Gorgeous Days Call For...

Playing outside!  So that's what we did.

Yesterday Big Jack came over to play with Eli before we went to t-ball.  They decided it would be fun to play in Eli's sandbox, however, over the course of this past winter, water managed to get in it, so instead of a sandbox, we have a lake.  A lake that also includes a nice sandy bottom.  Bring us to this afternoon.  Boys will be boys.  There are girly-girls...we know what they are, well, Eli is a boy-boy!  He had the best time playing in his own personal lake today, seriously, who wouldn't.

Playing with the "lake."  Yes, it is seriously gross...new sand will be in soon!

HAHA  Oliver looks like he was pouting in the corner.
What a nut.

VERY interested in seeing how the toy works.

Getting more sand...

I found this shirt and HAD to buy it for Eli.

This is definitely the case at our house.

Daddy got home and they were checking out the lower area.

I love my boys!

...can you believe I actually posted two posts today?!?  It's a miracle...

It's T-ball Time Again!

Oh my goodness!  What a difference a year makes in the life of a child and t-ball.  Eli is having so much fun and loving the sport this year.  He totally gets it this year.  From batting to fielding to running the bases, you name it!  Of course he still has his "I'm only four and have a 5 minute attention span" moments, but what kid isn't?  It's so much fun!  Here he is at his first game of the year!

Our little batter after nailing the ball.  Jess has been working with him at home at hitting.  When he really thinks about it and takes his time, he can hit it pretty hard and pretty far. 

Scott helping the kids at second base.  Eli was ready to head on over to third!

Waiting for that ball to come to him.  This was his own doing!  No one told him to squat down with his glove ready.  What a little stud.

Closer to the end of the game.  This was that short attention span moment.  I guess every baseball player needs to rest sometime.  Some choose the sideline, Eli chooses the field. To each their own.

Having fun at the game!  (Notice his bruise is almost gone!  YAY!)

Of course we have the three musketeers: Jack, Eli, and Eric.  Best friends!

What a Day!

What a day today was.

It started with our annual MSP proctor training.  If you've ever been through this, you know just how exciting and wonderful it is to sit through 45 minutes of.  HAHA  Actually, it's just repetitive seeing as though we've had the same training year after year, the only difference is this is the second year it's been called the MSP instead of the WASL.

Then my new student arrived.  After having several *challenges* join my room, I was hoping this one would be different. (not that my others are not fun, they are.  I have a very nice group of kids, they just bring their own challenges on a daily basis.)  Wow!  She is such a delightful young lady, came in with a smile, and was eager to join our group.

Now bring us to this afternoon.  I was just transitioning my afternoon group from math to looking at continental drift and Pangaea.  My new student came in and I asked her how I could help her.  She said she had a private matter, so I asked her to come over to me and tell me what was going on.  When she came over, she whispered in my ear, "Gertrude (clearly an alias) is in the bathroom and she needs your help."  "Uh-oh," I thought, thinking someone had just moved into womanhood. I quickly popped next door, asked a co-teacher to watch my kids and I hurried to the bathroom to check on Gertrude, of course by this time it was pouring and we're in the portables....

I get to the restroom and called out her name, "Gertrude, are you ok?"
A sheepish little voice responded, "ummmm, no."
I asked her what was going on.  I had to contain myself from laughing so she could hear me.  It went something like this, "Well...I can't pull my pants up!  I am wearing skinny jeans and they got wet at recess.  Now they're stuck."  All I could picture was the Friends where Ross was wearing the leather pants and couldn't get them pulled up and was trying everything from lotion to baby powder.

I ended up having to call the nurse to bring her a pair of pants to wear for the rest of the day.  Poor thing.



Yet another reason why people shouldn't wear skinny jeans! Rainy Days!

Adventures in Winkeyland

I have been MIA lately.  It seems like everything has been going in fast-forward lately, not leaving time to do anything on the side.  Then throw in this horrible cold I've had and I've been asleep shortly after Eli every night, which is when I really do any of my blog posting.

We went to Spokane a few weeks ago to celebrate Jess's Grandmother's 90th birthday.  While we were there, we also celebrated Jess's 31st birthday.  There were celebrations all over that weekend.  We finally got to see Cam, our nephew, play at a basketball tournament, and saw friends and family from the east side of the state.  Here is a little glimpse into our extended weekend.

Four Fabulous Cousins:

Eli, Kendra, Brooklynn, Cameron

Go Cam, Go!

Eli and Brookie

Us at Grandma's birthday celebration

The kiddos.  Boy do they love each other.

Brothers and their kids.  

Ryan, Brookie, Jess, Eli

Us.  

Brandon and Lindsay's little one: JayJay!

Still Snowing

Today started off with the residue of yesterday's snow and nice blue skies.

That didn't last long.  We ventured to the library where we went to story time and had a great time.  While we were there teeny tiny flakes began to fall, but nothing worth getting excited about.  Over the next few hours, these itty bitty flakes turned into something much more exciting!  The sky grew darker, the flakes got bigger, and the number of snowflakes tumbling from the skies grew exponentially!  By the time we got home, the ground was quickly changing colors and Eli was more than thrilled to go out and play in the freshly fallen snow.  He, Oliver, and I took a few laps around the block and of course, I got some pictures outside, but this one was my favorite.

He insisted on wearing my hat today. HA HA

Let There Be Snow

It is Mid-Winter Break for my district which means a week at home with Eli!  I will be the first to admit that when we are first handed our year calendar with that week of in February, you will often hear me say, "Eh, we don't need that break, what a waste of days."  Then February rolls around and I am thankful we have this week off.  It is a much needed pick me up where I can work on projects around the house and play with Mr. E.  This week I am FINALLY getting around to those kitchen cabinets again.  Yes, we've had white on the bottom and brown on the hanging cabinets since August.  Yep, you heard (read) correctly.  AUGUST.  But where has the time to do it been?  I haven't had it.  Sooooo....a painting I have done!  And of course, it's break so I get a cold.  Yes, timing is everything.

Yesterday, Eli and I decided to run to the store and get a few things.  As we were leaving it started to hail.  Thankfully, it wasn't very hard, but it was still hail.  It continued for probably the next hour or so before turning to snow.  SNOW!  Eli had a great time watching the snow fall while I continued painting.  We ended up with at least half an inch, possibly more.  So we ventured out and played for a little bit.  Eli made his first snow man - perfect snowman snow.  Although we were trying to use chocolate chips for its mouth but they wouldn't stick....so bits of branches it was. 

Catching flakes on his tongue

Don't you just hate it when it lands in your eye!

We really don't let him run around outside without a coat.  He wanted to step out and try to catch one on his tongue.  He was out less than a minute in just his tshirt!  See, here he is in his coat!

Eli's first snowman!!

What Not to Wear Day

Once a month, we have spirit day at school that is decided by our group of Student Leadership Reps, one student from each class.  Of course you have the typical spirit days that just about every school in the country has: hat day, pajama day, sports day, blah blah blah. Our kids were extra creative this year and decided on What Not to Wear Day.  You should have seen some of the outfits that students and teachers had on.  Hilarious to say the least.  From absolute clashing of colors, styles, cuts, layers, you name it.

Laura, one of the other teachers, and I decided it would be fun to take our What Not to Wear attire to a new level.  Keep in mind, we teach fourth graders.  They are pretty aware of likes and dislikes of colleges and universities.  My students are keenly aware of my passion for the Cougars.  Her's understand her likeness for the Huskies.  So we traded clothing for the day!  Miraculously, I was able to make it through the day without any long-term physical damage.  I was sure I would come away with some pretty major blistering, but alas I am still in one piece.  I did a few "Hail Butch"es throughout the day to counteract the purple stuff I was wearing and to pledge my full support.  I think after a few more days and some choice t-shirts/sweatshirts, I should be able to surpass this....

 Laura and I as close as we can to our own team attire.