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Friday, May 31, 2013

Day 151: Fun Run!

May 31
Lexi and her friends, getting ready to take off on the school's annual fun run.

Day 150: Critters are Taking Over My House

May 30
This squirrel was sitting on the porch when we got home, enjoying a snack.  He graciously moved away from the front door so we could get inside, but he didn't seem all that concerned about me being a mere five feet away.  Not long after I took this picture, another squirrel (or maybe it was the same one) took a flying leap into the sliding glass door at the back of the house.  Twice.  Should I be afraid?

Day 149: Crosswalk, Jr.

May 29
Lexi has been begging to help me with crosswalk duty for a while now, so when we got to school and the good corner was free I decided to let her try her hand at it.  She did a great job, and it definitely makes the job easier to have two people at the same intersection.

Day 148: My Motivator

May 28
I wanted to take a better picture of her, but she said, "Mom, we have to keep moving or our heart rates will go back down."  She's the trainer, so I guess I should listen.

Day 147: OMSI Again

May 27
We took a family trip to OMSI today, and right before we left for home we enjoyed watching this kinetic sculpture, called the Gravitram.

Day 146: It's a Trap!

May 26
Since there's no school tomorrow, Lexi and Ellie both had friends sleep over tonight.  Lexi and her friend slept in the playroom, and they designed this trap to fall on Ellie and her friend if they opened the door.

Day 145: Bike Ride

May 25
Ellie wanted to do something special while her sisters were having their robot club meeting, so we took advantage of the nice weather and went for a bike ride.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Day 144: Zoo Field Trip

May 24
Lexi and classmates enjoying the mountain goat statue at the zoo entrance.

Day 143: Book and Breakfast

May 23
Lexi borrowed this book from her friend and hasn't been able to put it down.  I love it when they find a book that speaks to them.

Day 142: Flautist

May 22
Choir concert last night, band concert tonight.

Day 141: Steppin' Out With My Baby

May 21
Vicki's choir sang at the high school choir concert tonight (her middle school choir is not an official school class, but rather an after-school program taught by the high school choir director).  They did two numbers, the favorite by far being this one, for which they all got to wear top hats and do a little dance routine.  (Vicki is 5th from the right.)

Day 140: Running Partners

May 20
In the interest of taking care of this body I was blessed with, I have embarked upon an adventure known as the Couch to 5K.  I am in no way, shape, or form a runner, nor do I have even the slightest desire to be one, but my body is not getting any younger and I'd like it to serve me well for a long time to come.  Lexi wholeheartedly supports me in this endeavor, and has become my personal trainer.  We had our first run tonight, and I'm pleasantly surprised to say that I didn't feel like I wanted to die.

Day 139: Sisters With a Cause

May 19
Today was the annual NAMI Walk here in Portland.  We wore these great t-shirts made by my awesome sister-in-law (the rest of the family participates in the Utah Walk in the fall) and walked a 5K in support of those who fight mental illnesses.

Day 138: A Chorus Line of Penguins

May 18
Today was picture day at the dance studio.  Ellie's class is dancing to "Jolly Holiday" as part of the Mary Poppins production this year.

Day 137: Made Her Day

May 17
Each year every single staff member at the girls' school, from the principal down to the janitor, gives out a "golden ticket".  This year Lexi was chosen by our wonderful secretary Miss Terri.  It was truly a blessing, as Lexi had been feeling a little down recently.  She's a good student, a hard worker, and a great kid, but it's a sad truth that sometimes kids like her get overlooked when teachers want to encourage the strugglers to do better.  Add to that the fact that she's a middle child in the shadow of an academically outstanding big sister, and you have a girl who often feels unimportant and unnoticed.  I will admit that I have been praying for months that she wouldn't be overlooked this time, and I fully believe that the Lord gives us gifts through the hands of others.  And Miss Terri gave Lexi a wonderful gift today.  She felt so special - what a great way to end her elementary school career!

Day 136: Sneaky Shot

May 16
They were supposed to be listening to Dad reading The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens, but I think they find it a little boring.  Games on Vicki's tablet are much more interesting.  Sorry, Chris.

Day 135: Burnt

May 15
You can't really tell in this picture (unfortunately it was the only one from today), but the toes and top of my right foot are bright red.  This is because I thought it would be a good idea to drain a pot of boiling pasta all over my foot.  Not my smoothest move.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Day 134: Strike a Pose

May 14
The parents got to watch Lexi's class practice their dance for the recital.

Day 133: Another Birthday!

May 13
Every year for his birthday we send Chris on a treasure hunt to find his present.  And each year we have to get more creative with where we hide the clues.

Day 132: Birthday!

May 12
It's my birthday!  (And that's a lot of candles!)

Day 131: Goalie

May 11
Lexi loves playing goalie (mostly, I think, because she doesn't have to run as much).  This was a particularly brutal game in which the other team's players were all at least a head taller than our girls, but they tried hard and they all had fun, even if it was a spectacular loss.

Day 130: Water Balloon Toss

May 10
The middle school had a half day today, so we had a BBQ with our Girl Scouts and planned our trip to Seattle.  Then we made them throw water balloons at each other.

Day 129: Editing

May 9
"Dear Mom, I'm writing this letter because I'm working on writing.  Please correct any mistakes.  Sincerely, Elizabeth"
Bless her heart, the only words I didn't have to correct were "Mom", "I'm", "this", and "on".  I didn't even realize that she had no idea how to spell her full name, but she made a valiant effort!  I will keep this letter forever.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Day 128: Rhododendron

May 8
The only bloom so far on the bushes in front of our house.

Day 127: Farm Animals

May 7
Horrible picture, I know, but Ellie brought all these animals to school for her classroom "farm", and wanted me to take a picture so she'd remember which ones were hers when their farm unit is over and it's time to bring them home.

Day 126: Puffball Flowers

May 6
Ellie pointed out to me that these flowers look like cotton balls, or maybe popcorn balls.  But she decided to call them "puffballs", because that was the most fun.

Day 125: Mythbusters!

May 5
We waited until the very last day to do it, but we thoroughly enjoyed the Mythbusters exhibit at OMSI.

Day 124: Strikers!

May 4
Ellie's entire soccer team made it to this game, so despite the crazy wind we decided to grab a quick team shot.  Her two coaches (one had to leave before we took the picture) are on the high school soccer team and they've done a great job with the girls.

Day 123: Bus Buddies

May 3
I went on a field trip with Ellie's class to OMSI.  Last year parents weren't allowed to ride the school bus, but this year they let us on.  I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not, but it was an adventure, and I had a good time keeping track of five cute 1st and 2nd grade girls.

Day 122: Strawberries

May 2
It was my turn to bring treats to book club, and these were too tempting to resist.

Day 121: Sunny Morning

May 1
Yet another picture from my weekly crosswalk duty.