Elementary Graduation

Ta-Da! I still know how to post pictures! Granted, they aren't very good, but hey, I tried.

Today was Corban's 5th grade "Continuation Ceremony." Family and friends gathered in the gym for the program, which basically consisted of a reading of "Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Suess and a slide show of tons of pictures of the kids taken throughout the year. The kids were called up, one by one, to receive their diploma. I took one picture from my place very near the back of the room, so it turned out very dark, of course. Corban is looking and smiling though. And he looks so cool in a shirt and tie! I love it!

















Here are Corban and his friends Catherine, Diego, and Amira. They are a nice group of kids. Unfortunately, Diego is enrolled in a private school for next year and Amira is moving, so Corban only has one close friend (Catherine) going on to Trail Ridge Middle School with him. I'm sure he'll meet other friends next year, especially now that he'll be involved in band and orchestra.

After the ceremony, a picnic was held at the park next to the school. They served lunch for everyone and the kids had fun running around with each other and enjoying a beautiful, breezy day. The kids were allowed to leave afterwards, so we signed Corban out and then took him over to Amira's house where this little group continued their celebration.

Help Me...My Blog is Ugly

Hey! I have a question for anyone who might still be looking at my blog. Do you know how to make my blog look better? I don't like it anymore. The colors look dull and it just needs a good spiffing up. Any suggestions of how I do this? Like some website or something?

They Crack Me Up

The funny things kids say is one of the little rewards of parenting. Here are a few that I want to remember.

A few mornings ago, Kaela overheard Corban and I talking about a newspaper article that told of a kid who was accidentally shot when a gun he believed to be "jammed" suddenly went off. Later, as Kaela was eating lunch and looking at the paper, she saw the picture of the boy and said, "Mom, is this the boy who got hurt by the gun that shot jam?" Huh? I asked her what she was talking about and she clarified for me that the boy was hurt by a real gun that he thought only shot out jelly! heehee

Kaela prays for the people of Haiti. She wants them to have their houses back the way they were "in the very very very very very very very very first place."

Karis is able to find the smallest of opportunities to make a funny. Once, her math lesson asked her to circle the operation needed: addition or subtraction. She did a couple of problems and then very nonchalantly says, "I think this one's OR" and circles the word "or." What a goof. Another time, while teaching her measurement, I asked her what we were going to do about measuring a book that was longer than the ruler. She answered, "Just get a smaller book." She cracks me up.

Karis tries to eat with chopsticks at dinner. As she's picking them up off the floor, she says "If only I was French!"

Sprinklemania

Tonight's evening activity was decorating sugar cookies! Fun! And Yum!



Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go clean up icing and sprinkles.






Jessica...are you happy now?

What's this?? A blog?

Colorado Greenery has been resurrected, again!

Dedication to my blog clearly isn't one of my strengths, but I'm back for a quick post because Jessica will be on my case soon and because my sweet mother-in-law, Becky, requested. :) It's a small miracle that I was able to remember how to find my blog and hook up the camera to download pictures!

It's been a season of many changes for us, as you already know. Rho's new job started in April, the kids and I arrived at our new home in Longmont on August 1st, Corban started public school, and Kaela started Kindergarten. I'm very happy with our new home, though it needs our attention in several areas. After putting up blinds and ceiling fans, repairing the sprinkler system, planting grass, pulling gobs of weeds, and having the front porch repaired, we started our first major project--the kids' bathroom. Rho has ripped the carpet and wallpaper out, textured the walls and we're now trying to achieve the right shade of yellow after a miserable first attempt that reminded me of newborn pooh. Sorry, but it's the best description I can think of! Rho will tile the floor and hopefully be able to put the potty back correctly! It's quite an undertaking to do home improvement! We seem to have very nice neighbors and I feel quite at home here....more so than I did after 5 years at our first house!

The kids are doing great. Corban's transition to public school has gone so smoothly. I worried for no reason. He's doing great academically and has yet to have any complaints. The girls and I had some rocky moments early in our school year, but, if memory serves me right, getting started has always been rough! Things are going well now, but it's definitely time consuming! Karis needs more patience with reading, but she's making progress and I'm hopeful that she'll learn to enjoy reading. Kaela is psyched to do school on most days and usually wants to do more than I ask of her. I wish I had the time! Corban played lacrosse again this fall and Karis is about to finish up soccer. Corban decided that Boy Scout's wasn't his thing, but is continuing with Bible Bowl. He'll start violin lessons again soon, I hope, when we find a new teacher.

Sadly, I haven't taken many pictures since we moved, but here are a few to show you that our kids are turning out to be just as weird as Rho and I.





















































And here they are showing that they can be normal and pretty cute, too!

Just Pictures

The girls sitting at the neighborhood beach access walkway.














Stopping to smell some beautiful flowers.














The Green girls in a giant red chair.














The kids learn about dragonflies during an educational outing.














Corban does his best dragonfly impersonation.

Just Pictures

I've been meaning to post pictures in my Outer Banks blogs, but don't feel like messing with them now. So instead, I'm just posting pictures separately.

















The kids feed turtles at the neighborhood pond. There were SO MANY turtles!















The pool at the house was a huge hit with the kids.















The very large home we stayed in.