Park Day

Tuesday was park day. We were only ones who showed up. After about 3 min of being there, I got freaked out. There was this very suspicious guy watching me...really, he was just staring at us from a walking path. I kept waiting for him to move along with his walk, but he just stood there watching us. So I collected my children and moved to the car. As soon as we started walking to the car, he started walking toward us. Luckily our car was in the very first parking spot. After I got the doors locked I looked up and he was sitting on the bench right where we were playing. Rhylan was pretty sad that we had to leave but I got teach her a good lesson on strangers. Later I found out she thought I was talking about butterflies called strangers...

So we drove across town to a different park. Instead of playing in the playground the kids wanted to explore the "forest." Here are some fun pics I took with my phone. Rhylan was setting up a camp, digging in the dirt, and checking out caterpillars and Gracin was eating dirt, hauling sticks, and checking out trees.

(This was one thing she got to do before we left in a hurry)

Spider

The other day we had to wait for a while in an office. So I brought this for Rhylan to entertain herself. After a few min of drawing, she proudly said "Look mommy, a spider!"

Our latest family photo!

We really need a new family pic. Ours is from December for our Christmas cards. And I had to set the timer to get a family pic!!! This was just taken in the hallway of our church building. But... it'll do for now. Maybe I'll have my dad get some of us when they come to visit in a few months.

Rain Boots

Here in the South, sudden downpours are common. Rhylan loves to run out into the rain, and jump in the puddles. Last week we went jumping together. Here she is a little wet!

When it's too hot outside...

...bring the fun, inside!!

Preschool--Flowers

We had a great week in preschool! Rhylan brought home colds for Gracin and I, but I am proud of myself for not giving in. Preschool rain or shine...or sick!! This week our theme was Flowers! We did miss one day of preschool for a play date, with Mary, Rachel and Margaret!!--After preschool today, Rhylan gave me a big hug and said I love you mom!!--Ahh, This was the right choice for us.

Art: Rhylan used her fine motor skills to make flowers. She used her fingertips and colored ink pads to create circles and lines = flowers! She really had fun with this one, and I think her flowers turned out beautiful.

Science/Sensory & Field trip/Gross motor: We went on a walk around our neighbor hood and backyard to collected flowers. We actually got a bunch of different kinds and colors. No we didn't steal them from anyone's yard! She used her magnifying glass to observe them. Then we flattened the flowers in a text book for a few days for later use.

Math/Sorting/Matching: I turned the flat flowers into cards. Rhylan helped me glue them to construction paper then I cut and laminated them. Then we explored them. We talked about different features, colors, petals, sizes shapes, etc. Rhylan sorted the cards by colors, big and small, and played memory. I made sure to pick at least 2 of each flower on our flower hunt.

(click to enlarge for detail)

Writing/Language: And then we learned about the letter Ff. Flower starts with Ff. I made flower tops with dashed lines in the form of F and f. She glued them to a paper, traced the letters with finger paint and then used a paint brush and paint to make the stems. Then we did a little free style painting. This girl loves art and science!

(click to enlarge for detail)A few other things: For our beginning alphabet song, we used a magnifying glass to "see" each letter as we sang. We used a Magic Wand to point to each letter and number as we sang. The wand even lights up so that was extra fun. And we used a dry paint brush to trace the numbers to practice writing and recognition.And for an extra activity Rhylan put magnet letters on a paper I printed and stuck to the fridge! Do you notice anything about the letters she choose first?

Yep she picked all the letters in her name first. Not my idea, all Rhylan:)

Mary and Rachel

I put a bunch more HERE. That way you can check them out if you want to:)

What's all the fuss about?

So I wanted to join facebook to see what all the fuss was about!! Really, does it tell everyone I know, every thing I post, write, or share? It seems a bit ridiculous. Why would I want my RS pres reading my comment to my sister? Or my acquaintance from High school reading comments I leave for my best friend? And do I have to invite everyone? What if I don't want to accept someone, is that really rude?

Tell me why do you like facebook and how do you use it?

(It's obvious I like blogging!! Why: I only see comments meant for me. I get to share a bunch of pictures with my family far away, and I print it up in a book after each year, so I never have to print pictures for a photo album. And it is like our journal/photo album all in one!)

6:00 pm

He was moving those arms so fast!!

It was finally cool enough at 6:00 p.m. last night for us to go out and play. The kids hadn't used the sprinkler park for a week or two and had a great time waiting for Daddy to come home. Gracin kept trying to drink the water spraying like a drinking fountain. And Rhylan would run down the hill and slide into the pool. They both had a great time making big splashes. And I as usual, enjoyed watching them and laughing at their funny ideas!

Rhylan's surprises us all the time!

Rhylan is so smart I think. She may not seem like she is paying attention. But really, she is. She can usually repeat word for word what she hears from me or teachers, when asked. Today while we were getting ready for church she said this to Riley:

"Don't close the door all the way Dad, otherwise I can't get in!"

Otherwise!!!!---We didn't know she knew that word and could use it in such a complex sentence.
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Gracin is becoming a little smarty too! He can put his shoes in the basket, clean up a little mess e.g. split crayons. And can follow simple commands. He however CANNOT stay away from the computer. He discovered this trick the other day to reach the mouse even when I try to put it out of his reach:

Both the kids have loved our new jungle gym! All I have to do to get a free 45 min to cook dinner is pull the cushions off the couch. Rhylan thinks it is fun to jump from cushion to cushion. And Gracin thinks it is fun to climb up and fall down over and over.