June Photo 23

At school, we had circus day and J painted on this kid's face. But it wasn't circus-sy---it was Star Trek Trill.

June Photo 22

I liked how these birds were nesting , even with the preventive fringes on all the sign's letters.

June Photo 21

This part always got a good laugh from our audience---the shepherd carried the lost sheep back to the flock.

My part in all this was to help with the turning on of lights and music at appropriate times. I just didn't feel up to being an actress in front of a crowd.

June Photo 20

This was under a blacklight, and I liked how it looked. Even though it doesn't look like it did live. Interesting!

June Photo 19

The church where I work (but not go to church) had their VBS this week. I ended up helping out my friends with the skits they were doing. This friend of mine is SO HAPPY because she found the lost coin in her couch cushions.

June Photo 18

This is B's pancake shaped like a car. I love that we have time for stuff like this in the summer.

June Photo 17

We got out a big table and scrapbooked this weekend. I got the kids' school-days albums caught up. And for people who have known me a while, you'd be surprised ot know that I was working on 2006 pictures! I am now into the 2007 ones. I hope to catch them up this summer!

June Photo 16

I love the back of the plate as much as the front. The kids wrote their names themselves, and then the ladies at the pottery store wrote over their handwriting with the paint.

June Photo 15

I got this as a gift from some of my students this year at the end of the school year. We had the kids do a thumbprint for each of them on the tree, and my print is the bluebird.

June Photo 14

She and her friend did a "makeover." :-)

June Photo 13

What We're Reading

Larry: Star Wars Cloak of Deception by J. Lucino

Me: The First Days of School by Wong and Wong

(it's actually quite good!) and

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

(This is J's summer book for school. It's a Newberry Award book for 1977)

J: Crash by Jerry Spinelli

B: Mary Poppins by P.L.Travers

June Photo 12

Here's B in the air on her longest jump. It was 8 feet, 6 inches. Pretty good for a little girl! She wasn't able to jump over 8 feet last summer at all. Unfortunately, B didn't place this meet. The girl who won---the girl who got first place in every event she tried----jumped over twelve feet. She's an amazing athlete. I hope we can be cheering her on as the girls go on through school together.

B did get a FIRST PLACE ribbon in the 800 meter run. She found her pace (despite and untied shoe), and finished strong.

June Photo 11

B and I picked out a new lawn sprinkler, and it just spins really fast. Kicks up a lot of mist! This is the back yard.

June Photo 10

Here are my summer students playing in "gloop"---cornstarch and water. It's so fun! It is both a liquid and a solid, switching back and forth right in your hands. Pre-school science!

June Photo 9

I didn't know Cheez-Its had so many preservatives in them that they would last more than 1000 years!!
(I think I know what's going on . . .)

June Photo 8

I can be as stylish as Sarah Jessica Parker! I can get a line of her inexpensive clothes at Steve and Barry's in my mall. These are shorts. No, you can't see my size! ;-)

June Photo 7

One of the kids talked me into buying the baby bananas. They are cute! I needed some big bananas, too, so you can see the baby bananas' size in comparison. We better get to those baby ones soon!

June Photo 6

My daughter is showing the other two girls how to fold their airplanes a little differently. Yes, we wore the same shirt every day all week! Of course, I washed them every day! ;-)

Our final day was a "Water day" and we also got rain---water from God. It was VERY humid after that, though. The biggest accomplishment was that B used the port-a-potties. She usually tries to hold it all day, and not drink enough. This year she tried a wide variety of the latrines available. Some are pretty nice, and didn't smell too bad. Way to go B! Girl Scouts are courageous and strong. :-)

June Photo 5

I hope her mommy won't mind I am using this picture. We had cooking day at Girl Scout Day camp, and these are the soft tortillas balanced on her head. I love this photo!

June Photo 4

We're at Girl Scout Day Camp this week. I volunteered for only Wed.-Friday, so today was my first day. Day three for B. I'm assistant Unit leader for B's unit. Our unit got to help with the flag ceremony in the afternoon, and the Unit leader chose B to help take down the flags. B is the one on the far side of the flagpole---I couldn't see her well at all from this angle. She got to do all the unhooking of the flags.

June Photo 3

This isn't the greatest picture, but it's represenative of the night. J and Larry were nominated for Ovie awards this year with the acting troupe J is in. Larry did a show back around Christmas, I think. I have a headache and can't remember all the awards, but J came home with 2 and Larry did too. One of Larry's was for a character he played called "Gaylord Fontaine" that was on the Carol Burnett Show. J got a "Rising Star" award, and I think that's what he's standing on stage for here.

June Photo 2

This summer we are having preschool on Tuesdays. This week, the theme was wacky science, and this is an experiment with milk, food coloring, and liquid soap. The soap makes the colors "dance" as the soap makes the fat in the milk move around.

June Photo 1

Both the kids thought this improvement to the church building where I work was really neat. I thought so, too. There is a drain under that middle stone. Before, it was all plant life in there, but now it's a little sitting area by the doors to the administration offices. The company who does the work is owned by a member of the church.

May Photo 31

We're done playing games this season! Time to pack it up and go home (and get out of the heat).

May Photo 30

We started a puzzle that B got at school.

May Photo 29

Here are the last day of school pictures!
We're done for the year!
Goodbye, 6th grade, hello, 7th!
Goodbye 3rd grade, hello, 4th!

I also today got my offer for a contract to work at a new school! I'll blog about that on the main blog later. B wants me to go help her with a 1000-piece puzzle.

May Photo 28

Our final Girl Scout meeting was a party day we had at the park. The girls planned it themselves. B's contribution was a silly Karate exercise class. (She does not know karate at all. This was not my idea and I wouldn't have approved it! But whatever---they had fun.) Here, one of the girls showed the others how to make a balloon dog.

May Photo 27

Here's the sun tea pitcher I picked out because of the design. B and i want to keep the tea flowing! But this one was leaking---in the fridge!----so I will take it back and get the one that was a dollar more and made of glass.

May Photo 26

Here's a photo that shows where we were set up for the concert on the steps. It was really nice. We brought a blanket and two camp chairs. I was longing for Shakespeare in the Park (Fort Worth). Lar and I used to love that. Or I did. :-)

May Photo 25

J had a band concert outdoors this week---it was worth two test grades. Can you see J standing up?