Mother-daughter moment

This pretty little thing said to me today that when she is a mom, she will be nice to her kids by not making them clean their rooms.  I did have some wise come-backs, but the sad truth is that she will not change her mind until she has kids of her own.  Until then I will be the mean mom who makes her kids work... I don't have a problem with that, and she can still wear my shoes around the house...

Samuel's "Award Ceremony" and Esther's last school day

This was basically Samuel's graduation from first grade.  We were all confused what an "award ceremony" exactly meant, especially Samuel. He thought that he would actually receive an award and a new bike was what he had in mind.   The ceremony turned out to be an aknowledgment in front of the parents for their children's accomplishments during the year. Samuel received an achievement notation for everything on the list, which was not the case for every child.  He was recognized for achievement in academics, young writers, reading, buddy and a few other things.  I need to dig out the paper out of the big pile of school work still covering my desk to list the rest.  I wanted to have this picture of him with his classmates and teacher -Miss Staes, whom he loved.

Here is Esther's last day from pre-school.  She had a great year in school, learned a lot, and made many friends.  If you ask her what is her favorite thing to do, she would say with a big smile:  "Going to school." At this school they don't only learn their ABC's and 123's, at which they do a great job, but they also pray before every meal, learn stories from the bible, and of course are treated kindly and fairly.  We are so excited that she will be going there again next year.  This is a small school and is very hard to get into.  Once you are in, your other children will get a preference for enrollment.  Every one else has to try their luck at the lottery.  I was not as lucky with Samuel and still feel bad...  I wish I could start a private school where the standards of our LDS Church would be enforced and of course children can get a better shot at education than they currently do in the public schools.  It would be place where there will be no free time to show movies, a place where the teachers will be paid better, a place where they can eat lunch which did not come from a package...  The dreams....

15 Braids

This is what 15 braids do to Esther's hair.  She loves having it curly for a day or so.  We all love what we don't have.  Curly hair is in our gene pool (since my dad, sister ,and I have curly hair) but none of our children got the gene.  They all have straight, light brown, thick, but not coarse, hair.  I wonder if that will change...

A few things

Summer started, and we are so excited!  Except, that I tripped and sprained my foot, so our plans have been put on hold for a couple of weeks.  Fortunately, we have wonderful thoughtful friends who have made this experience a lot easier to bear.

Here is a little update on the kids:

Little Maggie can clap which is the cutest thing to watch.  She is also close to crawling - lifting up her tummy off the floor.
This past Saturday Esther had her first ballet recital and did an outstanding job.  She was so serious and focused, which is not an easy thing for any four year old, especially for someone who thinks ballet has only social purposes.
Samuel finished first grade and was almost suffocated with hugs from his school friends on the last day of school.  He had a successful year at school and piano and has made us very proud.

Samuel has a couple camps coming up, Esther will try gymnastics again, and both are going to swim lessons once a week.  There will be also the beach, pool, and museum trips. Should be a good summer as long as there are no more accidents.  We hope the same for you!