Madeline's Schoolwork

This assignment above cracks me up because Madeline made a really nice travel brochure for homework, and then she forgot to take it in to school, so she had to quickly come up with something.  I like how she wrote, "You should try to emajne what I say about the beach."  Good save, Madeline!

Our Cowgirl

When the sad, sad day comes that Choobies grows out of her cowboy boots, I am going to cry.

Hard.

And then I am going to look at these pictures and cry even more.

If she ever grows out of her blankie ("Tankie"), I am going to keep it in a box for safekeeping.

Ah, the sentimentality of motherhood.  We mothers want to hang on to our children as much as we can but at the same time, we want to push them to grow.  That balance that never seems quite right.

I sure love this girl.

Emery and Choobies have become quite the buddies.  We'll say to Emery, "Say 'Kensington'!"  And she'll say, "Choo Choo!"  (Atleast it's not "Doo Doo" anymore.)  While I was working for my quarterly gig at the Apparel Mart a few weekends ago, Dallas did the grocery shopping.  He broke all my healthy rules and bought the most processed food we've seen in these parts since two years ago when I was ravenously hungry (and pregnant).

He bought cheese puffs.  Who seriously eats these things??  Please see my "Question of the Day" post about cheese puffs, and just imagine the healthy-food-lecture I gave to Choobies after she asked me her question.  After indoctrinating her on the virtues of whole grains and the benefits of fiber (yes, she's four), she looked at me sweetly, and asked,

"Mom, can you stop talking?"

And since her voice sounds similar to the girl on Matilda, anything she says pretty much goes.  It was hilarious.

Bubbles are the new thing around here.  Every day it's bubbles, bubbles, bubbles.  Kensington fills and refills her bubbles, and Emery follows her in and out of the house while I call, "DID YOU SHUT THE DOOR??" from wherever I am standing.  Because I never sit.  And I'm usually always in the kitchen.  Not eating all day - no, not that!!  I am cooking and cleaning and doing dishes galore!  Because did I ever mention we don't have a dishwasher?  But in examining the silver lining on that cloud, I've realized that one of the only times I am stationary is when I am doing the two most-dreaded things on my list:

Dishes by hand

and the Laundry

Sorry for the tangent.  Here is the bubble queen:

I have let the girls do bubbles in the shower three times now, and it is probably one of our new favorites.  It's like a giant playpen for four and almost-two-year-olds.  Only there are bubbles!  And they are contained!  But be sure to move your conditioner, or it might end up spread all over your shower ledge, and you will end up with slippery-bum.

And finally, Kensington has discovered Tangoes!!  Every time she plays with these, I swear to myself that she is getting smarter and smarter.

Which of course, she is.

Raleigh

You know Raleigh.  She's always doing funny, off-the-wall things.  Whenever anything is amiss or out-of-place (or out-of-the-ordinary), I know who dunnit.

The Krogs.

Do you see that picture?  Emery wearing a sign that says, "I'm the Big Looser."  I guess Raleigh needs some spelling lessons because she meant to say loser.  I can't remember what this sign was for, but I'll post it when I find out.

The other day Raleigh wanted to help Kensington learn how to read since she knows all of her letter sounds and can put some of them together.  Raleigh wanted to make a list of words for her to try reading.  I suggested that she begin with the letter "A" and pick some really short words to start, like "at," "am," etc.  And Raleigh said, "Okay, so what you're saying is I shouldn't use any words like 'Abercrombie' or 'abolitionist'?"  That girl!

The Dog Show 2012

A few weeks ago, on an unusually chilly Saturday morning, Raleigh and Madeline volunteered with their friend Priscilla at a dog show right here in Alpharetta.  This area is known for being horse country (not dog country), but nearly everyone we know owns a dog.  And this dog show was serious business.

People who come to dog shows come for two reasons, I think: to show off their dogs (who are more like family), and to connect with other dog-lovers.  I would say about 1/4 of the dogs really weren't that great at jumping or doing technical maneuvers, but their owners sure were proud, and everyone cheered everyone (everydog) on.  It was an uplifting experience for all of us, and we all went to watch the dogs and our girls help out.

This is about how close Raleigh would let us come to her:

She really did not want anyone to think she was incapable of her job, and the nearer we came, the less capable she appeared, of course.  Ah, the tween years.  She was doing the "leash runner" job.  The owner would take off the dog's leash when it began the course, and Raleigh ran it over to the end of the course where the owner could put it back on.

Go Fido!

The owners had to run with the dogs through the course.  They were almost just as entertaining to watch.  There's Priscilla in the picture above wearing the gray shirt seated right next to the dog's owner.

Leash Running

There's my dawg.

Look how cute this guy is!  Can you believe the dogs can go in and out of these bars??

Right here Madeline is a "score runner."  She took the scores from the judges on the field back to the judges in the tower.  Very important, I would say, Madeline!  The judge on the left is wearing a shirt that says "She's not my pet.  I'm her human."

We learned all about dog show etiquette.  Never park your stroller near the entrance of the course.  Kids make some dogs jumpy, and thus the owners feel jumpy and need to tell you to move.  Oops.  This lady was so cute, though.  She wanted her dog to come meet our kids, and she asked us if they could walk her dog.  She handed Emery the leash, and they loved it!

Behind us were rows and rows of dogs in kennels, gearing up for their moment of glory.

Madeline got to help put bars back up that fell during the course.  I think she liked that job the best.

Choobie's favorite part was the ice cold water they provided for us and the yummy, super-unhealthy lunch.  Emery cried most of the way home, and when we parked in the driveway, this is what we discovered:

Uhhh??

Question of the Day

Do cheese puffs grow on trees or on a plant? . . . 

Miss Mid

 Madeline is a super-sweetheart, and she has loved-loved-loved her teacher this year for second grade, Mrs. Barksdale.   At the beginning of the year, all of the second-graders were asked to volunteer to move into a new class they were creating because all of the classes were too large.  Madeline liked her teacher, but she also wanted to volunteer.  After talking with her and each other about it, Dallas and I decided to let her make the choice, and we are so very glad that she did!  Mrs. Barksdale is fresh out of college, full of enthusiasm, and incredibly poised and pleasant.  We've been so pleased with Madeline's school year.

Here is a translation of her card:

"Mrs Barksdale, You are my most favorite teacher of all.  I hope you are going to be a third grade teacher.  My mom and dad also think you are the best teacher of mine!  I give you this jam I made in honor for you.  Love, Madeline Matthews"

Little heart-melter, Madeline!

The Hein-ies Visit the Purds

We had a v-e-r-y special visitor come our way this past week. We could've smooshed and smooched those smooshy smoochy cheeks all day long! (Well, I could have).

We were lucky that Henry brought his parents to see us, too! We have sure missed them.

I love how Kevin is looking at Rikki in this one.

Emery has a new best friend. His name is "Bo Bo!"

Here she is telling everyone, "No no no no no," with her finger pointed. (Pardon Dallas. He is showing a little skin . . .)

Lil' Miss Personality.

We made and ate some great food together. We went thrifting.

My mom and Rikki got adventurous at the thrift store and tried on some clothing in public because they didn't want to wait in line. My dad, Choobers, and I created a little "privacy" for them with jackets we were holding up and a shopping cart. The whole time I reminded them that this was a great lesson in trust . . . and then when Rikki decided to try on a top (and not just bottoms), I inadvertently yelled out, "She's taking it ALL off!" and realized once again that there were shoppers walking by. They both found some great treasures.

We celebrated Kevin's upcoming grad-jee-A-shun from Law School with a little get-together. We ate some GREAT old-family-recipe meatballs and spaghetti from Kevin's mom, Dale. And then we played a rousing game of refrigerator tag in the backyard. That game is becoming a classic.

The way to play: One man stands in the middle of all of the bases and yells out a food. Everyone runs to a base of their choosing, depending upon how they feel about the food: "Love it," "Like it," "It's okay," "Never tried it," or "Hate it." Am I missing any? If you are "It," you can always get people out running a certain direction if you know how they feel about a food. Or better yet, you can do like Kevin did, and call out, "Boogers!" and send everyone in a whirlwind of indecision. Most of us chose, "Hate it, " except for Rikki who has "never tried it," and Laura Jane who "likes it." I think it was Kevin's finest moment of the evening! Wait! Was it Kevin who also called out dog food, and Rikki and I were on "Like it," and "It's okay," all by our lonesome? At least it's better than cat food! Hee hee - fun game.

But the BEST part of the evening for Kevin, I think, was opening a surprise gift: the brand new IPAD that just came out that day! My dad had gotten up at 5:00 am (as a favor for Rikki) to pick it for him . . . what a lucky grad-jee-ut!

Gadgets, gadgets, gadgets . . .

Happy Graduation, Kev!

Love, Your Crazy In-Laws (and Laura Jane)

P.S. - Gunnar, we loved talking to you, too! Thanks for calling us! You are one cute kid.