Well, I just turned the TV off downstairs. We had 13 girls at the party and 11 slept over. There was some of the usual girl drama, but nothing major and really it was easier than I thought it would be. Lily was her usual bossy self and I had to try to keep that under control. She just wants to be the leader in everything, which, later in life COULD be a good thing I guess. But, right now it can cause problems if she doesn't rein it in. She just had it in her mind how this party was going to go and when it wasn't going that way she was not happy. They kept very busy, though and did have a good time. I'll post pics tomorrow.

2ND GRADE SOCK HOP!

Lily LOVES this little boy! Actually, all the girls in the class do, too!
Lily's class.

Lily and her teacher Mrs. Radant-she looked great!
Dancin!

Lily in her poodle skirt I made-I thouoght it turned out pretty good for the amount of time I spent on it-which wasn't much!
They did a play for us before the sock hop-Lily was a narrator.
Lily and Korbyn.
Lily and Emma.

Lily had her 2nd grade sock hop last night. It's something they do every year at Hinkle Creek. They had SO much fun. Lily danced non-stop the whole hour and a half! As a matter of fact, people were commenting to me on how much she liked to dance! She knew a lot of the 50's dances from her recital last year-it was all 50's. It was a fun night.

Her sleepover party is tomorrow night. I have SO much to do to get ready!

Oh, forgot to mention......I got the official word(in the form of a hand delivered letter from the principal that I had to sign for) today that I have my job back next year---yay!!

HOME

Well Wyatt made it back safe and sound from Space Camp. The bus got in about 9:30 last night. You won't believe this......he stepped off the bus in the SAME clothes he left in. That's right, no change of clothes for 3 days!! And all that thought I put into matching "outfits". Well, at least I didn't have any laundry! No teeth brushing for 3 days either. He had SUCH an awesome time, though, and was talking 100 miles and hour about everything he saw and did. He said it was even more fun than he thought it was going to be. It sounds like he learned a lot and he came home with a really cool group picture in front of the Pathfinder. He also got a nice certificate that we are going to frame and hang in his room. If anyone you know ever gets an opportunity to go, I highly recommend it!

WEEKEND PICS

Lily's BFF Emma spent the night last night. They went to movie night at Lily's dance studio.
Here they are today playing in the water. Actually, they asked if they could clean my birdbath out---of course!! When I finally looked at it later, it was the cleanest it has ever been since it was new!
They asked to have a lemonade stand. They did it all themselves---made the lemonade, carried the picnic table around front, made the sign and..................................
Look at this flock of boys! I hope this isn't a sign of times to come!! They did make $1.50 each!
My son never ceases to make me laugh. I was giving his room a good cleaning today(mostly because I can throw stuff away when he's not around---AND I didn't want him to come home to a dirty room--even though he did leave it that way) Anyway, I found this. A bag of some old parts to some electricity experiment thingy. He had written "cool stuff" and the date on the bag. Funny.

Jeff noticed this bird nest in our pine tree on the side of the house. It was a bit above my eye level but I held the camera up and got this pic.
Here's the mama bird sitting on her eggs. We walked by so many times doing yard work that I think she finally got used to us and stoppped flying away.
Lily helping with yard work.

A pic from her soccer game. Run, Lily, run!

It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend!! The nicest weather we've had so far this Spring. We got a ton of yardwork done. Re-edging all the beds, new mulch, digging a new bed on the side of the house, pruning, cleaning bird feeders, dividing perennials, planting some new flowers. Hard work, but work I love doing. I'm so happy when I'm digging in the dirt! It looks tons better,too!

Wyatt should be back from Space Camp in about an hour. We're sitting here waiting on the call that they are 30 minutes away. I can't wait to see him and here how it was! I hope they go easy on them at school tomorrow, I'm sure they'll all be beat!!

GONE TO ALABAMA!!

Ready to go.
Wyatt with his friend Josh. He was so glad he got in the hotel room tonight with his friends.
Getting on the bus. The buses were super nice inside with plush seats and controls above them like on an airplane. It had a TV and bathrooms. too! Good thing, because it's a loooong ride. That's Lily waving bye to him-she and Rachel both cried after the bus pulled away--I can't believe I didn't!
He said I was embarassing him taking pictures. Guess he didn't care that all the parents were, not just me. He's getting so funny about that anymore-not wanting me to touch him in the hall, etc. Guess I knew it was coming-but it's still hard when it does!
Here's the bus departing. Wow! Can't believe he's gone and I won't talk to him for 3 whole days!


Wyatt left for Space Camp this afternoon. It's in Huntsville, Alabama. They'll be gone til Sunday night. We don't even get to talk to them the whole time-there is a phone tree to let us know when they reach their destinations (they will stay in Tennessee tonight and on to Alabama in the morning) and when they are close to home again. I know he'll be fine and it will be really good for him to have to take care of himself totally for a few days. He was so excited! I know it will also be a great learning experience for him. It's just gonna be a weird weekend without him!

SPRING PROGRAM

All of 4th grade-they look so big. 4th grade seems to be such a year for growing. They look SO much bigger at the end of 4th grade than at the beginning.
Lots of snickering and eye rolling here - they had to hold hands!

Wyatt had his Spring program at school last night. He did a good job even though he wasn't too excited about it. I don't think many of the boys were. As a matter of fact, their teacher told us that she told them before they went on, "I don't care how cheesey you think this is-you better smile and do you're best-it's Mrs. Watson's last program and you better do your best for her!" It was funny, too, because her class was definitely moving to the music more than the others. Our music teacher is retiring after 27 years.

SOCCER AND FIELD TRIP

Hoeing the garden at Conner Prairie.

Lily playing soccer today.
At the school from the year 1836. There was a teacher teaching a "lesson". Looks like he had their attention!
The group I took around. I got lucky, they were very good. Oh, the girl in the green shirt is Courtney. Wyatt has had a crush on her all year. He has good taste, she is very cute and very smart. Oh, he would just die if he knew I was writing this on my blog!
Wyatt at the hotel desk.

Lily and her best friend Emma. They loved getting to play each other.
Lily playing goalie.

In the mix.
Lily and Emma after the game.

These pictures are all mixed together. Lily had her first soccer game last night and another one today. She did very well-especially for having had only 2 practices. They won both of the games, but they played 2 brand new teams. The rest of the games will be against teams that played together in the fall, so it may be a whole different story. She got the ball kicked in her face hard from very close range today. It was scary. She came out of the game, but was all right after a few minutes. I think it just startled her.

Wyatt had his last field trip on Friday to Conner Prairie. I got to go along(AND get paid-awesome). It was a PERFECT day weather wise and we had a great time.

Wyatt has his first baseball game tonight at 7. I guess our Saturdays are booked up for a while!

RIP Rainbow

Digging the grave.
Placing the headstone-(a cross made from 2 popscicle sticks)
Well, we finally buried Lily's belated fish, Rainbow, after 4 days. It was in a zip lock in the garage all that time and looked exactly the same-which surprised me. I was kind of scared to look at it. Wyatt was the brave one that emptied him out of the bag. We buried him next to Skeeter. Guess we have a fish cemetary now!She still says everyday that she misses him. Can't believe you can get that attached to fish, but I guess she was. Her new one is doing fine so far.

EXPECTING PERFECTION

I'm guilty of this---and it bothers me a lot. I expect perfection of my kids. I don't know why I'm like this, but I'm sure there is all kinds of psychological mumbo jumbo trying to explain it. I came across this article and I think it has some really great points. Even if you are not guilty of this, it is worth reading. I especailly love the part in the last paragraph about watching your kids discover who they are.
http://www.mothering.com/community_tools/teen_voices/children-perfect.html

WEEKEND PICS

Lily taking her turn.
Jeff giving it a try.

Wyatt got Guitar Hero Saturday night with the last of his birthday gift cards. I think Jeff wanted it as much as Wyatt did. We all played it--I must admit-I even played it when no one else was home today. I'm getting better. It's hard. Somehow Wyatt seems to be a natural at it. We're thinking about guitar lessons! (oh, and the tongue does really help!)

Wyatt had baseball picture day at 7:15 Saturday morning-yikes!

Lily and I made this dress for her Cabbage Patch doll today. Well, let me say we started it together after much of her begging--and 5 minutes into it her friend came knocking at the door and off she went. I finished it. It took all of 15 minutes-and that's with a mess up---I haven't sewn in a while! We have fabric to make 2 more and a matching one for Lily. Another day.
I made purple and orange fries tonight for dinner from purple potatoes and sweet potatoes. I put them in and went down and got on the treadmill. Mistake. I burnt the sweet potatoes, but the purple ones were fine and tasted like regular potatoes.
Lily sewing the doll dress---before she ditched me.
Lily's beloved fish, Rainbow, died Saturday. Or, at least, that's when we discovered that he was dead. He had a shell he would go into and she told me he hadn't been out in a while. Red flag. As soon as I walked over, I knew. It stunk. Jeff had to shake the shell to get him out. We haven't had the burial yet--he's still in a zip lock in the garage--eeww. She had just written her young author book at school about him, too. She was so sad. We got a new one Saturday night. R.J. for Rainbow junior. He's a crown tail and really pretty.(that's him above)

I was looking through Lily's backpack tonight and she had a whole stack of creative writing pieces. One is called "The Best Mom" and this is how it goes: (no editing here)

The best mom is my mom. Evey night she kisses me. Mmmmp. She loves me much. I love her much. We huge(hug) and we kiss each other. She knows I love her much. I know that she loves me much. I love my mom. She loves me too. Sometimes we go to the mall together. It's realy fun. We eat at mark pie's sometimes. Mark pie's is a chinense restront. She is the best.

OK, that made my day, no, my week!

Gotta love 2nd grade writing!