I Fell Into a Burning Ring of Fire

Volcano building and eruption must be an elementary school rite of passage. Emily did not disappoint! I helped her mix the salt dough and she took it from there. I think her finished creation was fun and original. She named it "The Ring of Fire".

Em with her masterpiece

All decked out with pre-historic critters

We watched all of the 5th graders participate in the mass chaos of eruption. Eruption

(with help from Dad and friend S)

Success!

The aftermath

A colorful, soggy, vinegar-y mess

It was a fun project! Way to go, Em!

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Channeling Martha

What in the world do you do when carpool leaves at 8:30 a.m. and you are informed by your darling daughter at 8:17 a.m. that it is "Crazy Helmet" day?

You channel your "Inner Martha", of course!

I'm not sure Martha would approve of pipe cleaners, googly eyes and glue dots, but I'm sure I'd score a few points for creativity and speed!

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First Day of School! First Day of School!

The beginning of another school year...

Emily

5th grade

(5th grade, people...I was in 5th grade yesterday! How is it that my baby is a beautiful, confident 5th grader? )

Natalie

2nd grade

(My pretty social butterfly. Strong-willed, independent and ready to roll...2nd grade...here she comes!)

Todd

Kindergarten

(Certainly the most handsome kindergartener I know. I can neither confirm or deny that I was teary eyed over him today.)

Alex

2.5 years old
(My blue-eyed charmer. Looking forward to lots of fun with mom...and hopefully an occasional nap...while everyone else is at school)

And...

It just so happens that today is my two year blogiversary...

...so grab a piece of cake and join the party!

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Dr. Todd

Todd is a preschool graduate! His graduation was quite a production! The kids practiced at preschool all week and had a dress rehearsal at the elementary school on Friday. On Saturday, they finally presented what I've been referring to as "Preschool Musical". :o)

There were 28 musical numbers and each child had a part that went along with one of the songs.

Todd played the doctor in the song Miss Molly. He made a great doctor. His name was listed in the program as Dr. Todd (insert last name here). Hmmm...I like the sound of that!

Miss Molly had a dolly who was sick, sick, sick.
So she called for the doctor to come quick, quick, quick.
The doctor came with his bag and his hat,
And he knocked on the door with a rat-a-tat-tat.
He looked at the dolly and he shook his head,
And he said, "Miss Molly, put her straight to bed."
He wrote on the paper for a pill, pill, pill.
"I'll be back in the morning with the bill, bill, bill."

I can't belive my sweet boy is going to be a kindergartener!

We're proud of you and we love you, T-bone!

*Blogger video uploader has been very uncooperative! I finally resorted to YouTube.*

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Weekend Winnings

This weekend we attended two auctions.

The first was an art auction to benefit NDPA. The students and teachers at the school created original art pieces and put together gift baskets that were auctioned off by both silent and live auction. We had a nice dinner and ended up winning our bid on this nifty "Fitness Fun" gift basket. It included all the great stuff you see here plus an ipod shuffle...but shhhh...don't tell Todd. We're saving it for his birthday. :o)



Auction number two was a fundrasier for the Boy Scouts in our ward. They hosted a carnival style afternoon with games, food and a cake auction. Todd wanted this Rubiks Cube cake from the moment he saw it. Thanks to some teamwork by Emily and her friend Rachel, the cake was procured and Todd's day was complete!

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Kindergarten, Here I Come

If you ever need a wake up call about how fast time flies, just register your boy for Kindergarten.

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Casting Her Ballot

Emily's class is following the presidential election.

This afternoon she came home with an assignment to do some research on the candidates. We were talking about the assignment when Emily asked...

"Mom, what's a Republican?"

I replied, "Republicans are..."
(and paused slightly, trying to make sure my answer was something she would understand)

During my slight pause, she chimed in with this gem...

"Old?"

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :o) I'm still belly laughing over this one.

Well...Emily, not always, but in this case...YES!

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First Day in the...

Fourth Grade

Emily is enjoying fourth grade. She has two teachers...they share a contract. Mrs. B teaches in the morning, Mrs. J in the afternoon and they alternate Fridays. Emily is having fun, making friends and feeling comfortable. Hooray! And by the way...

I HAVE A FOURTH GRADER!

Seriously?!? When did that happen?

First Grade

Natalie thinks going to school all day and eating school lunch is the best! She keeps us up to date on the daily menu and always lets us know what she'll be choosing. Mrs. W's class is great fun. Natalie is enjoying friends, homework and reading chapter books like a pro.

Preschool

Todd is in Miss K's class at preschool. His school is a fun-filled place with a great curriculum and the awesomest playground toys you've ever seen. He's so proud of his "Thomas" bookbag! He has liked snack and playtime the best so far. :o) He hardly had time for a hug and kiss goodbye...which is both a good and bad thing for me!

Alex and I aren't sure what to do with ourselves for 6 hours each week when it's only the two of us. I'm doing my best to equal two sisters and a brother in the fun department! I'm not sure I'm succeeding. Today when we went to pick up Todd, I told Alex we were going to go get Todd and bring him home. As we were driving to the school, Alex started singing. His cute little ditty went like this...

"Toddy huming huh huh HOME!"

It was adorable! I'll try to capture it on video and post it later.

Summer went by so quickly! I'm a bit sad that it's over, but I'm welcoming the (alleged) routine and structure that come with going back to school.

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Kindergarten

This school year has flown by! I can't believe Natalie is done with Kindergarten. I'm also in a bit of denial about her going to school for a full day in the fall. Her class had awards and an ice cream party to celebrate the last day of school. Here are a few highlights...

Nat and Alex on the famous "rug".

The ice cream was tasty!

Natalie and Mrs. B, her awesome classroom aide.

Natalie and Mrs. M, her wonderful teacher.

We're proud of you, Natalie!

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