my fabulous 5: June 2005

Esther's etch-a sketch artwork

Last Day of School

It seems hard to believe that the school year is over. For so long, there were so many things to take care of each day -- making sure there was something to send for lunch, signing permission slips, sending in lunch money, signing homework books and tests, field trips, and getting HUGE instruments to school. Yesterday, they went for half a day and did not need to take anything but themselves. Now we have some time to relax, some time to fight over the computer, the tv, the video games, and everything else. Today went pretty smoothly with very little fighting which was nice for me. Hopefully things will continue to go well, although it was about 2 o'clock this afternoon when Ben had finally become bored. We have next week off, then summer school starts -- basketball for Ben, and art and music lessons for Esther.

last day of school june 9, 2005

first day of school august 30, 2004

doesn't this look like fun?

look at those smiles!

becky esther kimmy and andy (4 years ago)

emily has a nicer stroller for her baby than I do

who knew running boards were good for relaxing on

I think he may need pedal extenders

our current pool

Mario and Mario, Jr

Nikki

Emily

jimmy and the kids

What would camping be without snakes?

Ben's eco-art

Now Ben knows how to set a table

Ben horsebackriding at camp

Ben doing the challenge course at camp

This one's for you, Debbie

Quiet House

It's amazing how quiet the house can seem (or actually be) with just two people missing. Going to school this morning was easy. There was no fighting over the computer, no fighting at all since Wednesday morning. Yesterday afternoon Esther and I made meat pies for dinner and brownies for dessert. We had a nice quiet dinner and then went to the library. Dad called while we were eating and the kids really enjoyed talking to him, especially Emmy who got such a broad grin on her face while she was talking to him. Anyway, even though the quiet is nice, we really all miss Ben and Dad, but are sure they are having a great time without us.

Hawk Day 2005

Hawk Day was last Friday, having been postponed from the previous Friday when it was pouring rain and pretty cold. Having the makeup date the Friday before Memorial Day was great because Phet finally got to see the kids doing their races. The kids really enjoy when Dad comes to watch them do these kinds of things. Phet's being there made it much easier for me since Emily, to no one's surprise, was out of control. If she could have gotten into the middle of all the races she would have been very happy. I did get some video of her spinning around in circles and falling down many times. She was really very tired since the races for the older kids were during her normal nap time. Nikki was very well behaved and layed in the stroller the entire time. Ben was very happy that since this was his last Hawk Day, his team the Black Hawks won (by 2 points). It was also the only time in five years that Ben was on the winning team, so you can imaging my relief when he came running out of school and told me that he had won. Esther, being the easy going person that she is, took winning in stride. Winnning is not something that is new to her.