Aidan seems to spend some amount of "free" time at school drawing pictures; he is continually frustrated by his lack of artistic ability/training, but for my money, I think he's pretty good at pencil and paper. Here are a couple of his masterpieces:
A couple of weeks ago, it was SO nice on the weekend that on Saturday we decided to go to the zoo. Jim, Everybody's Hero, gave the kids permission (and funds!) to ride the camel. They loved it. The camel even seemed to be enjoying himself. :)
In school Esme's class was learning what a family crest is, and the children each designed their own "personal" crest. Esme says she stands for truth, justice and bravery, but I thought it said "brainery," which is much funnier.
Due to a mix-up with ProFlowers, I received TWO beautiful bouquets for Mother's Day this year! This is the second one.
The super-wet spring we have had did have benefits. All the flowers and trees have bloomed SO great this year! This is our backyard pear tree.
Here is Esme with our phlox plants.
The second grade Marketplace Day was lots of fun. Here is Esme, the CEO of "Esme's Beady Bracelets," at work in her shop. She sold out!
We have a lot of beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
Here's our little crabapple tree, which starts out fuschia, fades into pink, and ends up almost white before dropping its blossoms. It's green now!
This is our fifth spring here, and FINALLY the lilacs have done themselves justice. They were beautiful this year, and smelled heavenly.
Aidan and Tyler had a nice day and insisted on taking their guitar lesson outside with Mr. Shepard. It was neat to find them out there when I arrived to pick them up.
Another super nice day - where to spend it? The beach, of course! The water was FREEZING but the kids enjoyed it anyway!
After an almost six-month wait, our kilts and accessories finally arrived from Scotland. We designed the tartan ourselves and named it the Bofa tartan. :) Mostly brown and purple with a little red, white and black.
Happy Mother's Day to me!
We spent part of Mother's Day at the Meijer Gardens - it was really nice to be outside there again!
Another pic from our visit to the zoo. They have put in a new retaining wall and planted it with all sorts of beautiful things.
In May we started attending Ada Bible Church's Kentwood Campus and have been very pleased so far. The kids are very pleased with their Sunday School activities and leaders. Aidan is actually happy in church for the first time since Immanuel UMC when he was four. I think that is very telling and really hope it lasts.
The children and I had eye exams in May. Esme's vision remains just peachy - might she escape glasses for a few more years? Aidan, who was the one who requested the appointment in the first place (we usually wait until school is out), ended up with a prescription 2x stronger than his old one. I guess he needed to go! My vision is only a teensy bit worse. We'll be picking up our new glasses within the next week - Aidan's have Transitions lenses.
The first two days of June have already been busier for me than all of May. The run-up to the last day of school seems to be more hectic every year! Yesterday I visited Esme's classroom to watch the children present their animal reports using PowerPoint, then went to the bank to deposit checks, Kinko's to have the Wetzel book printed, Home Depot to pick up some gardening things, and Cost Plus World Marketplace (picked up a little outdoor table). I spent the afternoon gardening, working on menus and grocery lists, and making some health insurance/benefits calculations.
Today I went back to Esme's school to fulfill my last obligation as a second grade volunteer, then to Byron Center Meats and Costco for groceries, then to Kinko's to pick up my books (they are speedy quick there), then home to unload the car. I had lunch and it was back out to Target. This afternoon I have put all the groceries away, packaged the books, cleaned off my desk, and now it's almost time for the kids to come home! I don't know when there might be time for me to sit in my new patio chair and read a book, honestly.
Both kids' music recitals are on Thursday 9 June - basically at the same time. It took frantic phone conversations with both their teachers but we have everything worked out now - Esme will be performing at the beginning of Mrs Muller's program which starts at 7 pm, and Aidan will be performing at the end of Mr Shepard's program which starts at 7:30 pm. Whew! We'll try not to speed in between there! :)
Not many days of school left! Looking forward to a nice long relaxing summer! Hope you are too!