Preschool Picnic

Today Peter's class had a picnic at the home of one of his classmates.  It was a great place to have it because they have a big yard and live on a little lake.  We had fun playing in their basement, going on boat rides, hiking on the boardwalk in the woods, and eating cake!  Casey was even able to stop by for a while, which Peter thought was pretty cool.  We thanked his wonderful teachers for a great year and also sang happy birthday to his teacher, who will have her birthday in a couple weeks.  Peter has had such a great year, and we are very thankful for his amazing teachers and also his friends at school.  We will be sad to see this fun year end on Thursday!

Happy Memorial Day!

We have had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  Friday night Casey and I went out with friends to celebrate his birthday.  Saturday was spent hanging out, getting stuff done around the house, playing outside, and watching a movie with Uncle Nick.  On Sunday we went to church and then continued with the relaxing and hanging out. 

This morning I was awakened at 6:30 by my little buddy Peter telling me "Happy Memorial Day, Mom!"  I'm glad he feels that this holiday is important enough that it is worth an early morning wake-up reminder.  We went to Marge's for a donut and had a nice chat with Marge since we had not been there in quite a while.  We spent the rest of the day doing much of the same things we did all weekend--hanging out and getting a few things done.  This afternoon we went out to Casey's parents for the annual birthday celebration for Casey, Renee and Nick. 

Here are a few pictures of our patriotic kiddos and the annual birthday cake, which had a patriotic theme this year!

Happy Birthday Casey!

Today was Casey's birthday.  Of course he had to work, but Peter and Miriam and I tried to brighten his work day by delivering a balloon and some candy.  We met Casey's parents and Jeff, Renee, Ty and Cassie at Russ' for dinner to celebrate the twins' birthdays.  Then we came home and had cupcakes, and the kids presented him with their beautifully made cards and their dollar store treasures.  It was hilarious taking them there and seeing what they picked out for him!

Here's what he got from each kid:

Balloon rocket launcher and poker game from Peter

Hand decorated mug and dress socks from Esther

Clip-on book light and Mike and Ikes from Miriam

Tooth Fairy

Tonight the tooth fairy will make her first visit to our house!  Esther has had a slightly loose tooth for a long time, and it finally started getting really loose today.  She was really annoyed with it at dinner, and just before she got in bed, she popped it out!  She was SO excited!

She had made a tooth pillow in school when they studied dental health, so she wrapped her tooth in a Kleenex and tucked it in the pocket of the pillow.  She also included a note requesting that the tooth fairy leave her tooth since it was the first one she has lost and she wants to keep it.

The funny thing is that this is our girl who figured out that Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the tooth fairy were not real at quite an early age.  I think she's just too inquisitive and practical and realizes that those things are not realistic.  So, she proceeded to give me some instructions on how to carefully get the tooth out from under her pillow while she's sleeping.  She also referred to the "tooth fairy" by using air quotes when we were talking about it.  She cracks me up.

New Bike

I LOVE MY NEW BIKE!!  I got a new bike for an early birthday present.  It is a pink bike with a little bag/basket thing on the front of it.  It has 1 hand brake for the front wheel, but I don't use it because I'm still getting used to my new bike.  So I just use the coaster brakes.  Miriam got my old bike because her other bike broke and she was ready for a bigger bike.
-Esther

Mother-Daughter Campout

This weekend Esther and I went on a mother-daughter camp out with our GEMS group from church.  We went to Long Lake Outdoor Center in the Yankee Springs State Recreation Area. Thankfully we were staying in cabins since it was cool and rainy.  It was nice to have bunks and a roof over our heads, although we did have to walk a little ways to the outhouses!

Saturday was dreary, but it didn't rain much, so we were still able to be outside most of the afternoon.  We were put into groups to do a scavenger hunt, and had a list of various things in nature that we had to find.  We had fun exploring the trails and enjoying the beauty of spring.

The girls in our group: 

Laura, Nikki, Esther and Alexis

Before dinner, each group was assigned a picnic table to decorate, using only natural items that they could find in the area.  It was a competition, and they awarded each table a special prize.  The girls got to hold the "Golden Pinecone" when their table prize was awarded.  We also each made a "sit-upon" to sit upon while eating.  We used plastic grocery bags stuffed with newspaper to make the cushions and they worked pretty well!

Saturday evening and Sunday morning were quite rainy, so we mostly stayed inside.  Saturday evening we played games and made our s'mores in the indoor fireplace.  Sunday morning we played more games, ate breakfast, had a time of worship and singing, and packed up to head home.  We were originally going to stay until after lunch, but decided that there wasn't much more to do being stuck inside the cabins, and cooking one more meal outside on the covered porch didn't sound all that fun.

So, Esther and I made it home in time to join Casey, Peter, Miriam, Casey's dad and Nick for a yummy steak dinner!  All in all, it was a fun weekend and a nice time to spend with Esther and the other girls and moms.

Mother's Day picture update

Here are the pictures that Karen took at my parents' house yesterday...

Karen and Esther had a little mini photo shoot... she is so photogenic if she's in the right mood!

A couple of Miriam, who refused to take her helmet off for the pictures...

Checking out the big pile of dirt in the yard.  Peter helped Grandpa move a lot of it to various parts of the yard while I was at work this morning!

Grandpa teaching Peter how to check the air in Aunt Karen's tires to make sure she's all set for her trip back to Chicago...

Mother's Day

I am so blessed!  Today was a gorgeous day with perfect weather, and I got to spend the day with my 3 beautiful children, Casey, and both sides of the family.  After church we went to my parents' house for dinner and then enjoyed the lovely weather by playing outside.  Unfortunately my memory stick was in the computer instead of the camera, so all the pictures are on Karen's camera.  I will post those after she sends them to me!

Later this afternoon we went out to Casey's parents' house and spent some time with them and Nick.  We had supper with them and just relaxed and hung out.  Esther was quite tired and didn't want to pose for pictures, but she did have fun making the necklace she's wearing in the picture.

It was a wonderful day, and I'm incredibly thankful that God has given me the gift of being a mom to Esther, Peter and Miriam.  I'm also so grateful for the gift of my mom and mother-in-law, who are both amazing moms and grandmas!

Preschool Mother's Tea

This afternoon I was able to attend the mother's tea for Peter's preschool class.  We had a nice time playing, hearing the kids sing some praise songs, and listening to his teacher read a couple books about moms.  At the end the kids presented the moms with beautiful cards and gifts.  Peter made a beautiful stepping stone which has a place in the front yard already.  It was so fun to spend that special time with my sweet little buddy!