Benefits of Summer

Summer Perk #1: Empty school playgrounds and athletic fields.
(as if we didn't already have a million and one parks and playgounds to explore - well our options just opened up a little bit more!)

We are happily practicing our soccer skills . . . which makes dad a very happy man!

Oh Tessa, you're breaking my heart! You're so sweet and loveable I am begging you to stop growing so darn fast!

We'll Start at the Beginning

Of summer that is . . .

These are Bently's teacher's on his last day of school. Miss Amy, Miss Luz, and Miss Shamima

and then his personal favorite - Mr. Lawrence.

Dear Bently,

There have been so many nights that your dad and I have talked about preschool for you. Should you go? How many days per week should you go? What type of preschool should you go to? The questions seemed endless to me. In my mind the only right thing was for you to stay home with me and your sisters. Thankfully dad was able to see hte bigger picture and fought in your behalf for preschool and independance. You have loved every minute of preschool! You have so many friends there. When you wlk in the door your teacher Mr. lawrence as well as all of your classmates welcome you by yelling "Benlty!!" I love the smile that brings to your face as you push the door open ready for your personal greeting!

Everyone at school knows you because you have quite the imagination. Many days you walk into school riding your horse and donning your cowboy boots and red tattered cowbay hat. First you make your rounds through the room giving high fives and riding your horse as fast as he'll go, then you use the bathroom and wash your hands. Next you exit the room to carefully hang your red bookbag, trusty horse and loved hat. On the days that you do not ride your horse to school you enter serenading the school with your harmonica. Once a month your class takes a field trip to Ravenscroft Elementary School. Usually I have you put your harmonica back into your backpack after you display your talent. However, on this particular day you had stuffed the harmonica down your overalls and on the bus ride to Ravenscroft you pulled out the harmonica and started playing all the way there! You Ravenscroft Buddy was so impressed that he took you to each of the classrooms through Ravenscroft so that they too could enjoy a personl Bently Concert! You are quite good at playing the harmonica and even wave your hand as if you know how to bend the sound. Ahhhh - we love you Bently! More than once I have been asked if you take harmonica lessons. I guess your a natural!

For Christmas you decided to give Mr. Lawrence his very own matching harmonica. He ws thrilled! I will never forget the warmth I feel when I come to pick you up from school and I hear you and Mr. Lawrence playing from the front doors. I follow those sweet sounds all the way to the back of the scool and there you are with your favorite teacher - both playing your harmonicas.

I am so grateful to the teachers at Learning Together. They are good people and really do love you Bently. They have held you in their arms on numerous occasions to rock you to sleep in your oversized froggy blanket. They have given you the love that I thought you would be void of if you were to leave home and go to preschool. No one can ever replace the love we have for our little Boo - but we are so grateful for those who take such excellent care of you and who patiently teach you.

Love, Mommy

Our Dear Children

My sweet Bently, Keira, and Tessa . . .

WE

LOVE

YOU!!

We love you guys sooooo much! We are having lots of fun in Mexico! It seems that everywhere we go and eerything we do reminds of you. You guys mmake our life so full and wonderful!

Today we went swimming in the ocean! The water was very warm and very very blue. We thought about how good you guys are getting at swimming all by yourselves! We can't wait to go swimming with you this summer! We can't wait to catch you when you jump off the diving board. You were so brave last year when you first learned how to jump off the diving board - we are so proud of you!

I hope that you are having a wonderful time with grandma and grandpa and Tara and Taylor and Celeste and Josh. They love you so much. We are so blessed to have such a great family. Please take care of them and give them lots of hugs and kisses!

We love you so much! Hugs and kisses to you my sweet babies. I can't wait to hold you again!

Love Mommy and Daddy

That's My Castle

Keira Is becoming quite the girly girl . It all started like this . . .
Around Christmas time I was running some errands with my girl and this was one of the ew times that she decided to sit in the cart. I began our errands and started down aisle one for our first little trewasue when keira suddenly gasped . . .
"Mom! Mom, what is that?"
The cart comes to a sudden stop as I suddenly find myself a little alarmed at her anxiousness.
"Hmmm - what do you see?'
"That mom - right there. Is so booaful a me." The sweet chubby finger points directly at a soap dispenser with the Disney Princesses posed around one another in complete grace. Like she said . . . "is soooooo booaful a me mom."


Game over.


Cinderella is the favorite right now.


Yesterday on the way home from taking Bently to preschool (he goes to preschool downtown Raleigh), Keira looked out the window and gasped again. This time . . .
"Mom, I see my castle!! "
"You're castle?"

I look up and immediatly recognize what she sees - the BB&T skyscraper rising up above the flowering dogwoods. I suppose the sight really is magical!

Photogenic Sundays

We are often a little antsy on Sundays (especially in the winter) for some good activities to do with the children.

One of our favorites : Picture Time!!!

Tessa

Bently has just caught on to "smiling for the camera" - good thing too, since we've spent the last two years with a blank stare every time the camera is out!

Keira wan't really in the mood.

"Leaves are falling all around . . .

on the housetops on the ground.

Leaves are falling all around,

on my head, my hands and toes."

This fall has made me decide that my favorite time of year is definitely autumn. When I drove up to Michigan in October I drove through the mountains of Virgina and saw the first glimpse of leaves changing. The sight was awe inspiring to say the least - no picture could do it justice. For the past several weeks here the weather has been perfect and the scenery picturesque!

There is something magical about each leave falling to the ground and a colorful array everywhere you look.

Thank you mother nature for a wonderful afternoon of leaf jumping!

Good Help

. . . is not hard to find around here.

I was playing with Tessa when the phone rang, so I ran downstairs to get it - upon my arrival

5 seconds later

I found Bently and Keira with everything under control.

Halloween

An adorable ladybug and a ferocious dinosaur!

Hillridge Farm and BFF's

Bently, Keira, Tessa and I took a little trip to Hillridge Farms to pick some pumpkins and enjoy the fall atmosphere. I told Keira and Bently that they could choose any pumpkin they wanted as long as they could carry it. Bently wanted nothing to do with having to carry something himself. (Poor kid was still a little sick - really couldn't blame him.)

Keira, on the other hand, was delighted to do somthing all by herself. She carried it to the picnic table where we had lunch and then lost interest.

We ended up not coming home with a single pumpkin.

Let me just say that it was all I could do to tote and keep track of 3 children plus their belongings.

Pumpkins were really just unnecessary baggage!

One of the highlights was the train ride ~ always a favorite!

My personal favorite was the corn pit.

Millions of kernels of corn housed in this little octagonal house. It was like a sandbox but with corn. You had to take your shoes off to go inside - once you stepped in . . .

you were swallowed up to your knees in corn. Keira was a bit sceptacle, seeing as how it was a bit difficult to walk in such circumstances.

So she thought it best to just bloom where planted.

Bently, thought it was wonderful! Until . . .

he tried to traverse the pit.

he decided on swimming as the best method of mobility!

And then contentment once again!

But the part of the outing that will melt my heart and make me

smile for the rest of eternity . . .

And as for little Tess . . .

she enjoyed the trip too in her angelic, sleepy sort of way!

Fall Brings Hungry, No, starving Ducks

I need to thank my father-in-law for this beautiful fall day.

While visiting he helped me take the kids to and from our many destinations. I so enjoyed the lovely conversations we shared. One conversation in particular was about giving children real-life experience with the things we teach them. He asked me if I had anywhere where I could take the kids to feed ducks.

One week later we were feeding ducks just like we have many times before.

But it is fall now and the ducks don't get fed as frequently as they wish . . .

they are STARVING!!

How's that for some real life experience?!