute of the race that 'winning' just didn't matter.  When she runs, she does just what all of the 'life' books tell us to do -- she is SO in the moment and just taking it all in and letting herself be happy.  That is something I don't want to take from her ever. In fact, it's something I can learn from. There will be plenty of time for coaching in her future, and I'm going to let it come from her coaches.  Me, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the moments.