Kindergarten Graduation

Doesn't she look so adorable!!


We attended Kamryn's kindergarten graduation on Thursday night. Jeff's parents and sister were able to attend. Unfortunately, we've never experienced a kindergarten graduation before and had no idea what to expect. When we arrived, every seat and standing space against the wall were taken. Poor Jeff and his family had to hang out in the hallway while I was given a seat up front so that I could take pictures (thanks Stacy). The kids performed several songs and even signed two of them. I was so proud of Kamryn. She did an amazing job! I got teary eyed thinking about what fall is going to bring us. I am not looking forward to having her gone most of the day :(. Kids grow up too fast! After graduation, we went to a local restaurant and ordered ice cream to celebrate.

We have a future, girl version of Jeff Francoeur on our hands. Kamryn did so well at soccer, we tried her in T-ball this spring. She seems to love it, but I think it is because she has a lot of friends on the team. Games last 4 innings and they bat everyone on the team, not keeping score or outs. She seems to get pretty distracted after a few innings, but still has made some great plays. Jeff has been working with her after work each night and she seems to be improving more since she first started. Now instead of catching the ball with her stomach (which really happened, poor girl) she is catching the ball with her glove.


London had her last day of preschool today. We are so sad. She had such an amazing and fun year. I still remember prying her off my legs the first few weeks and now she asks to go. We will truly miss her teacher, Mrs. Burk. London has one more year of preschool and then she will start attending kindergarten...I don't think I am ready to even start thinking about that.

Kamryn had a PJ party today at school. We haven't bought any new PJ's for quite awhile, so she picked her nicest pair, but they are a size 4T...kinda small. Oh well! Tomorrow is Kamryn's last day of school and she has her kindergarten graduation. I can't believe how fast her first year of school went. Again, I am so not ready to even think about having a first grader.

And last, but not least...I have a new calling in our church. I am now in the nursery (taking care of the kids ages 18 months-3years old). It will be so much fun and I am looking forward to preparing lessons like the one I had last Sunday...I am thankful for my ears! It doesn't get much better than that!

Get that corn out of my face!

The title really has nothing to do with this post...sorry. I was just reminded of the awesomeness that is Nacho Libre and had to use a quote (thanks for the reminder Tyler & Catherine).

School is almost out for the summer. May usually tends to be an extra busy month with all of our activities coming to an end as well. Kamryn had her Tavaci performance (choir with props and dancing) on Saturday and she was AMAZING! She sang every song and danced every dance perfectly. One little girl sang a solo that inspired Kamryn. She is now very interested in learning to sing better so that she can be like this little girl who sang so beautifully. So, Tavaci is a must for her in the fall and I have no problems with that.


Speech Therapy has also come to an end. London has improved so much that I really doubt she will need it in the fall. I guess we will see though because she will need to be tested at a 4 year level then. Still, we enjoyed speech therapy and getting to know her awesome teachers.

New Adoption Website

In hopes of gaining more web presence, we set up a new adoption website at Parent Profiles. We've heard many great things about this website! Come and check it out.

www.parentprofiles.com
profile id # 19799

Enchanted

Finally! Ever since seeing the book Enchanted at Barnes and Noble, Kamryn has been wanting to read it. Finally we bought it a few days before the DVD of Enchanted came out. It was torture waiting to watch the DVD so that we could read the book first, but so worth it. We were able to watch it over the weekend and it was so good...one for our DVD collection.

We have also started Junie B. and the Magic Tree House series. Actually, Kamryn and I have this little routine going of reading together while London is at Speech Therapy and we read together while waiting for the school bus. If anyone has any suggestions for chapter books to read, please let me know.

More pictures from our weekend

ISU Graduation

This weekend was spent with Jeff's family. Ashley (Jeff's youngest sister) graduated from ISU and we were able to attend. As Kamryn would say "Ashee is the smartest girl I know." I don't know whether to take offense to this just yet. It is true though, Ashley is smart and has attended school continuously for quite awhile. She totally deserved a day of celebrating this huge accomplishment and we were happy to support her. And, truth be told, it was my most favorite graduation yet (we've been to quite a few). Jeff's parents hired two babysitters to take care of all the cousins. It was so nice to just sit there and not try to entertain my girls for 3 hours.

Spring Concert

Tastes like chicken

After visiting the fish hatcheries, we ate lunch at the local grill. We noticed the menu had several questionable items like sturgeon and alligator. At some point in your life, whether with friends or family, you will get on the subject of weird foods you've eaten. You know I am right! We had to try the alligator just for bragging rights. It was ewww! The waitress was way off when she said it tastes just like chicken, more like swampy fish. Jeff took about 15 minutes chewing his and barely managed to swallow. Kamryn said she liked it, though she only took one bite of it. London tried a bite, but didn't say much other than it was spicy.

My parents took the leftovers home and tricked all of my siblings into tasting it by telling them that Jeff barbecued and he would be offended if they didn't try it. Ha!

So now I've eaten alligator, octopus or squid (something with tentacles and really chewy) and chitlins. Jeff had a whole bull's tongue in Brazil. Just hearing him tell this story makes me want to barf. He was a new missionary and hadn't used the Portuguese language very much. They ate at a members home and they served the cow tongue. Jeff cleaned his plate and everyone started laughing. Finally they told him what it was. I can't imagine eating something not knowing what it is and then finding out it is something nasty. I would seriously get nauseous.



Also, I wanted to thank everyone for posting about what I should do with my hair. I haven't decided just yet except that I am not getting bangs. Bangs are trendy, and you have to style them daily. I want something low maintenance. I hope to have a new look in June.

Weekend with the parents

What a fun weekend we had! My parents decided to come and visit us for a few days. Though they like to be at home and my Dad gets slightly nervous in crowds and would rather avoid them altogether, they still came and got a hotel for a few nights. Yay! I really wanted them to have a good time. Friday night they wanted to babysit our kids for us so that we could have a date. I think they see me babysit a lot for friends and family (of which I volunteer and enjoy immensely), but never get a babysitter myself (though I have certainly been offered). They were pretty pushy about us going and leaving the girls with them and who am I to argue with that. So, when the girls were being majorly spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa, Jeff and I ate at Applebee's and watched Iron Man in the theater. Great movie! By the time we went to pick up Kamryn and London, they were so exhausted that they fell asleep on the way home.

Saturday was my favorite. We left early in the morning and hit a few fish hatcheries. I really didn't know what to expect, but it ended up being so much fun. Just watching the girls run around with Grandma and Grandpa and seeing my Dad have so much fun made the whole trip worth it! We found a couple fishing spots that Grandpa is going to take the girls to this summer some time.

After the fish hatcheries, we went to visit some fossil beds and a museum. The girls had fun digging in the sand trying to find bones. Then we went to lunch, but that deserves a post of its own...so stay tuned. The excitement of the day wore on the girls and we ended up separating so that they could get good naps in. When they woke up, we immediately went over to the hotel that my parents were staying in and we went swimming together. It was a great ending to a great weekend with my parents.

Question and Answer with Special K

Grandpa: If a Daddy Bull eats Hay and a baby calf eats Oats, what does the mommy eat.

Kamryn: Chicken

Need some advice!

Though I have had several different haircuts over the years, I always end up with the same style! I am in need of something different, but beautiful so that I don't regret anything. Please help me! Here are a few that I like, though I am not very good at imagining if these styles will look good on me. Do I stay long, or go short? New color? Suggestions welcomed!!! (Haircut not going to happen until I accomplish one last goal)

A.

B.

C.

D.

Never let me be near propane

I didn't realize that this was so funny until after it all happened. We wanted to BBQ for dinner, so I went to Walmart to fill up our propane tank. I brought it inside the store and the greeter said I was not allowed to bring the tank in the store. After I told her it was empty, she calmed down. She directed me to a place that fills up the tanks cheaper.


I arrive at the gas place, grab our tank and head inside the store. But, before I even open the door, one of the workers is rushing to open it for me. Okay, weird. He points me to a shack that I pull up to and get the tank filled. I decided to pay first though, so he took the tank from me and set it on the ground and we went inside. After I paid, he tells me that he has to go give the propane filler guy a leak guard and that he will carry my tank for me. All the while, I am thinking...wow, what a nice guy. I actually thought that maybe he was doing this because I was a woman and could use the extra help.


So, I drive over and sit and watch them converse and hook things up. Finally, he comes to my window and tells me that I can't have my car running when they fill it up (oh!). Then they finished and he carries it to my van, I open the van door and tell him to "just throw it in there." He looks at me, with his eyebrows arched and then climbs in my van and props the propane tank up against the seat/chair and makes sure it is secure. He tell me to drive carefully and I take off for home, glancing in my mirror I see him holding his hand to his heart.


I think I scared him.