Miscelany....

Here's some random things that have happened.........(and please excuse the quality of the pictures. All of these are from my cell phone. I couldn't find my camera for a few weeks.)

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1st and most important is that the kids are out of school!! To celebrate, we went to McDonald's and got ice cream cones. They loved them :D

I really wanted to do something elaborate to thank the teachers the kids had this year. They each LOVED their teachers, and I couldn't have been happier with how much they learned and grew. But in the end this is what I did....

Pretty simple, but it's exactly how I feel. Plus, it's something I know they all need. It won't be a dust collector :o)

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Parker started Scouts. Crazy. He loves going, (they meet every Tuesday after school at the church) and is passing stuff off like crazy. See all those green flags in the book? That's all stuff that his leader needed to sign and mark off.

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We've started FHE again. I know....it's every family's struggle. We're REALLY good at family prayer, we just need to practice some patience with FHE. I'm hoping it'll bring more peace. Even if it's just a tiny bit. Here's the kids frosting some sugar cookies.

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The day before the last day of school, Parker's class had a talent show. Some of the things performed were hula hooping, dancing, card tricks, gymnastics, joke telling, and Parker recited a poem. Here he is waiting his turn:

The poem is called "Boa Constrictor" by Shel Silverstein (from Where the Sidewalk Ends)

Here's how it goes in case you can't hear him very well.....

Oh, I'm being eaten By a boa constrictor, A boa constrictor, A boa constrictor, I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor, And I don't like it--one bit. Well, what do you know? It's nibblin' my toe. Oh, gee, It's up to my knee. Oh my, It's up to my thigh. Oh, fiddle, It's up to my middle. Oh, heck, It's up to my neck. Oh, dread, It's up to my mmmmmmmmmmffffffffff . . .

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We went for a walk on our local trail on Monday. We saw lots of wildlife like, a turtle:

a tiny frog:

tons of dragonflies, a chipmunk, a marmot:

a yellow-headed blackbird

and a snail. The kids had fun riding their bikes/scooters (or in Ethan's case, just running!!) and getting some exercise.