All about Hubby

This weekend should have been all about THIS guy......because his 39th birthday was on Saturday...
... and today was Father's Day. (And he is a FANTASTIC father...).
But, instead, he had to work ALL weekend. It really STINKS being a grown up sometimes!
But, sometimes you HAVE to be a grown up and just suck it up and do what you have to do. There are sick people who still have to be cared for, whether it's your birthday or not.
SO... being the fantastic man that he is, he did what he had to do this weekend. He worked.

Happy Birthday, honey. And, Happy Father's Day, too. We love you VERY much, and are so thankful for you EACH AND EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR!!

Oh, Gracie...

I'm so proud, because Miss Gracie showed me yesterday that she is REALLY GOOD at writing her name! She even spelled her last name correctly, and had most of the capital letters in the correct places. So smart!

However, I was a little sad because she chose to show me by WRITING IT ON THE WALL.
*SIGH*

I got out the Magic Eraser, and, while it removed most of the ink, it also removed a fair amount of paint.

I'll be finding that old touch up paint very soon.

I KNOW that I should be distraught and VERY upset with her. I KNOW that I would have absolutely killed Kate or Abby for doing this very same thing. I KNOW that she is old enough to know better. Oh, how far I have fallen...

I did speak to her very sternly about it. And I didn't even laugh once (in front of her.) She said she just wanted to show me how pretty she could write. (And, if you look at the picture, it is very nice penmanship for a 5 year old...) She has promised to never do it again. If she does, THEN I will kill her... But for now, I'm just going to repaint it.

Just as soon as I find that paint...

My Make-Over

My good friend, Shelley, has given me a new bloggy-look!

Isn't it cute?!?!?!

She's thinking it might inspire me to be better about updating my blog.

I'm doubting it, but maybe... stranger things have happened...

Thanks, Shelley! Love it!! :-)

Triathlon 2010

Today Kate and Abby participated in the 2nd annual Hamilton Kid's Triathlon. Grace was a spectator, and spent the most of her morning holding this cute little kitten...The bigger girls did a GREAT job. Abby thought it was HARD, but still finished strong. We were so proud of her for completing her very first tri. This is Kate's 3rd triathlon, and she did well, finishing 2nd in her age group.


Happy sisters after the race.
Kate on the bike...
Abby on the bike.
Abby warming up before the swim...
Kate before the swim.
A good time was had by all. I'm so proud of my little triathletes!

Camp Champions

I dropped Miss Kate off on Sunday for her first experience at a "sleep away" camp... Here she is after we got all the girls all checked in, and all the moms were about to leave... As you can see, she was READY TO GO!The camp is a multi-sport camp. She's called home every night, and all reports are positive. She is having a GREAT time with a GREAT group of girls. I'm so proud of her!

Well, Hello.

Since I last posted, school has let out and we've celebrated an anniversary (which was FANTASTIC, by the way). We've also had a wonderful holiday weekend with two of Luke's siblings and their families (including my newest sister-in-law). We then loaded ourselves up and went on a wonderful, relaxing, "kid-dream" of a vacation... Not exactly what Luke and I would have chosen, but the kids thought it was AWESOME. We went swimming, to the movies, ice-skating, to a "jumpy-castle" place, to Six Flags, to the zoo, to Medieval Times, to see a Ranger baseball game (complete with fireworks at the end of a victorious game), and to the mall. It was a WHOLE LOT of kid-o-palooza, but now Luke and I are pretty high on our kids' lists...

Yes, I have pictures. No, I am not taking time to upload them now.

Because tomorrow, Kate leaves for her very first "sleep-away" camp. I have the usual "mommy worries", but I really think she's ready, and I really think she's going to have a GREAT time.

But I must finish packing her up now, or she won't be leaving!

Good to be home, internets...

Sixteen Years Ago Today...

...I married this man.Happy Anniversary, Babe. I love you!!!!

TIme, Oh, Time...

...Where have you gone?!?!?!

****NOTE: I just typed out a big ole' long post whining about how busy I was, and guess what?

Blogger erased it all!

HA! I find that strangely amusing...

I don't have time to type it all again, because I'M TOO BUSY!!

We'll just leave it at that, and remind you all that tomorrow is THE FINAL DAY OF SCHOOL with students.

I might make it, friends.

I just might make it!!! :-)

Titanic

Each year in 5th grade, the students read the book "The SOS Titanic". They study all about the Titanic and do some projects about the Titanic. The culmination of the literary study AND of the entire 5th grade year is the first class Titanic luncheon. Today was the big day! Kate was so excited... all the girls got dressed up in their fancy dresses, and all the boys wore ties... FANCY! They take a bus to a local church, which the parents decorate to look as much like the boat as possible. The parents also cook a first-class meal, which the students eat in a room that has been transformed into the first class dining hall aboard the Titanic. Today the menu was scones and tea, noodle soup, Caesar salad, turkey breast, green bean bundles, new potatoes, and rolls. FOr dessert, they had pound cake with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream. Yum! In class, the students learn all about etiquette, including which forks and spoons to use, and where to place their napkins. It is quite an experience!

Here's Miss Kate at the luncheon.
Here is Kate with some of her friends in her classroom before the luncheon.
The day of the luncheon, the students are assigned an "escort". The boys are instructed on how to be a gentleman, including how to offer their arm to escort the lady and how to open doors and pull out the dining chair. Luckily, Kate was paired with her friend, Austin. They had a great time together!
Here's Kate with her good buddy, Taylor, before the luncheon. Don't they look pretty?
And, finally, here's my classy little lady.
At the end of the luncheon, the students are presented an envelope with a biography of an actual Titanic passenger. They are able to read all about their lives and what they were doing aboard the Titanic. Kate was assigned the biography of Dorothy Gibson, who was a famous actress from this time period. (She was pretty excited about being a celebrity! ha ha)

They all had a wonderful time that I am sure they won't soon forget. It was a great way to end their last year in elementary school!

The Graduate

Today was Miss Gracie's Pre-School Graduation. It was quite bittersweet for me. On one hand, I'm so proud of the little girl she is growing to be... She's a baby no longer! She has always been different from the other two, but as she grows, I am really liking the person that she is becoming. She definitely has a mind of her own, but in many ways, that's a good thing... With her, I never doubt that she will grow into a strong, independent woman. She will always do her own thing, and I doubt that she will ever be pushed into something she wasn't ready for! Today was a big milestone... next year I will no longer have a pre-school aged child... that's a big one! I have had at least one pre-schooler for the past ELEVEN YEARS. Next year they will all be up on the hill at the "big school". In some ways, I am SO happy about that, but in other ways, I am so sad to see these years come to an end. It's just all TOO FAST! If somebody could just SLOW IT DOWN, ALREADY, I'd be a lot happier.

But, time waits for no one, so today my baby isn't a baby any more. I cried A LOT at graduation today (mostly because they INSIST on playing this ridiculously sad song at graduation... it's called "Let Them Be Little", and it gets me every time I hear it.)

I am ridiculously proud of my baby girl. She has grown up so much, and I love her more than words can say.

Here are "the girls" before graduation...
And here is Grace with her Daddy after graduation. (Even though he was on call this weekend, he still got to come to graduation! Yay Daddy!!!)
And here is the graduate with her proud Mother. (Notice the puffy eyes... I had already wept like a baby by this time!)
And here is our little graduate, ready to face the future. High School Senior in the year of 2023.
Look out, kindergarten, here she comes!!! :-)