little spring teasers

{glimpses of spring. one day it is sunny and in the 60's. next it is drizzling and in the 40's. makes us enjoy those little teasers! carly and miss mm were outside soaking it up. their idea for snack, an icee from walmart. crazy. my idea, sprite floats with rainbow sherbet. they were appeased.}

her fan section doubled

[a tough day for basketball, the day that Gabby passed away]

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[then the game was full of drama....she got poked in the eye during the tip off, later while her and a friend on the other team were going after the ball, the little girl fell and hit her head pretty hard on the floor. I'm amazed that she held it together, much less played a good game.]

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[maybe it was because she had such a big cheering section]

today's lunch special

Carly and Miss MM ready to cook lunch!

{in Miss MM's kitchen}

We had pizza croissants and fruit. After a little help, Miss MM's mom and I hung out in the den visiting.

The girls only had to be reminded a couple of times to keep a watch on the oven!

holding court

{spring break tennis clinic with friends}

{carly working on her serve}

{MK has such concentration} {Miss MM putting all her power in it}

{fabulous afternoon with friends!}

wordless wednesday :: st. patrick's day

it IS spring break

even though it is cloudy & cold, it is Spring Break

and why shouldn't we flag down the ice cream man?

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it feels empty around here

It was February 1997. Kenny called me and asked was I interested in going to look at some Weimaraner puppies. "Just go and look", he said. When we arrived, the family had 2 female puppies left. They owned both the parents and we were able to see the mom. The dad must be off exploring some where we were told. Before I knew what was happening, Kenny was choosing which one he wanted to take home. It WAS his birthday! As Kenny was deciding, one of the puppies goes over to the back door and tinkles on the mat. "I want that one," Kenny said. We all looked at him like maybe he was being sarcastic. "I know she is going to make it home without going in my truck!" About that time, there was a huge thump on the window. I turn around to see the biggest set of paws that I have ever seen. Dad was back. That is when I realized that this precious little puppy that was all paws and ears could grow up over 100lbs. {thank goodness she never did!}

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Kenny and I were not the greatest first time parents. And, look at that cute little puppy, who would not love that face. Gabby quickly ruled the roost in typical puppy style. We started out completely ill-prepared for puppyhood. The final straw was when the precious new addition ate a door frame, or maybe the piece of furniture, or maybe when she pulled up the carpet and ate the tack strip.

But by the time the year 2000 rolled around, Gabby was the official majestic queen in the castle. She had wormed her way into everyone's heart. She loved to play fetch, go on a boat ride, nap in the recliner with you, curl up in front of a fire, or destroy a squeaky toy or two. That was when we all began to worry that we were about to rock her world. Carly joined us and Gabby didn't miss a beat. She took on the role of big sis - the watcher, the protector, the playmate.

Over the next 10 years, Gabby and Carly grew up together. Carly loved a lot which Gabby tolerated like the big sister she was. When Carly was tiny and we were all in the truck together, I began to ride in the backseat with Carly while Gabby rode in the front seat. Not because we were worried that Gabby was going to hurt her but because Gabby liked to keep her clean. Really clean. We were worried she might lick her to death.

Gabby loved to play and thought everyone was available to be her playmate. She would fetch just about anything you would throw for her - a ball, a frisbee, a stick, an empty plastic coke bottle, even a snowball with 6" of snow on the ground. And even though she was a terrible swimmer, she would charge off in the water in order to fetch a stick. And if no one was available for throwing, she would chase birds, squirrels, chipmunks or anything that she thought was on her turf.

13 years Gabby has been a big part of our lives. She was there for it all. She would wake up with me in the morning. She would sit outside the shower until Kenny got out. She would meet you at the door when you got home. She would climb in the recliner with you to take a nap. She snuggled in between Carly and I when we were sitting on the floor eating or watching T.V. She went outside with Carly to explore and play. She traveled to both sets of grandparents on a regular basis. She loved any chance for someone to give her love.

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Gabby Girl, you were well loved and we miss you!!

wordless wednesday :: best friends

Bible Day

Each year, the 4th grade class puts on Bible Day. They started a month ago by choosing a person from the Bible to research and write a report about. Carly was Mary of Bethany {not to be confused with Mary Magdalene which apparently there is some confusion even among Bible scholars, who knew}. They also are part of a small group that makes a display about different topics. Carly's group was about housing and transportation.

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On the morning of Bible Day, they come in costume and set up their displays in the gym. Throughout the morning, the rest of the kids - preschool-6th grade - come through and the groups give little 5 minutes talks about who they are and about their display.

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I chose to help with the afternoon activities and went to work, so I missed seeing the displays set up and the kids giving their little presentations. Other mom's gave me feedback and several have said that they have some pictures of Carly so I'm hoping I can add a couple of those later. The one dad that I know that was there said "it was mass chaos"!

After lunch, the 4th grade had 4 classroom centers to rotate through. Each center was about something to do with the Jewish religion including the Star of David, Hanakkah, a dreidel, Bible Trivia, and a Passover Seders meal. I'm thinking the premise behind this is to be better educated about the Jewish religion since there is so much in their Bible studies.

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In the first classroom they learned a little about the Star of David and then followed directions to do a paper folding and cutting. You can see Carly's on her desk below. I thought it was a neat art idea.

In the next classroom they played Bible baseball. It was a trivia game with questions about things they have been learning in Bible class. There were 5 groups and it was funny to see how they all began adapting the game as they played. The other moms and I decided as long as they were answering questions and not fighting, we did not care what baseball rules they used!

Back in Carly's room, they listened to a book about Hanukkah.

They made dreidels and learned to play the game.

Their Bible teacher led their center about a Passover Seder meal. They learned it is a Jewish family ritual used to retell the story of Exodus. They learned about the symbolism of 4 cups of wine {to bring, to deliver, to redeem and to take}, the bitter herbs {harshness of their slavery}, the charoset {brick and morter used to build house by the slaves}, and matza bread.

They learned that they did not like pure horseradish!

what's the real treat?

Not long ago, Carly let me know that I had been slacking on coming to eat with her in the cafeteria. So, I made plans on the next available Friday {work gets in the way the rest of the week}. Carly's pick-up lunch of choice is Subway, which I can live with. She always chooses a meatball on white with american cheese warmed not toasted with BBQ Baked Lays and most recently a dr. pepper to drink.

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When a parent comes to eat with you, you get to sit at a separate table. I don't know if that is to make it a more special time for the child and parent or to save the parent from eating with "the masses". Either way, thank you, because table etiquette is OUT-THE-WINDOW in a cafeteria. I know some of these kids' parents. They are NOT allowed to act like that with their parents present, I promise. Which only makes me give my child a lecture that starts with "just because I am not there......"

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I brought lunch for Miss MM too, so that she was able to join us at the special table. Miss MM is in another 4th grade class so her and Carly do not typically get to sit together at lunch. This might have been a bigger treat than lunch with mom, Subway, or the dr. pepper!

the perfect wintry activity

We have had a lot of wintry weather this year. We had wintry precipitation a few times including waking up one morning with 6 inches of pure snow. Enough days off school, that we are now having to make up a couple at the end of the year. We even broke a record for consecutive days of temperatures below freezing.

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One cold, icy day that school was cancelled, I brought out a jigsaw puzzle. Carly and I spent the day in our pajamas puttering around the house. We worked on the puzzle throughout the day. We worked on it that night a little. The next morning with the fireplace roaring, we all gathered around and worked on it until we finished it.

And even though I love many things about the winter, I'm tired of it now. I'm ready for longer days full of blue skies, big fluffy clouds, sunshine, green grass, daffodils, weather warm enough to hang out with a book in the hammock. So come on Spring, I'm ready!

wordless wednesday

best place to take a nap

and the winner is

the planetarium

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Carly's enrichment class had a field trip to the planetarium as part of their unit on space. On the way, I told the other moms about my college Astronomy class that had a lab class on Thursday afternoons at 3:00 in the planetarium. I still contend that they were asking for trouble when they took college students, put them in a dark room, in recliners, in the late afternoon. What could be a more perfect recipe for taking a nap. To prove my point, the dad that sat behind us was snoring 10 minutes into the presentation!

{the girls enjoying their seats at the planetarium}