Wigs and Go-Go boots

Anyone who knows my teaching team knows that we don't mind making fools of ourselves. As long as it's all in good fun, we're enjoying each others company, it makes the kids laugh, and isn't destructive, we love a good joke. Well today, we were the joke. To help raise money for our school, we offered up a Disco Roller Skating party at the school auction. This meant that families could pay for their students to join us at a local roller rink, and watch their four 5th grade teachers make complete and utter fools of themselves, all while dressed in Disco gear. Sounds like a fun way to spend a Saturday, right?

Luckily, one of the Fab 4's family has quite the collection of costumes and accessories that they graciously shared. This also meant that as I tried on pieces and chose my costume, Camryn and Aubrey got in on a little bit of the fun, which was hilarious!

Carol Brady meets the Doodle-Bops!

Elton John is in the house!

I settled on a red wig, polyester dress, and white Go-Go boots.
Several of my students did not recognize me when I arrived (mission accomplished!)

The Fab Four in all our glory!

Did you ever have any teachers that looked like this?

A serious pose. (Yeah, right!)

We ended up having a lot of fun with the kids, who laughed and laughed at our get-ups. I just hope this doesn't come back to haunt me later...

More mammals

So the mammal study has continued at preschool, where Aubrey (having turned two) has now joined the "big kid" class. Yesterday, each child drew a picture of his/her favorite mammal to share at circle time. When it came to be Aubrey's turn, she proudly showed her drawing, and when prompted by the teacher who asked, "What's your favorite mammal, Aubrey?" She responded proudly by exclaiming, "Pizza!"

Tulip Festival 2010

For six years now, since Camryn was a brand new baby, we have taken our girls to the tulip festival in Woodburn. Every year, the event has grown and changed (they now charge for parking, and have vendors, games, rides, etc.), but we still go for the beautiful photo backdrop and fresh springtime air.

Aunt Lacey and Uncle Dan joined us this year, and both Brian and Dan spent tons of time playing with their new cameras, adjusting settings, color, lighting, and taking close ups. The result was some fantastic photos of people AND flowers. On top of that, Aubrey discovered a new-found love for corndogs. Hers was about as big as her forearm, and she ate nearly the entire thing. Fresh air and sunshine, fresh cut flowers, and a fresh corndog. Could life get any better on a Sunday afternoon?

Happy Easter!

It's so fun to have Aubrey finally at that age where she is starting to grasp the holidays and traditions we celebrate. With enough talk from her sister lately, she knew this whole Easter thing was bound to be important, and when I went in to get her from her bed this morning she greeted me with, "Mommy, Eassa Bunny coming TOday!" (BIG emphasis on the TO-!)

It was hilarious, and she was so excited to get downstairs and race around with her sister, collecting eggs. After breakfast, and a mid-morning nap, we got took some family pictures before heading to brunch with my family, and before the rain hit. Enjoy!

Happy Easter!

I can actually see the resemblance to her Daddy here!

Mom and C

She can be so sweet when she wants to...

Goofy girls!

Easter calls for Mary Janes

Ticklish

Just the girls

All my sillies! Happy Easter!

The Easter bunny came!

Waiting at the top of the stairs until Daddy gets up!

Opening eggs...

Chocolate before breakfast???

Cheeseballs!

A little dazed by all the sugar...

Eek! Got a sour one!


HAPPY EASTER!

Coach B is back!

Most of you know that when Brian decided to take the leap into school administration, he had to give up one of his great loves...coaching baseball. It's generally considered a conflict of interests in the Education world, and though it's been strange not having baseball be as much a part of our daily lives as it once was, we're all really enjoying having Daddy home this spring, and he is happy with the choice he made to further his career.

So when we recently signed Camryn up to play indoor soccer, we envisioned family Saturday outings to cheer her on and watch her play. We looked forward to sharing this with the Masons, our friends who have a daughter on the same team, and a younger one about Aubrey's age as well.

Little did we know however, that we'd show up to the first practice to find out that NO ONE had stepped up to volunteer to coach the team. The director met us at our first practice and laid it out on the line: either a parent steps up, or the team is canceled. We looked around, avoiding eye contact with the director, but all the other parents just gave us the same blank stare. None of them were about to volunteer. Not a chance. So Brian "took one for the team" (literally), and roped Matt in with him, and they are now the proud coaches of the Kinder/1st grade soccer team, "The Lightning!"

Nothing like a spur of the moment, major commitment to jump start your weekend! As the guys quickly scanned the coaching packet the director handed them on his way out, and tried to run a practice with a bunch of over-active 5, 6, and 7 year olds, Felicia and I scrambled through the rest of the paperwork, collecting email addresses, creating a snack schedule, and talking jerseys, trophies, and end-of-season parties. We are now the team moms!

Although this is not what we envisioned for our spring, we are looking forward to watching Camryn learn and grow in her athletic skills, and try new things. Wish us luck!

Coach Brian and Coach Matt checking out their cheat sheets as the kids run free

Finally got the kids into a line...

Team huddle. It's going to be a great season!

A two year old's perspective

We put a lot of thought into this move and how it would affect the girls. However, admittedly, most of that thought was directed Camryn's way. She tends to be more rigid in her ways, attached to her schedule, and upset when things change. She's also old enough to understand what this big change meant to her daily life. Aubrey's always so willing to go along for the ride, and she's so young, I guess we didn't think to prepare her more.

Tonight, as I was cooking dinner, a full nine days after the first boxes were brought into our house, Aubrey broached the subject with me out of the blue.

"Mommy, I weady go home," she said matter-0f-factly.
"What?" I replied.
"I weady go bye-bye, go home," as she pointed out the front window at our car.
"But sweetie we are home. This is our new house."
"No. I weady go inna car. Go bye-bye."

I wasn't sure exactly what to say, so I stalled for a minute, gave her a big hug, and then distracted her. I guess I'm not quite sure how to explain to my two-year-old that we're not going back to our old house. That this really is where we are staying. That we're not on vacation...

Any suggestions?