School's Out Backyard Bash

To celebrate the end of school and the beginning of Summer, Paige had a party for her preschool class. We played a bunch of games in the backyard including pin-the-tail on the donkey, a ring toss, duck duck goose, and hot potato.

After games in the yard, we all came inside for lunch--pb&j sandwiches, chips and apples with dip. We watched one episode of the Backyardigans, since it was a "backyard bash," then back outside for more games of red light, green light and the Farmer in the Dell.

We ended with delicious root beer floats and an unexpected visit from our neighbor's cat, who obliged all 10 children as they pet/mauled him.

It was a fun day, the rain held off (thank goodness) and the little kids were happy to get to come to a party just for them.

*Much thanks for the extra and gracious helping hands of my sister Debby and my friend Juliann. You guys are awesome!

Fashion Show

Last week, Ashley's Activity Days group held a fashion show. This is Ashley in her "sporty, yet stylish ensemble." Each girl got to choose an outfit to wear, write up an explanation of her attire, and model it down the runway. They also had to choose a prop to bring with them that represented an interest or a hobby. Ashley chose a book because she loves to read so much.

It was a cute activity and Ashley was very excited to "model." She was thrilled, because I even let her wear a little colored lip gloss. The girls definitely hammed-it-up, who knew so many of them would let their inner models come out.

*A word about the pictures--I left my camera home on this day, which happened to a very crazy day. Dave took a picture with his camera phone and we borrowed someone else's camera but we didn't figure out how to use it properly.

The Garden is In

New house, new garden. We are going to try our hand at gardening again this year. We are hoping for more success in this yard than we had in our previous. We got the garden in over the weekend and so far so good---lots of rain to keep it moist and no rabbits have managed to overcome my fencing. (Not yet at least, I know those bunnies are out there planning, plotting, and conspiring against me!)

Opening Day

Our subdivision pool opened last Saturday. Fortunately it was 85 degrees outside and warm enough to enjoy a dip on opening day.

Greek Food Festival

Okay, I obviously love food and have an overeating problem---but you can't worry about that when you find a Greek food festival in town! I read about this festival that is held every Memorial Day weekend by a local Greek Orthodox church. Well, all you have to do is tempt me with dolmathes and souvlaki and I am there!

And oh, was it worth it! We had to drive about 40 minutes to the County fairgrounds where the festival was being held, but didn't I already say it was worth it. The festival was in a huge, air-conditioned exhibit hall, with lots of space and so well-organized that we didn't suffer the crowding issues that are usually a part of the festival experience.

We ate souvlaki, gyros, greek salad, lemon rice, and loukoumathes. The honey puffs were a big hit with Paige (no suprise!) We also had a baklava sundae, which is my new favorite way to eat baklava. After stuffing myself sick, I bought some dolmathes and spankopita to take home. Yummy.

There was also some entertainment. Here is Paige playing on one of the inflatables that were there. We also stayed and watched some Greek dancers, Paige really loved that.

HURRAY FOR FOOD FESTIVALS!

Flip-Flop Frenzy

Ashley and I braved Old Navy at 8am today for the $1 flip-flop sale. It was pretty much a madhouse and the store sold out of flip-flops in 45 minutes. I sure was glad to have Ashley with me who was a big help holding flip-flops and keeping our place in line. It was a fast and furious feeding frenzy, but I wasn't too stressed because on some level it was pretty humorous.

It truly reminded me of a fish farm, where you have piles of fish squirming around in a little pond going for a handful of fish food someone has thrown into the water. In this case, the fish were a bunch of girls/women grasping for flip-flops (food) being thrown down to them from Old Navy workers standing on ladders. (I skipped this part and just went for the selection of flip-flops that were more easily accessible in boxes on the floor.)

In the end, Ashley and I came out unscathed with 19 pairs of flip-flops! This was pretty moderate considering that we split them among me, Ashley, Paige, and my sister Debby. It didn't even compare to the 25-30 some girls were buying for themselves. CRAZY!!

Farewell (forever) Preschool!

Well, it's official, our youngest child has completed preschool! Farewell preschool! You have been very good to us. We have enjoyed, the songs, the artwork and the games. Paige and I have appreciated having a little time apart to spend with friends and increase our independence.

For the past two years, Paige has gone to preschool at Waubonsee Valley High School Early Learning Lab. Basically, our local high school offers a course of early childhood education for it's students. Part of the high school curriculum includes an early learning lab supervised by a teacher in which the high school students plan, prepare and teach a class of preschool students. Of course, in order to teach preschool, you need preschoolers and this is where Paige and 14 other kids come in.

Having done other preschools with Ashley, I have been very impressed with the Early Learning Lab. Paige has basically had one-on-one instruction. Also, because of the many available helping hands and creative minds, Paige has gone on field trips and done activities that really aren't possible in other types of preschools.

On Monday, as it was the last day for the teachers who are Seniors, the preschool held a reception and invited parents. Here are some of the pictures from that day:

This is Paige's preschool class, in some of the pictures, her high school teachers are in standing up in back. I included these pictures to go along with the picture above so you could see Paige "ham-it-up" as she strikes a pose during the photo shoot. (What you can't see is a mass of parents with cameras taking picture after picture of the kids.)

After all the pictures, which was not a minor feat considering lining up and getting that many preschoolers to sit still is a big challenge, their teacher, Mrs. Pierce led the kids in some songs. In this picture they are singing "5 Little Ducks" at Paige's request.

Paige with the teacher of all students, Mrs. Pierce. She is amazing and has been doing this for many years!


And of course, no party is complete without refreshments. We actually had them at the start because who wants to wait for food!

Paige and her friends eating at the snack table.

After snack, it was time to show mom around the classroom and visit with some of the graduating teachers.

It was a fun day and I truly appreciate how much Paige loves her teachers and how much they in turn love the kids. As a parent, it is always comforting to leave your little one with people, who know your child, think she is adorable, and really enjoy teaching.

The next day as a "thank-you" present, the preschool families provided a breakfast for the teachers (on a day with no preschoolers.) Paige and I helped organize the breakfast and we delivered it to the school in the morning along with some flowers for Mrs. Pierce. Everyone was very appreciative and Paige had fun helping me carry all the food into the classroom.

Good Company

This past weekend we had some good company come to visit us. Dave's brother Scott and his wife Katie came to Chicago to celebrate Scott's graduation from college. We took a little "staycation" while they were here and a had a lot of fun with them. Scott and Katie are newlyweds, married about 9 months, so it was great to get the chance to know Katie better and just visit with them.

The girls loved having their Aunt and Uncle around, especially because they were literally a captive audience for the girls singing. The girls "treated" Scott and Katie to a lot of sing-a-longs while we were driving in the van. Since Dave and I were in the front, Scott and Katie bore the brunt of the musical renditions!

Now, when I say Scott and Katie are good company, I mean it. They were so easy-going and laid back, it was very nice to have them. But don't get me wrong this doesn't mean we weren't busy and they weren't go-getters. They were here for 4 days and did so much stuff, they must be bionic. Here is a list with some pictures:

1- First up, the Museum of Science and Industry along with the Harry Potter Exhibit.

Train engineers

Wouldn't Ashley look great in this dress made of lights?

Watching butterflies land on your shadow

Navy sailors working at the periscopes

Car first, license later



Harry Potter's flying car

2-Navy Pier and an architecture boat tour on the Chicago River


The weather was a warm and sunny, a perfect day to cruise the river!

3-Dinner at the original Pizzeria Uno, then a walk up the Magnificient Mile with stops at the Hershey's store and the Cheesecake Factory.


The girls playing hand games on the steps at the bottom the Hancock Building, which also happened to house the Cheesecake Factory, how convenient! I had a caramel and macadamia nut cheescake...yummy.


Did I mention that we did all of the above in the same day? As you can see from this picture we were doing some "serious" sight seeing. Of course, maybe they are somber because they were entering a food coma...we did just finish eating deep dish pizza and cheesecake!

4-Major League Baseball game at U.S. Cellular field, the Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers.

Dave and the girls are all decked out in White Sox gear, but since it was 42 degrees it had to be covered up by sweatshirts, coats, hats, blankets and gloves. Brrrr. It was pretty cold and I worried about Katie and Scott but they didn't complain and seemed to have a good time (and some hot chocolate too!)
Paige throwing pitches on the Fundamentals Deck (a place were kids can go to throw pitches, run the bases and do batting practice.)

Paige wore crocs to the game and we didn't know that you must have tennis shoes to bat and run the bases. Paige was almost in tears she was so upset she couldn't play, but fortunately, she has the best big sister ever. At first, Ashley said, "if Paige can't do it I won't play either," but Paige was still pretty sad. So Ashley, in cold weather took off her shoes and let Paige wear them into the batting cages. Ashley shoes were only about 6 sizes too big for Paige but she managed. Afterward, Ashley got her shoes back and took her turn batting and everyone left happy.

As a reward for staying at the game during cold weather, we got to see the White Sox comeback in the 8th inning and an exciting 9th inning save to win the game, followed by a great fireworks show.

This is the end of our touring with Katie and Scott (hence no more pictures), but they sure kept going:

5, 6, and 7-The Sears Tower, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium,

8 and9-The Field Museum and the musical Mary Poppins, and

10-One of the best burgers ever at Boston Blackies (okay, we did this one with them.)

Scott and Katie sure know how to make the most of a trip. I am so glad they came and hope they come again soon!

Motherer's Day

Mother's Day, should really be called Motherer's Day. What we truly honor on this day is the "mothering" that we have received from wonderful women. A mother is a source of life; a motherer nurtures and loves. I think it is the love, support and care that we receive from those who "motherer" us that really makes us who we are.

I have been thinking about the term "motherer" because of a mispelling by Ashley. She meant to write "Mother" but ended up writing "Motherer." I think it is a wonderful turn-of-phrase. I am very happy to be a mom, but even happier to know that my "mothering" is what my children truly appreciate.

Dave got the girls pretty excited about "Motherer's Day" at our house. They took me to a wonderful place called the Motherer's Day Restaurant. The girls set the table, Paige made the place cards and was my hostess/server. Ashley wrote the menu and provided live entertainment during the meal by playing a number of tunes on her recorder. Dave was the official grillmaster/chef. Everyone did a great job and I was truly wined and dined. I didn't have to lift a finger.

If you can't read the menu below, we had shrimp cocktail for an appetizer, the main course was filet mignon and grilled sea scallops served with asparagus and green beans, and for dessert a berry cream pie---all was delicious!

But it didn't end there, the girls also gave me a beautiful planter to put on my front porch, it's in the picture at the top. What a nice day!

Spring is here!

Warm Spring weather means....

BASEBALL

The girls dancing to YMCA between innings

Enjoying some ball park concessions at our the Kane County Cougars game (Division A baseball)

BIKE RIDING and

The girls riding bikes in the front yard

BLOOMING FLOWERS!

Thanks to the previous owners of our property, we have some gorgeous landscaping, of course that translates into lots of yard work for Dave and I!

Purple tulips and yellow daffodils

Just one of the gorgeous blooming trees by our back patio! Obviously, this is not something Dave and I would have been able to accomplish on our own!

Provoking Thought

I ran across a thought-provoking term this week: Red Letter Christians. I have actually heard of it before, but didn't really know what it meant or give it much thought. This week as I learned more about Red Letter Christians, I was interested because it reminded me of my first experiences with the Bible.

As a young Catholic child in catechism classes, we used the Good News Version of the Bible, not the King James Version I use now as a Mormon. The Good News Bible is written in modern vernacular and has a feature in which the words of Jesus Christ are printed in red ink. I have distinct memories of reading from the red and black pages of the New Testament.

Red Letter Christians, as political activists, emphasize following the teachings of Jesus Christ, hence the red letters. Their agenda focuses a lot on social justice and poverty.

As a general concept, I think the idea of Red Letter Christianity is interesting.

I wonder what the creation of this specific type of Christian political group says about Christianity in America?

On some level, shouldn't we all be Red Letter Christians?

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Also, while I ruminating, I'll share a scripture that made an impression on me this week:
In Romans 5:3-4 (KJV)
"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope."