I'm sorry I've been slacking. I've been dealing with some things, and I just haven't felt like blogging. For shame! Here we go.
First of all, here's a continuation of the saga of the ripped-out oleanders. So I told you that guy broke the pipe and then capped it. Well, he didn't bother cleaning around it. He got mud in it. And the things that got used right after were the downstairs toilet and the kitchen faucet. Now they both have dirt stuck in them. The kitchen faucet barely drips at all, and same with the toilet, which is constantly running a tiny bit at a time. I think I'm gonna have to put on my handygirl britches because Jeremy just doesn't have time to fix them.
Funny story. Every morning as Jill got dressed for school I was finding shoes and socks. There was always dirt in her shoes to dump out, but this particular day there was an incredible amount! I had to document it. One day she told me that she had little rocks like these in her bed because she dumped out her shoes on her bed once, and that she liked those little rocks because she could rub her feet on them when they itched. (!) I washed those sheets, and she was so sad to no longer have little rocks to scratch her itches.
I think I mentioned that Timmy likes to ask me to print lots of different things for him to color. This particular day he colored Max and gave him a space suit.
We went to visit the transition kindergarten classroom at Timmy's school, and we found his rainbow in the hall. He'd decorated it with feathers and pipe cleaners. I told him to go stand by it and I'd take a picture. He stood right in front of it.
I just recently bought him these overalls, and he LOVES them! They're just like Mario. The only trouble is that he's hit a growth spurt and grown out of a bunch of new pants I bought him.
Here's one of the first hibiscus flowers from Jeremy's plant. They're right outside the front door and have been so fun for me to watch. They bloom at the same time of day every time, and then they wither and fall off within a day or two, and then another blooms.
Did I mention about all the plants we've acquired recently? We have a maple tree out front, and 2 grape vines by the grape arbor on the south side of the house. And in the backyard we have 2 apricot trees, 2 peach trees, a pear tree, and 3 apple trees. We're working on the lawn, but I secretly think we're going to need to till it and manure it before reseeding before it'll grow. We will have one someday, though!
Henry is getting stronger!
And still so cute! :)
Cute boys! (We call Henry's outfit a bag of baby. It's one of those fuzzy sleepers that's a sack on the bottom with no leg holes. The boys think bag of baby is so funny! Also, notice that Mario (He LOVES it!) and the new pants that are too short!
There was a graduation at Timmy's school for both preschool and kindergarten. Timmy is up there in an orange shirt and orange hat. It was a cute little ceremony. They sang a song and they got to shake hands with their teachers. They'd have given out diplomas then, but they decided they'd survive better if they gave them to the parents later.
Here's Timmy with "Miss D'Anne," his teacher (D'Anne Lutz)
After the ceremony they marched out singing this to the tune of "Are You Sleeping?"
We are leaving. We are leaving.
Adios. Adios.
Have a great summer. Have a great summer.
Adios. Adios.
Those last few days of school were so busy! I went to lots of things at the kids' schools. This particular day Michael was in the school knowledge bowl. The whole school was quizzed, and the ones that did best from each grade got to compete in the knowledge bowl. They competed by grades (4th, 5th, and 6th). 4th grade won last year. Michael got to be in the knowledge bowl for 4th grade this year. They took third this year. I don't know who took first because the screaming was too loud. It was fun to go watch Michael anyway. This was before the rest of the school came in and packed the gym.
Benji sat by us for most of the thing. It was fun watching him try to interact with the kids around him. Some of them kind of blew him off, but not all of them. It's a different dynamic watching your kids at school, you know? And the 3 girls in front of us were just enthralled by Henry. That was kind of fun.
Michael got a medal. He was pleased.
There was a kindergarten celebration at Jill's school. They sang a few songs and each class said a nursery rhyme together. it was cute. Then we got to go to Jill's classroom, and the teacher had a bunch of certificates to hand out.
Here are the kiddos on the rug. Jill's right next to the shelves. That kid in the green is named Andrew. His mom helps Timmy at church. She's from Mexico and such a sweet lady. Andrew's a really nice kid too. He was so, so sad because his mom couldn't come that day. He was sitting at his desk later just about in tears, and it made me so sad!
Jill's teacher gave her the alphabet pages she missed first semester so she could do them at home. She did get some certificates too. She was worried that she wouldn't pass to first grade. Ha! She did fine. :)
Here's Jill with her teacher, Mrs. Montierth.
I like this picture of Hyrum.
Here's Michael's to-do list for one of the last days of school. He threw it away, but it fell out. I found it, and it gave me a good laugh.
Michael likes to steal my phone. I have a ton of pictures like this. Gee, thanks, Michael!
Michael put his wig on Henry. It actually looks almost natural on Michael because it's so close to his natural color and his hair has some curl in it. It's funny.
My beautiful niece Emily graduated from high school! (I pilfered this from Facebook. We weren't invited. Poor us. /sob OK, we didn't get a graduation announcement, but that probably doesn't mean we weren't invited. ;) )
Michael took this picture. I like it, even if my babies are growing up. *sniffle*
Joshua made this swan with an apple just out of the blue one day. Go, YouTube university! (That's what Aaron calls it when you learn stuff on YouTube, which is Joshua's favorite lately.)
Henry learned to sit a few weeks ago! So darn cute!
He went through a time when he had his fingers in his mouth all the time! He doesn't as much anymore, but for a while there I worried, until I realized he was chewing, not sucking. ;)
Jill's teacher sent this picture home. Cute! I have one of Timmy, too, but I forgot to scan it before filing it.
One day Jill brought home a book about what miners do, and Jeremy heard me reading it. He volunteered to come to Jill's class and talk about mining. He did it some time in May. It sounds like it was really great. Jill's teacher took this picture of Jill wearing Jeremy's safety gear. Hard hat, safety glasses, maybe some earplugs, mask with pink for acid (I believe), safety vest, steel toe boots. He talked about mine equipment and such and all sorts of stuff. He brought in a lot of pictures to talk about, too.
Henry discovered his feet!
Michael took this candid photo. I can't figure out where we were when he took this, but I just thought Henry looked so, so cute!
Henry does a thorough job of pooping when he puts his mind to it.
My big brother Robert was ordained a priest in the Catholic Church on Saturday, June 4, 2016 in Gallup, NM. I can't deny that this has caused me considerable hardship. I know he knows that and is just doing what he believes is right. That is to be commended. Please understand - I love my brother so much. I'm so, so proud of him. I will be loyal to him until infinity. I'm just having a hard time with him leaving our church, even though it's been more than 20 years. It's silly, but I guess it's a combination of things.
Enough of that, though. I'm proud of him. I'm happy that he has this opportunity, and I know that he'll be such a blessing to lots of people, that he'll do great wherever he goes. I just wish I had been able to be there to wish him a happy Fathers Day. Pfffff! Baaah-ha-haaaaaa!
More later. Maybe tomorrow if you're lucky.
