Jackson's Turn

We're not always in chronological order here on this blog. So going back a few weeks . . .
After lots of hard work and dedication, Jackson has achieved the status of a preschool graduate! Don't these graduates look proud? I think they're wondering why everyone's taking so many pictures of them.

Here's Jackson with his good friend Esther. We all think she is one cool kid - and will miss her whole family! Jackson wishes he could have lots more playdates with her, and I'll miss seeing her choice of outfits and accessories every day, including seasonal footwear like sandals in winter.

With Mrs. Rogers, the favorite preschool teacher for both Jackson and Olivia.

And finally, in Ducky Dance attire. They practiced for this part of graduation for a while, and Jackson made a great ducky - obviously.

I wanted some time just with Jackson before school got out. So we dropped Katelyn off at babysitting co-op, and the two of us headed to the zoo. He got to pick all the animals he wanted to see, like the elephants that Olivia says are too stinky, and Bug World where the spiders remind her of the huge one that was on her bed one night, thus keeping her awake many nights . . .

We even saw an elephant painting! And stinky or not, Olivia was pretty jealous to miss that.

And for the last picture - "Mom, take a picture of me doing this cool trick!" If you're not impressed with his half-sit on the bookshelf, at least Katelyn was. There she is ready to attempt her own bookshelf stunt.

School's Out!

I didn't get a picture of just Olivia on the last day of school, but this one is from Sunday. I needed one before those front teeth come in.

Here she is at field day last week. It was supposed to be at the park but it was rainy (again) so they stayed at the school and had some inside and some outside.

I helped with the face painting, and Olivia wanted a marmot - her school's new mascot. Jackson cried when she washed it off - I guess he liked it. We even got to see a marmot at Mt. Rainier last weekend.



Hooray for summer break! 2nd grade sounds so old, though!
And now that school's out, it's starting to set in that we're leaving soon (two weeks!) and lots to do. So I guess I have to get to work instead of going on too much about how much she's grown up this year. She'll be 7 in a couple weeks - just after we arrive in Pinetop, and she's sad to leave her friends here.

Dancing at T-ball

There wasn't much action going on in the outfield at O's last t-ball game, so I took pictures of this girl instead.

I think she likes the camera.

A change of pants is always a good idea with her still. Especially when there's wet grass and mud, and the park's port-a-potty is locked. Successful peeing behind the bushes is a little trickier for her than for her brother.

She looks a lot like Olivia did at this age. How did she get so big?

I think the word is mostly out that we are moving to Pinetop, AZ in a few weeks.
I will miss:
this in our backyard;

This in our front yard;


(and neighbors yards we get to admire on our walk to school):



But not so much this:

This is the "hallway" kitchen I've lived with for 3 years. You have to walk through it to get from one part of the house to the other. Many times a day. If there's a pan of brownies sitting on the counter as I walk back and forth, well, it's bad for me. This house was built in the 50's. Notice the built-in wooden cutting board on the countertop. How sanitary can that be after 50 years?

There's lots more I will miss, too, of course. But I just want to say that soon, I get a new kitchen!!!!!!!!!