A Hairy Problem

The last vacuum we bought has just been a head ache.  We bought it not long after moving into this house to replace the super cheapy one we bought to replace our first vacuum.  So the vacuum is all of 2.5 years old, and we've had to replace the roller thingy 3 times.  All of our long hair gets tangled up in the bristles and around the roller, and even with me remembering to clean it out sometimes, the pieces that connect the roller to the rest of the vacuum would just melt, smoke, and wear out.

So we bought another vacuum at Lowes.  It was on sale, and not overly expensive to begin with.  We have just come to the conclusion that all of the long hair around here is going to be hard on vacuums and we will just need to replace them a little more often than we might prefer.

Hopefully this one will do better than its predecessor.  

We had to play with the box.  Annie is the robot.

Last Day of School

There they are.  This is the last day I have a 6th grader, 4th grader, and two kindergartners.

Next up- Summer Vacation!

Pool Party

Elizbeth's end of the year excursion to the city pool was today.  The school is divided into two groups, one going in the morning and the other in the afternoon.  It's been so hot (95-103 degrees) during the day that instead of the usual walk to the pool, each of the elementary schools paid bus drivers to take all the kids down.  Thank goodness.  That was going to be a miserable walk, with possible heat stroke.  Not cool.  Even though I opted to drive myself (I have a/c and comfortable seating in the minivan after all), I met up with Elizabeth's class at the school before they left.  The hallways in the building all smelled like sunscreen.  (Even I applied plenty.  I didn't feel like burning myself again.)

 The pool was thick with busy little bodies.

 Elizabeth wanted to make sure I knew she was going under the water.  Take a picture, Mom!

 There was a boy in 1st grade that we know from church who needed a friend to play with.  Big 4th grader or not, Elizabeth is always ready to be a friend.  She has such a tender heart.

We were in the half of the school that played in the pool in the morning.  I was glad, because we were melting as it was!  Our city pool is not equipped with shade in any form, so I sat on the edge of the pool letting my legs dangle in the water half of the time.  It was a dangerous place to be, and I left my cell phone in Elizabeth's backpack.

Once our two hours in the pool was up, it was time to get dressed.  I stayed with Elizabeth's class while Mrs. S ran back and forth between the restrooms trying to get everyone rounded up.  Her class was so slow.  We were one of the last ones to go get the school brown paper lunch bags in the park.

Next year, I will have three of the four kids going to the pool.  I doubt I will be lucky enough to get them all together at once, so maybe I'll get to spend the whole day at the pool.  Perhaps it will be a little cooler....?

Great Grandma

Ryan's grandma is up from California this week visiting Kim.  They came by tonight for dinner, and we got a couple of pictures of the 4 generations.

The 4th Article of Faith

Annie had me write down her scripture for today last Sunday.  She's been practicing every day so she could read it on her own.  I took a video of it this morning before we headed to church.

Annie did even better when she read it during primary.  Sometimes I have to laugh at myself a little.  When my kids succeed, I feel like it is my success.  I sneaked out of nursery to watch Annie (and then again later for Elizabeth's talk) and was feeling pretty good about my mothering skills on the way back.  I have to enjoy those feelings when they come.  I usually don't feel so confident in my abilities.

Kindergarten Game Day

Today was Game Day at Annie and Maddie's school.  The school had sent home a note saying no parents would be allowed to participate, and would be refused if they showed up.  Luckily, I am a regular, and so I was asked by Maddie's teacher if I would like to come.  Apparently, it was by invitation only.  I asked Ryan about it, and the school has had issues with adults with restraining orders showing up.  I seem to have passed muster.  Somehow.  I am a shady character after all, and can't be trusted to not yell like a crazy person Sunday mornings trying to get everyone ready for church.  (sigh) 

The kids got to wear swimsuits under their clothes to school in preparation for game day.  They were all pretty excited about that.  We were outside, it was extremely hot, and there were water activities.

While I did hang out with Maddie's class, I kept a wary eye out for Annie.

Her class was first to get sprayed by the firemen's hose.  More about that later.

Maddie lost more and more of her clothes as the games progressed.  Good thing she already had sunscreen on.

Annie managed to keep her clothes on.

I find it funny that people here use umbrellas more often for parasols than for rain.  I was born in the Seattle area, and we used umbrellas for drizzle and tried to soak up those random patches of sunlight.  We hide from the sun around here.

Maddie's class was the last to get the firemen's station of hose blast.  Considering the drought we are experiencing, this made the other mom with Maddie's class cringe.  One of the irrigation districts had completely shut down for a couple of weeks (um, cherry season anyone?) and the firemen sprayed continuous water for 2+ hours.  But it's a tradition for the end of the year, and the kids think it's fun.

It's difficult to see much in the spray.

After those two hours of steady watering, the ground was saturated and slippery.  Kids were sliding and wiping out right and left.  I think Maddie's teacher was the only one who played in the water with her class.  (I didn't.  I was boring and sat on the side lines taking pictures and laughing as Maddie's teacher was sliding in the grass.)

Afterwards, the class divided into boys and girls.  The girls got to change into dry underwear and clothes in their classroom, while Kiyra's mom and I played with the boys outside.  Then the kids switched, and we waited for the boys.

Maddie and Kiyra

Sherlyn, Maddie, and Kiyra

I was extremely foolish, and did not apply sunscreen this morning.

That's going to peel.  My arms look the same, but these burn lines are the most humorous looking.

You can kind of tell where the lanyard for my volunteer badge was, and the shape of the pendant necklace I was wearing.

Brag Post

I would just like to take a moment and brag that we already have enough ripe raspberries to make a pie.

My pies never look great cut, I think due to us being too impatient for the filling to set up before cutting into it.

And so many more to come....  I guess that's what you get in a year where you have to turn on the air conditioning before Memorial Day weekend.  And Memorial Day weekend was even early this year.  I like the sun and warm weather, but this year could just be a bit too much, even for me.

Roses

Ryan has been stalking the OSPI website to find out when his principal certificate is issued.  Today, the certificate was!  Ryan felt the way to celebrate was to bring home roses for me.  What a sweet husband he is.

A Graduation Tradition

Today was my last day for volunteering in Maddie's classroom.  I stayed a little longer than usual to  wave and give high fives to the graduating seniors that came by the kindergarten school.  I think it was good I stayed, because the buses bringing the seniors were a bit slow in arriving, and it's hard to wait melting in the hot sun.  All of the kids and their teachers were lined up around the bus drop off, and the first two buses just did a pass for us to wave at the seniors, and the last bus stopped and the seniors went around high-fiving the class of 2027.  It was really fun to see the 6 year olds get excited about the graduates.

I, of course, left my phone in my purse in the classroom, and so didn't get a picture of the seniors and the kindergartners.  This was the tail end when I was walking to my car.

Dogs Strike Again

Last night we lost all of our baby chicks that were hatched naturally (not in the incubator) and one of our tom turkeys to a local dog.  All the chicks but one were gone, and the one that was still around was attempting to hop on it's remaining leg.  The turkey was left for dead, mangled in the fence.

Dear Dog Owners,

Please keep your dogs in your own yard.

Sincerely, Everyone Else

So, we figured it was time to upgrade the one side of our field fence.  

Ryan even finally installed a gate.

I think it's official.  It feels like we really are a farm now. :)