Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Why so excited, Evan?

Any guesses?
If you guessed, "He's excited because he's feeding chickens!", you'd be right on the money.

Hey, you might have. ;)
He had a fabulous time!
It really tickled his funny bone that these chickens would follow him where ever he went, begging for the corn he had in his cup.
Evan was quite popular.
This was his expression every time the rooster crowed...
...and that look of surprise was always followed by some of this. :)
I have a feeling that this little boy might be able to twist my arm to do this again sometime!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Thoughts on an early Saturday morning

The night before last I had gotten to bed late, and all yesterday I felt the effects. I was tired, cranky, overwhelmed, etc. So last night I avoided getting anything such as laundry or clean-up done in favor of getting to bed early and getting a good night of sleep. What happened? I woke up at 3:00 AM still processing all that has been making me feel cranky and overwhelmed. :(

So I thought I would write on my blog and focus on all of the blessings of the past few days rather than dwelling on my frustrations...

Evan and I had lunch outside the other day, just the two of us. We sat under the Maple tree that we planted when we moved to our house. (My husband saw us sitting there and snapped this picture.) Evan was soooo chatty. It's so nice to have that one on one time with each of my kids.
We picked up my nephew, Robbie from preschool yesterday. Robbie is such a sweet boy, and always has such an enthusiastic greeting for Evan and me. He usually bolts out of the school and then runs into my arms for a big hug, and then gives Evan one too. This time Evan wanted the first hug. When I said that Robbie was about to come out of the school, Evan pushed me aside, stood right in front of me and spread his arms out wide waiting for Robbie! Robbie did not disappoint. :) This whole scene gave me the biggest smile!

We are big fans of this sweet little boy!
Evan was playing with his friend, Ryan, this afternoon. They decided to ride their bikes, of course. Evan opted to wear Ryan's football helmet instead of his own bike helmet because, well, it "looked cool". I couldn't object because it was probably an even safer option. :)

Today my sister, Karen, brought my Aunt Shirley's doll cupboard for Caroline. This cupboard was made by Caroline's Great Great Grandpa for his granddaughter, who was our Aunt Shirley. When we were little, my sisters, my cousin, and I would play with it and all of the tea sets and kitchen gadgets that went with it. When Caroline came home from her playdate tonight, I had it all set up in the playroom for her. She was thrilled! Seeing my daughter play with something that has such a family history made me shed a few tears. ;)
I also received two other special momentos. One was a watch that I just love because I can wear it and remember my sweet aunt. The other was a set of china, originally my grandmother's and then handed down to my Aunt Shirley. I have so many memories of my aunt serving special family and holiday meals on it. I am looking forward using it for our Thanksgiving meal this year.
I am richly blessed.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Another Evan Serenade

When Evan got home from his baseball game tonight, he treated us to this song that he learned in his preschool class.

Untitled from Sarah Nosek on Vimeo.

He really is quite the entertainer, isn't he?! ;)

Sunday, May 22, 2011

An accomplishment to share

Evan and one of his best buddies, Ryan, LOVE to ride their bikes. A couple of weeks ago, Ryan learned how to skid to a stop, making an actual mark on the sidewalk. Evan was quite impressed. I wanted Evan to learn how to skid because he needed to get better at stopping on his bike. The fact that Ryan could do it, and that anything Ryan does is cool was all of the encouragement Evan needed.

Imagine Evan's delight when he figured it out the other day! He was stopping people on the sidewalk to show them his skid marks. And fortunately Dave was working from home, so Evan could drag his daddy outside to show him his big accomplishment!
It might not seem like big news, but believe me, it was. It rocked Evan's world.
I wonder...will this young man learn how to ride his bike without training wheels this summer? Dave seems to think so, and Evan might be ready, but I'm not so sure that I am. ;)

Friday, May 20, 2011

Happy birthday party, Henry!

Henry had a few friends over last night...
to celebrate his twelfth birthday. I love this group of boys. They are just good kids, and it seems like they've been friends forever. Or at least since Kindergarten. ;)
After the kids had pizza and root beer for dinner, we headed over to the kids' school for the Spring Fling. Caroline and Seth came along too, while Evan stayed home to ride bikes with Dave.
Think they had any fun?!
Sweet girls!

Best friends!
The boys joined in too...
Apparently "dancing" in these trains was the big thing last night. :)
They did a little line dancing too.

But then it was back to the trains...
Seth met some buddies there too.

Our kids are blessed to have such friends!


We walked back home...
and then it was time for a little basketball.
These kids had a pretty good game going!

Then it was time to sing "Happy Birthday", and have a little cookie cake.
Henry opened a few presents...gift cards, games, hex bugs, and
TOILET PAPER.
Good one, Grant!
Gotta love 5th grade humor!

They wrapped up the night with a little Ghost in the Graveyard and Kick the Can, watched a movie, and fell asleep exhausted. They woke up early for a big breakfast, and played the rest of the morning. I think :) they had a good time!

Happy birthday, Henry!

What...a...day.

Playing with brothers, sister and dog.
Having last day of preschool.
Graduating.
Having a celebratory lunch with mom, dad, Connor and his family.
Having a playdate with Connor.
No nap, because lately that's his modus operandi.
All of that makes for one...tired...4 year old...Evan.
So tired, in fact, that he fell asleep at the dinner table last night. (The image melted my heart!) I carried him up to his bed, where he informed me that he was, "sooo sweepy, sweepy". (Translation: sleepy) He slept from then until 6:00 this morning, ready for another busy day ahead of him!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Big Men on Campus

That's right. Evan is one of them!
He's officially an upperclassman in his preschool! No more 3/4 year old class for him. Today he graduated into the 4/5 year old class!
Just look at these BIG KIDS!
Evan and his best buddy, Connor...What a year they've had! :)
We, of course, are so proud of our young man!
And so are his teachers! Evan told me that he is going to miss them, but we're so happy that he will have them for his teachers next year.
See you in the fall!