Month: June 2011

The dam park

I go walking at the dam every morning.  Hallie and Alyssa come with me and then we play at the park at the bottom of the dam afterward.  The other day Hallie asked me where we were going and I told her we were going to the park, and she quickly replied with “the dam park?”.  Since then our entire family refers to it as the “dam park”—funny the things that stick.  Tonight we went to the Dam Park with some friends from the ward.  We had a BBQ and the kids ran up the large grassy hills and rolled back down.  The kids were all on top of the dam when a large thunderstorm rolled in.  They were out in the open and in the highest spot in the area, so we quickly called them down and enjoyed a marvelous thunder/lightening storm from the safety our cars, and it poured unlike anything I have ever seen.  The lightening continues still hours later.  I love the freak storms we get here, seems like once a week we get a reprieve from the heat with a beautiful rainstorm.

No more school, no more books…

I think I’ve said enough about how I feel about the schools in Ohio, so I’ll spare further gushing for now.  The 5th graders head off to middle school and they went all-out with a celebration for the kids.  I was able to volunteer for the fun, and ran some of the games for the kids.  The last day of school started with us beading them (think Mardi-Gras).  Then out to the covered pavilion (yes a covered pavilion on the school grounds).  They had games and a catered lunch, a mime and a magician, sno-cones and Karaoke—there wasn’t much structure it was just a large party.  Then they had the promotion presentation where they got their certificates.  After all the fun and games they returned to their classroom for a few last moments with their teacher while the entire school lined the halls, and then the 5th graders parade up the halls and out the front doors while the entire school claps them out.  It was really quite intense, loud and quite the party.  The is the huggiest school I’ve ever seen, and everyone poured out to the front and proceeded to hug each other good bye.  It was so crowded I had a hard time getting any good pictures, I’ll share what I have.

Tanner with his teacher, Mrs. Spragg, and part of his class

Principal was escorted out by the Mime. The 5th graders followed, you can see how crowded it was.  Imagine all of these people clapping  for the 5th graders.

 

Aubrey’s Class

Aubrey and her teacher Mrs. Hess

 

Grandma and Grandpa O

We spent a week with Grandma and Grandpa O.  What a joy and a treat they are to our family.  Grandma spent her trip here sewing dresses for Alyssa and Hallie.  They turned out beautiful, I only wish she could have stayed long enough to see them wear them to church.  The smocking was perfect and something I thought I’d like to learn to do until I saw/heard about all the work that was involved.  These dresses will forever be treasured.  I didn’t catch a photo of them wearing them this past Sunday but I will this week.  Alyssa refused to take her dress off last week and we finally pulled her out of it when she fell asleep.

We did make it to the John Johnson farm where Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered and lived for a while with the Johnson family.  The home has been beautifully restored.  I can’t help but think of all the terrible things that occurred there, and the suffering that happened.  What a sad time. I’m so thankful for the sacrifice of the early Saints.

A strangle disguised as a hug

Two!

Yup that’s right, Hallie, my baby, turned 2.  It was a crazy week full of lots of activities and guests coming to visit, so we went to Cosi on Thursday (her actual birthday) but had cake and presents and all things yummy on Friday.  Aubrey was very offended for Hallie, she thought we were horrible to move her birthday for our convenience.

A few things about my Hallie:

  • She has a lisp, that I hope she doesn’t grow out of too quickly
  • She speaks in complete sentences and is very opinionated
  • She finally sleeps through the night
  • She refuses to tell you that she is 2, it’s become a game for her to tell you that she is 1
  • We go to a park at the bottom of a dam and she loves to ask if we are going to the “dam park”
  • She still twirls her hair and anyone else’s who will let her
  • She loves to say prayer
  • Her brother and sisters adore her and love to give her more attention than she can handle
  • Her blue eyes always sparkle (none of these photos are touched up!)
  • She is the most polite child ever (always says “please” and “thank you”)

We love you so much little Hallie, you are a joy to us, and your little voice makes us all grin.  Thank you for being the caboose in our family!