Kelsey Quote

Back from DC, pictures soon :)!

And another Kelsey quote -
Me, as she came down the hallway after a shower, "Wow, that was fast."
Kelsey, "Yes."
"Did you use shampoo?"
"Yes."
"Did you rinse it out?"
Getting slightly impatient now, "Yes."
"Did you use soap?"
"No."
"Um, Kelse?"
"I forgot."

Kelsey Quote

"Mommy, I had a healthy and balanced breakfast!"

Mother's Day Cards

Here, a little after the fact, are my precious Mother's Day cards.
My artistic Keegan spent a lot of time on this beadwork.

Kelsey drew Winter the Dolphin with a cool sunset.

And Caitlyn made a more grown-up, but still super sweet card.

I am so blessed to be the mother of these precious girls!

The Fourth Sister

I am proud to announce the arrival of.... the fourth daughter! For a while, anyway :).

For six weeks this summer, we are having fun with a new experience. Caitlyn's good friend, Rayonna, has come to stay with us while she attends a summer program.
We're so happy to have her here! She and Caitlyn became friends in ballet several years ago and have remained close ever since.
(Here they are in 2008 with Rayonna's mom, Lisa.)

Rayonna is attending this neat program at a local hospital. (It's much closer to our house than hers, so that's why we get to keep her. Yea :). She is planning to be a doctor, and this is a wonderful opportunity for her. Each week she shadows a different type of doctor. At the end of the day, she comes home and tell us about the gross things she has seen. Smile.

Even being an only child, she fits right into the big sister role.

So fun! So glad to have her here. Even if her mom does insist on taking her away on weekends ;), we are totally loving having a fourth sister!

The Ride of Your Life

Last week was our church's vacation Bible school, Colossal Coaster World. Kelsey is the only one still young enough to attend as a student (HOW did that happen?!?) But everyone attended with Caitlyn, Keegan, and Rayonna as helpers.

Caitlyn and Keegan (and occasionally Kelsey :) have been attending practices for a while now, learning the cute songs and motions.

The whole youth choir did a great job leading the music.

 

Kelsey got to hold the flag for the pledge!

 

More singing of cute songs - 

 A! Admit to God that you're a sinner and repent

 B! Believe that Jesus is God's own Son

 

C! Confess your faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior, and Lord.

Hence the "ABC" shirts worn by the youth choir.

And this....

...is why, if your eldest daughter says something to the effect of,

"There is some room left in the washing machine, is there anything you would like me to put in it?"

You should not reply, "Please put in the small carpet that's by the front door."

 

Test Time

Despite my best efforts, my little girl is growing up.

 

Caitlyn is off this morning taking the ACT. How did my little girl grow up so quickly?
If you are, ahem, mature like me, you might not be aware of how things have been updated. Now, when you register, you also upload a photo of yourself (or your daughter, as the case may be ;). Then on test day, you must bring a photo ID that matches. Pretty clever on their part.

Hope she's not nervous and is doing well!

We're off!

This year, Caitlyn's ballet recital was "The Wizard of Oz."



This school does a neat thing. For the recital each year, the director chooses a story based on how many seniors there are that year, then each graduating senior gets a lead role. This year there were several seniors, so an ensemble in Oz, it was!

 

 

Caitlyn was the munchkin coroner, a tree, one of the witch's flying monkeys, and a dancer in the Emerald City. The coroner was an amusing role for her, as it was a comedic role and she is generally serious. Unfortunately, I took the worst show pictures I have taken in YEARS, and none of the coroner ones were even clear. Sigh. Pout. I did, however, get this one pic of her in her outfit. Not the best picture, but since it is the only one, it must be included :).



 



 

The trees posed during the tin man scene. Not dancing around, but they were very pretty. It's kind of funny, these are the same costumes they wore to be Ozians. They were bought to be green in the Emerald City. When the costumes arrived, they looked amazingly like trees.  So, Miss Amy added a quick change and there were four trees in the tin man scene! Caitlyn also held the tin man's oil can behind her back until Dorothy came and got it :).



The next role was a flying monkey. This was a fun one. In this particular scene, the wicked witch had given the monkeys fierce instructions to go get Dorothy.

 Instead, however, as soon as her back was turned, they decided to have a little fun. It was really funny in the context of the story.



 



Eventually came the big ballet dance, the Ozian dance in the Emerald City. Their teacher said that she was going to both make them look good and give them the combinations she couldn't trust to any other group, haha.



I think she succeeded on both counts :).



I love Caitlyn's lines in this picture. And the simple fact that her leg is so far up in the air. While she balances. On her toes. You know, normal stuff :).



And finally, the finale!



I'm a little proud of my beautiful ballerina.



What fun! 
Caitlyn was thrilled her aunt and uncle came to watch.
And I am thrilled that she attends a school where she is learning and growing as a dancer.
Good tidings all around!