Open House and feeling a little sad

 I feel a little sad at the end of each school year, but I am especially sad that Sammie won't be in kindergarten anymore.  The girls both had great years in school.  I am always amazed at how hard their teachers work and the wonderful job that they do.  Their classrooms were decked out in open house fashion with every inch of the walls covered and things hanging from the ceiling and every surface spread with art projects and writing assignments.

Beach and Family

 We had some visitors last weekend for Abby's birthday.  My parents and Nate, Dianna, and Noah came and we headed to the beach for the day.  Picnic lunch, warm sun, cool water.  I love the beach.  I could live there...

School Project

Yesterday morning the girls went on and on for about 20 minutes singing "Fried ham, fried ham, cheese and boloney, and after the macaroni..."  over and over coming up with new ways of singing.  My favorite was the "at the dentist voice" that Olivia came up with.  You can imagine what that would be like.  I like 8 year olds.  They are so clever.

Olivia made this diorama for her school report on White-Tailed Deer.  Nice safe animal.  I remember when I was in 6th grade and I did a report on a Sea Anenome and I got teased about it.  "You would pick a weird animal," I remember some mean ol' boy saying.  What can I say?  I'm a bit weird sometimes. 

 Olivia drew the most adorable little deer family.  She chose to exclude the option of putting in a predator because she wanted to "make a nice little family."  Her words.  I thought her project turned out very sweet.  Just like her.

Look Who Turned 3!

 Abby Jane turned 3 on Sunday!  She is such a spirited little girl and very self-assured.  She makes us smile and also drives us completely crazy.  One of the best words to describe her would be "spunk."  She has lots of it and she brings such a fun dynamic to our home that I just couldn't imagine life without this little one.  I feel like she has been 3 already because she acts so old. When we would be out people would ask her if she was four and to their surprised faces I would say, "No, she's only 2."  So at least now I can tell people that she is 3.
For the past few weeks she has been asking for everything for her birthday.  Anytime she would see anything she liked she asked, "Can I get that for my birthday?"  Her list kept growing and growing  We got a her scooter like her big sisters' so that she can ride along with them now instead of trying to steal theirs.  She feels very grown up now.  She likes to feel grown up.

Clifford

Last time I sat down to blog Abby got into the nail polish and spilled it all over the carpet in front of my bathroom vanity.  It was awfully quiet when I realized something must be up.  But now she is sleeping and so I think I am safe.  Sammie got to bring home Clifford from school for the weekend.  She was so very excited because she has been waiting all year to bring Clifford home and she has spent all year planning what she would do when she did actually get to bring him home.  So here she is with Clifford.  He sat with her while she practiced piano, they went and got ice cream, jumped on the trampoline, rode bikes, but the biggest event was going out to donuts.  It is one of Sammie's favorite things to do on a Saturday morning.  Look how happy she is to do it with Clifford.

Look Who Learned to Ride a 2 Wheeler Last Night!

 It clicked last night and Sammie took off on her bike all on her own after a little practice with Dad.  She figured it out quickly and was riding in circles.  So happy.  So proud of herself.  I think I know what she will be doing now every afternoon after school.

2 Things About Abby

Her hair gets really messy and sometimes we even go out in public like this.

She conked out while watching TV on a Saturday afternoon.  Busy life was all around her and there she was completely asleep.  She has her drink and a snack which she needs every time she sits down to watch a TV show in her chair.

Helping

 Sometimes Abby gets bored and antsy and into trouble, which happens during sometime of every day. When she gets this way she gets moody but she will calm down if I give her something "grown up" to do.  She likes to sweep and this is the best idea.  It works.  Sammie and Abby have both successfully swept the kitchen when I make a square of blue tape on the floor.  It becomes a game instead of aimlessly moving dirt around the floor and then it only finds a new home in another corner of the room.  But they insist on sweeping!

 I love it when they love to help, but sometimes it can be more of a headache.  At least now we are starting to get the hang of sweeping.

Jam Face!