K4...that's a wrap!

I am still struggling to wrap my mind around the fact that Lauren's school year is already over.  It feels like I was just buying backpacks and fresh packs of crayons and writing Lauren's name on each and every single stinking one of them to get her ready to begin her year in Mrs. Deitrick's K4 class.  At Meadowbrook, K4 is a half day program every day of the week, from 8-11 am.  Basically, it is Kindergarten Part I in terms of what they cover academically.  Joshua spent two years in Mrs. Deitrick's class and we have come to really respect and admire her.  Actually, truth be told, I would nominate her for sainthood based on the way she commands a classroom full of little people without ever raising her voice.  It is like nothing I have ever seen before.

Last Wednesday was Lauren's last day of school.  One of the perks of the preschool department is that they let out a few weeks before grades 1-12 do.  And make no mistake that Lauren has been enjoying the fact that she doesn't have to get up to go to school when Joshua still has to.  I have also appreciated the reprieve of getting two kiddos out the door in the morning, even though Lauren is hardly ever an issue.

On Thursday evening, we got our little girl all dolled up for her end of the year program.  She was so excited to be dressed up.  I have some better pictures on my camera (which, of course, is not with me at the moment) so I will share them later. 

This was our sixth Preschool Program in a row...with at least 3 more to follow.  I asked Mr. Baughman at the end of the program if there was a running tally for which family attended the most in succession.  But I would think we are at least in the running for a respectable number.

Lauren's class performed one of their Bible verses that they had memorized this year.  They memorized one for each letter of the alphabet, so at least 26 new ones in addition to the Lord's Prayer and a few other general ones.  They also recited a poem that all of the kids enjoyed about "1-2-3-4-5, I caught a fish alive".  The photo above was captured by the school during that portion of their program.  They also sang "This Little Light of Mine".  Then, each of the kids was called down individually to receive their completion certificate from Mrs. Deitrick and Mr. Baughman.  Photos of that are also on my camera.  Poor planning on my part here today to not have it with me.

Grandma was with us for the program, and provided great help in the entertainment factor with Mara and Josh.  Josh did pretty well because...well, he's 8...and also, there were about a thousand of his friends who were also there to see their younger siblings, so he was socially occupied for much of it.  Mara got through the hour and a half long program by eating 14,000 calories of snacks, coloring and looking at pictures on my phone.  It really is a "do what you have to do to get through it" kind of situation.  I'm just grateful that they behaved-- I have had to get babysitters for them in the past because I couldn't trust them to behave and I wasn't willing to risk being out in the hallway with a non-compliant child during the three minutes of the 90 that I actually was there to see. 

We had a celebratory milkshake on the way home, and Lauren was mighty proud of herself and the great job she did in K4.  She never brought home a graded paper with less than 100 on it, and she was known in the class as the patient, loving, compassionate one who was friends with everyone and a helper to all.  As a Mama, there is nothing that makes my heart prouder than to her that description of your daughter.  I know she has a bright and wonderful future ahead of her.  She is already excited about K5 (Kindergarten) next year with Mrs. Case.  And I'm already trying to mentally prepare myself for the fact that next year I'll be a weepy mess with Mara in the Nursery School program for the first time, and Lauren being one of the ones marching in to Pomp and Circumstance wearing the little cap and gown as a Kindergarten graduate.  Oh my heart!

Gorgeous Weekend

It is 6:02 am as I begin to write this post, and Toby and I are the first ones up at the Bellefonte KOA campground. I don't see a soul outside besides us. The Keurig machine is plugged in outside and I have assumed my position in my chair with my hot cup of coffee and my Kindle. When we are camping, these early morning hours are mine and mine alone. Usually the kids have played so hard the day before that they sleep a bit longer than their usual 6:00 wakeup times.  And that's fine with me. 

We have spent the last three days here at this beautiful campground with friends and have been having a wonderful time. There has been lots of laughing, lots of teamwork on meals and child watching, lots of campfire sitting and story telling and s'more making and all of the things that make camping one of my favorite things to do.

The Sherrell's kids are close in age to ours, and they have been together the entire time.  Sophia even slept with us in our camper one night.  Last night that was the plan again until the day's activities caught up to the kids and they all collapsed out of exhaustion around the fire. We had a chance to take them swimming yesterday because the weather got super warm-- much improved from the 60's we were seeing on Friday. So I think the combo of swimming, sun, bike riding and perhaps a bit of sugar led to their bedtime change of plans last night. 

We had some special visitors-- Mom and Freda made a run over the mountain on Friday evening and had a sausage sandwich with us.  And Libby and Zig and the girls came on Saturday. We all loved seeing them and had a great time together. My kids were asking for Brooke and Hayden all day yesterday. 

Toby is, I believe, the celebrity of this campground. Honestly, we were expecting a difficult trip with him since this is his first experience camping.  He has done well here- very little barking, good eating, no accidents in the camper, and super friendly with other people and dogs, all of which have wanted to meet him and play with him. He has eaten a ton of grass and dirt, as well as a spot of heaven in the grass that we have referred to as his "bacon grass" where Marc had dumped some bacon drippings from a breakfast he made. Suffice it to say that Toby thinks Marc is awesome and he has gone back to that spot time and again to see if maybe, just maybe, there is more where the initial supply came from. He has slept well in his crate and cried when he had to go out-- exactly like he does at home. We have all be very pleased with how this has gone. 

We have two more trips planned this summer with the Sherrells- July 4th weekend to Nemacolin (our "glamping" weekend where Kara and I have every intention of enjoying a massage at the spa one day) and then a Labor Day weekend trip to a KOA in Watkins Glen, NY.  The connection between our two families is a bizarre one- and we have talked at length about how strange it is that a camping partnership has developed out of meeting them when they bought our house on Greenbriar when they were moving to PA from West Virginia. Our realtor (who was also theirs) was so upset that Kara and I had wanted to talk on the phone about the area, but that phone call has truly been a catalyst for a very special friendship.  I love how God works things out.  And now the shared connection at church and school and everything else has just continued to grow. We have had a wonderful weekend. I cannot honestly say I am looking forward to all of the work that goes along with coming home from camping, but I am feeling refreshed and relaxed and ready to tackle the few short weeks that remain in Joshua's school year.  

And now...the people are rising. The campground is starting to bustle with activities-- dogs coming outside, coffee pots brewing, fires starting for breakfasts to be cooked. All sounds and smells that remind me of being a kid, of family time together that I cherish far more now than I probably did then, of all of the things I want our kids to remember when they are older. This is the good stuff and I am so grateful for such a wonderful weekend.

"Have a Colorful Day"

Last week, Jason and I had the privilege of travelling with Joshua's class to Easton, PA for their field trip to the Crayola Experience.  I have to start with an admission that after last year's over the river and through the woods bus trip where I was pretty sure I was going to toss my cookies while en route to Lake Tobias with a background chorus of screaming banshees, Jason and I were gun shy to ride the school bus.  So were lots of others because it looked like some sort of parade as the school bus followed by 14 other vehicles departed Meadowbrook's parking lot.  However, we had some company with us on the ride that made for very enjoyable conversation.  I don't know when the last time was that we had a car ride that was full of chatter and laughter and silliness that didn't involve a Disney movie or the antics of children.  This was all grown ups.  Joshua had decided to ride the bus with his friends--- and so God bless the parents who rode the bus.  You are stronger than I.



Our bus departed Milton around 6:45 am, which truly wasn't a problem for me since I'm always up at that time anyway, but it was a bit of a stretch for Grandma who had to leave her house at 0 dark thirty to make it to our house in time.  And she had the headache of the get to school shuffle with Lauren, which sometimes isn't pretty.  But everything went fine from the reports we got.

There were lots of learning stations for the kids, and they were all fun-- making crayon splatters with spinning melted crayons, molding crayons into fun shapes and things like that.  Joshua's favorite part was the station where he got to name his own crayon and print a wrapper for it.  This is a marketing racket the likes of which I have never seen.  They were charging you $.50 for each crayon--- which, of course, we obliged because he was happy.  So, good job Crayola.  You win!  We got to see a program that explained how crayons are made, and showed some very old Crayola advertisements which were from....the 80's.  That was great for the ego.  

We brown bagged our lunches and had a nice room to eat together in, so that worked out well for the allergy issues.  I was so grateful that we didn't have to contend with eating out or a bus stop anywhere to eat.  After lunch, the kids got to spend some time in the Crayola store.  I'm honestly not sure who had more fun--- the kids or the adults.  There was a whole wall of crayons and markers, and you could fill a tin with coloring supplies.  So fun!  I have decided that I am going to order some of those adult coloring books with intricate designs to put into our camper so that I can have fun while the kids do this summer.  

Apparently the bus ride got to a few others because we increased our numbers on the ride home from Easton.  Which made it even MORE fun.  We even had two children come back with us--- neither of which was our own kid.  Which probably means he was one of the ones making a racket on the bus.  We were told not, but you know how that goes. 

It's always a special day when we get to spend one on one time with Josh, and so Jason and I both really enjoyed that.  I think Lauren would LOVE the Crayola Experience-- some of the activities were a bit young for Joshua, and with the way that Lauren loves to draw and color, I think she would have really loved it.  Perhaps a return trip may be in our future.



And just look who's growing like a weed!! 

Mother's Day Weekend

I have been promising the kids for a long time that we would finally get to spend the night at Nana and Pap's.  I'm embarrassed to say that it has been since Christmas that it has happened--- between illnesses and basketball season and snow and more illnesses, we have made several day trips, but nothing that gave the kids the feeling that they were satisfied with their time with their Nana and Pap.  When Toby's arrival onto the scene was scheduled for the weekend of 5/17, we figured we'd schedule an overnight run for Mother's Day weekend.  There was lots of outside playing time, a special trip to the Mother Daughter banquet with Mom, Libby and the girls, and lots of giggling.

I'm going to be honest and tell you that I am having MAJOR deja vu here as I'm writing this post.  I was sure that I had already written about this trip, and that I had something sentimental to say about all of the important mothers in my life.  But I can't seem to find it.  And now I'm hugely concerned that I'm either losing it...or have completely lost it.  I've always known I was on the edge...but I'm scared now. 

So for now, enjoy the pictures.  While I start packing my bags for Danville State Hospital.  They've been reserving a padded room there for me for quite some time.

Love these three!

Last Weekend

We seem to have hit that time of the year when all of the slowness of the winter seems to shake itself off and turn the throttle to "run like your hair is on fire".  I've never actually seen a throttle on anything that really says that, but you get the point. Well, last weekend was even a step beyond that. For relatively boring folks like us, we managed to squeeze in an awful lot of pretty exciting stuff. 

Friday morning, I packed up with Lauren to head for the Meadowbrook Preschool Field Day event. I should add that my attitude about this particular event was perhaps not the greatest, not because I didn't want to spend the day with Lauren, but because this was my sixth in a row of attending the exact same event. But Lauren and I had a surprisingly good time. I love how she relishes special time just for her, and so her excitement snapped me out of any poor attitude pretty quickly. Grandma and Mara even joined us for a while and had lunch with us there so that was fun. 

After a quick stop at the office and the pickup of groceries (thank you, Weis internet shopping...I ought to write a whole post on the beauty of that whole situation) it was time to head home to get ready to leave for huge event #2 for the day. The kids were all set with a sitter, and Jason's office staff was all geared up for the Garth Brooks concert at Penn State. This marked a first for us because his tickets were in one of the suites- so we had room to get up and walk around, dance and SING.  And did we ever. I was lucky enough to have seen Garth when he performed at PSU in 1996 (as a college freshman...me, not Garth) and it was even more amazing than it had been then. I knew every word to every song. And the best part was-- so did everyone else in the BJC.  Unreal. After some pretty horrendous traffic akin to a late night football game (ouch), we arrived home around 1:00 am. 

No time for much sleep, though. When we got up the next morning things were in super exciting mode because we had been given the green light to bring home a brand new puppy that afternoon. I will do another post on all of the details of how this all came to be, but we were all thrilled. And some of us were terrified.  OK, maybe just me. 

And so, Jason and I took off for Sweet Valley (which, even after having been there I still cannot begin to tell you where it is) to meet the breeder at 2:00 to pick up our golden retriever puppy who we decided to call Toby. 

One look at that face and it was pretty much love.  The kids were very excited when we got him home. 

Saturday night ranks right up there with my top ten list of most horrible nights of sleep, as our sweet pup had some adjusting to do to sleeping in his crate. And by "adjusting" I mean he cried all night long. And Jason and I stuck to the guidance of the breeder's "crate training bible" that we were provided with, which amazed me. I was pretty much in a daze all day Sunday- which proved challenging for my role in teaching Wee Worship that morning. But God got me through that one for sure. 

Nana, Aunt Libby and the girls came for a visit on Sunday afternoon. Toby was pleased to meet some more people who all wanted to pet him and love him.  And I appreciated the diversion so I didn't fall asleep standing up. During their visit, Lauren apparently "tug" Joshua in the mouth during a game they were playing in the yard, and knocked one of his teeth out. This was a first. The tooth has not yet been found and in my sleepy haze, I didn't remember the tooth fairy duties until 4:00 am after I had come upstairs after taking Toby out. I may have wanted to bawl.  And why is it that there was not even a spare $1 bill upstairs. Goodness. 

Things are going better with the puppy, although still a challenge. I can see the potential he has to be such a beloved family pet. We just have to love him through these next challenging months of puppy-hood and hope he doesn't chew us out of house and home.