My sweet Zion...

Snaggletooth is gone!

We were all so happy to see Caleb's front tooth fall out! The tooth fairy was kind and brought him money for the other tooth that was "lost" on the bathroom floor as well as this top tooth! Caleb is still afraid to use his front teeth at all, so he often sports some of his lunch on his cheeks from trying to eat with only his back teeth... (see above picture!)

Caleb is home!!

We are so glad that Caleb is home!! He came home nice and brown, with a snaggle-toothed grin (that top tooth NEEDS to come out!!) and of course you will notice the anti-BUSH pin. It turns out that Gabriel's grandpa is a political activist and they had a booth at the fair they visited in Wisconsin.

Here is a list of the cool stuff Caleb did this week:
* canoeing * visiting the Wisconsin State Fair * strawberry picking * a sleepover at Gabriel's friend's house * going on a night walk * fishing * toasting marshmallows * staying up late * visiting the Candy Tree

WELCOME BACK CALEB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chicago Architecture Boat Tour

Saturday we went on a boat tour of Chicago with the wedding party of Augustana's church secretary. What a treat! Zion loved being on the boat, and he especially loved seeing all the buildings. It was neat to look up at the Sears tower! We also saw the new Trump building in its first stages. It was HOT, but the breeze on the lake made it pleasant.




And, finally...I finished piecing my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt top! Only 8 years in the making! Unfortunately, now it needs to be quilted. I am thinking an old-fashioned quilting bee would be nice. If only I had some quilting friends...

Caleb's last day of 1st grade!

Caleb's day started with losing a tooth not once, but twice! He lost a bottom tooth that has been hanging on for weeks now, and then...he dropped it on the bathroom floor and lost it a second time!! We never did find it, but we are pretty sure the tooth fairy will find him anyway.

Today was also Caleb's last day of 1st grade! The entire Ray school (800+ kids!) were outside for a picnic. It was a party, complete with a mariachi band!

I was sure to get a picture of Caleb with some of his friends. The picture here is of Genesis, Caleb, Patrick and Muqsit. He is also good buddies with Jason and Hao, but I couldn't get them to stand still long enough to get a picture!




Caleb really likes his teacher, Ms. Annorh. That's good, because she will be his teacher again next year! Their entire class will cycle up with Ms. Annorh for 2nd grade. Can't wait til next year!
Finally, here is a picture of Zion's big boo-boo! He kissed the sidewalk pretty hard on Sunday night. He has matching scrapes on his shoulder. OUCH!

FROGS!

Sunday morning we went to a special free showing of the new Frog exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. It was so fun to walk there, eat a donut, see some frogs, and take the bus back in time for church at 10:45! We felt like we had a full day by then! Here are our little frogs:

Piano Recital!

Sunday afternoon was my studio piano recital! It was so relaxed - much different from the days when I had 38 students in Stillwater! We started at 4:05 and were out by 5 pm. AHHH......

Zion played for the first time! He climbed right up on the bench and found his hand position on his own. He liked the applause so much that he went on to play a second song (not on the program!) I don't think anyone minded a bit.

Caleb also played his song. He was nervous, and earlier in the week we were having heated "discussions" about playing at the recital, but in the end he requested to play last, and he did really well! We thought he had great presence at the piano.
















I have always loved how my piano studios have been very international. This year, a parent commented that we should do an African theme next time! Nearly all of my students are either African or have lived with missionary families in Africa. What a treat!







At the end of the recital, Dan Schwandt (Augustana's church organist extraordinaire) and I played a set of duets by Brahms. What fun! We hope to play some duets as prelude music this summer at Augustana.