Saying Goodbye

 Last week Aspen said a cheery good-bye to her preschool teacher Mrs. M.

She was actually quite happy for school to be over with. 

Avery also had Mrs. M. as a teacher in preschool.

Next year Aspen will return to preschool for one more year 

before heading off to kindergarten.

Brinley's goodbye was not so cheery. Even the thought of saying goodbye to Mrs. C. brought on tearful episodes prior to the end of the school year.  

Today Mrs. C. walked Brinley to the car sobbing. 

Brinley absolutely loved her teacher and is very sad that she will be teaching at a different school next year. 

Mrs. C. has invited Brinley to help her 

set up her new classroom over the summer, which she is really looking forward to!

 Avery had a great year with her Mrs. C. as well. 

Over spring break she had a highly emotional evening as she was thinking about saying goodbye at the end of the year, but today she was less affected than I had anticipated. Perhaps the realization of it will hit her on Monday when she does not go to school. Avery was happy from the start of the year knowing that she was going
to have the  same teacher as Brinley had in first grade.

Thursday night was the annual end of school year Luau 

and we were so happy that Auntie could be there with us!

Let us not forget Aspen at the 2011.

It was SUCH sweet relief to have Yvette take a lead role in Reese care, as much as little miss particular would allow, during her visit. Not only was today the last day of school, but we also had to say goodbye to Auntie after her week long visit. 

Thank you Auntie for another week of your life.

We are ever so grateful for all that you are to our family and look forward to

seeing you in October!

White Water Rafting

Auntie Y. came into town last week and shooed us out the door for a fun couples weekend in West Virginia. She loves to have the girls all to herself

and we love the parental break!

Apparently West Virginia is known for white water rafting, 

which is what attracted us to this destination.

We spent the first day hiking, eating at quaint local 

restaurants and thoroughly enjoying a mid-day nap!

 

On day number two we arrived at the starting location 

for our full day rafting trip down the New River. 

Memorial day weekend was unseasonably cold so we rented wet suits which we received soaking wet with icy water. Do I sound like a wimp admitting that putting on the wet suit was the most challenging part of the day? The class 5 rapids were a breeze in comparison!

With 28 class 2,3,4 and 5 rapids it was an exciting and I mostly forgot about the cold. 

Mid-way through we stopped for a yummy picnic lunch. Cody was the "team captain" man of the day positioned at the front of the raft. 

He set the pace for the rest of the rowers in the boat.

We can't wait to take the girls down the river someday, but the next time Cody and I go to West Virginia we are planning on going down the Gauley River which boasts 60 mostly class 4 and 5 rapids.

Thanks Auntie for making this fun getaway possible!

BFF

My Bestie Paige and her baby Holland came for a visit over Mother's Day weekend. 

What an honor to have her leave two of her kids 

and hubby to spend this important weekend with us!

It was so wonderful to have her here!

She read stories to Aspen in bed.

 

Created darling "foot butterfly" paintings with all of the girls.

 

And even though Cody worked all weekend we were able to get in a good amount of grown up talking time, which for us is the most delightful of all activities.

 

We were also able to squeeze in a dinner out.

One morning we took a 2 hour bike ride towing the three youngest along.

There was screaming on and off from the babies and a moment of fear after we got home that we had locked ourselves out of the house, but it was a really fun ride! 

Mother Brinley helped out with the babies. I think she may have taken to Holland,

 the baby that does not viciously scratch people on and off all day long!

 

Reese was pretty much a stinker when it came to sharing her eating seat with Holland...

actually she didn't much like sharing anything with Holland.

At least she could share a bonding moment with him (as shown here), on her terms in her seat.

No matter the distance between us or the time in between talking Paige and I will always have endless conversation and instant unity when we are together. 

Thanks for coming Paige!

Avery the Artist

Avery is quite the budding artist. 

Here are four of the about 17 pictures she drew and colored when she was sick last week.

It's fun to see her come up with so many creative masterpieces!

Letters

One of the greatest joys I have as a mother is  

observing the children showing love to one another.

The other day Brinley wrote the letter shown above letter to Avery.

The following week Avery wrote the letter below to Brinley.

 

There have been MANY of these kinds of letters passed about throughout our home since the girls have learned to communicate through writing. 

Even Aspen is beginning to "write letters" to her sisters.

The girls often hide the letters in the recipients pillowcase, backpack or lunchbox. 

 Mom and Dad are just as excited as their children to receive one of these sweet letters.

I never want to forget these  

precious expressions of of love from my children.

Family Ride

We are a family who LOVES bike rides!

This week we headed off on an afternoon bike ride to get frozen yogurt 

and on our way we ran into the missionaries.

 Brinley often shares with us her opportunities to teach friends and classmates at school about the gospel. We have truly been inspired by her courage. 

Courage to not only teach her friends about topics like baptism, modesty, family unity and Christ-like compassion, but also for her courage in standing up for what is right when those around her are making poor choices.

The other day Brinley was in the bathroom at school when several girls were speaking unkindly and using poor language. Brinley asked them to please stop talking that way. After they left Kimberly, a member of the church, came out of a stall and thanked 

Brinley for her example in standing up for what was right. 

Living here in Ohio gives our children  

daily opportunities to share their testimonies 

 of Christ through their examples. We are proud as we observe their maturity and conviction.

 

The big girls biked their little hearts out to get all the way to the frozen yogurt shop

and we all enjoyed an afternoon treat, compliments of Groupon!

Fun family outings are simply sublime! 

PS- Yes Aspen was wearing a ballet costume (partially hidden by her sweater) 
complete with black tights and ballet slippers.

Zoo Field Trip

Last week Avery's grade went on a field trip to the Zoo.

I was able to volunteer and tag along.

It was really cute to observe Avery's anticipation for this day and her absolute excitement when the day finally arrived. We have a membership to the Zoo and have been there time and time again, however this was apparently much different.

I have a suspicion that she may have been  

more excited to ride on the bus than she was for the Zoo experience.

It was sweet to be her seat mate. I was so glad to be the one right there by her side.

Our "free time" at the Zoo only lasted about 1 hour, so I rushed my little group from animal to animal. I had Sam, Alex, Avery and Leah in my group.

At our Zoo some of the exhibits have "open cages." Basically you walk through gates and right into the animal habitat. This is the case with the kangaroo exhibit.  

You can see here how close it allows you to get to the animals.

The other hour of the field trip was spent at the  

conservation building in a child friendly lecture.

The children loved it and were able to pet this lizard at the end.

Avery's 1st grade class...well most of them.

It was a very fun morning!

Grandma Ginger Visits

Grandma Ginger came to visit a couple of weeks ago.

Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures, but here is one from the summer.

During her stay the girls each enjoyed a solo 

afternoon date with Grandma which they loved!

 When Brinley arrived home after her date I said "Brinley did you have a nice date with Grandma?" 

She beamed up at me and responded  

"It wasn't just "nice" it was WONDERFUL!"

It was fun to have her here to watch the girl's in their dance recital.

She also took the children to the play Willy Wonka.

After her week here she flew to Puerto Rico and met up with her goddaughter Victoria and they boarded a  14 day cruise ending in London.

She will now spend time with my brother and his family before going on another cruise, 

followed by more time with the Lewis family.    

Thanks for coming to visit Grandma. 

We hope you are enjoying your travels.