Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Smug Zachary. He's made the leap from toddler to pre-schooler. He was feeling pretty good in this picture because he had just had been trusted to take pictures with the good camera. (Some of which are below)
# posted by Shannon @ 12:53 PM 
A sad girl. Zachary was shooting pictures and Esther didn't get a turn.
# posted by Shannon @ 12:48 PM
Joshua poses next to his cherry tomato plant. His is the largest and best looking cherry tomato of the four we are growing. His flowers, also in the same bed, were doing well too until little Esther pulled them out. :)
# posted by Shannon @ 12:47 PM
Kate smiling proudly next to her flower bed. A couple months ago this space with just grass and rocks. She's been responsible for picking out the flowers and taking care of them. There is even a tomato plant behind the yellow flowers. Kate has one more bed of flowers that she is working on and is currently planning what to put in her vegetable garden.
# posted by Shannon @ 12:44 PM
Drummer Girl
Kate's turn with the drum. This picture was actually taken by 3-year-old Zachary.
# posted by Shannon @ 12:40 PM
Drummer Boy
Lately Joshua has been spending time singing, dancing, and working out rhythm. A big step from the days when any music sent him screaming "You're hurting my ears!". Here he's experimenting with the play drum. Earlier in the week he had been playing with sound with the pots and pans and lids. :)
# posted by Shannon @ 12:39 PM
Hanging Out
Kate and Josh playing on the straw bales. These will soon be the target for Josh's archery practice, but for now, they're just fun to climb on.
# posted by Shannon @ 12:36 PM
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
At the end of swimming lessons this week the kids were allowed to go down the waterslide. Here Kate is waiting for her turn, looking down the stairs at the end of the water slide.
# posted by Shannon @ 4:57 PM
Greg found this Barbie Jeep at a thrift store recently. All the kids had to ride in it, though Joshua is too big and Kate's knees hit her chin. This summer Greg and Kate will be building her electric car, but for now this will suffice.
# posted by Shannon @ 4:54 PM
Now Kate and Josh are both Karate kids. Kate earned her fourth stripe this week.
# posted by Shannon @ 4:49 PM
In April, not only did Joshua earn his long-awaited white belt, but also earned his first stripe. He has been waiting for this moment for over three months!
# posted by Shannon @ 4:48 PM
Sunny days have brought Kate and Joshua's story enactments outdoors. Here Kate is negotiating with Josh over the next story line.
# posted by Shannon @ 4:46 PM
After the mud, the kids cleaned up by filling the empty sandbox with water. Then Joshua started experimenting with bubbles. Zachary, who hates a bath, got in on the act by riding his little red car around in the bubbly water.
# posted by Shannon @ 4:44 PM
Friday, April 22, 2005
Kate' story "The Dog who wanted a Flower" won second place for the second graders in the local Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrator's contest. Here she poses with her ribbon and certificate. This is especially cool for her as it was completely a self-initiated and self-directed activity. The only thing we did was fill out the form and drive her to the drop off location. She did everything else herself, with no input from us!
# posted by Shannon @ 8:26 AM
Since they can't play in the new flower beds, the kids have been digging a hole next to the basketball hoop and moving dirt between it and the empty sandbox. Esther likes to sit in the sandbox and move dirt around with the little blue shovel.
# posted by Shannon @ 8:19 AM
Kate is checking to see if the hole she dug is big enough for the lavendar. On Tuesday, she transplanted three lavendars, a mum, and four poppy starts. Joshua planted Bachelor Button seeds with Ms. Rachel while Kate and I worked on the hole for the mum.
# posted by Shannon @ 8:16 AM
I now have competition for my strawberries. Esther and Zach insist on having their share. Here's Zach munching on his.
# posted by Shannon @ 8:12 AM
