Saturday, May 30, 2009

Boy Time at Sunshine Farm

This morning I rented a steam cleaner for Andrea and vacated the house with Emory. We made our first trip of the year to the Sunshine Farm. It is about 1/2 hour north of our house, and it was a beautiful morning. The last time we were there was for Emory's 2nd birthday party. It was amazing. Emory loved the animals, tractor, digger and tree fort.

Here we see Emory feeding the goats...


...A little happier the 2nd time around...


...and he got the hand of it towards the end...


...the horse was a little different; we weren't supposed to feed the horse but did not realize it until too late...Emory still has all of his fingers...




...off to the next place...



...to feed the chickens...I tried to let him know that chickens do not eat pieces of wood but that did not keep him from trying...




...and up the tree fort to the slide...



...the tortoise and the hare (inside the tunnel)...



...to the straw bail maze...




...here's the exit...






...beautiful view of the front range from the farm...


...just a cool shot of a barn on it's way over...



...and feeding the goats again...




...to feeding ourselves. Snack time in the car...



...to the bulldozer...



...driving the tractor...


...and he's gone! A very fun morning for Emory and I while Andrea had the equally exciting job of steam cleaning the carpets and watching for baby Lily.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Back at school...momentarily

This week I went back to school. But really it wasn't too hard for me. I'm only going back for 8 days and then we have summer break. So... it has been more of a reunion and cleaning oppurtunity for me. My 7th graders did a neat project where they invent their own island ecosystems and organisms and my 8th graders cleaned and organized! By the end of the week all the cabinets were neat, all the materials were inventoried, and all the junk was thrown away.


It wasn't all fun and games- I wrote two referrals, had two parent complaints (not related), and had a conversation with a third parent who told me she was telling everyone she knew NOT to send their kids to the school. (smile and nod- "I really appreciate the feedback")


It wasn't the most successful school year I've ever had. And of course, I was either pregnant and sick or on leave so there are lots of reasons for this. But as a parent I don't think that is what I would want. The kids did have lots of amazing learning oppurtunities and so many of them did amazing work. But it was a little disheartening when on the last day of classes, a student asked me, "Are plants and animals the same thing?" I just wanted to beat my head against the wall. (I could only think of one other question that would show less understanding of life science.)


But that is the best thing about teaching.....you get to reflect on all the things you did wrong and then spend the summer making AMAZING and FABULOUS plans for the next year. And they are amazing and fabulous- get ready PROJECT SCIENTIST!


Oh...yeah...the other great thing is getting to spend the summer in the sun, basking in the garden of flowers and smiles.


Sunday, May 24, 2009

Baby Lily
















Some recent pictures of Baby Lily. She is starting to smile a lot, and is becoming very alert and gaining control over her head and limbs.

Emory











Recent Emory pictures. He is still my cute little boy!

Nature Walk






















Yesterday we took a nature walk in the open space near our house. This is the first time we had been to this space, and it was very nice. Emory had a great time walking, playing with rocks, sticks and flowers and providing a very entertaining narrative..."that is an ant. That is a Yucca Plant...that is a cactus...that is dog poopy..." You get the idea.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Smilling!







Baby Lily has started smiling at us! It is so cute.

Pretty Flowers




Sunday, May 10, 2009

Dear Baby Eric...

Dear Baby Eric,

I also love my sucky. We have so much in common. Could this be the beginning to a beautiful friendship? Please don't hit me in the head like my evil brother.

Love Baby Lily

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!
















Happy mothers day to all the mothers out there. I would like to wish Andrea a very happy mothers day, as she is an amazing mother to our children. We love you very much and appreciate all you do every single day. We love you mommy Andrea!










Friday, May 08, 2009

When potty training mixes with...

We (Andrea) have started to start potty training Emory. We had great weather this week, and Andrea has been spending time in the back yard with Emory. While Emory is supposed to be potty training, he can't be distracted from his normal outdoor tasks just because he is naked:




Potty training while....Gardening



Potty training while....playing catch (edited for content)

Potty training while....collecting firewood



Potty training while....doing yardwork



and last, but certainly not least, Potty training while....doing a tummy slide!




Cute little girl