Zoo

It's an interesting experience to chaperone kindergarteners on a field trip to the zoo. I'm pretty sure that the kids feel right at home there. Paige sniggled up next to this friendly baboon and insisted that we take pictures of her. At first, she was a little taken aback by their looks.

so concerned: "Mom, OH NO! Somebody shaved the hairs off of their bum!"

It didn't take her long to get over it. She's very accepting of others. She wasn't really concerned that her school friends weren't in the picture. Like I've always said, make new friends and keep the old. One is silver and the other is a baboon.

About 1/2 hour into the visit, the girls insisted that they needed quarters for the foot massagers. It's going to be a long day.

From the moment we boarded the bus I heard voices rising about the chaos, proclaiming their ravaging hunger.

8:45 am people. . . 8:45 am.

By 10:3o they had gotten their way. Lunch it is. After all, there is nothing more exciting than sack lunch on field trip day. I may be a little out of the loop though. I mean, the kid next to me busted out a can of vienna sausage and tanked the whole thing. It smelled like the monkey cages. Is this what the kids are demanding these days, vienna sausages? We had plain ole' turkey on wheat. How boring for us right! :)

Who let the 3rd grader on the bus with the kindergarteners? A head taller than the whole class. . . . and she wouldn't have it any other way! Her favorite part of the field trip was Sting Ray Bay. I didn't get any pictures there. We touched them and she freaked out a little, just a little.

"Mom, I DON'T want to touch the black ones, because they're creeeepy!"

She also loved the lions.

courtesy of the phoenix zoo website

Personally, I liked the lions and sting rays too, but the ravens and golden eagle were pretty entertaining too.

Paige: What ARE those birds?

Me: They're ravens.

Paige: You guys! They're called Raisins!

My groupies. They called me Mrs. T.

They sang "Skidda Marink-A-Dink-A-Dink" all the way to the zoo.

Paige slept all the way back from the zoo. I have to admit, I dozed a little too. The kiddies next to me kept poking me and laughing. Maybe it's 'cause my mouth was hanging open. No, seriously . . wide open.

A new man!

Guess who got their braces off today!

Here was the little fella spring 2009.

And here he is now!

He celebrated with a large pack of beef jerky and a large snickers packed with peanuts and chewy caramel. . . both forbidden with braces.

AWWW! What a handsome lil' fella! (Seriously, I can only get away with these nicknames for a short time longer. I've got to use them as often as I can.)

Sick Day

Morgan has been running a fever since last night. She's never really run a high fever until now. It's so weird to see my chilled out little girl even more chilled out. We're taking a sick day. So far, we've:

crafted a little

cleaned a little

napped a little

laundered a little

read a little

snacked a little

and

danced to the Wiggles a little. . .just a little

We wouldn't want to overdo it.

Hopefully the fever will be gone soon. Until then, we'll enjoy our sick day to the fullest.

I don't feel right about taking pictures of Morgan while she's down and out. So here are some of all of the kiddos from last Friday.

These 2 girls sure are drama. . . but one thing is for sure. . . they LOVE to have their picture taken! Tyler's just a cool cat. Cooperative and handsome as can be but ready for "ONLY 1 or 2 shots, mom." Then, he disappears quietly into the car while I fill up my memory card with the divas.

Sad pet Commercial

Paige: Mom, I don't like that sad pet commercial. When I see it I just can't stop thinking it in my mind. It kinda makes me cry.

Me: I know, that is a sad commerical, isn't it?

Paige: I can't stop thinking about it when I think of pets dying.

Me: Ya? does it make you sad to think of people dying too?

Paige: No, just pets.

fabulous. she's part robot. Someday she'll care about people too. I swear.

New wheels!

President's Day was the big day. Paige officially filled up her reward jar and we went to pick out her new scooter. She's been waiting for a LONG time. Seriously, over a month. That's really a long wait for our Paige of little-to-no patience. We hit the store after lunch.

There were no pink scooters. "It's o.k. mom, I'll just have a green one."

She really wanted the scooter in her hands at that very moment.

I said, "No, let's check one more store. I bet we can find a pink one."

I may as well have told her to wait another month. The drama. "The store is 5 minutes away, you can wait that long to get the scooter of your dreams, I swear."

Luckily, the next store had just what she was looking for, equipped with a bell and streamers.

She rode proudly all afternoon and even advertised her good behavior to the neighbors.

Today, well, today is another story. We're hanging out in front with Heidi and the girls. I had just finished a piano lesson with Hailey and Hailey hops on Kylee's bike and takes off down the street.

Paige is pretending not to notice.
Hailey is in preschool and can ride without training wheels. No biggie.
Yea right! Paige is miss competitive.
After Hailey leaves, Paige hops on Kylee's bike and in a matter of minutes is taking off down the sidewalk. Mind you, she knows how to ride on the grass but has been scared to death (up to this point) to ride on the pavement.

I'm a proud mom, yes I am.

Now, she's the master of 2 sets of wheels. I think she's smiling in her sleep, she's so proud of herself today.

On another note, Tyler picked out of the treasure box and looky what he found. hee hee!

Serious Business

It was an early release today.

We headed out to get the goods.

We hemmed and hawed in the isles of the store.

What to get for girls.

What to get for boys.

It's all political you know.

Making valentines is VERY serious business.

There is no laughing, there is no joking

Just pure concentration

After all, we wouldn't want a boy to get a valentine that reads: "Love Ya"

And we certainly wouldn't want a girl to get a valentine that reads: "Marry Me"

Rumors would circulate, ponytails would be pulled, teasing would not be avoided on the bus ride home.

It could be very ugly

If any mistakes

were

made.

See, the serious concentration above

and the intense eyes below

If you give her a gumball, she'll smile, but only for the picture

Then, it's back to work

He has them all lined up here. Boys get the first pick. Anything leftover is meant for those nasty wasty girls.

Morgan is not concerned with any of this yet.

She's just concentrating on what shoes go best with her diaper. She wants to look her best for her best Valentine. . . DaDa, of course.


Happy Heart Day! Don't forget to tell you favorite Valentines how much you love them!